The Colombian Movement Disorders Symposium

The Flagship of the Colombian Movement Disorders Committee and a Treasure in Latin America

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The Colombian Movement Disorders Symposium is an annual two-day conference organized by the Colombian Neurological Association and their Movement Disorders Committee. It is designed primarily for practicing neurologists and neurology residents, and other healthcare providers also attend. The main purpose is to provide the most up-to-date information for diagnosing and treating Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.

It has become the most important local meeting of this field in Colombia.  

The first version of this Symposium started back in 2006 in Bogotá, led by Dr. Claudia Moreno, with Prof. Eduardo Tolosa from Spain, invited as a keynote speaker. The second one was in 2010 after the Colombian Movement Disorders Committee was consolidated with Dr. Claudia Moreno and other movement disorders specialists such as Drs. Oscar Bernal-Pacheco, William Fernández, Omar Buriticá, Mauricio Rueda-Acevedo, and Gabriel Arango. Since then, the Symposium continued to be held every two years in a different Colombian city until 2014, when it became an annual event. During these years, with the adherence of more Colombian young neurologists trained in Movement Disorders, the Symposium has continued to grow.  

Several renowned international Movement Disorder specialists have joined the Symposium as faculty, including Michael Okun (USA), Francesc Valldeoriola (Spain), María José Martí (Spain), Federico Micheli (Argentina),  Ramón Rodríguez (USA), Elena Moro (France), Jerrold Vitek (USA), Hubert Fernandez (USA), Marcelo Merello (Argentina), Pedro Chana (Chile), Mayela Rodríguez (Mexico), Irene Litvan (USA), Joseph Friedman (USA), Alfonso Fasano (Canada), Andrés de la Cerda (Chile), Regina Katzenschlager (Austria), and Fabrizio Stocchi (Italy). In 2016, the Colombian Movement Disorders Committee became an MDS Affiliate Society, bringing additional educational opportunities. In 2019, through the MDS Ambassador Program, Prof. Günther Deuschl (Germany) and Prof. Tiago Mestre (Canada) attended the Movement Disorders Symposium as main speakers.  

The challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic led to the 2020 and 2021 symposiums being virtual. However, this allowed at least 20 different notable international speakers to come together, which enriched its high academic quality. The Virtual 2021 Colombian Movement Disorders Symposium gathered over 500 participants from Colombia and ten different other countries. The last editions of the Symposium have included sessions on different topics, with faculty lectures, a session of controversies, and a time frame dedicated to clinical cases. A Video Challenge session was also incorporated, permitting attendees' interactive participation and feedback from the faculty during each case presentation. The 12th Colombian Movement Disorders Symposium will be held at the end of August 2022, entirely in-person or in a hybrid format, including local and international faculty.  

The Colombian Movement Disorders Symposium has helped spread knowledge about movement disorders in Colombia and Latin America, bringing together some of the most important world experts to the region, improving the diagnosis and treatment of these pathologies, and increasing interest in the field among general neurologists and residents.
 

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