On April 1, 1992, Otto Creutzfeldt would have celebrated his 65th
birthday. About a year before, those of us who worked with him in the
Department of Neurobiology decided to organize a meeting to honour Otto
and his contri- butions to neuroscience. Since Otto Creutzfeldt had no
intention of retiring before his 67th birthday, this was not to be a
"retirement conference" but a celebration on the occasion of a major
anniversary. However. events turned out differently. In the spring of
1991, Otto Creutzfeldt became seriously ill, before we could consult
with him on his suggestions for such a meeting, and we decided to
postpone further dis- cussion until his health improved. In the summer,
when we talked to him about the meeting, he basically approved of the
idea but immediately sug- gested our turning it into a proper scientific
congress, rather than limiting ourselves to inviting his friends and
former co-workers. He had very good friends in many parts of the world
and would certainly have liked to see many of them again. However, his
interest in science remained the domi- nant factor. He proposed the main
topics for the conference and suggested several speakers to be invited.
Although he knew that his health was crit- ical and that his condition
could rapidly worsen, we had the feeling that the planning gave him hope
and perhaps an opportunity to look forward.