WORLD NEUROLOGY THE NEWSLETTER OF THE WORLD FEDERATION OF NEUROLOGY VOLUME 16, NUMBER 2, JUNE 2001 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN It is my hope that this column reaches the WFN membership before the London Congress. I have watched and participat- ed in the extraordinary preparations for this major event, implemented by the Or- ganizing Committee of the Association of British Neurologists. As was said by one of Britain’s greatest - “Never have so many owed so much to so few.” All of us are deeply indebted to our English col- leagues who have gone to such lengths to ensure its success, despite misfortunes, such as the global economic downturn and bovine epizootic encephalitis. There cannot be a more appropriate time to remind the public that two Nobel prizes Earls Court, the venue of the XVII World Congress of Neurology in London. have been awarded to neurologists for the wanton killing of tigers for medicinal delineation of mode of transmission and purposes, of rhinoceri and elephants for identification of the agent of transmission ivory and for aphrodisiacs, or people but we do not have a treatment, other whose value to society is judged to be than preventing spread. We must apply marginal. our skills to developing an effective proph- ylaxis and therapy. Even though we neurologists are few in number, we are highly visible because we Furthermore, neurologists have a respon- are the explorers of the brain, the most im- sibility for devoting ourselves not only portant organ in the body. The brain keeps to human nervous system disorders but society moving and serves to direct it. We those of all animals, because BSE makes (cont. on page 3) us acutely aware of our global interde- pendence not only with each other but ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: with all flora and fauna. •Editorial There is great concern regarding human •WFN Annual Reports and other animal rights and, in the past, •Acute Stroke Units in Austria National Institute of Neurology and Neurosur- •Vascular Dementia gery, Mexico City. Left to right: Ignacio Ruiz, we have been callous regarding stand- Head of Postgraduate Teaching; Julio Sotelo, ards for clinical research on lower orders. •Mitochondrial Encephalo- General Director; Teresa Corona, Teaching Di- Neuroscientists must interact with society myopathies rector; James Toole, President, World Federa- to agree upon and enforce ethical stand- •Book Reviews tion of Neurology; Ricardo Colin, Head of Pre- ards for use of all species. It is no longer •Meetings Calendar graduate Teaching. tolerable for us to stand by idly and permit Visit the WFN website at http://www.wfneurology.org 2 World Neurology EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dr. Jagjit S. Chopra, # 532 Sector 33-B, Chan- WORLD digarh - 160 047, India. Fax: +91-172-665532 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] NEUROLOGY EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Richard Godwin-Austen, World Federation The Newsletter of the World Federation of Neurology of Neurology, 12 Chandos Street, London W1G VOLUME 16, NUMBER 2, JUNE 2001 9DR, UK Dr. Robert B. Daroff, Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals of Cleveland, Department of Neurology Cleveland, 11100 Eu- CONTENTS clid Avenue, OH 44106-5015, USA President’s Column . 1 Dr. Jun Kimura, Park City Uji Byodoin 1203, 169 Uji Myoraku, Uji Shi, Kyoto 611-0021, Japan Editorial . 3 Dr. Theodore Munsat, Department of Neurol- ogy, New England Medical Center, Box 314, WFN Committee Meetings at the AAN . 5 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA WFN Task Force on Neurological Services . 5 Dr. James F. Toole, Wake Forest University, Baptist Medical Center, Medical Center Boule- Annual Reports of WFN Research Groups Year 2000 . 5 vard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA Research Group on Neuroepidemiology . 5 REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS Research Group on the History of Neurosciences . 6 (by virtue of Presidency of Regional Congress) Autonomic Disorders Research Group . 6 Dr. S.M. Al Deeb, Riyadh Armed Forces Hospi- tal, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, P.O. CSF Research Group . 6 Box 7897, Riyadh 11159, Saudi Arabia Neurotoxicology Research Group . 6 Dr. Amado M San Luis, Rm. 1006, St. Luke’s Medical Center, E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon Acute Stroke Units in Austria . 7 City, Philippines Dr. Ndiaye, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire De Pan-Arab Union of Neurological Sciences . 7 Fann, Clinique Neurologique, BP 5035, Dakar, Senegal WFN Junior Travelling Fellowship Reports . 8 Dr. Jes Olesen, Professor and Chairman, De- partment of Neurology, Glostrup Hospital, Nor- First LACTRIMS Congress . 8 dre Ringvej, DK-2600 Glostrup, Denmark Dr. Gustavo Pradilla, Carrera 29 # 32-65, Edi- Vascular Dementia: it is time for a new approach . 8 ficio San Diego Of. 201, Apartado Aereo 678, Bucaramanga, Colombia Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies . 11 ASSISTANT EDITOR Book Reviews . 13 Dr. I.M.S. Sawhney, Consultant Neurologist, Morriston Hospital, Swansea SA6 6NL, UK Meetings Calendar . 16 WFN ADMINISTRATOR Keith Newton, World Federation of Neurology, COPYRIGHT © 2001 World Federation of Neurology. All rights reserved 12 Chandos Street, London W1G 9DR, UK Published by Elsevier Science BV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Manuscripts accepted for publication become the copyright of the World Federation of PUBLISHING STAFF Neurology (WFN). Before publication a copyright form will be supplied by the Publisher, Publisher: which must be completed by all authors. Peter F. Bakker Marketing Manager: Joyce Hobbelink be submitted in English, typed on white paper World Neurology, ISSN 0899-9465, is published Design and Layout: using double spacing with margins of at least 3 by Elsevier Science BV, Molenwerf 1, 1014 AG Helmut Hummelbrunner cm. 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Any dosage referred to should be Printed by Key Dee Associates at Chandika cannot accept responsibility for any loss or checked against the relevant data sheet for the Press Ltd, 126 Industrial Area Phase 1, Chandi- damage to such material. Manuscripts should product. garh - 160002, India. EDITORIAL 3 cult to recover from and this is obviously a One of the main themes at the World Con- EDITORIAL matter of great concern. Nevertheless the gress of Neurology 2001 is ‘Stroke’. This administrative team of Keith Newton and issue carries an article on “Vascular De- Large numbers of neurologists and other Susan Bilger, with their ability, zeal and en- mentia” in which Prof. Vladmir Hachinski neuroscientists are looking forward to a thusiasm, will again try to rebuild the data- puts his views that a time has come for scientific bonanza at the next World Con- base as quickly as they can. With the sup- a new approach to this ever increasing gress during the British summer in London port of national neurological societies, in- cause of dementia in the elderly and that this month. There have been great sci- dividuals and others they hope to return there is a need for it to be clearly delineat- entific advances in neurology since the to normal operations in as short a time as ed from dementia due to Alzheimer’s dis- last World Congress in Buenos Aires in possible. ease, although both may co-exist in some 1997. The mapping of the human genome patients. He has suggested that we need Annual reports for year 2000 of some of and the possibilities of gene therapies in- to overturn our current approach of gath- the WFN Research Groups are printed in crease the chances for effective treatment ering data into arbitrary, dogmatic, obso- this issue. They reflect the amount and for some of the genetically linked neuro- lete categories and begin developing a magnitude of the work that is being car- logical disorders. Let us await with interest new pragmatic, systematic, data based ried out by some of the more vibrant the important research in this area which approach. Congratulations to him, inci- groups and the plans that others are for- will be revealed at the XVII World Congress dentally, for having been appointed Ed- mulating. of Neurology in London. Around 3,000 itor-in-Chief of the prestigious journal persons are already registered with more The report of the Pan-Arab Union of Neu- ‘Stroke’. pouring in everyday; and, if one goes by rological Sciences is also featured here. It Prof. Salvatore DiMauro has with great previous Congress estimates, 20–25% of is heartening to learn that this group is fast brevity discussed the intricate problems attendees register ‘on the spot’.