Saturday 1 December
SESSION 1 JOINT OPENING SESSION
08.30-08.45 Welcome – P Shaw (UK)
08.40-09.20 ALS: one disease or many? – M Strong
(Canada)
09.20-10.00 The genetics of ALS/MND and the role of
modifier genes – P Andersen (Sweden)
SESSION 2A NEUROGENOMICS
10.30-11.00 Making the most of your microarray – K Mirnics
(USA)
11.00-11.30 Gene expression profiling to elucidate pathways of
motor neuron injury in ALS/MND – P Shaw (UK)
11.30-11.45 Combined oligonucleotide and tissue
microarrays to assess cell type specific factors contributing to
Neurodegeneration in ALS – M Wiedau-Pazos (USA)
11.45-12.00 Differential gene expression in peripheral blood
of ALS patients associated with genetic variation – C Saris (Netherlands)
12.00-12.15 Differential gene expression in SALS lower
motor neuron and anterior horn enriched pools using whole genome
oligonucleotide microarray – J Ravits (USA)
12.15-12.30 Correlations between whole genome SNP gene
expression profiles: discovery-based pursuit of SALS pathobiology – J Ravits
(USA)
SESSION 2B PALLIATIVE CARE
10.30-11.15 Whole Person Care in ALS/MND – G D Borasio
(Germany)
11.15-11.30 End-of-life care and decision making in ALS/MND: a
cross-cultural study – D Oliver (UK)
11.30-11.45 Medical and supportive care among people with ALS
in the months before death or tracheostomy – S Albert (USA)
11.45-12.00 A 20-year study on outcomes of ALS/MND
patients using tracheostomy ventilation – P Cazzolli (USA)
12.00-12.30 Developing a national end of life care strategy – S
Baxter (Canada)
SESSION 3A SELECTIVE VULNERABILITY OF MOTOR NEURONS
14.00-14.30 Mitochondrial mutations and selective neuronal
vulnerability: lessons for ALS – E Shoubridge (Canada)
14.30-15.00 Control of neurofilament expression in motor
neurons: roles in development and disease – B Szaro (USA)
15.00-15.15 Disruption of assembly and aggregation of light
neurofilament (NFL) protein is a common triggering event in motor neuron
disease – W Schlaepfer (USA)
15.15-15.30 Transgenic motor neurons derived from human
embryonic stem cells are a useful model of ALS – M Wiedau-Pazos (USA)
SESSION 3B COMMUNICATION & ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
14.00-14.30 Assistive technologies for spoken and written
communication – M Fried-Oken (USA)
14.30-14.50 Assistive technology clinical program for ALS:
translating evidence into practice – P Gryfe (Canada)
14.50-15.10 Effectiveness of and satisfaction with an
eye-tracking system for communication in patients with extremely severe ALS – A
Calvo (Italy)
15.10-15.30 Development of an automatic recognizer for
dysarthric speech – K Caves (USA)
SESSION 4A SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY
16.00-16.30 Advances in SMA research: lessons for ALS- J
Melki (France)
16.30-16.50 Using zebrafish to address the function of SMN in
spinal muscular atrophy – C Beattie (USA)
16.50-17.10 Determining the critical function of SMN in SMA
using mouse models – A Burghes (USA)
17.10-17.25 A hypomorphic panel of SMN mice that recapitulate
SMN2 splicing to define the dosage and timing requirements of SMN expression – C
DiDonato (USA)
17.25-17.40 Development and validation of a method for the
absolute quantification of SMN1 and SMN2 full length transcripts: possible
application for clinical trials for spinal muscular atrophy – F D Tiziano
(Italy)
SESSION 4B COGNITIVE & PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE
16.00-16.15 Anxiety, depression and quality of life during the
diagnostic phase of ALS patients and caregivers – A Chio (Italy)
16.15-16.30 Factors related to health locus of control in ALS
patients: a cross-sectional study – A Chio (Italy)
16.30-16.45 Comparison of patient and family behavioural
reports in ALS patients with and without FTD – S Woolley-Levine (USA)
16.45-17.00 Neuropsychological functioning in PLS: a
comparison with ALS – G Grace (Canada)
17.00-17.15 A new measure of pseudobulbar affect reveals
high prevalence rates in a sample of patients with ALS – J Murphy (USA)
17.15-17.30 The Cambridge Behavioural Inventory in evaluating
frontotemporal function in patients with MND – S Rudnicki (USA)
Sunday 2 December
SESSION 5 POSTER SESSION
08.30-11.00 Presenters will attend their posters, in allocated
30-minute slots, from 08.30-11.00
POSTER THEMES:
- Therapeutic strategies
- In vivo experimental models
- In vitro experimental
models - Genetics
- Epidemiology
- Human cell biology &
pathology - Respiratory &
nutritional management - Improving diagnosis,
prognosis & disease progression - Imaging, electrophysiology
& markers of disease progression - Research to improve
standards of care - Scientific & clinical
work in progress & care practice
SESSION 6A NERVE-MUSCLE INTERACTION
11.30-12.00 Cross-talk between motor neurons and muscle – J
Lichtman (USA)
12.00-12.15 Selective denervation of the largest muscle fibers
with early loss of the most forceful motor units in a mouse model of ALS – T
Gordon (Canada)
12.15-12.30 Identification and characterisation of a candidate
gene for ostes, a novel mouse mutant showing muscle denervation and atrophy – F
Mackenzie (UK)
12.30-12.45 Axonal degeneration and oxidative stress:
revisiting the SOD1 knockout mouse – L Fischer (USA)
SESSION 6B EVALUATING UNPROVEN TREATMENTS
11.30-12.00 Evaluating risks and benefits of unproven
treatments – A Ellis (USA)
12.00-12.30 Unproven cell-based treatments for ALS/MND:
lessons from Beijing – L van den Berg (Netherlands)
SESSION 7A AXON MAINTENANCE
14.00-14.30 Axon-glia interactions and neuronal integrity – J
Griffin (USA)
14.30-14.45 Proteomic analysis of Schwann cells expressing
mutant SOD1 – B Turner (UK)
14.45-15.00 Dysfunction of dynein/dynactin protein complex
and motor neuron disease phenotypes caused by the dynactin p150glued G59S
mutation in a novel mouse model – H Cai (USA)
15.00-15.15 Mutant spastin reduces axonal transport of
mitochondria – P Kasher (UK)
15.15-15.30 Real-time in vivo analysis of retrograde
transport in SOD1 (G93A) mice – L Bilsland (UK)
SESSION 7B AUTONOMY & QUALITY OF LIFE
14.00-14.30 Oregon `Death with Dignity` Act: impact on patient
choice and palliative care provision – L Ganzini (USA)
14.30-14.45 The UK Mental Capacity Act and MND: a lead for
others to follow? – R Sloan (UK)
14.45-15.00 Family health care decision making and
self-efficacy with ALS patients at the end of life – L Clawson/M Nolan
(USA)
15.00-15.15 Patient decision making in MND and tube feeding:
pilot study – T Williams (UK)
15.15-15.30 The needs and quality of life of ALS family
caregivers: a pilot study from the caregivers` perspective – M
Tederous-Williams (USA)
SESSION 7C CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY
14.00-14.15 Cortical hyperexcitability precedes the
development of familial ALS – O Vucic (Australia)
14.15-14.30 Distal versus proximal muscle involvement pattern
with early stage ALS – J Gutierrez (Cuba)
14.30-14.45 Denervation-reinnervation of axial and distal
segments in ALS: correlation with diaphragm involvement – M de Carvalho
(Portugal)
14.45-15.00 Continuous ambulatory diaphragm EMG measurements:
assessing respiratory control and function utilizing the diaphragm pacing
stimulation (DPS) system – R Onders (USA)
15.00-15.15 Reliability of a standardized form of modified
multipoint MUNE – L Simionescu (USA)
15.15-15.30 Revised electrodiagnostic criteria for early
diagnosis of ALS – J Shefner (USA)
SESSION 8A PROTEIN MISFOLDING & AGGREGATION
16.00-16.30 Causes and consequences of protein misfolding in
neurodegenerative disease – D Merry (USA)
16.30-16.45 ALS-linked Pro56Ser vesicle-associated membrane
protein-associated protein impairs unfolded protein response – K Kanekura
(Japan)
16.45-17.00 Protein aggregation and thermodynamic
stability are risk factors in ALS patient survival – J Agar (USA)
17.00-17.15 Soluble misfolded SOD1 species enriched in spinal
cords of transgenic murine ALS models – S Marklund (Sweden)
17.15-17.30 Detection of misfolded SOD1 in sporadic and
familial ALS – A Chakrabartty (Canada)
17.30-17.45 Deconvolution 3-D imaging of TDP-43 inclusions
in ALS: uncovering a continuum in ALS pathology – T Sanelli (Canada)
SESSION 8B LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH ALS/MND
16.00-16.30 Personal narratives of living with MND – a search
for normality – L Locock (UK)
16.30-16.45 Telesocial medicine for ALS/MND:
PatientsLikeMe.com – P Wicks (UK)
16.45-17.00 From symptom awareness to illness recognition and
beyond: personal experiences of being diagnosed with MND – M O`Brien (UK)
17.00-17.15 Identifying how people with MND/ALS talk about
living through their illness: a narrative study to enhance self-management – J
Brown (UK)
17.15-17.30 Discussion: how does greater understanding
translate to improvements in quality of care?
SESSION 8C CLINICAL GENETICS & BIOMARKERS
16.00-16.15 Longitudinal metabolomic profiling in plasma from
participants with ALS – M Cudkowicz (USA)
16.15-16.30 Characterization of the CSF proteome by mass
spectrometry to discover peptide biomarkers for ALS – R Bowser (USA)
16.30-16.45 Muscle proteomic profile in the SOD1 (G93A)
transgenic mouse and in ALS patients – C Gelfi (Italy)
16.45-17.00 Oxidative stress and related biomarkers in
patients with sporadic ALS – H Mitsumoto (USA)
17.00-17.15 MR Spectroscopy findings in recent onset MND – M
Van der Graaf (Netherlands)
17.15-17.30 Genome wide association study of ALS
identifies two new susceptibility genes – M van Es (Netherlands)
17.30.17.45 Polymorphic variants within a gene associated
with a reduced risk of sporadic ALS – VB Tripathy (UK)
Monday 3 December
SESSION 9A INFLAMMATION
08.30-09.00 Microglia: friend or foe in ALS? – W Streit
(USA)
09.00-09.30 Imaging in mouse models of neurodegenerative
disease – J Kriz (Canada)
09.30-09.45 The adaptive immune system mediates microglia
responses to injury in an animal model of ALS – D R Beers (USA)
09.45-10.00 Activation of peripheral blood CD16+ monocytes is
mediated through Toll-like receptors and NF?B-mediated signalling – M McGrath
(USA)
SESSION 9B CLINICAL TRIALS & TRIAL DESIGN
08.30-09.00 Results and implications of a phase 3 randomized
controlled trial of minocycline – P Gordon (USA)
09.00-09.15 TRO19622 is well tolerated and target plasma
concentrations are obtained at doses 250/500mg once a day in a one month ALS
phase 1b, add-on to Riluzole, clinical study – J-L Abitbol (France)
09.15-09.30 Double-blind, Placebo controlled safety study of
ritonavir and hydroxyurea in patients with ALS – C Lomen-Hoerth (USA)
09.30-09.45 Design of phase 2 ALS clinical trials – D
Schoenfeld (USA)
09.45-10.00 Use of accelerometers to measure disease
progression in ALS – E Kasarskis (USA)
SESSION 10A CELL BIOLOGY & PATHOLOGY
10.30-11.00 Autophagy and intracellular protein control – D
Rubinsztein (UK)
11.00-11.15 Endoplasmic reticulum stress and induction of the
unfolded protein response in human sporadic ALS – J Atkin (Australia)
11.15-11.30 Proteasomal involvement in stress responses in
ALS and aging – H Durham (Canada)
11.30-11.45 Alterations of ubiquitin proteasome pathway in
spinal cord of SOD1 (G93A) mice – C Bendotti (Italy)
11.45-12.00 The proapoptotic protein BNIP3 plays a role in
mutant SOD1-induced motor neuron death in ALS – J Kong (Canada)
12.00-12.15 A caspase-3 fragment of EAAT2 is sumoylated and
targeted to PML nuclear bodies in mutant SOD1-linked ALS – D Trotti (USA)
12.15-12.30 Development and characterization of a SOD1
zebrafish model of ALS – T Ramesh (USA)
12.30-12.45 The zebrafish as a novel model to study the
pathogenesis of ALS – R Lemmens (Belgium)
SESSION 10B METABOLISM, NUTRITION & RESPIRATORY FUNCTION
10.30-11.00 Hypermetabolic states in ALS – J-P Loeffler
(France)
11.00-11.15 ALS patients have a significant hyperactivity
at all ages: results of a prospective study – A Gonzalez (France)
11.15-11.30 Effects of tube feeding on quality of life and
survival in ALS: a cohort study in 383 patients – P Clavelou (France)
11.30-11.45 Nutrition management by dieticians to ALS/MND
patients: a survey of current practice in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and
Canada – E Cawadias (Canada)
11.45-12.00 A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
study of the safety and efficacy of botulinum toxin type B (bTxb) for
sialorrhea in ALS – C Jackson (USA)
12.00-12.15 Clinical and demographic characteristics of an
ALS population non-compliant to NIV – A Pinto (Portugal)
12.15-12.30 Lung volume recruitment and its relation to
bulbar function in ALS – D McKim (Canada)
SESSION 11 JOINT CLOSING SESSION
14.00-14.20 A window to the brain: simple nasal olfactory
mucosa biopsy as a means to bioassay/biomarker neurons and glia in ALS patients
– J Rothstein (USA)
14.20-14.40 Symposium Highlights: Clinical
14.40-15.00 Symposium Highlights: Scientific
15.00-15.30 New approaches to therapy development which can be
exploited in ALS/MND – F Walsh (USA)
Further Information:
http://www.mndassociation.org/research/for_researchers/international_symposium/18th_international_symposium/18th_symposium.html