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5th International Alstrom Syndrome Scientific Congress
Padua and Venice, Italy
October 17-18, 2008
Alström Syndrome International and the University of Padua will co-sponsor the 5th International Medical and Scientific Meeting on Alström Syndrome to be held in Padua and Venice, October 17-18, 2008. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we invite and encourage you to attend.
(updated 9-29-08)
HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS
Hotel Donatello
Via del Santo, 102/104 - 35123 Padova (Italy)
Tel. +39 049 8750634
Fax + 39 049 8750829
www.hoteldonatello.net
e-mail: info@hoteldonatello.net
Hotel Giotto
P.le Pontecorvo, 33 - 35121 PADOVA
Tel. +39 049 8761845 - Fax +39 049 662677 –
e-mail : info@hotelgiotto.com
www.hotelgiotto.com
TRAVEL TIPS
Arriving in Venice and travel to Padua
Travelling from Venice airport (VCE) to the Hotels in Padua is easiest if you contact a trasfer service in advance. There is a good service in Padua that is frequently used for conneciton with the airport (30 Euro for 1 person and less for more than 1). It is easy and cheap (costs of the shuttle service is shown on the web site). The web site of this service is www.landomas.it (also in English). The service can be contacted in advance and arrangements made by email (landomas@landomas.com). They will ask information on your flight, time of arrival and final destination. If you do not organize your transportation from Venice in advance it will take extra time and money (a cab is expensive: 100 Euro) and the train can be difficult to find and time consuming. The shuttle will bring you to Padua in approximately 30 minutes.
CONGRESS BACKGROUND
As many of you know, great progress has been made in diagnosing and treating Alström Syndrome. To date, we have come to understand that Alström Syndrome (ALMS; MIM 203800) is a monogenic disorder affecting children in more than 40 countries. The gene responsible for Alstrom Syndrome, ALMS1, is a novel gene of unknown function, ubiquitously expressed in all tissues and affecting multiple organ systems. In early childhood patients present with progressive obesity, hyperinsulinemia, severe insulin-resistance, type 2 diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Retinal dystrophy leads to blindness in adolescence, and bilateral neurosensory hearing loss develops and worsens. Impairment of heart, kidney, and/or liver function at different stages of life severely affect a patient’s prognosis. Other complications involve the pulmonary, bone-skeletal, neuromuscular, hemopoietic and endocrine systems. The diagnosis of Alström Syndrome remains difficult, particularly in view of the overlap between Alstrom Syndrome and other genetic disorders with retinopathy, obesity, or diabetes. Multiple misdiagnoses and delayed diagnosis are common occurrences. Then, too, once correctly diagnosed, treatment options must be carefully evaluated in view of the complexities of the disorder.
As you will see from the working agenda, our goal is to further illuminate many of the discreet elements in the disorder while seeking to understand how the ALMS1 pathway(s) creates such havoc in the special children we treat and the disease we strive to cure.
Inquiries should be directed to Pietro Maffei pietromaffei@libero.it or Jan D. Marshall jdm@jax.org.
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