NEAS is led by Dr. Carlos Pardo-Villamizar at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and Drs. Beatriz Parra and Lyda Osorio at Universidad del Valle (UV) in Colombia. They have established a collaborative network with physicians, neurologists and experts in microbiology and epidemiology in that country. NEAS is actively recruiting patients in seven university-based hospitals in five Colombian cities. The protocol of the study has been approved in each of the participating centers.