#ECTRIMS2016 – Congress on Latest in MS Research and Treatment Opens Sept. 14

The 32nd annual congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, widely referred to as ECTRIMS, will kick off on Wednesday, Sept. 14, in London. The four-day event is partnering this year with the Annual Conference of Rehabilitation in MS  (RIMS), the European network for best practices and research in MS Rehabilitation.

More than 8,000 researchers and clinicians with expertise in multiple sclerosis are expected to attend the event, where over 2,000 abstracts will be presented and discussed in 61 scheduled sessions, mainly grouped around five topics:  imaging, immunomodulation and immunosuppression, clinical assessment tools, long-term treatment monitoring, and risk management for disease modifying treatments.

Keynote presentations will include parallel sessions on insights to long-term treatment effects from MS registries and databases, and long-term outcomes for those with clinically isolated syndrome. These two sessions will present data from 12 different studies examining long-term prognostic markers, treatment effects, and clinical outcomes recorded over as many as 15 years.

Clinicians and researchers attending the Congress will be invited to explore data on the relative merits of an investigative approach to the initial treatment of early active relapsing-remitting MS, using a potent therapy instead of a standard immunomodulation.

The latest research findings into new drug targets will be presented, with a hot topic session reviewing B-cell-mediated pathogenic mechanisms and the effects of B-cell depletion therapies currently in clinical trials. The role this therapeutic approach could play in treating primary progressive MS and relapsing-remitting MS will also be explored.

“We have seen huge advances in MS research in recent years and the implications from new potential therapy options, alongside new imaging techniques and mechanism[s] of action could have profound effects on improving treatment and care for patients,” said Professor David Miller, vice president and chair of the Scientific Committee, in a press release. “I would encourage anyone in MS research or clinical practice to attend the congress as it is vital we mobilise the community and share our understanding to drive forward research across Europe and the globe.”

The Congress will also feature scientific and teaching programs, with a preliminary scientific program having been developed with the Local Organising Committee’s assistance. There will also be plenary, platform, young investigator, hot topic (some in a debate format) and poster sessions with themes such as disease mechanisms, prognostic markers, developments in imaging, approaches to early treatment, the latest clinical trial results, and emerging targets for innate immune system modulation, neuroprotection, and repair.

While MS is the Congress’ main focus, talks on other inflammatory demyelinating central nervous system (CNS) diseases are included. A special section will be dedicated to MS nurses, with symposia sponsored by the European Charcot Foundation, a nonprofit independent organization to advance multiple sclerosis research in Europe.

The Congress is being held at the ExCeL Centre, located on a 100-acre site in the East London borough of Newham, less than a mile from London City Airport.

An ECTRIMS 2016 Congress smartphone and tablet app by DocumediaS G is now available for download via the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The app provides users with:

• a display the entire Congress Scientific Program

• access to useful information regarding registration, travel, accommodation

• a way of saving events and exhibitors in a personal favorites list or calendar

• a way to synchronize exhibitor contact data to your address book

• means of emailing exhibitors directly from the application

For more information, visit: www.ectrims.eu.

A video of ECTRIMS’ highlights can be viewed at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Z2j_C84BE&feature=youtu.be

Sources:
European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS)
Annual Conference of Rehabilitation in MS