[ANTECEDENTS TO THE COMMENCEMENT AND HISTORY OF THE WEST-PANNONIC NEUROLOGICAL FORUM]

Numerous professional groups and sections for the medical specialities have been organized since 1953 in the West-Transdanubian region of Hungary, but such association of neurologists had not occured. ESTABLISHING THE WEST-PANNONIC NEUROLOGICAL FORUM: The lack of regional collaboration among neurologists was related to several factors, among which the most important factor was the lack of a regional medical university, which could coordinate the professional activities. This severe gap necessitated in 1998 the organization of a professional group, that has become a driver for case-consulting conferences and different postgraduate trainings for the physicians specialized in neurology, neurosurgery and neurorehabilitation in counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron, Vas, Veszpr6m and Zala. THE FUNCTIONING OF THE FORUM: Meetings are organized twice a year for physicians and paramedical staff (nurses, hospital attendants, physiotherapists) on Thursdays afternoons in different towns of the region, in two sections. The lectures are followed by a buffet, after which everyone can get home before too late. Ocasionally guest-lecturers are invited to present scientific topics from Hungarian universities or abroad. However, the main form of the presentations is defined as case discussion.

The numbers of platform and other presentations in the physicians's section have exceeded half a thousand, while in the paramedical section reached the three- hundreds. At the 38. meeting of the Forum in January of this year, the number of participants was more than two-hundreds, reflecting that both physicians and their coworkers are greatly interested in this form of interactions.