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Pre-course: Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy

The European Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy Network (EDCPN) will be organising a pre-course session on Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy on Tuesday 28 May 2024.

Title: ‘Unraveling dyskinetic cerebral palsy: bridging theory and practice toward better evaluation, understanding, and treatment management’ 

Summary

Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is a childhood-onset condition characterised by the complexity of dystonia and choreoathetosis as two distinct but often simultaneously present movement disorders. The heterogeneity in the presence and severity of movement disorders renders dyskinetic cerebral palsy a challenging diagnosis, particularly as the translation of evidence-based knowledge into clinical guidelines remains limited.

The European Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy Network (EDCPN) is a network of experts in the field whose joint efforts aim to (1) increase insights into the evaluation, understanding, and management of dyskinetic cerebral palsy, (2) bridge evidence with guidelines useful for the clinical practice, and (3) strengthen international collaborations and expand the network. With these goals in mind, the EDCPN invites fellow researchers and clinicians to join the EACD 2024 Pre-course on Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy on Tuesday 28 May 2024.

Outline

The Pre-course is organised in two main parts: a morning (theoretical) and afternoon (practical) session.

During the morning session, European, American, and Australian experts, will highlight the most recent evidence (as well as controversies) regarding definitions, evaluation, understanding, and management of dyskinetic cerebral palsy. The talks will be followed by an hour-long thought-provoking panel discussion.

The afternoon session foresees hands-on training and interactive workshops through two parallel sessions. In the first workshop, attendees will practice scoring the presence and severity of dystonia and choreoathetosis using the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale, a video-based scale to assess movement disorders in dyskinetic cerebral palsy. In the second workshop, members of the EDCPN will prepare and present 4-6 challenging clinical cases, each of which will be thoroughly discussed toward a consensus on evaluation – understanding – and management.

At the end of the Pre-course, attendees will engage in an interactive discussion concerning needs and perspectives in the field, as well as the position of EDCPN as a future go-to community and platform for shared knowledge and (multidisciplinary) collaborations.

Learning Objectives

  1. Getting acquainted with the latest advancements in evaluating, understanding, and managing movement disorders in dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
  2. Hands-on training to discriminate and evaluate dystonia and choreoathetosis using reliable clinical assessments.
  3. Bridging theoretical knowledge with practical skills by analysing specific clinical cases to create a comprehensive evaluation and treatment profile.