WHO SUFFERS FROM POST-INFECTIOIUS NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS? WHY PROPER DIAGNOSIS AND RESEARCH ARE CRITICAL

BY VICKIE BLAVAT, ON AUGUST 9TH, 2011: This is the update on the Texas A&M Health Science Center Website in regards to the upcoming symposium on October 13 and 14th.

This is directly quoted from the website: October 13 – 14, 2011 POST-INFECTIOUS SYNDROMES AFFECTING COGNITION: WHAT IS THE NEUROLOGICAL AFTERMATH OF POST-INFECTION?

This symposium will address potential links between the “after-effects” post-infection and cognition, the nervous system, and behavior. As such, the Symposium has two purposes: (1) scientific exchange in aid of understanding the mechanism(s) of chronic disease and (2) physician education and awareness to improve diagnosis and treatment of post-infectious syndromes. It is open to physicians, psychiatrists, researchers, clinicians, medical and graduate students, mental healthcare professionals, and interested public and/or patient advocates. Day 2 will focus on post-infectious syndromes affecting the nervous system in children. CME credits will be offered for each day of the Symposium. While the scientific sessions will be highly technical, we do welcome representatives of those patients, or parents of patients, who serve as patient advocates. Their efforts have served to make the scientific and medical community aware, not only of the disease, but also of the issues surrounding it. They have made the clinical community aware of the need for education and awareness of the disease process, the need for new approaches to therapies and the need for new understanding of the treatments currently used. The patient advocates’ crusade has been instrumental in raising public and professional awareness of the issues and has the potential to give a voice to the larger numbers of people affected by the disease.

Due to the overwhelming response generated by this event and the space constraints we face, a limit may have to be placed on the number of scientific, medical professional, and patient advocate attendees, so that we can accommodate only those that are officially registered for the event. You may sign up for either Day 1 or Day 2 of the Symposium, or both. Registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis, by category. However, we will have video-recordings of the event available for purchase after the symposium and possibly a live webcast of the event itself. PRELIMINARY AGENDA – Times will soon be announced and a website to register, sign up for CME credits and reserve hotel accommodations will be provided as it becomes available. All participants must register through the registration website, regardless of whether they desire CME credit or not. Thursday, October 13, 2011 MEC Lecture Halls 1 & 2, Scott & White Hospital/ TAMHSC College of Medicine, Temple, Texas Friday, October 14, 2011 TAMHSC College of Medicine Medical School Auditorium, Round Rock Campus, Round Rock, Texas WHO SUFFERS FROM POST-INFECTIOIUS NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS? WHY PROPER DIAGNOSIS AND RESEARCH ARE CRITICAL

Confirmed speakers include the following, along with many other distinguished participants:

W. Ian Lipkin, M.D., Keynote Speaker – Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity, Columbia University

Sue Swedo, M.D., Keynote Speaker, Chief of the Pediatrics & Developmental Neuroscience Branch at NIMH Madeleine Cunningham, Ph.D., Keynote Speaker, Professor Microbiology and Immunology University of Oklahoma Health Science Center Margo Thienemann, M.D., pediatric psychiatrist, Stanford University Brian Fallon, M.D. – Director, Center for the Study of Neuroinflammatory Disorders & Biobehavioral Medicine, 
Columbia University Noel Rose, M.D. – Director, Center for Autoimmune Disease Research, Johns Hopkins University Jack Antel, M.D. Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University Mady Hornig, M.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Director of Translational Research in the Center for Infection and Immunity, Columbia University Patrick Cleary, Ph.D., Professor Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota Rita Cantor, Ph.D., Professor in Residence, David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA, Neuropsychiatric Institute Tanya Murphy, M.D., Professor and Director of Rothman Center for Pediatric Neuropsychiatry, University of Southern Florida Kyle Williams, M.D., Fellow, Albert J. Solnit Integrated Training Program, Yale University