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It is our pleasure to present the Proceedings of the 16th
International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and
Related Disorders (16th ICPD) which took place in Berlin
from June 5–9, 2005. This congress was the most successful
congress ever with more than 3500 participants in the
roaring German capital, consisting of an innovative program
and with emphasis on bringing basic and clinical scientists
together. Special attention has was paid in inviting young
scientists. Therefore, the major aspect of scientific sessions
was to identify young and up coming individuals in the field,
with novel approaches to PD and novel models as a whole.
The congress gave us the opportunity to present Germany and
its capital after the burden of recent history in the new light
of a reunified and peaceful country. We have succeeded in
presenting the country as an important part of Europe and as
a country of arts, architecture and renewal. The Congress attracted
new friends from more than 75 countries worldwide.
For this reason, we are most thankful to the World Federation
of Neurology (WFN), Research Group on Parkinsonism
and Related Disorders (RGPD), chaired by Professor Donald
Calne for bringing this congress to Germany!
The Congress had many highlights with lectures covering
all the major fields in PD and Related Disorders. The
opening ceremony was highlighted by the inspiring presentation
of Nobel Laureate Paul Greengard who lectured on
dopamine-related signalling pathways in the brain, followed
by thewelcome addresses by Professor Riederer, President of
the 16th ICPD, Professor Calne, President of theWFN-RGPD,
Dr. Slewett, President emeritus of the National Parkinson
Foundation,Miami,USA (NPF), Professor Kimura, President
WFN, Professor Reichmann, President German Parkinson
Society and Professor Einh€aupl, Chairman of the Germany
Science Council. The speeches were followed by a musical
interlude of the ‘‘Sunday Night Orchestra’’ and the award
ceremony of the WFN Research Committee on Parkinsonism
and Related Disorders. The welcome reception presented
typical German dishes and drinks. |
