Editorial

Abstract

A year ago, we were optimistic that the pandemic would be over by the beginning of 2022. Unfortunately, it still tightly clings to societies all over the world. Vaccinations have been developed and vaccination programs implemented incredibly fast, but virus variants prove to be faster. As yet, nobody can estimate the personal, social, and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic.

During these two years, health care has changed tremendously. Online consultations have become a valuable new tool for patient care. New online teaching formats have been developed, and ICNA is proud to be part of the tremendously successful International Child Neurology Teaching Network (ICNTN) [1]. Over the last year, a variety of hot topics was covered in webinars by 30 experts, with vast numbers of participants. Courses aimed to deepen proficiency in caring for infants with common and rare neurological conditions are being developed.

The increasing availability of online tools also promotes the collaboration of physicians and researchers, allowing physicians from resource-limited settings to participate more efficiently in both teaching and research projects. At the same time, child neurology has seen a rapid evolution of both diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Our increasing knowledge of genetics and pathophysiology has driven the development of new, sometimes personalized, treatment options. This has been reflected by papers published in JICNA, covering research on implementing innovative therapies like the ketogenic diets for epilepsy and research papers on genetic diagnosis and its possible therapeutic implications, including developmental and epileptic encephalopathies like Dravet syndrome.

The 16^th International Child Neurology Congress 2020 was initially scheduled as a face-to-face meeting in San Diego, CA, together with the meeting of the 49^th Child Neurology Society meeting. When it became evident that a face-to-face meeting would not be possible, the organizing committee did a fantastic job in changing it to an online format, with the logo together apart. The meeting turned out to be a huge success, and we are proud that several conference papers on hot topics have been published in this volume of the JICNA.

We look forward to another exciting congress later this year in Antalya, Turkey, when the 17th International Child Neurology Congress will be held in collaboration with the Turkish Child Neurology Association from October 3-7, 2022 [2]. Building on the legacy of the past, highly successful ICNA congresses combined with the momentum generated by our exceptionally topical and widely attended bimonthly International Child Neurology Teaching Network (ICNTN) webinar series, the congress theme "Reset yourself 17.0" aims to highlight the recent, ground-breaking clinical and scientific advances in Child Neurology and to propel this momentum forward. The scientific committee under the leadership of Drs Ingrid Tein and Haluk Topaloğlu has accomplished its goal of providing a rich tapestry of Childhood Neurological Disorders from a Global Perspective with solid representation and relevance to all six major geographic regions of the world. As before, JICNA would feature comprehensive reviews from the key sessions and publish the abstracts being presented at the congress as a supplement.

The global burden of neurological disorders in newborns, infants, and children is high and is different in resource-limited versus high resource settings. Improved communication pathways involving medical professionals and national and international medical societies must be continuously developed, and JICNA aims to be part of this. After all, the pandemic may show us ways to better collaborate around the globe and improve the care of newborns, infants and children with neurological conditions.