Welcome to the latest edition of European Neurological Review, which features a diverse range of articles covering a number of therapeutic areas that directly affect neurologists and other practitioners involved in the care of patients with neurological illness.
Our expert interviews have become a popular feature of the journal due to their concise assessments of aspects of clinical practice. This issue begins with an interview with Dawn Langdon on cognitive assessment in multiple sclerosis (MS). Also on the subject of MS, Janet Manson provides a commentary on the need to improve patient education for women with multiple sclerosis on issues around the ability to have children and family planning. In addition, a review by Patrick Vermersch describes the rationale for the use of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P1) receptors in MS and discusses the agents in current use and in clinical development.
Dementia is a growing public health concern in our ageing population and the need for adequate residential care should be a priority. However, the 2017 Yearbook, ‘Standards for residential care facilities in Europe,’ found disparities in policy standards across Europe. In an editorial, Diaz-Ponce and Georges discuss these differences and how to find better solutions.
Advances in clinical neuroscience have allowed researchers to integrate molecular neurobiology and neuroimaging, yielding a new approach called “connectome”. In an editorial, I describe this novel approach and its potential uses.
Despite receiving recommended therapies, many patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) report low health-related quality of life and around 10% of patients do not respond to treatment. In an editorial, Saiju Jacob discusses the patient burden of MG and the need for new therapeutic targets.
Increased understanding of the natural history of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has led to the emergence of a number of new therapeutic options. Mercuri et al. discuss the need for genetic testing and describe the use of ataluren, the first disease-modifying therapy for treating DMD caused by nonsense mutations.
We finish with two original research articles. Birkholm Lausten et al. describe a study investigating the possible link between ABO blood types and post-operative pain, while Nielsen et al. describe a study aiming to identify the prevalence and pattern of headache, craniofacial pain and abnormalities in somatosensory function in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).
European Neurological Review would like to thank all authors who contributed their expertise towards this edition. We would also like to thank our Editorial Board for their ongoing support and guidance. Thanks also go to all organisations and media partners for their ongoing support. We hope that you will find these thought-provoking articles interesting and useful.