Myoclonus (Volume 12)

Myoclonous, Volume 11 in the International Review of Movement Disorders series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on topics such as Classification & Scales & Treatment, Electrophysiology, Diagnostic approach including differential diagnosis, Clinical Myclonus Syndromes, Cortical myclonus tremor, Spectrum of Progressive myclonus ataxia - Progressive myclonus epilepsy, Myclonus-dystonia, Functional myclonus, Genetic myclonus including genetic Metabolic disorders causing myclonus, Acquired myclonus (Toxic- and drug-induced, hypoxic-ischemic, Metabolic (non-genetic) and Inflammatory myclonus), Autoimmune and paraneoplastic myclonus, Neurodegenerative disorders and myclonus, and much more.

Professor Peter Jenner is a specialist in preclinical aspects of neurodegenerative diseases, notably Parkinson’s disease. He has spent the major part of his career at King’s College London where he was Head of Pharmacology for 14 years before returning to his research roots and subsequently becoming Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology. Peter has expertise in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics but neuropharmacology based on functional models of neurodegenerative diseases has formed the major focus of his work. Peter holds a BPharm, PhD and DSc degree from the University of London. He has published well over 1000 articles with more than 700 peer reviewed papers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the British Pharmacological Society, the Royal Society of Medicine and of King’s College London. Peter was recently honoured with a Doctor Honoris Causa degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest and made an Honorary Fellow of The British Pharmacological Society for his contribution to research in to movement disorders.

Peter has worked closely with the pharmaceutical industry for many years and acts as an adviser and consultant to both major pharma and biotech companies. He has a wide knowledge of the drug discovery and drug development process and has been involved from molecule synthesis through to drug registration for use in man. Peter was the Founder, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Proximagen, a biotech focussed on the treatment and cure of neurodegenerative diseases that was listed on AIMs and subsequently purchased by a US based healthcare company. He is a regular speaker at international meetings and also takes time to speak at Parkinson’s disease patient-carer groups across the UK.

Cristian Falup-Pecurariu is Head of the Department of Neurology, County Clinic Hospital from Brasov, and is Full Professor of Neurology at the Transilvania University from Brasov, Romania. He received his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu” from Cluj-Napoca. He hold a 1 year fellowship of the European Neurological Society in movement disorders at Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain.

During his career Cristian Falup-Pecurariu was President of the European Association of Young Neurologists and Trainees (EAYNT), EAYNT Liasion Officer with World Federation of Neurological Society, co-representative of Europe on the International Working Group for Young Neurologists and Trainees (World Federation of Neurology). He was also Secretary of the EFNS/MDS-ES Panel on Movement Disorders, member of the Educational Committee of MDS-ES, member of the MDS Leadership Task Force and European Academy of Neurology Scientific Panel Movement Disorders, member of the Teaching Course sub-Committee of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), currently being member of the Program Committee of EAN. Falup-Pecurariu is former Chair of the Education Committee of the MDS-ES, former member of the Executive Committee of MDS-ES, former member of the International Executive Committee of MDS. He is the initiator and Course Director of the Movement Disorders Teaching Course held in Brasov (12^th editions). His research focuses on motor and non-motor aspects of Parkinson’s diseases.

Professor Bhidayasiri graduated in medicine from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, in 1993, receiving membership of the Royal College of Physicians of London and Ireland in 1998 and certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 2005. He was awarded the fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 2008 and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2010.

Professor Bhidayasiri established the Chulalongkorn Centre of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease, the tertiary care centre affiliated with Chulalongkorn University, providing multidisciplinary care for patients with PD, tremor, dystonia, and various forms of movement disorders in Thailand. His research interests are in data science and technology-based objective assessment, with several of the devices he has developed with his team adopted for clinical use, including a diagnostic tremor algorithm, a nocturnal device for monitoring nocturnal hypokinesia, a tremor suppression glove, a PD shoe, and a PD anti-choking mug. Importantly, adjustable laser-guided walking stick has been taken on nationwide by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand for patients with freezing of gait, with established cost-effectiveness. He is currently working with various stakeholders to implement national digital screening for PD, and nationwide lifestyle preventive strategies focusing on the mantra “Eat, Move, Sleep”.

Professor Bhidayasiri serves as the Specialty Chief Editor for the section Neurotechnology in Frontiers in Neurology and Associate Editor of Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. He published the first American Academy of Neurology practice parameters for tardive syndromes with Stan Fahn, and also three international textbooks, with his first “Neurological Differential Diagnosis”, being one of the best-selling neurological textbooks on amazon.com in 2005. A Lancet review called it “a pearl of a book for any clinician who is asked to assess patients with symptoms and signs, suggestive of neurological disorders”. The other two books are International Neurology (endorsed by the World Federation of Neurology), and Movement Disorders: A Video Atlas. In addition, he has authored over 230 peer-reviewed publications and has filed 17 patent and petty-patent applications on algorithms, wearable sensors, and assistive devices.

Professor Bhidayasiri has received both a National Distinguished Researcher in Medical Sciences Award and the President’s Distinguished Service Award from the MDS in 2015, and a Leader in Innovation Fellowship Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) in 2016. He is also a member of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Thailand, a past chair of the Asian-Oceanian section of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS-AOS) and currently an international executive committee member of the MDS.