History of African neurology

Abstract

Background The History of African neurology is not well known. Objective Through this communication, our objective is to shed light on this barely History of African Neurology, which is very exciting, rich and rapidly evolving. Its rapid evolution, over the last fifty years is the result of the evolvement of its youth and its training schools. Patients and Methods / Material and Methods At the very beginning, it was confused with the History of Tropical Neurology, until the awareness, around 1950th, by the first neurologists, true pioneers, who worked in sub-Saharan Africa, that cultural and environmental factors conferred genuine specificity to African neurology. Results Since that time, African neurosciences has been structured and developed, contributing to the birth of Neurological Societies in some African countries, then the Pan African Association of Neurological Sciences (PAANS), continental structure, which was the first major cluster of neurologists and neurosurgeons on the continent. In August 2015, the African Academy of Neurology (AfAN) was set up in Dakar, with the aim of bringing together African Neurologists. This Academy, which was created thanks to the joint will of new pioneers and the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), allowed the recognition of neurology in the African continent, alongside other great regional Academies around the world. Conclusion African neurosciences have emerged from the shadows, allowing, in particular, a deepening of the knowledge in neuroepidemiology and the role of socio-economic, ethnographic and cultural factors.