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With the exponential growth of literature on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we aimed to identify and characterize the 100 most cited COVID-19–related articles in neurology and neurosurgery. In March 2021, we performed a title-specific search of the Scopus database using ("neurology" or "neurologic" or "neurosurgery" or "neurosurgical") and "COVID" as our search query term without date restrictions. The top 100 most cited English-language articles were obtained and reviewed. Our search yielded 9648 articles published from December 2019 to March 2021. Bibliometric analysis of the top 100 articles found that the most cited article had a citation count of 1741 and was the first to report on the detailed neurologic manifestations of the disease; Neurology had the most number of publications; the majority of the primary authors were neurologists, but 35% were from nonneuroscience specialties; the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany were the top contributors, with a combined total of 77%; most of the publications were correspondence or editorial articles; and most articles discussed the neurologic manifestations and complications of patients with COVID-19. This study identified the top 100 most cited neurologic or neurosurgical COVID-19–related articles published to date. This list can be used to identify high-impact studies that will help health care practitioners in clinical decision making and researchers in navigating key areas of study and guiding future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Assembly (WHA) approved the Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) in 2022. This ambitious project, formally called the Intersectoral Global Action Plan for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, is a 10-year plan to enhance neurology implementation worldwide and to raise the status of brain health and neurology services for patients with neurological diseases. The IGAP has 5 important components: relation with policy makers, therapy, prophylaxis, research, and public health. The implementation of IGAP is a challenge, not only for the specialty of neurology but for the whole neurological community, encompassing patients, carers, healthcare providers, and the public. The lack of a unified definition of neurology and the great variety of health systems, as well as the dependency on socioeconomic status, will necessitate custom-made solutions in all regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of neurological disorders exist in low- and middle-income countries, but these nations have the fewest neurologists and neurological training opportunities worldwide. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness, relevance, and feasibility of a five-day neurocritical care course delivered online to African healthcare workers and to understand participants' prior neurological and neurocritical care training experiences. We offered the Neurocritical Care Society's Emergency Neurological Life Support (ENLS) course covering 14 neurocritical conditions via Zoom to 403 African healthcare workers over a 4-day period. An additional day was devoted to management of neurological emergencies in resource-limited settings. Participants completed pre- and post-course surveys to assess the effectiveness, relevance, and feasibility of the overall course to their settings. 318 participants (46% female; 56% residents; 24% neurologists; 9.0 ± 6.7 years practicing medicine) from 11 African countries completed the pre-course self-assessment, and 232 completed the post-course self-assessment. 97% reported prior experience caring for patients with neurological emergencies but only 35% reported prior neurology training and 9% prior neurocritical care training. Pre-course and post-course comfort levels showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.001) across all fourteen neurocritical topics. 95% of participants found the course relevant to their current practice setting, 94% agreed the Zoom online platform was easy to use, and 93% reported it facilitated their learning. Suggestions for course improvement included addition of non-critical neurological conditions and inclusion of locally available diagnostics and treatment modalities. Study results suggest virtual platforms may offer a way to improve neurology training in areas with reduced neurological workforce. • A virtual neurocritical care course for African healthcare workers was effective. • Course could be improved by including locally available diagnostics and treatment. • Most participants regularly cared for patients with neurological emergencies. • Few participants had formal training in neurology or neurocritical care. • Virtual platforms could improve training in areas with few neurologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Functional neurological disorder; Conversion disorder; Dissociative neurological symptom disorder; Psychosomatic medicine EN Functional neurological disorder Conversion disorder Dissociative neurological symptom disorder Psychosomatic medicine N.PAG N.PAG 1 12/28/20 20210101 NES 210101 1 Introduction Previous research into the nature of functional neurological disorders (FND) has found differences in opinion between clinicians and between clinicians and patients [[1]]. Although differences of opinion exist regarding the aetiology of FND, there appears to be consensus around its potential for treatment and whether the symptoms are under any control by the patient. Functional neurological disorder, Conversion disorder, Dissociative neurological symptom disorder, Psychosomatic medicine. [Extracted from the article]

Functional neurological disorder (FND) has been considered a contentious topic in neurology literature. The current study findings highlight the need to earnestly address patients' FND symptoms. While it has been advocated that one of the first steps in FND treatment is patient education and their acceptance of the diagnosis, we would add that the very first step toward a successful treatment is believing in your patients' symptoms. [Extracted from the article]