September 2005
American Neurological Association 130th Annual Meeting in San Diego
Identifying and overcoming barriers to translating basic research from the laboratory to the clinic … protecting brain cells in stroke … understanding stem cells in neurologic disorders … using commonalities among Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative diseases to design treatments. These are some of the highlights of the 130th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association in San Diego, September 25 to 28, 2005, at the San Diego Marriot Hotel and Marina.
Leading researchers from around the world will present 11 platform talks and 260 refereed poster presentations at the world's preeminent neurology meeting. Symposium subjects will include:
Public Policy Symposium--Where's the Beef? Realizing the Promise of Laboratory Research--Rapid advancement in human genetics and other laboratory successes have not translated into similar progress in human therapeutics. In the Monday morning symposium, the NIH, the FDA, academic administrators, highly successful translational researchers, biotech venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs will discuss novel strategies aimed at speeding the journey to treatments.
Protecting Nerve Cells in Stroke -- Strokes and other brain injuries starve brain cells of oxygen. Presenters in the Monday afternoon symposium will discuss what is known about ischemic cell death, and how this knowledge can be used to protect and rescue brain cells from strokes.
Stem Cells: Surprises, Progress, and Controversy -- The Tuesday afternoon symposium will focus on one of the surprises of recent years in neurobiology--the fact that stem cells continue to be active and important in the health of the adult brain. Participants will discuss stem cells in the context of stroke and Parkinson's disease. The symposium will conclude with a presentation on the controversial California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which will fund and oversee stem cell research in that state.
Exploiting Similarities in Neurodegenerative Diseases--Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative diseases present with very different symptoms, but all involve the gradual death of select groups of brain cells. Researchers in these separate disorders have begun to identify common steps in the pathways to degeneration. In the Wednesday morning symposium, participants will review the state-of-the-art in neurodegenerative diseases and discuss efforts underway to design treatments.
News releases will be available to journalists at the Newswise website (www.newswise.com) approximately 5 days before the meeting. For more information, contact Crystal Weinberger at [email protected] or 952-545-6284.
The American Neurological Association is the world's oldest and most prestigious neurological association. The 1,500 members of the ANA--selected from among the most respected academic neurologists and neuroscientists in North America and other countries--are devoted to furthering the understanding and treatment of nervous system disorders. The Annals of Neurology, published by the ANA, is the preeminent neurological journal worldwide.
For more information, visit www.aneuroa.org.