Editors commentary
The actress Ellen Terry (1847–1928) attributed her success to the three I’s, ‘Industry, intelligence and imagination’. This is a tricolon—a useful rhetorical device that brings together ideas with a rhythm and places emphasis on the last element. What might be the neurological equivalent?
Curiosity must be one element. Curiosity about patients’ stories, the diseases causing their symptoms, the investigations and treatments available, and how colleagues have approached similar clinical problems. But this exploration needs to be combined with reflection; what do we know and how can we be sure that what we think that we know is true?
This leads to a recognition of what we do not know, identifying our ignorance, and thinking about how to address that ignorance through research. But how do we best manage our patients in the meantime?
The approach to encephalitis has evolved considerably over the 14 years since the last guidelines were...
Source: BMJ Practical Neurology - Current Issue · Published 21 Sep 2026 · Imported 17 Oct 2026
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