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I am Masashi Aoki, a professor of neurology at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, and I have been appointed as the new president, succeeding Dr. Satoshi Kuwabara. The Research Group for Neurological Therapeutics, the predecessor of this society, was established in 1983 when there were few treatments for neurological diseases, with the aim of spreading knowledge about treatments and providing the best treatments at that time in daily practice. This society was established in 1992 with the aim of promoting the development of therapeutics, education and enlightenment, and the development of new treatments, with the treatment of neurological diseases at its core. Dr. Keizo Hirayama of Chiba University, who built the foundation of neurology in Japan, was appointed as the first president. Subsequent presidents were Dr. Kazuro Takahashi, Dr. Kunio Tashiro, Dr. Yasuto Itoyama, Dr. Kenji Nakashima, Dr. Koichi Hirata, and Dr. Satoshi Kuwabara, and the society has developed as a result of being led and nurtured by these wonderful leaders. During that time, neurotherapeutics has made great strides, and we are now in the era of molecular targeted therapy.

The diseases that neurology deals with range from common diseases such as headache, dizziness, numbness, and forgetfulness (dementia) to neurological emergency diseases such as stroke (cerebrovascular disease), encephalitis, and epilepsy, as well as rare diseases such as degenerative diseases and neuroimmune diseases. Currently, development of pharmaceuticals is progressing in all of these areas, and the central nervous system area is attracting the most attention as a target for drug discovery both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, academic-led drug development through investigator-initiated clinical trials is also achieving great results. On the other hand, there is also a need to address the so-called drug lag and loss, where drugs used overseas cannot be used in Japan or are introduced late.

To date, our society has 1) published numerous guidelines on "standard neurological treatment," 2) clarified medical needs for neurological diseases through surveys, 3) planned academic conferences jointly with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), and 4) deepened ties with the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics (ASENT) in the United States by sending speakers to each other's academic conferences.

We would like to continue to deepen the collaboration between industry, academia, and government, and fully fulfill our role of "delivering many new treatments as an academic society specializing in treatment." Although we are a traditional academic society, we also have a relatively high degree of freedom, so we would like to take on new challenges, and we appreciate your continued support.

November 2024

President of the Japan Society of Neurological Therapeutics
Masashi Aoki
Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine