Volume 23, Issue 1

From the Editor

Ann Donnelly, ACNR Co-Editor

It is July 2024, and again time to write another Editorial for ACNR. Sitting at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, near where I grew up, I am grateful to have the time and space to read through this issue of ACNR, and to contemplate the loss of some highly esteemed colleagues over the last few months.

There have been sad losses to the UK neurology community, and with permission from their families, we have provided obituaries for Dr Jenny Vaughan and Dr Richard Orrell, and there will be one more to follow.

The reason I chose neurology was in part, my admiration for my fellow neurologists, and reading about the work of neurologists past in the paper about Narcolepsy, and the John Hughlings Jackson description of ‘treadlers cramp’ reminds me of how relevant a rigorous clinical examination is, as well as our ability to accurately describe clinical patterns.

This was particularly relevant to the Gait paper by Christopher Gilmartin, Sumranjit Sidhu and Nikos Evangelou which was a beautiful illustration of the pathophysiology of gait, with a comprehensive summary of most gait patterns we encounter in clinical practice.

ACNR is both a neurology and a rehabilitation journal, and the paper from Meenakshi Nayar et al at the Specialist Neurological Outreach Service from Charing Cross Regional Unit gives us a glimpse of where the future of specialist neurorehabilitation may lie – in the patient’s home. This seven year project with 19 virtual beds, receiving rehabilitation with the same specialities and intensity as level two, has been demonstrably successful.

Looking into the future, the progressive MS series continues with Dr Sean Apap Mangion and Professor Jeremy Chataway looking at the UK experience with trials of treatment, and some specific details about how we may need to adapt our approach in the ageing population.

There are conference reports from SENA 2024 and TOXINS 2024 and an illuminating summary of The Brain: a national geographic special, by our book editor Dr Rhys Davies, from the Walton Centre, Liverpool.

I wish you all a lovely summer, and hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have.

Don’t forget that the events calendar on our website is continuously updated, and you can add details of events free of charge at https://acnr.co.uk/submit-an-event.

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