10 ECTS credits
300 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 6021813ENR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.
The following special skills will be dealt with:
Autonomously handle, diagnose and treat the most common diseases and/or situations in the clinic
Examination of the neurological patient with consciousness disorder
Give an indication, perform and interpret the result of lumbar punctures
Give an indication, perform and assess the result of neurophysiological examinations: EEG, EMG, evoked potentials, central motoric conduction, doppler investigation neck- and cranial vessels
Perform and interpret a funduscopy in the most common disorders
Autonomously act as a responsible at the emergency department
Correctly assess when consulting a specialist from a different discipline is necessary
Guide students at level 1 of the education of specialist physician
Targeted participation in scientific research as part of the Master’s thesis
Improve the performance and efficiency of the own handling (as a specialist physician in training) within the department
Main final goals of syndromes:
Sleep/coma/brain death
Organization of normal sleep and sleep stages
Techniques of polysomnographic registration
Main sleep pathologies and their treatment
Evaluation coma stages (Glasgow Scale)
Plan coma review, recognize etiologies and strategic plan of care
Be familiar with all technical and medicolegal aspects of determining brain death and transplant
Headache
Thorough knowledge of the various types of headache
Anamnesis and diagnostic orientation in the headache clinic
Indication statement of additional examinations
Thorough knowledge on the treatment of migraine and other forms of headache
Thorough knowledge on the pharmacology of preventive anti-migraine drugs for treating an attack
Pain syndromes
Semiology and physiopathology of acute and chronic pains
Neuropathic pains in peripheral and central injuries
Be familiar with the gradations for the evaluation of pain
Pharmacology of analgesics with focus on mechanisms of action
Non-pharmacological treatments: TENS, neurosurgery, physiotherapy
Management of specific syndromes: neoplastic diseases, neuropathic pains and algodystrophy
Epilepsy: seizures and syndromes
Recognize and be familiar with differential diagnoses of all types of epileptic crises and epileptic syndromes
Thorough knowledge on physiopathology of epileptic seizures and epileptogenesis
Through theoretical and practical knowledge on EEG correlates
Acquire thorough knowledge on pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of anti-epileptics
Thorough knowledge on the mechanisms of action of anti-epileptics
Practical knowledge and experience on prescribing anti-epileptics according to the type of seizure
Knowledge on pharmaceutical interactions and side-effects
Be familiar with indications of surgery and nervus vagus stimulation in epilepsy
Neurovascular diseases
Thorough knowledge on anamnesis and neurological examination in cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), ischemic or hemorrhagic
Thorough knowledge on indications and interpretation of additional examinations in emergencies
Thorough knowledge on etiology of the CVA, ischemic and/or hemorrhagic
Management of the CVA in emergencies
Management in emergencies of a transient ischemic attack (TIA)
Management of TIA and DVA in the long-term (secondary
prevention)
Non-traumata pathology of the spinal cord and spinal roots
Thorough knowledge on anatomy, physiology and semiology
Fast diagnosis of spinal cord compression and cauda equina syndrome
Strategy for emergency additional examinations with interpretation RX, CT and MRI
Perform lumbar puncture and interpret results for spinal cord and spinal roots pathology
Indications for (emergency) surgery of spinal cord and spinal roots pathology
Diseases to the motoneuron
Thorough knowledge on the anatomopathology, physiopathology hypothese and semiology
Thorough knowledge on electrophysiological diagnosis forecole suffering
Diagnosis and management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Differential diagnosis of ALS and spinal amyotrophy’s
Diseases to the peripheral nervous system
Thorough knowledge on semiology and electrophysiology of the peripheral neuropathy
Thorough knowledge on the main types of peripheral neuropathies: mononeuropathies, polyneuropathies, mononeuritis multiplex, polyradiculoneuritis
Additional examinations necessary for identification and etiology of a neuropathy
Symptomatic treatment of the neuropathy, including neuropathic pains
Etiological treatment of neuropathies
Muscle diseases and neuromuscular transition
Thorough knowledge on clinical semiology a
nd clinical electrophysiology of muscle diseases
Thorough knowledge on clinical semiology and clinical electrophysiology of diseases to the neuromuscular endplate: myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome
Thorough knowledge on clinical semiology and EMG of the muscle dystrophies (Becker, Duchenne), the myotonic syndromes and the metabolic myopathies
Thorough knowledge of the myositides
Know additional examinations, necessary to find out the precise etiology of muscle diseases
Know the management of all muscle pathologies and the treatment of myasthenia syndromes
Know the management of internist and endocrine disorders in Steinert
Multiple sclerosis and neuro-inflammatory diseases to the central nervous system
Thorough knowledge on physiopathology, epidemiology and the hypotheses on etiopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS): initial symptoms, the big syndromes, evolution types
Thorough knowledge on diagnostic criteria of MS based on MRI criteria, evoked potentials and other CSV analysis techniques
Thorough knowledge and experience in treating flares of MS and symptomatic treatment
Thorough knowledge and experience in the use of immunomodulating treatments
Knowledge on the variants of MS and differential diagnosis with ADEM and Devic syndrome
Knowledge on indications of more aggressive immunosuppressants (e.g. mitoxantrone)
Infectious diseases to the CNS and meningitis
Diagnose and acute treatment of meningitis and encephalitis
Be familiar with the neurological and infectious complications of HIV/AIDS
Diagnosis of all diseases cause by prions
Know the differential diagnosis of non-infectious meningitis
Neurodegenerative pathology / dementia
Diagnose dementia in the first phase, based on anamnesis, clinic and additional examinations
Be familiar with evaluation scaling of cognitive degradation
Competence in evaluation of memory disorders, language disorders, gnostic complaints, dyspraxia
Be familiar with diagnosis and management ‘mild cognitive impairment’
Differential diagnosis dementia/confusion
Diagnose based on MRI, SPECT and PET scans
Thorough knowledge on morbus Alzheimer, frontotemporal dementias, vascular dementias, dementia with Lewy bodies
Know symptomatic therapies of conformational disorders in dementia sufferers
Have experience in the use of cholinesterase inhibitors
Parkinson syndrome
Competence in the clinical diagnosis of Parkinson syndrome
Competence in the differential diagnosis between idiopathic Parkinson and ‘Parkinson plus’
Be familiar with clinical evolution of the main Parkinson syndromes
Interpretation of additional examinations: NMR, CT, DAT scan
Be familiar with anamnesis and diagnosis of iatrogenic Parkinson syndromes
Thorough knowledge on neurotransmitter biochemistry to understand the basics of treatment
Abnormal movements
Thorough knowledge on special movement disorders: chorea, myoclions, tics, tardive dyskinesias, dystonias, tremor…
Be acquainted with the diagnostic procedure: a
namnesis, semiology, additional examinations (MRI, electrophysiology)
Management of Huntington’s disease, myoclions, tic syndromes, tardive dyskinesias
Thorough knowledge on the primary and secondary dystonia syndromes
Thorough knowledge of the various tremors
Diagnosis and treatment of Wilson’s disease and syndrome of Gilles de la Tourette
Neuro-oncology
General knowledge on oncology and the particularities of the developmental biology of brain tumors
Knowledge on elementary neuropathology and the classification of the main types of brain tumors: gliomas, lymphomas, meningiomas, pituitary tumors and medullar tumors
Knowledge on the natural evolution, topographical forms and special localizations of gliomas, lymphomas, meningiomas, pituitary tumors and medullar tumors
Knowledge on the special neurological complications of metastases (brain metastases, meningeal invasion…)
Knowledge on the paraneoplastic syndromes with their physiopathology and treatment
Knowledge on the indications of various additional examinations for the diagnosis of brain tumors and spinal cord tumors: CT, NMR, PET-scan
Knowledge on the indications and complications of surgical, radiotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic treatment plans
Neurometabolic pathologies
Thorough knowledge on the neurology of diabetic coma: hypo-and hyperglycemic coma and hyperosmolar coma
Thorough knowledge on the central complications of ion disorders, avitaminosis (B1 Wernicke encephalopathy), alcoholism, hepatitis encephalopathy
Knowledge on the additional examinations that permit to diagnose the mitochondrial, peroxisomal and lysosomal diseases
Neurotoxicology
Recognize and track intoxications caused by heavy metals, solvents, pesticides and insecticides
Recognize intoxications: bacterial and plant toxins (botulism)
Recognize iatrogenic toxic complications in pharmaceuticals: neuroleptics, depressive serotonin syndrome, iatrogenic myasthenia
Recognize the complications of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and vaccinations
Neurotraumatology
Main lesions in skull trauma
Management in emergencies and control of patients with skull trauma and conscience disorders
Clinical diagnosis and radiological investigations in patients with acute complications of a skull trauma: subdural hematoma, extradural he
matoma
Knowledge on late complications of skull trauma: chronic subdural hematoma
Knowledge on traumatic intellectual effects: memory disorders, cognitive function disorders, behavioral disorders
Knowledge on post-traumatic epileptic symptoms
Knowledge on the methods of re-education and re-integration and medicolegal aspects of skull trauma
Neuropediatrics
Neuropediatrics is a special ability following the training of neurology or pediatrics
For the basic education of neurology, the following final goals are relevant:
Scheme of reviewing a syndrome in a child as a function of age
Knowledge on neuro-pediatric syndromes: developmental disorders, metabolic disorders and hereditary degenerative diseases
Management of neurological and neuropsychological handicap of the child
Neurogenetics
Use of neurogenetic examination in diagnostics of neurological diseases
Physical medicine and neurological revalidation
Knowledge on theoretical concepts in neurological revalidation and measuring the quality of life and spasticity
Orthopedic percussions of neurological pathologies
Evaluation and treatment of spasticity
Evaluation and treatment of sphincter disorders
Neuro-ophthalmology
Knowledge on neuro-anatomy and neurophysiology of the vision- and eyelid movements
Clinic of the vision- and eyelid movement disorders
Examination methodology in neuro-ophthalmology
Neuro-urology
Knowledge of the neuro-anatomy and neurophysiology of the urinary tracts and bladder function
Clinic of disorders to the urinary tract and bladder
Psychiatry for the neurologist
Neurological expression for psychiatric diseases
Management of the main psychiatric phenomena in neurological patients
Neurologist as an expert
Knowledge on the legal framework of judicial and other expertise’s
Determination of invalidity
The neurologist as an expert in the court
WORKING METHODS
Sessions for technical skills (EEG, EMG, Eps, MEPs, doppler neck- and cranial vessels)
Application in the daily practice
OLR 2: Has acquired the skills, inherent to the specialism, and applies these correctly (M).
OLR 17: Keeps further developing and improving own skills (M).
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Portfolio with performance interviews and assessment interview at the end, level expert plus (100%)
DOPS – Medbook
PASS/FAIL
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Specialist Medicine: Neurology (only offered in Dutch)