Skip to Content
International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Main Content

        VOLUME 27, ISSUE 1 • MARCH 2023  Full issue »

The MDS-PAS School of Young Neurologists was presented in Spanish on December 9-11, 2023 in Bogotá, Colombia. 


This MDS Course, initially planned for 2020, had to be replaced by a Virtual version and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first semester of 2022, the Movement Disorders Society was successfully able to return to in-person activities, and course planning was resumed. More than 90 applications for the course were received. The course coordinators carefully selected attendees, and 40 participants were chosen. 

Thirty-three young neurologists attended the course. They came from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, Perú, República Dominicana, Uruguay and Venezuela, representing most of the countries of Latin America. The Society provided $25,000 USD for travel grants distributed among 21 participants who requested them. 

PAS School for Young Neurologists Gallery

Aerial Group Photo

 

The course had an excellent group of speakers: Mayela Rodríguez-Violante, Arturo Abundes-Corona from Mexico, Claudia Moreno, Catalina Cerquera-Cleves, Natalia Ospina, Oscar Bernal, William Fernández, Gabriel Arango and Mauricio Rueda from Colombia.  

The morning of the first day of the course was dedicated to Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism. In the afternoon, the participants were distributed into three groups to evaluate different patients with the faculty; this is one of the most important parts of the course since it allows attendees to see how an expert evaluates this type of patient. Following a coffee break, the faculty began presentations about hyperkinetic movement disorders, which were continued on the second day, including dystonia, chorea, tremor, drug-induced movement disorders, ataxia, myoclonus, sleep movement disorders, rating scales, tics and use of botulinum toxin. Another patient round was performed on the second day. A video dinner with the speaker's didactic cases was made with the opinions of all the assistants using a poll system, resulting in a very interactive and fun event. Participation in the question-and-answer sessions was very productive and dynamic, managing to solve the doubts of the attendees with the opinion of all the speakers. 

The last day was dedicated to the presentation of the clinical cases of the participants. The discussion with the panelists was quite productive, and the lessons of each case were highlighted. The speakers and assistants elected the best case. Dr. Lina Quintero from Bogotá, Colombia, was the winner, and the prize will be the registration for the next PAS Congress in 2024. 

The course met its objectives, and the participants attended all the events, showing a great interest in the topics, and active participation. There was also space to interact with colleagues from all over the continent and create bonds of friendship. 

Finally, we want to thank all the speakers for their dedication and help in making this course a complete success, and we give special recognition to Nilda Toro from the MDS staff; her help and support were essential to the success of the event. 

Read more Moving Along:

Full issue  Archives