Special Session 8 - Latest Progress in Neuroscience

Functional neurosurgery is a subspecialty that deals with functional disorders of the CNS system, for example, Parkinson's disease, movement disorders, epilepsy and pain. The development of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) enables widespread applications in functional neurosurgery. DBS thus becomes the trailblazer of electrical stimulation therapy to manage many neurological and psychological disorders, and allows growing understanding of the brain and deep brain functions. 
The pioneering contributions to neuro-modulation by the Neurosurgery and Neurology team of Prince of Wales Hospital testify to their commitment to providing up-to-date and quality medical care. They performed the first DBS for Parkinson's disease in 1997. It was the first in Hong Kong as well as in Asia. The first DBS for dystonia was done in 2004, and the first DBS for genetic inherited generalized dystonia was in 2006. In subsequent years, the group achieved more milestones, including the first DBS for major depression (2010), the first DBS for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) (2011), the first DBS for drug-resistant epilepsy (2015), the first DBS for Essential tremor (2016), and DBS for genetic-related dystonia in the youngest-ever patient (a four-year-old child) in 2020. In additional, PWH became the first center in Hong Kong to perform DBS under general anaesthesia. Over the years, more than 200 patients with Parkinson's disease, dystonia and epilepsy have implanted DBS and experienced significant improvements to their lives-60% reduction in symptoms, 60% less drug usage, and a substantial enhancement in the quality of life. The therapy, with proven cost-effectiveness, was adopted as a standard therapy by Hospital Authority in 2013.
The Functional Neuroscience Team's journey reflects a commitment to people-centered care, a determination to pioneering medical advancements, and a culture of collaborative excellence. The story is a testament to the transformative impact a healthcare team can make in neuroscience collaboration.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global population’s physical, mental, and behavioral well-being through complex, multilateral mechanisms. Understanding the phenomena of ‘long-COVID’ is important for our clinical management of these patients and the preparedness for future coronavirus pandemics. In this talk, I will present up-to-date literature on the post-acute neuropsychiatric syndrome related to COVID-19 infection. In particular, I will focus our research on chronic post-COVID neuropsychiatric syndromes in the Hong Kong context. Our interim results suggest that chronic post-COVID neuropsychiatric syndromes are a heterogeneous entity. I will present data on the socioeconomic, clinical, and neurocognitive characteristics of patients suffering from these syndromes.

Advances in reperfusion therapy greatly improve outcome of acute ischemic stroke. Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) became current standard treatment for stroke with large vessels occlusion. With the latest evidence, the indication of EVT keep expanding regarding the time window and size of infarct core. This brings new hope to stroke patient and yet also brings challenges to frontline medical staff such as stroke team and emergency care.


In this session, the speaker will summarize current reperfusion strategy in acute ischemic stroke and briefly discuss the challenges of modern stroke triage.