February 20, 2005
The ALS Association (ALSA) is pleased to announce the first international workshop on Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), to be held Sunday May 15 through Tuesday May 17, 2005, in London, Canada. Speakers will include internationally renowned experts, who will discuss ALS and FTD, which can occur together.
“It will be the first time that such a breadth of international expertise on FTD in ALS has been brought together in a single setting,” said workshop organizer, Michael Strong, M.D., Chief of Neurology at the London Health Sciences Centre, and an investigator at the John P. Robarts Research Institute in London, Ontario.
FTD is a form of dementia, or altered mental status, which is distinct from the cognitive and memory problems evident in Alzheimer’s disease. FTD involves a change in personality that can produce obsessive behavior, loss of the ability to plan or make decisions, and other more subtle signs that something is amiss in the cerebral cortex. Frontotemporal refers to the forward part of the brain that sits above the eyes and behind the temples. It is the last region of the cerebral cortex to mature, which explains why teens often cannot make good “adult” decisions. Lowering of the function of this region can lead to impulsive and emotional behavior.
Many investigators are showing that FTD can occur together with motor neuron disease, and in some instances, the personality change precedes the motor symptoms. FTD can hamper a person’s ability to cope with the demanding nature of an illness such as ALS. The gathering of scientists will explore the association of the two conditions, strategies for their diagnosis, and they will discuss the best clinical management of the patients who have the conditions.
Speakers will include Arthur Hudson, Stanley Appel, Gloria Grace, Morris Freedman, Nigel Cairns, John Hardy, Mike Hutton, Catherine Lomen-Hoerth, Paul Ince, Michael Strong, Kenji Ikeda, and Nigel Leigh, among other experts in the field. In addition, new work on the topic will be presented as posters.
The conference will cover the spectrum of frontal lobe dysfunction, with participants discussing the clinical aspects of FTD both in motor neuron diseases and in related disorders. Speakers will focus on the anatomic changes of frontotemporal impairment, as well as the imaging technologies available to diagnose FTD, followed by a consideration of the neuropathological features of frontotemporal impairment in ALS. Discussion will cover the current understanding of the FTD in ALS as being a disorder of the tau proteins within nerve cells.
Unique to this meeting, experts in the neuropathology of ALS in Guam, Japan, North America and Europe will consider the features that might distinguish ALS with FTD in different geographic regions.
Co-sponsors of the symposium, along with ALSA, are the ALS Society of Canada, the ALS Society of Windsor Essex) and the Michael Halls’ Endowment. The hosts are the London Chapter of the ALS Society of Ontario and the London Health Sciences Centre. ALSA funds for the symposium are from the Research and Patient Services Departments.
The workshop will take place at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn, 591 Wellington Road. Shuttles are available to and from the London, Ontario airport to the conference site. Registration must be received by March 15, 2005.
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