Late-breaking abstracts submission guidelines

When we select late-breaking abstracts, we are looking for the most exciting, recent, and (ideally) unpublished findings on any aspect of neuromuscular disorders. There are no predefined topics for late-breaking abstracts.

Please note: This category is not for abstracts that were not submitted in the April submissions.

Key dates

• Submission opens: Friday, 1st August 2025
• Deadline: Sunday, 31st August 2025

Presentation format

We will select six selected abstracts from among those submitted in August 2025. Each will be invited to present a 10-minute oral presentation, followed by five minutes of questions on the final day of the Congress (Saturday 11^th October 2025).

We will also invited some of those who submit late breaking abstracts to present posters at the Congress venue and/or as e-posters.

Submission guidelines

• Abstracts must be submitted via the official submission link, which will be sent to all registered delegates by email on 1st August 2025. The link will also be included in registration confirmation emails for those who register after this date;
• Abstracts must be submitted by 31st August 2025 (midnight BST). Late submissions will not be considered; and
• Abstracts cannot be submitted by email, fax, or hard copy.

Eligibility requirements

• The presenting author must be registered to attend the Congress before submitting an abstract;
• Only the presenting author can submit the abstract. Abstracts submitted by anyone else will not be accepted;
• There is no fee to submit an abstract;
• WMS membership is not required unless applying for a fellowship. We will temporarily reopen fellowship applications for late-breaking abstract submissions; and 
• Delegates can submit more than one abstract.

Submissions from companies working in the pharmaceutical and related industries

• Abstracts from sponsoring, exhibiting, or pharmaceutical and related industry organisations must be submitted by a presenter who is registered under the organisation’s allocated ticket allowance;
• To ensure scientific integrity, late-breaking abstracts from pharmaceutical and related industry organisations who also have a symposium on the same topic will not be selected; and
• During submission, the abstract submitter will need to declare if the abstract is submitted on behalf of, by, or in collaboration with the pharmaceutical or related industries.

Abstract content guidelines

• Language: English;
• Word limit: 250 words (excluding title and author contact details);
• Co-authors: Maximum 20 co-authors per abstract. If there are more contributors, they should be listed as a Study Group and acknowledged on the poster or during the oral presentation;
• Formatting rules:
  • Do not include references, credits, or subheadings (e.g., background, methods, results). These will be removed automatically by the Programme Committee;
  • Do not include keywords;
  • The Programme Committee reserves the right to shorten titles for publication and edit content to remove acknowledgements and correct misspellings;
• Accuracy: the author is responsible for ensuring the abstract is free of errors in spelling, grammar, and scientific accuracy. Submitted abstracts will be published as received.

Submission confirmation and notifications

• The WMS will correspond with the submitting author. They are responsible for updating co-authors on the status of the submission;
• If an abstract is not accepted, the submitter will be informed promptly. Delegates can then choose to attend the Congress or cancel their registration and receive a full refund;
• Submitters of accepted abstracts will receive an email notification with further details, including deadlines for presentation uploads; and
• For full details on notifications and upload deadlines, please refer to the dates page of the Congress website. 

Publication of accepted abstracts

Accepted late-breaking abstracts will be displayed in an unindexed format as a single PDF file on the Neuromuscular Disorders journal website in time for the WMS 2025 Congress.

Important: If you cannot meet the submission deadlines, please do not submit a late-breaking abstract.

For any questions, contact the WMS Abstracts Manager at [email protected].