Research priorities for rare neurological diseases: a representative view of patient representatives and healthcare professionals from the European Reference Network for Rare Neurological Diseases

Annemarie E. M. Post, Thomas Klockgether, G. Bernhard Landwehrmeyer, Massimo Pandolfo, Astri Arnesen, Carola Reinhard & Holm Graessner. Orphanet J Rare Dis 16, 135 (2021). doi:10.1186/s13023-020-01641-z 

Patient involvement in research increases the impact of research and the likelihood of adoption in clinical practice. A first step is to know which research themes are important for patients. We distributed a survey on research priorities to ERN-RND members, both patient representatives and healthcare professionals, asking them to prioritize five research themes for rare neurological diseases on a scale ranging from 1 (most important) to 5 (least important). A follow-up e-mail interview was conducted with patient representatives and professionals to assess potential reasons for differences in opinions between these two groups.