The Cochrane collaboration in neurology: acquisitions, research, and new initiatives

The Cochrane Collaboration (CC) is an international organization involving 16 national centers around the world, set up in response to the need for collecting all randomized controlled trials on health care interventions, with the aim of facilitating and coordinating the preparation, maintenance and dissemination of periodic systematic reviews of these trials. These are prepared by Collaborative Review Groups (CRGs) working together in an area of common interest under the guidance of an editorial team, supported by national Cochrane centers. Nine CRGs are involved in each neurological field, with more than 300 reviewers and members of editorial teams. For a review to be called a 'Cochrane review', it must be structured in the format outlined in the Cochrane Handbook. It is then published and disseminated through the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) in the Cochrane Library (CL). Each Cochrane review is prepared using the Review Manager software distributed to CRGs by CC. The editorial team is responsible for assembling an edited module of reviews prepared by CRGs for incorporation and dissemination using electronic media through the CDSR located in the CL. The CL contains information about the CC and 4 other databases: the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, the Cochrane Review Methodology Database and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database. The authors use an example of Cochrane reviews about cerebrovascular disorders to illustrate that the CL is a powerful source of evidence for answering clinical questions and providing information as a basis for therapeutic decisions, for the improvement of neurological practice. A new initiative, the Cochrane Neurological Network, has recently been set up with the aim of improving communication among neurological CRGs, and between them and health care professionals interested in neurological diseases so as to update neurologists on the activity of the CC.