ACTRIMS Forum 2016

Progressive MS: From Bench to Bedside and Back

Thursday 18, 2016

2:00pm - 2:10pm Opening Address
Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, Rutgers University
2:10pm - 4:10pm SESSION 1 - Emerging Concepts in MS
Chairs: Jack Antel, McGill University; Tiffany Braley, University of Michigan
Theme: Highlighting cutting edge studies that inform our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms in MS,introduce novel measures to capture disease activity,and advance treatment options for affected individuals. (This Session will be comprised of platform presentations by junior faculty selected from highest-rated submitted abstracts.)
  2:10pm - 2:30pm  Talk 1: Immunomodulatory therapy slows accumulation of disability in moderately advanced multiple sclerosis
Nathaniel Lizak, University of Melbourne
   2:30pm - 2:50pm Talk 2: Modeling Leptomeningeal Inflammation in EAE - insights into pathophysiology and a new method to screen potential therapies for MS
Pavan Bhargava, Johns Hopkins University
   2:50pm-3:10pm Talk 3: Failure of early repair in MS lesions with persistent paramagnetic RIMS at 7T
Martina Abstina, National Institutes of Health
   3:10pm-3:30pm Talk 4: Acute effects of treadmill walking exercise on inhibitory control in MS: do exercise intensity and thermosensitivity matter?
Brian Sandroff, Kessler Foundation
   3:30pm-3:50pm Talk 5: Antibodies to the RNA binding protein hnRNP A1 contribute to neurodegeneration indicative of 'dying back' axonopathy
Guilia Longoni, The Hospital for Sick Children
   3:50pm-4:10pm Talk 6: Combination of biologically related biomarkers quantifies infiltration of CNS tissue by immune cells in progressive
Mika Komori, National Institutes of Health
 4:10pm-4:30pm  BREAK
 4:30pm-5:45pm SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM 1 - Implementing B-Cell Based Therapeutic Science to Improve Outcomes for Your Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: What Every Neurologist Needs to Know
Chair: Fred D. Lublin, Mt. Sinai Hospital
 6:00pm-7:00pm  Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Lecture
Jerry S. Wolinsky, The University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston
 7:00pm-9:00pm  Opening Networking Event

 Friday, February 19, 2016

 7:00am - 8:15am SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM 2 - Disrupting Disease Worsening in Patients with MS: How Can We Harness the Full Potential of Available Disease-Modifying Therapies?
Chair: Aaron Boster (OhioHealth Neurological Physicians  
 8:30am-10:15am SESSION 2– Lessons from the Bench: Pathogenic Mechanisms in Progressive MS
Chairs: Benjamin Segal, University of Michigan; Greg Wu, Washington University in St. Louis
Theme: The Contributions of Inflammation Versus Neurodegeneration to CNS Damageand Clinical Disability.
  8:30am - 8:35am Opening Comments by Session Chairs
  8:35am - 9:00am Talk 1: Axonopathy, Mitochondrial Abnormalities and Disability MS
Don Mahad, University of Edinburg
  9:00am - 9:25am Talk 2: Cytokine Dysregulation and Neuroinflammation in PPMS and SPMS
David Irani, University of Michigan
  9:25am - 9:50am Talk 3: Lessons from the Genome Wide Association Studies: Immune and CNS-related Susceptibility Alleles
Philip De Jager, Harvard Medical School
  9:50am - 10:15am Panel Discussion
10:15am - 10:45am Break
10:45am - 12:30pm SESSION 3 – Highlights: Neuropathological Studies and Clinical Trials
Chairs: Samuel Ludwin, Queen's University & Montreal Neurological Institute; Jeffrey Cohen, Cleveland Clinic
Theme: The Heterogeneity of Progressive MS: Implications for Trial Design and Customized Therapy.
  10:45am - 10:50am  Opening Comments by Session Chairs
  10:50am - 11:15am Talk 1: The Histopathology of RRMS Versus Progressive MS: Distinctive and Overlapping Features
Wayne G.R. Moore, University of British Columbia
  11:15am - 11:40am Talk 2: The Pathology of Progress in Multiple Sclerosis
Claudia Luchinetti, Mayo Clinic
  11:40am - 12:05pm Talk 3: Intrathecal Rituximab in Progressive MS
Peter Calabresi, Johns Hopkins University
  12:05pm - 12:30pm Panel Discussion
12:30pm - 2:00pm Poster Session 1 & Lunch
2:00pm - 3:45pm SESSION 4 – Measuring Disease Progression in MS
Chairs: Fiona Costello, University of Calgary; Shiv Saidha, Johns Hopkins
Theme: Biological and Radiological Markers of Disease Progression – Capturing Elusive Targets.
  2:00pm - 2:05pm Opening Comments by Session Chair
  2:05pm - 2:30pm Talk 1: Capturing Primary Neuronal Loss in the Afferent Visual Pathway
Ari Green, University of California San Francisco
  2:30pm - 2:55pm Talk 2: MRI as an Outcome Measure in Progressive MS
Daniel Reich, National Institutes of Health
  2:55pm - 3:20pm Talk 3: Micro RNA Biomarkers in Early and Later Stage
Konstantin Balashov, Rutgers University
  3:20pm - 3:45pm Panel Discussion
3:45pm - 4:00pm Break
4:00pm - 4:30pm LATE BREAKING SESSION: Cutting Edge Developments in MS Research
Chairs: Benjamin Segal, University of Michigan; Fiona Costello, University of Calgary
  4:00pm - 4:10pm Talk 1: Can the degree of meningeal inflammation and cortical pathology be used to stratify early progessive MS patients?
Roberta Magliozzi, Imperial College London
  4:10pm - 4:20pm Talk 2: Ovarian age is associated with gray matter volume and disability in women with MS independent of chronological age and disease duration
Jennifer S. Graves, University of California, San Francisco
  4:20pm - 4:30pm Talk 3: Efficacy of ocrelizumab in patients with PPMS with and without T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions at baseline in a Phase III, placebo-controlled trial
Jerry Wolinsky, The University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston
4:30pm - 6:30pm Poster Session 1 and Cocktail Reception
7:00pm - 10:00pm ND1. NETWORKING DINNER
Moderator: Jeffrey Cohen, Cleveland Clinic

 Saturday, February 20, 2016

8:30am - 10:15am SESSION 5 - The Treatment Pipeline: New Experimental Therapies
Chairs: Mark Freedman, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; John Rinker, III, University of Alabama
Theme: Milestones: Clinical Trials in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
  8:30am - 8:35am Opening Comments by Session Chairs
  8:35am - 9:00am Talk 1: Breaking News on Results of Recently Completed Trials
Fred Lublin, Mt. Sinai
  9:00am - 9:25am Talk 2: Recent Studies Funded by the PMSA
Tim Coetzee, National MS Society
  9:25am - 9:50am Talk 3: Stem Cell Transplantation
Andrew Goodman, University of Rochester
  9:50am - 10:15am Panel Discussion
10:15am - 10:30am BREAK
10:50am - 12:35pm S6. SESSION 6 – Genetics and Epigenetics of MS
Chairs: Suhayl Dhib-Jalbut, Rutgers University; Rhonda Voskuhl, UCLA
  10:50am - 10:55am Opening Comments by Session Chairs
  10:55am - 11:20am Summary 1: Session 1 - Emerging Concepts in MS
Michael Levin, University of Tennessee
  11:20am - 11:45am Summary 2: Session 2 - Lessons from the Bench
Olaf Stuve, University of Texas - Southwestern
  11:45am - 12:10pm Summary 3: Session 4 - Capturing Disease Activity
E. Ann Yeh, University of Toronto
  12:10pm - 12:35pm Summary 4: Session 5 - Experimental Therapeutics
Myla Goldman, UVA Neuroscience Center
  12:35pm - 1:00pm Closing Remarks and Award Presentations