The 45th Annual Meeting of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society in Las Vegas, Nevada

Abstract

The North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) held its 45th annual meeting at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 16–21, 2019. The Frank B. Walsh Society meeting was hosted by the University of Pennsylvania group along with special experts in neuroradiology, Dr. Laurie Loevner, and neuropathologist, Dr. Zissimos Mourelatos. The award for best Walsh paper was presented to Dr. Paul R. Freund, and was entitled “Go with your Gut Feeling” (Fig. 1).FIG. 1.: Dr. Paul R. Freund (left) won the award for best Frank B. Walsh session paper presentation by a fellow. The award was presented by Drs. Peter Quiros (middle) and Andrew Lee (right).Once again, the educational symposia were exceptional. “New Information I Should Know” highlighted neuro-immunological therapies from encephalitis to migraine. “Hot Topics” covered treatment of commonly encountered neuro-ophthalmic disorders. An educational session, “Retinal Microvascular Changes and Neurologic Disorders,” provided insight into retinal microvascular changes in relation to acute and chronic neurologic diseases. Dr. Tien Yin Wong reported on the advancement in artificial intelligence in retinal imaging. Drs. David Newman-Toker and Dan Gold thoroughly highlighted the approach to dizziness and vertigo. On the final day, pediatric neuro-ophthalmology topics were highlighted, including the evaluation of children vs. adults and a case-based approach to eye movement disorders in children. The Jacobson Lecture featured Dr. Nancy Newman's talk, “Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy: From Bedside to Bench to Bedside.” This presentation traced the history of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy from clinical recognition, to discovery of the first point mutation in mitochondrial DNA, to ground-breaking attempts at gene therapy (Fig. 2).FIG. 2.: Dr. Nancy Newman, our 2019 Jacobson Lecturer.This year's optional symposia were very popular and included a dynamic skills transfer session on extraocular muscle and vestibular testing, along with a session providing updates in headache medicine important for neuro-ophthalmologists. Two additional symposia included “Reading an OCT Like We Read an MRI” and “Worldwide Wonders: Cases Defining the International Language of Neuro-Ophthalmology.” This year's meeting offered two poster sessions, featuring 248 posters divided between 125 Clinical Highlights in Neuro-Ophthalmology on Sunday afternoon during the Walsh Session and 123 posters on Scientific Advancement in Neuro-Ophthalmology on Tuesday afternoon. There were three insightful scientific platform sessions. This year's awardees were as follows: James A. Sharpe Award by a Fellow: Melanie N. Truong-Le, DO, OD—“Reflex Upper and Lower Eyelid Movement in Response to Light Stimuli.” Best Abstract by a Resident: Michael J. Gilhooley, MA, MB, BChir, FRCOphth—“Melanopsin: targeted ectopic expression for optogenetic visual restoration.” Best Abstract by a Student: Perry J. Thompson, BA—“Near Infrared Videography versus Direct Ophthalmoscopy for the Detection of Spontaneous Venous Pulsations.” 2019 Pilot Grant Award: Heather Moss, MD, PhD, for her project “Optic Nerve Biomechanics in High Intracranial Pressure States.” The Thomas and Susan Carlow Young Investigator Award: Ghislaine L. Traber, MD, for her project “The Untuned Visuo-Temporal Cortex in Patients with Visual Snow.” Hoyt Lecture Award (given at the AAO in 2018): Joseph F. Rizzo III, MD, for his presentation of the William F. Hoyt Lecture “Unraveling the Enigma of Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy.” NANOS Merit Awards (for extraordinary contributions of time, energy, and resources to NANOS): Sachin Kedar, MD; Lanning Kline, MD; Christian J. Lueck, PhD, FRACP, FRCP (UK), FAAN. J. Lawton Smith Award (given a top original contribution published in the JNO): Hong Jiang, MD, for her paper “Altered Macular Microvasculature in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer Disease.” Thomas Carlow Distinguished Service Award: Nancy J. Newman, MD, for her lifetime contributions to NANOS and the field of Neuro-Ophthalmology (Fig. 3).FIG. 3.: Dr. Nancy Newman (middle) received the Thomas Carlow Distinguished Service Award. She was introduced by Dr. Paul Phillips (left).Pilot Grant Leadership Development Award: Barbara Yates, MD. AAO Leadership Development Program Nominee: John Chen, MD, PhD. The 2019 meeting had an all-time high attendance with 738 registrants from 39 countries! Our international members made up 29% of the attendees! The annual banquet was held in the hotel with an amazing NON-STOP dancing frenzy until the end! Janel Fick, Trish Shomion, Toma Ossian, and Tara Thebeau hosted another very well-organized meeting. The 46th NANOS annual meeting will be Amelia Island, Florida, March 7–12, 2020. Thanks to all for their hard work and support of the annual meeting!