Conference Report: The 14th European Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (EUNOS) Meeting, Porto, Portugal, 16-19 June 2019

Abstract

The 14th European Neuro-ophthalmology Society (EUNOS) Meeting took place in the city of Porto, Portugal, from 16 to 19 June 2019. The meeting was held in Alfândega Congress Centre, the historic recovered custom warehouse. The building is located on the north bank of Douro river, in the historic medieval area of the city, that has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1996. We had the largest attendance ever with 537 registrants from 43 different countries. (Figure 1) I owe much gratitude to the EUNOS board for selecting Porto as the venue, and to the local and scientific committees for giving structure to the programme. The assumption that the organising and scientific committees worked with in planning the meeting was that each of us longs to be as excellent as possible in the work we do in the field of neuroophthalmology, this means training our clinical capabilities, broadening our knowledge and sometimes challenging our assumptions. So, the programme was diverse and covered several fields of neuroophthalmology, which allowed participants an individualised and high quality update. The first day (Sunday, 16 June) was the first time that EUNOS has had a joint meeting with the European Optic Nerve Research Network (EUPON). This scientific gathering was promoted by Patrick Yu-Wai-Man (Cambridge, UK). It featured four Optic Nerve Sessions: “Acquired Optic Neuropathies”, “From Genes to Disease”, “Neuroprotection and Neurodegeneration” and “Translational Research and Network”. The day ended with the Opening Ceremony and a Welcome Reception at the Noble Hall of the Congress Centre, on the quay of the Douro River, facing the aweinspiring Douro bridges and wine cellars, while listening to some music and tasting Port wine and Portuguese cuisine. It was an excellent social event, promoting new friendships and collaborations. (Figure 2) On the following three days the scientific programme included keynote lectures, five minisymposiums, two interactive clinical cases sessions, two teaching courses and one platform session. The EUNOS meeting had three keynote lectures: