Bulgarian National Congress in Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics

Report to ESO from the 5th Bulgarian National Congress in Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics

By Acad. Prof. EKATERINA TITIANOVA, MD, PhD, DSc, Head of the Clinic of Functional Diagnostics of Nervous System, Military Medical Academy – Sofia, Professor of Neurology and Head of Department, Medical Faculty of Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”, Academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Academician of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and Artists, President of the Bulgarian Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics

On October 4-6, 2019, the 5th National Congress with international participation of the Bulgarian Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics was held at the Hilton Hotel in Sofia, orhanized by its president Acad. Ekaterina Titianova. The Congress was attended by the president of the Neurosonology Research Group of the World Federation of Neurology (prof. Kurt Niederkorn – Austria) and the president of the European Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics (prof. Kladio Baracchini – Italy). The Forum was held in cooperation with the Military Medical Academy, Faculty of Medicine, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ”, National Sports Academy“ V. Levski », and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It was credited by the Bulgarian Medical Association.
Traditionally, the congress was multidisciplinary and integrating the interests of different specialists – neurologists, neurosurgeons, angiologists, interventional specialists, etc. Over 180 delegates from Austria, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Spain, students in medicine, nursing, kinesitherapy, medical rehabilitation and ergotherapy from various medical universities, National Vasil Levski Sports Academy and universities in North Macedonia.

The forum was dedicated to the latest developments in ultrasound diagnostics of the nervous system with a focus on stroke, which continues to be the second cause of death in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian presentations discussed the novelties in the management of stroke in Bulgaria (Acad. E. Titianova), the quality of stroke treatment (Prof. S. Andonova), the algorithm in tandem stenoses (Prof. M. Staneva), the prevention with antiaggregates and anticoagulant (Prof. N. Velinov et al.), the application of optical-coherent tomography (Prof. S. Cherninkova) and laser Doppler fluometry (Prof. Zl. Stoyneva) in Neurology. Practical training was conducted with demonstration of interesting clinical cases. Neuroprotection options were discussed in a satellite symposium of UCB.

The international symposium was dedicated to carotid stenoses (Prof. A. Arsovska – North Macedonia), carotid and vertebral dissections (Prof. K. Niederkorn – Austria), clinical spectrum of small vessel disease (Prof. B. Malojičić – Croatia), application of ultrasound diagnostics in endovascular treatment of stroke (Prof. C. Baracchini – Italy, Prof. B. Malojčić – Croatia), vascular cognitive impairment (Prof. N. Bornstein – Israel) and the new generation of carotid stents Dr. J.L. Gomez Huerta (Spain). The international criteria for closure of the persistent foramen ovale (PFO) was presented by Assoc. Prof. M. Mijajlovic from Serbia.

In four poster sessions 32 scientific presentations from different medical universities from Bulgaria and Serbia, NSA «V. Levski»and Republic of North Macedonia was competed for five awards.

The congress was accompanied by a satellite symposium on “Innovation in Medicine”, organized jointly with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts. It updates the National Interdisciplinary Consensus on the diagnosis and behavior of extracranial carotid stenoses.

On October 5, 2019, the Hilton Hotel celebrated the 15th anniversary of the creation of the Journal of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics-the only Bulgarian journal in the field of neuroscience referenced in several international scientific bases as the Emerging Souce Citation Index of Clarivate Analytics, NLM Catalog of PubMed, Web of Science, and VINITI Reference Journal.

The “Neurosonologist of the Year 2019” Award was given to Sonya Karakaneva, MD for her significant contributions to ultrasound diagnostics of the nervous system as a founder and General Secretary of the Bulgarian Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics.

For the first time, the forum was accompanied by the Art Therapy Exhibition – paintings dnd books made by patients with neurological diseases or the elderly.

About BULGARIAN SOCIETY OF NEUROSONOLOGY AND CEREBRAL HEMODYNAMICS

Bulgarian Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics (BSNCH) is founded in 2005 as a non-profitable organization, registered in Sofia. The Society is run in accordance with constitution, approved by the General Assembly. Its global aim is to perform a continuous education in the field of neurosonology in accordance with international criteria and ethics by organizing teaching courses and scientific meetings, editing educational materials, journals and books, establishing collaboration with similar international organizations, creating a website, elaborating a network of neurosonological laboratories in Bulgaria, giving practical aid of the members of the Society, etc. At presence, the Society has more than 150 active members, increasing every year. It has a central office in Sofia and two regional branches for the North and the South of the country.

Bulgarian Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics organizes annual meetings with international participation. The Society is editing and publishing, twice a year, the periodic bi-lingual (English-Bulgarian) scientific Journal “Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics”. The International Advisory Board provides the quality control of the scientific papers and recommends the editorial articles. The Journal is included in Web of Science and Emerging Sources Citation Index. It is accredited with 5 credits, category “D” by the Bulgarian Medical Association.

Past, present and future of the Society are announced on-line in the website www.neurosonology-bg.com. It gives the members an opportunity for network communication and continuous information concerning national and international news in neurosonology.