[The first Catalan Neurological Societies and their protagonists]

Abstract

Introduction: Little is known about the first Catalan neurological societies. Our aim was to analyse them from the formation of the pioneering Society of Psychiatry and Neurology of Barcelona founded in 1911.

Development: We performed a literature search using MEDLINE using the key words: neurological societies, using the doctoral thesis of MG Fabregas: «History of Neurology in Catalonia: from 1882 to 1949» and original historical bibliographical sources of the Library of the Academy of Sciences Mèdiques de Catalunya i Balears. The presence of neurological societies in Catalunya is relatively recent. The first society was established a century ago, and was the Society of Psychiatry and Neurology of Barcelona, founded by Artur Galcerán i Granés in 1911. This became the Catalan Society of Neurology and Psychiatry in 1934 under the presidency of Belarmino Rodriguez Arias. With the civil war, the society broke up and reappeared under the name Association of Psychiatry and Neurology presided over by José Córdoba Rodríguez (1941), emerging in 1968 as the Association of Neurological Sciences with Lluís Barraquer Bordas as President. In 1973 it assumed the current name of Catalan Society of Neurology under Agustí Codina Puiggrós.

Conclusions: The Society of Psychiatry and Neurology of Barcelona founded in 1911 by Galcerán i Granés was the first neurological society and was a precursor of the Catalan Society of Neurology. It should be highlighted that in 2011 it will be 100 years since the founding of the first neurological society in Catalonia and Spain.