Neuropediatrics 2019; 50(S 01): e1
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1685144
Editorial
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Abstracts of the 47th Annual Meeting of the SENP (Société Européenne de Neurologie Pédiatrique)–Paris, March 22–23, 2019

Elisa Fazzi
1   Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Civil Hospital, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Italy
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
26 March 2019 (online)

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

On behalf of the board and of local organizing committee it is a pleasure to present the selected abstracts of the 47th Annual Meeting of the Société Européenne de Neurologie Pédiatrique (SENP).

This year our meeting takes place in Paris, the historic cradle of our scientific society.

The program is quite exciting and, in many aspects, innovative.

The first day is focused on the effects of precariousness, environment and nutrition on brain, neurological problems in refugee, and migrant children … The new challenges that our discipline need take into account and understand for the future. The interaction between the environment and genetics plays a role in shaping the brain. It is fundamental to underline the impact of poverty on cerebral development as it affects the health and well-being of people through the negative effects of stress experiences starting early in infancy.

A poor environment has been linked to reduction in gray matter volumes, especially in the frontal and parietal areas, related with executive function abilities; it also limits opportunities relevant to an optimal development, such as an exposure to a rich and varied language. Furthermore, the child is subjected to chronic stressors that can negatively affect neurobiological development.

Therefore, it is important to promote prevention and early intervention programs, given the brain plasticity exhibited in specific critical periods, such as childhood.

The second day is going to be devoted to an update of neurological diseases which manifest in the neonatal period and in infancy.

The main issues in this field are related to new frontiers of cerebral reorganization and plasticity after brain damage and new techniques of exploration: neuroimaging, neurophysiology, and, last but not least, clinical aspects.

In this critical period, such as the neonatal period and the first years of life, neurological signs change according to the infant's age and neurodevelopmental milestones, as well as the clinical approach of the pediatric neurologist, which is very subtle and competent and highly specific, typical of our discipline.

The organizing committee, in particular Antoinette Gelot and François Rivier, our French board members are hosting us in the wonderful “ville Lumière” and we are very grateful for all their hard work.

As usual in addition to invited lectures and satellite symposia, there will be free communications and posters. We are pleased to present here several selected, peer-reviewed abstracts.

We want to thank the invited speakers for sharing their valuable scientific competencies during the conference and to all our colleagues for attending it.

The annual meeting of the SENP is an excellent opportunity to improve our scientific knowledge and exchange clinical and research experiences in a friendly atmosphere.