12th International Child Neurology Congress
11th Asian and Oceanian Child Neurology Congress
27 May – 1 June 2012
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia
John Stobo Prichard Award lecture
The ICNA is now accepting applications for the John Stobo Prichard Award lecture.
The lecture will be awarded to a young child neurologist who has made a significant contribution to clinical and/or basic research. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Professor Robert Ouvrier, will select the candidates for recommendation to the ICNA EB.
1. The candidate should be nominated by three members of the ICNA.
2. The candidate should be 45 years old or younger at the time of the ICNA congress in Brisbane (June 2012).
3. The nominating members should describe the candidate and his/her work and they should make clear why they consider the candidate’s work so relevant to the field of child neurology.
4. The candidate should be a child neurologist and an active member of ICNA.
5. The nominating letter should be sent to the Chairman of the Selection Committee. Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
6. The deadline for nomination will be OCTOBER 17, 2011
7. From all the proposed names, the Nominating Committee will choose and rate the three most appropriate candidates.
8. The candidates selected by the Selection Committee will be proposed for final decision at the Executive Board meeting in Prague November 2011.
9. The award lecturer will be invited to present a lecture during a plenary session at the 2012 ICNA-AOCNA Congress in Brisbane.
10. The successful candidate will receive $1000 towards travel to the congress, the costs of 3 night’s accommodation (as selected by the committee) and the registration will be waived.
Sheila Wallace International Fellowship Award
The ICNA is now accepting applications for the Sheila Wallace International Fellowship Award which will sponsor $1000 towards travel to the congress, the costs of 3 night’s accommodation (as selected by the committee) and the registration fee for a young child neurologist who has made a significant contribution in clinical research in his/her developing country to attend the 12th International Child Neurology Congress to be held in Brisbane in 2012. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Professor Robert Ouvrier, will select the candidates for recommendation to the ICNA EB.
1. The candidate should be nominated by two members of the ICNA.
2. The candidate should be 45 years old or younger at the moment of the ICNA congress in Brisbane in May 2012.
3. The nominating members should describe the candidate and his/her work and they should make clear why they consider the candidate’s work so relevant to the field of child neurology.
4. The candidate should be a child neurologist and an active member of ICNA, trained in a developing county and practising child neurology in an academic setting.
5. The nominating letter should be sent to the Chairman of the Selection Committee. Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
6. The deadline for nomination will be OCTOBER 17, 2011
7. From all the proposed names, the Selection Committee will choose and rate the three most appropriate candidates.
8. The candidates selected by the Selection Committee will be proposed for final decision at the Executive Board meeting in Prague November 2011.
9. The award lecturer will be invited to present a lecture in a plenary session at the 2012 ICNA-AOCNA Congress in Brisbane.
Robert Ouvrier
Chairman, Prichard Award Selection Committee
Immediate Past President International Child Neurology Association
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Video Sessions from Regional and International Congresses |
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8th Asian & Oceanian Epilepsy Congress (Melbourne, 2010)29th International Epilepsy Congress (Rome, 2011) |
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Proceedings and Reports from Regional Congresses and Chapter Sponsored Meetings |
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The meeting was attended by over three hundred delegates including therapists, medical specialists, psychologists and dieticians. The idea of the workshop was to apply a truly multi-disciplinary approach as it would be applicable in the care and management of children with cerebral palsy.
We had two distinguished guests from overseas, Prof Alec Hoon from John Hopkins University School of Medicine and Director of the Phelps Center for Cerebral Palsy and Neurodevelopmental Medicine at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. He was a very generous guest who discussed many issues regarding pathogenesis of cerebral palsy, plasticity, diagnosis and evaluation and the use of neuro-imaging techniques.
In the true spirit of PANDA and the developing ACNA (African Child Neurology Association) the other invited speaker was from Egypt. We were delighted to host
Dr Walid Ahmed Abdel Ghany, who is a consultant neurosurgeon and a lecturer in neurosurgery and functional surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery and Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He was able to share his experience in the field of cerebral palsy in Egypt.
Other topics that were covered varied from the physiology of spasticity, new classifications of cerebral palsy as well as the medical management of spasticity and dystonia. There were also updates of visual problems, feeding challenges and the latest in treatment for hemiplegia. Other issues that were explored included conveying difficult information to families, psychiatric co-morbidities in cerebral palsy, and also a very important talk about what works best in resource poor areas.
The second day was mostly dedicated to orthopaedic and neurosurgical issues in cerebral palsy as well as a look at the evidence base for some new interventions, as well as medical legal reporting and life expectancy in these patients. Issues of botox, and rhizotomy were also discussed in depth.
This was the first combined meeting arranged with the medical fraternity and the therapists and it was a great success. No one was obsessed about there turf and there was a general sense of sharing and taking part-responsibility for the management of these children with cerebral palsy.
We were also delighted to be able to host Dr. Angelina Kakooza from Uganda who currently is helping to arrange the Epilepsy in Africa meeting in February 2012. She also presented a poster at this meeting.
It is obvious that such an important topic should have a multi-disciplinary approach and these combined and inter-disciplinary meetings have a lot to contribute. A decision was made at this meeting that cerebral palsy should be revisited every few years and if it is at all possible PANDA will take on that responsibility.
Prof Andre Venter
Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician
Head of Paediatrics, Bloemfontein
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The International Child Neurology Association (ICNA) was founded on 12 September 1973, during the Xth International Congress of Neurology in Barcelona, Spain.
The Foundation
The International Child Neurology Association (ICNA) was founded on 12 September 1973, during the Xth International Congress of Neurology in Barcelona, Spain.
The Articles of Association were approved by Royal Decree by Baudouin, King of Belgium on 14 August 1974. The registered office remains in Belgium but the Associations day to day business is transacted from offices of the Executive Office-Bearers of the day.
The Purpose
As set out in the Constitution, the general purpose of the Association is:
1. To create a non profit association of child neurologists and members of allied professions from all parts of the world dedicated to promoting clinical and scientific research in the field of child neurology and encouraging the recognition of child neurologists competence and scope of practice.
2. To provide at an international level an outlet for interchange of scientific and professional opinions for the benefit and advancement of the neurological sciences in infancy and childhood.
3. To establish international scientific meetings, international co-operative studies, publications, translations, audio-visual material and to encourage international exchange of teachers and students in the field of child neurology.
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The International Child Neurology Association was founded in 1973 to improve the care of children with neurological disorders worldwide, promote training in child neurology, and support research and international cooperation.
It is estimated that 70% of children with disabilities live in resource-poor countries1 and most of these children have neurological impairments. The prevalence of common neurological conditions such as epilepsy is higher in resource-poor countries than the West.2 Furthermore, the burden of acute neurological conditions such as seizures in these countries is also considerably higher than in the West. For example, neurological features occur in 20% of children admitted to a Kenyan district general hospital.3 Yet despite this significant burden, there are few personnel or facilities available for the management of neurological conditions in these parts of the world.
There is a considerable lack of medical personnel in many resource-poor countries. For example, there are less than 10 doctors per 100 000 people in many African countries, compared with 230/100 000 in the UK.4 There are few doctors with any neurological training. Thus, in many countries in Africa, there are no child neurologists. In those countries that have child neurologists, these doctors have not been able to obtain proper training, but often rely on a 6-month period in a Western centre on which they are expected to base their clinical expertise. These periods often provide experience that is not relevant to their home countries. Furthermore, these attachments have become even more problematic in Europe with the restrictions on employment of doctors from outside this region. But many doctors and other health care personnel without specialist training are interested in child neurology, and are keen to learn more, improve their expertise, and set up services for children with neurological conditions and neurodisabilities. So what can be done?
The training opportunities in resource-poor countries are limited, but are improving. Many of these countries have national societies of child neurology and/or developmental medicine, which organise local symposia for continuing medical education. The number of regional societies is also increasing, and these societies are often able to host larger meetings and attract more international speakers and medical practitioners interested in child neurology.
One of the remits of the International Child Neurology Association is to provide educational seminars throughout the world. These seminars are organised in collaboration with local medical societies, and draw upon the expertise of its members to provide lectures, case discussions and in some instances workshops. Furthermore, International Child Neurology Association supports a website (http://www.icnapedia.org/) that provides web-based access to appropriate papers and management protocols. On the website there is access to training programmes throughout the world. These initiatives are being taken up by doctors in resource-poor countries, helping the development of child neurology in these regions.
The International Child Neurology Association's ability to meet its goals comes through expanded membership (http://www.icnapedia.org/icna/membership/membership_of_the_icna_2007040111/). It represents a tangible mechanism by which Western paediatric neurologists can support child neurology in resource-poor countries. Furthermore, members can contribute to the Help Every Region Organize fund that supports members from countries where incomes are lower. But, there are also other benefits of membership. Each member receives a copy of the International Review of Child Neurology series for each year of membership. Books on Neurodisability, Stroke and Leucodystrophies are about to be published. Finally members obtain discount congress fees for the International Child Neurology Association international conferences on child neurology. These are held every 4 years, with the next one in Cairo in 2010 (http://www.icnc2010.com/), after which the conferences will be held every second year.
Thus, there are many ways in which International Child Neurology Association supports the development of Child Neurology in under resourced countries, but more support for International Child Neurology Association is required from, paediatric neurologists from Western countries.
CHARLES RJC NEWTON
Professor of Tropical Neurosciences and Paediatrics, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kilifi, Kenya;
Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
References
1. Helander E. Prejudice and dignity: an introduction to community based rehabilitation. New York: United Nations Development Programme, 1993.
2. World Health Organization. The World Health Report: 2001: Mental health: new understanding, new hope. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001.
3. Idro R, Ndiritu M, Ogutu B, et al. Burden, features, and outcome of neurological involvement in acute falciparum malaria in Kenyan children. JAMA 2007; 297: 223240. Links
4. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2007/2008. New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2007.
This article appears as an Editorial in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology Volume 51, Issue 7
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