Scientific Program - Multiple Sclerosis

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Please see below the CONy Scientific Program. Please click on the appropriate section (ordered by ABC) to view the relevant program. Please note that the program and timing is subject to change. To view the program timetable, please click here
 

Section Heads: Nikolaos Grigoriadis, Greece & Olaf Stuve, USA
FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017
 Hall A
 8:00-9:00 MS Plenary Symposium 
  Balancing the risks of immunosuppression in MS 
Mark Freedman, Canada 

Immunomodulation - The new buzzword in MS therapy
Andrew Chan, Switzerland 
 
9:10-11:00
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS): MEASUREMENT OF PROGRESSION
Chairs: Evangelia Kararizou, Greece; Rana Shiraliyeva, Azerbaijan 
9:10-10:05
Capsule:
Currently, neurologist rely on clinical relapses, accumulation of neurological disability, and the number and activity of lesions on MRI to measure disease activity in MS patients. There is a quest for biological markers to predict and characterize this disorder, as well as to monitor pharmacotherapies. Are CSF studies ready for prime time?
9:10-09:20
Host: Mark Freedman, Canada
9:20-09:35
Pro: Uros Rot, Slovenia
9:35-09:50 Con: Bart Vanwijmeersch, Belgium
9:50-10:05 Discussion and rebuttals
10:05-11:00 Proposition: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an essential tool in following up MS patients
Capsule:
Neurologists follow MS patients by assessing them clinically, and by obtaining magnetic
resonance images of the brain and spinal cord in regular intervals. Neither method is very good at quantifying the progression of the disease. There is an unmet need for a reliable and inexpensive method to monitor patients with multiple sclerosis. Has OCT fulfilled its promise to be that method?
10:05-10:15
Host: Athina Papadopoulou, Switzerland 
10:15-10:30
Yes: Friedemann Paul, Germany
10:30-10:45 Not yet: Jacek Losy, Poland
10:45-11:00
 Discussion and rebuttals
11:00-11:15
Coffee Break
 
11:15-13:10 MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) PATHOGENESIS
Chair: Zbigniew Stelmasiak, Poland & Panagiotis Papathanasopoulos, Greece 
11:15-12:15
Capsule:
The etiology of MS remains an enigma. Currently, 205 risk alleles have been 
associated with MS susceptibility, but each one has a very minor effect size. There are also observations that associate environmental factors and infectious agents with MS. What is the magnitude of genetic and environmental contributors to the pathogenesis of this disorder? Which ones are more important?
11:15-11:25
Host: Uros Rot, Slovenia
11:25-11:40 Genetic: Abhijit Chaudhuri, UK
11:40-11:55 Environmental Risk Factors: Ron Milo, Israel
11:55-12:15 Discussion and rebuttals

12:15-13:10
Capsule:
Neurologists and sceintists are divided with regard to the pathogenesis of MS. Is it "outside in", meaning that an aberrant adaptive immune response drives an organ-specific inflammatory disease that leads to neurodegeneration, or is it "inside out", meaning that a neurodegenerative process releases autoantigens into immune compartments and triggers a secondary autoimmune process.
12:15-12:25 Host: Olaf Stuve, USA
12:25-12:40 Inflammation: Jacek Losy, Poland
12:40-12:55 Separate Process: Nikolaos Grigoriadis, Greece
12:55-13:10 Discussion and rebuttals

15:00-17:00
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS): TREATMENT AND PROGRESSION
  Chair: Erieta Pelidou, Greece
15:00-15:50 Debate: MS treatment algorithms: Escalating  procedures  vs. Induction approaches
Capsule:
There are currently 14 approved agents for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS.  All these agents are effective in reducing the frequency of clinical relapses.  However, these medications have very distinct safety-to efficacy ratios.  It is currently not possible to predict with certainty whether a patient will have a benign or aggressive disease course.  Should neurologist be cautious and start therapy with a moderately effective but safe agent, or should they start with a very potent agent that may alter the disease course?
15:00-15:10 Host: Ludwig Kappos, Switzerland
15:10-15:25 Induction: Wolfgang Bruck, Germany
15:25-15:40 Escalation: Olaf Stuve, USA
15:40-15:50 Discussion and rebuttals




   
17:00-17:15  Coffee Break
 
17:15-19:00   MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)
 

  Chairs: Asmahan Alshubaili, Kuwait (TBC); Cris Constantinescu, UK
17:15-18:15 Proposition: Relapses do not matter in relation to long term disability
Capsule: All approved pharmacotherapies for patients with multiple sclerosis are effective in reducing the frequency of clinical relapses.  The ultimate goal is to diminish the accumulation of neurological disability over time.  Do current therapies accomplish that goal?
17:15-17:25 Host: Jera Kruja, Albania 
17:25-17:40 Pro: Andrew Chan, Switzerland  
17:40-17:55 Con: Abhijit Chaudhuri, UK 
17:55-18:15 Discussion and rebuttals  
 
18:15-19:00  Lecture: What we can learn from failed drug studies in MS
   Mark Freedman, Canada
SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2017
 Hall C
10:45-12:45
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)
Chair: Elizabeth Andreadou,  Greece 
10:15-11:10
 Proposition: Leptomeningeal enhancement on MRI is a promising biomarker to monitor disease worsening, especially in progressive MS patients 
 Capsule:  At this time it is difficult to determine the degree of cortical gray matter pathology in-vivo in MS patients. Because cortical subpial lesion pathology is challenging to visualize using 3T MRI, assessing leptomeningeal contrast enhancement has the potential to become an indirect marker of cortical pathology. This debate will discuss pros and cons of using this recently proposed imaging biomarker in clinical trials, research studies and routine follow-up of MS patients. 
10:15-10:25  Host: Flavia Nelson, USA
10:25-10:40  Pro: Robert Zivadinov, USA
10:40-10:55  Con: Hans-Peter Hartung, Germany
10:55-11:10  Discussion and rebuttals
   
11:10-12:10  Debate: Brain atrophy measurements should be used to guide therapy in MS
 Capsule: The brain of MS patients shrinks over the disease course. How can this knowledge be utilized to understand this disease?  Do pharmacological interventions alter the rate of brain atrophy?  Should we measure this effect in following up patients?
11:10-11:20  Host: Jens Wuerfel, Germany
11:20-11:35  Pro: Robert Zivadinov, USA
11:35-11:50  Con: Ludwig Kappos, Switzlerand
11:50-12:10  Discussion and rebuttals