Oct 13, 2009
2009 Annual Conference & Bernice Schacter Research Symposium
Carla Koss
Featured for the first time at this year’s annual meeting of the Delaware Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society—live videoconferencing at satellite locations in Kent and Sussex counties!
Plus, in addition to the community health fair at the Ammon Medical Education Center on the campus at Christiana Hospital—a physician education program offering three CME hours!
Scheduled for Saturday, October 24, this year’s annual meeting of the Delaware Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will be held at the Ammon Medical Education Center on the campus at Christiana Hospital in Newark. From 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 NOON, as many as 20 vendors will kick off the conference by providing information of interest to people with MS at the community health fair. From 12:00 NOON to 1:00 P.M., the Delaware Chapter’s annual meeting, luncheon, and awards ceremony takes place followed by the new community education portion of the event from 1:15 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. This client-focused discussion panel will include Sanjai C. Rao, D.O., of the Child Neurology Clinic; Bibiana Bielekova, M.D., of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke at the National Institutes of Health; Lee Schacter, PH.D., M.D., of Phase N Consulting; Tim Coetzee, PH.D., of FastForward, LLC; and Amy T. Waldman, M.D., of the Pediatric MS Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Thanks to live video-conferencing technology, chapter members statewide can stay close to home and still take part in the afternoon activities from 12:00 NOON to 3:00 P.M. In Dover, the videoconference takes place at Kent General Hospital; and in Seaford, at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital.
New this year, the physician education program runs from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon. Co-sponsored by the Medical Society of Delaware, this part of the program offers three CME hours on immunology, research & MS:
• Bibiana Bielekova, M.D., will talk about new advances in understanding MS disease processes and their translation into new therapies for MS patients.
• Lee Schacter, PH.D., M.D., will cover research, giving an overview of drug development.
• Tim Coetzee, PH.D., will talk about the future of MS research.
• Amy Waldman, M.D., will cover advances in pediatric MS treatment.
For chapter members attending the Christiana site, the cost is $10 per person; $5 for each person attending the satellite locations. To take part in the physician education program, the cost is $50 per person.
For more information, call (302) 655-5610 or (800) 344-4867. Or visit www.MSdelaware.org.
About multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often-disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and the body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS.
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50 with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S.; more than 1,500 Delawareans have been diagnosed.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
MS stops people from moving; the National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. In 2007 alone, through our home office and 50-state network of chapters, we devoted more than $136 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested more than $50 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS—NOW. Join the movement at www.nationalMSsociety.org.
Early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis. Learn about the options by talking to a health-care professional and then contacting the National MS Society at www.nationalMSsociety.org or at 800-FIGHT-MS (800-344-4867). In Delaware, call (302) 655-5610. Or visit www.MSdelaware.org.