eanCast: Weekly Neurology

Moderator: Veronica Cabreira (Porto, Portugal) Guest: Mark Edwards (London, UK) and Jon Stone (Edinburgh, UK) Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) remains one of the most common yet least adequately taught conditions in neurology training across Europe. In this episode, moderator Veronica Cabreira and expert guests Jon Stone and Mark Edwards reflect on historical and contemporary factors that contribute to major gaps in education and training on FND across Europe. They argue that FND should be the “business” of Neurologists and provide their insights into advocating for better clinical pathways and specialist services, integrating evidence-based FND teaching, and aligning health policy for FND with modern clinical practice.

Moderator: Taras Voloshyn (Kyiv, Ukraine) Guests: Laavanya Damodaran (Birmingham, UK), Osman Malik (London, UK) In this episode, Taras Voloshyn speaks with Laavanya Damodaran and Osman Malik about autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan, with particular focus on the transition from childhood to adulthood. They discuss core diagnostic features, early clinical signs, evolving presentations in adult patients, and the challenges of recognition, comorbidities, and long-term multidisciplinary support in neurological and psychiatric practice.

Moderator: Francesco Germano (Genoa, Italy) Guest: Matteo Cataldi (Genoa, Italy) In this episode, Francesco Germano speaks with Matteo Cataldi about Guillain-Barré syndrome and other inflammatory neuropathies across the lifespan. They discuss key age-related differences in epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic challenges, and management strategies in pediatric and adult patients, highlighting practical considerations for early recognition, risk assessment, and treatment in neurological practice.

In this episode, Natalia Szejko speaks with Tammy Hedderly and Alexander Münchau about the similarities and differences in movement disorders across the lifespan. They discuss the clinical evolution of tics and stereotypies from childhood to adulthood, the distinct diagnostic implications of dystonia and parkinsonism in pediatric versus adult populations, and the importance of multidisciplinary care and acceptance-based strategies in neurological practice.

Moderator: Meagan Watson (Denver, USA) Guests: Pavlina Danhofer (Brno, Czech Republic), Natalia Szejko (Warsaw, Poland) In this episode, Meagan Watson speaks with Pavlína Danhofer and Natalia Szejko about whether functional neurological disorders (FNDs) present differently in children and adults. They discuss age-specific clinical features, comorbidities, developmental and family context, diagnostic challenges, and the role of early, tailored multidisciplinary management to improve outcomes in neurological practice.

In this episode, Yıldız Değirmenci speaks with Julie Hall and Marit Ruitenberg about non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease, focusing on anxiety and cognitive impairment. They examine their clinical profiles, early detection challenges including neuropsychological markers, interactions with motor manifestations, and implications for comprehensive assessment and individualized management in neurological practice.

Moderator: João Durães (Coimbra, Portugal) Guests: Paola Giunti (London, UK), Lidia Sarro (Milan, Italy) In this episode, João Durães, Paola Giunti and Lidia Sarro provide a rigorous examination of the diagnostic and therapeutic landscape of treatable ataxias, focusing on rare variants. The discussion first delineates autoimmune etiologies, such as anti-GAD, paraneoplastic, and gluten-related syndromes, before transitioning to a detailed review of acquired and genetic metabolic disorders, including vitamin deficiencies, NPC, Refsum disease, Glut1 deficiency, CTX, and Wilson’s disease among others. By highlighting critical clinical and paraclinical "red flags," the contributors offer a framework for accelerating differential diagnosis. The session concludes with an analysis of contemporary pharmacological advancements, notably the recent EMA approval for Friedreich’s Ataxia and the efficacy of repurposed drugs in treating genetic forms such as EA1/2 and SCA27B.

Moderator: Olimpia Musumeci (Messina, Italy) Guests: Antonio Toscano (Messina, Italy), Marianne De Visser (Amsterdam, Netherlands) In this episode, Olimpia Musumeci speaks with Antonio Toscano and Marianne de Visser about hereditary, particularly metabolic, and acquired myopathies, especially idiopathic inflammatory myopathies amenable to treatment. They review advances in pathophysiology, diagnostic approaches and novel therapies, highlighting clinical red flags and strategies that have a significant impact on timely diagnosis and management in daily neurological practice.

Moderator: Emanuele D’amico (Foggia, Italy) Guest: Anna Bersano (Milan, Italy) In this episode, Emanuele D’Amico speaks with Anna Bersano about red flags for rare and potentially treatable cerebral small vessel diseases. They discuss how early onset, family history, multisystem involvement, and characteristic MRI patterns can help distinguish monogenic and metabolic forms from sporadic disease, focusing on conditions such as CADASIL, Fabry disease, CARASIL, and COL4A1/2-related angiopathies, and emphasising the importance of structured diagnostic pathways and early recognition for appropriate management.

Moderator: Piervito Lopriore (Pisa, Italy) Guests: Chiara La Morgia (Bologna, Italy), Michelangelo Mancuso (Pisa, Italy) In this episode, Piervito Lopriore discusses red flags for treatable mitochondrial diseases with Michelangelo Mancuso and Chiara La Morgia. They highlight the clinical heterogeneity of these disorders, key diagnostic clues in neurological practice, and selected conditions such as Friedreich ataxia, TK2 deficiency, Barth syndrome, and Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, with a focus on early recognition and targeted therapies.