ECTRIMS 2015 Congress: a Look at Young Investigator Session II

The 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) begins today, October 7, 2015 at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB) in Barcelona, Spain.

The first day of the Congress will focus heavily on Teaching Courses in several topics related to multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis and disease management. Three Satellite Symposiums will also take place today, along with two Young Scientific Investigators’ Sessions. In our previous article, we highlighted the emerging MS researchers featured in today’s first session.

In the second session of Young Scientific Investigators (16:00 – 17:15 h, GMT +1h), five young researchers will present their work. The first presentation will be given by S. H. M. Hamid from The Walton Centre in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and it will focus on the impact of the 2015 criteria for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), which resemble MS in terms of clinical and radiologic features, on the diagnostic rates of the condition. According to the authors, these new criteria led to an increase in NMOSD diagnosis.

The second talk, by G. Castellazi from University of Pavia and C. Mondino National Neurological Institute in Italy, will focus on the finding that patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) with different disease durations have a functional connectivity impairment linked to distinct sensory and cognitive patterns.

The third presentation, by R. Planas from University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, will focus on the central role played by immune T helper cells 2 and Tc2 lymphocytes (important white blood cells) on demyelinating lesions in MS patients.

C. Louapre from the A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and Harvard Medical School, United States, will present the fourth talk of the session on the evaluation of perilesional pathology in brain lesions in MS patients through a technique called ultra-high resolution quantitative 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Finally, the fifth talk of the session will be conducted by L. Zhovtis Ryerson from the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, United States, where results from an ongoing study will be presented showing that the extension of Natalizumab (Tysabri) therapy from the standard four weeks up to eight weeks seems to be safe and effective in MS patients, with a promising reduced risk of infection by the JC virus and, consequently, reduced susceptibility to the brain disorder progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).