Chairperson

Dementia & cognitive neurology

The scientific panel on dementia has a member from each of the EFNS member countries. Other associated neurologists, with special interest in dementia, have assisted in specific tasks of the panel.

The scientific panel on dementia has completed two task forces in recent years:

In 2006 the second set of European guidelines for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders associated with dementia was published. This guideline has a multidisciplinary scope and contains major changes compared to the previous one from 2000. A questionnaire regarding the role of neurologists, as well as education and training programmes for the management of dementia in Europe was carried out by Steen Hasselbach and colleagues and the results are published in the European Journal of Neurology.

Current task forces: 

Survey on the use of CSF in the diagnosis of dementia in Europe. Update 2007:a questionnaire has been sent out by Jakub Hort, MD. All national representatives in the European Federation of Neurological Society’s (EFNS) scientific panel on dementia were asked to fill in a questionnaire. In the case of no reply we tried to substitute another expert in CSF and dementia from that country. Data collected from 18 European countries, Israel and Georgia (also EFNS members) are being analyzed at the moment and results will be discussed at the panel meeting in Madrid. We failed to get information from Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Iceland, and Moldavia to make the list complete. Update 2008: A manuscript for Eur J Neurol has been prepared by Dr Hort and was accepted on June 10, 2009 as: Use of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in diagnosis of dementia across Europe. MS ref: EJoN-09-0236.R1. Authors: Hort, Jakub; Bartos, Alex; Pirttilä, Tuula; Scheltens, P.  

• Harmonization of neuropsychological tests in dementia throughout Europe. Update 2008: Representatives from all national neurological societies participating in the EFNS Scientific Panel on Dementia were contacted by e-mail or mailing address and asked to fill in a questionnaire about the use of neuropsychology in their respective countries. The representatives were specifically asked to reflect in their answers the use of neuropsychological tests in the country as a whole, and not exclusively at their own centre. In some cases, the delegate at the EFNS Scientific Panel on Dementia appointed other expert in the country that he/she found particularly competent to fulfill the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a list of neuropsychological tests, grouped by cognitive and functional domains.  Seven domains were inquired: 1) Screening Tests, 2) Batteries for General Use, 3) Dementia Global Assessment, 4) Neuropsychological Tests by Cognitive Domain (Memory, Attention, Executive Function, Constructional Abilities and Language), 5) Activities of Daily Living, 6) Emotional Status / Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and 7) Caregiver Burden. The validation of each test and the norms used were also asked for. Finally, it was asked if there were neuropsychology professionals certified in the country. We received back the questionnaires from 20 countries of the 34 participating national representatives in the EFNS Scientific Panel on Dementia (see below). With respect to three of them (Italy, Belgium and Norway), filled questionnaires separately reported information about more than one centre. In this case, we chose to combine all data concerning the country. No information was received from the representatives of Latvia, Greece, Moldova, Iceland, Albania, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Serbia and Montenegro, Georgia, Sweden and Russia.A manuscript has been drafted and is circulated among the authors and will be discussed during the next meeting in Florence. The title and authors are: The Use of Neuropsychological Tests across Europe: The Need for a Consensus in the Use of Assessment Tools for Dementia, by Carolina Maruta¹, Manuela Guerreiro¹, Alexandre de Mendonça¹, Jakub Hort², Philip Scheltens³
  
• Dementia Guidelines Revision. Update 2008: Dr Jakub Hort is leading this process in a very effective manner. Drafts of chapters are being sent in and will be discussed during the ICAD meeting in Vienna in July and the draft version will be presented at the Florence meeting and henceworth be submitted to EJN. 

Publications from the EFNS scientific panel on dementia:

• Waldemar G, Dubois B, Emre M, Scheltens P, Tariska P, Rossor M. Diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders associated with dementia. The role of neurologists in Europe. European Journal of Neurology 2000;7:133-144.
• Waldemar G, Dubois B, Emre M, Scheltens P, Tariska P. Rossor M. Diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders: The role of neurologists in Europe. In: Martinez Lage, Hachinski V, eds. Envejemiento cerebral y enfermedad, Editorial Triacastela, Madrid, Spain, chapter 11.
• Rossor M. Dementia and driving: European National guidelines. European Journal of Neurology 2000;7:745.
• Waldemar G, Dubois B, Emre M, Georges J, Mc Keith IG, Rossor MN, Scheltens Ph, Tariska P, Winblad B. Recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders associated with dementia: EFNS guideline. Eur J Neurol 2007 July 7th, 2003-07
• Hort, Jakub; Bartos, Alex; Pirttilä, Tuula; Scheltens, P. Use of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in diagnosis of dementia across Europe. Eur J Neurol, 2009. In press