Eginition Hospital, 1st Department of Neurology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

The 1st Department of Neurology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens at Eginition Hospital was founded in 1964 and was until 2003 the only University department of Neurology in Athens. Ever since its foundation the department has held a leading position at a national level as a center of expertise for the care of patients with rare and complex neurological diseases, for the specialized training of health care professionals (HCP) in these disorders, as well as for basic and applied research into rare and complex neurological conditions. Within the context of this expertise, the 1st Depatment of Neurology has developed several specialized inpatient sections, clinical and laboratory units, as well as outpatient clinics staffed by HCP trained in rare neuromuscular diseases and supported by the necessary multidisciplinary teams. Within the field of rare neuromuscular disorders, the department includes: 1) A clinical inpatient section, devoted to neuromuscular disorders, specializing in the diagnosis and management of common and rare neuromuscular diseases 2) Affiliated Units such as the Laboratory of Myopathology with a longstanding experience in the diagnosis and research of muscle diseases, the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology which also has a longstanging experience in the diagnosis and research of neuromuscular diseases, the Neuroimaging Unit providing multimodal MRI, the Neurogenetics Unit, which is unique in its kind at a national level, specialized in molecular genetic diagnosis, clinical management and genetic counselling of patients with rare neuromuscular disorders and the Neuropsychology Unit. 3) Specialized outpatient clinics for (a) muscle diseases (b) motor neuron diseases (c) peripheral neuropathies, (d) neuromuscular junction diseases and (e) neurogenetics. The 1st Department of Neurology is part of a fully equipped specialized Neurology and Psychiatry University Hospital (“Eginition” Hospital) closely linked geographically and functionally to “Aretaieio” and “Alexandra” University Hospitals, with full cover by specialized neurologists and other medical and surgical specialties and intensive care facilities