Dear friends and colleagues,
It is our special honor and sincere pleasure to invite you and your colleagues again on behalf of the Organizing Committee to the Eight Rijeka Forum of Neurodegenerative Diseases (September 16-17, 2024) organized by the Clinic of Neurology UHC Rijeka, Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka and the Department of Biomedical Sciences in Rijeka of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Our goal is to present the latest developments and dilemmas in the field of neurodegenerative diseases with a special focus this year on the regulation of gene expression in neurological
disease and neuroimmunology; and other news in neurodegenerative diseases, to improve our daily practical and scientific work. We hope you will enjoy the news in this important area of neurology and neuroscience.
We sincerely hope that you will join us and recommend this meeting to your colleagues.
Vladimira Vuletić
Save the Date and join us in beautiful Rijeka.
Extraordinary lecturers with lectures on the latest achievements in neuroscience and
neurodegenerative diseases are in the program and the registration for the forum is FREE.
PROGRAM
OPENING
(8:30-9:00)
Introduction
Stipan Jonjić, M.D., PhD, Professor, Academician, Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in Rijeka, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Rijeka, Croatia
Vladimira Vuletić, M.D., PhD, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Welcome address
Zdravka Poljaković, M.D., PhD, Professor, President of the Croatian Neurological Society, Medical Faculty, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Alen Ružić, M.D., PhD, Professor, Director, Clinical Hospital Center, Rijeka, Croatia
Goran Hauser, M.D., PhD, Associate Professor, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, CroatiaSnježana Prijić Samaržija, PhD, Professor, Rector, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
1st day – September 16th, 2024
| 9:00 – 12:00 h |
I. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE UPDATES
Chairmen: Nenad Bogdanović and Elka Stefanova
John Hardy, M.D., PhD, Professor, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
Neurodegeneration as a symptom of exhaustion of degradative systems
Nenad Bogdanović, M.D., PhD, Professor, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Perspective: antibody treatment of neurodegenerative disorders
Catherine Mummery, M.D., PhD, Professor, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
Emerging therapies in Alzheimer’s disease: translating genetics into clinical impact
Silva Katušić Hećimović, PhD, Professor, Ass. Professor, Institut Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, Croatia
Which comes first: neuroinflammation or neurodegeneration – the case of juvenile Alzheimer’s disease
Amos D. Korczyn, M.D., PhD, Professor Emeritus, CONy President, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
The riddle of Alzheimer’s disease
Elka Stefanova, M.D., PhD, Professor, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
The Role of Fluid Biomarkers in AD Diagnosis – report from the Memory clinic
Discussion: 12:00 – 12:15
Break for refreshment: 12:15 – 12:30
| 12:30 – 14:30 h |
II. ALPE ADRIA SECTION AND MOVEMENT DISORDERS (1st PART)
Chairmen: Vladimira Vuletić and Maja Trošt
Elena Moro, M.D., PhD, Centre Grenoble University Hospital Center, and Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
A peek into what DBS will be able to do in the next 5 years
Kailash Bhatia, M.D., PhD, Professor, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK A new gene for Parkinson’s and new predictive biomarker
Angelo Antonini, M.D.,PhD, Professor, Neurology Clinic Padua and University of Padua, Padua, Italy
Disease modifying strategies
Michele Tinazzi, M. M.D.,PhD, Professor, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Axial Postural abnormalities in PD
Discussion: 14:30 – 14:45
Lunch break: 14:45– 15:45
Flesh presentation of young researchers:14.45-15.45
| 15:45 – 17:45 h |
III. ALPE ADRIA SECTION AND MOVEMENT DISORDERS (2nd PART) TREATMENTS
Chairmen: Vladimira Vuletić and Maja Trošt
Aleksandra Tomić, M.D., PhD, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Genetic landscape of complex dystonia syndromes
Norbert Kovacs, M.D., PhD, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary
Functional symptoms in Parkinson’s disease patients treated with device-aided therapies
Maja Trošt, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Switching and combining DAT in advanced PD and safety of advanced treatments
Iva Stanković, M.D., PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
An update on multiple system atrophy
Milica Ječmenica-Lukić, M.D., PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Atypical atypical parkinsonism: the catalogue of genetic and immune-mediated mimics
Discussion: 17:45 – 18:00
2nd day – September 17th, 2024
| 9:00 – 11:00 h |
IV. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND NEUROIMMUNOLOGY
Chairmen: Borut Peterlin and David Bonifačić
Celia Oreja-Guevara, MD, PhD, University Hospital San Carlos and Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Are imaging (MRI) and biomarkers useful tools for disease monitoring in NMOSD?
Borut Peterlin, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Genetics in Multiple sclerosis
Gregor Brecl Jakob, M.D., PhD, Assistant Professor, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Clinical, MRI and laboratory correlates of degeneration/progression in MS
David Bonifačić, M.D., PhD, Assistant Professor, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Epstein–Barr virus and multiple sclerosis: moving from questions of association to questions of mechanism
Discussion: 11:00 – 11:15
Break for refreshment: 11:15 – 11:30
| 11:30 – 14:10 h |
V. NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS UPDATES
Chairmen: Patrick Küry and Zvezdan Pirtošek
Vida Demarin, M.D., PhD, Professor, Academician, Secretary of the Department of Medical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, President of International Institute for Brain Health, Zagreb, Croatia
The role of stress in neurodegenerative Diseases
Patrick Küry, M.D., PhD, Professor, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Hein University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Functional assessment of endogenous retrovirus mediated neurodegeneration via transcriptome analysis
Dinko Mitrečić, M.D., PhD, Professor, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, Zagreb, Croatia
How do stem cells change expression of genes involved in cell death and autophagy in the neural tissue affected by hypoxia?
Zvezdan Pirtošek, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Can lamarckism explain cognitive evolution in humans?
Ivana Munitić, M.D., PhD, Professor, Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug research, University of Rijeka, Croatia
Analysis of optineurin variants in neurodegenerative diseases
Gabriela Novotni, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Clinic of Neurology, Medical Faculty, University “Ss Cyril and Methodius”, Skopje, North Macedonia
What is in a name and what is in the brain – a few short dementia stories on genotype/phenotype correlation and protein aggregation
Jason Cannon, PhD, Professor, Purdue University, West Lafayette, SAD
Parkinson’s disease risk and mechanisms from military relevant organophosphate exposures
Fran Borovečki, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Immunogenetics of Parkinson’s disease-a single cell sequencing approach
Discussion: 14:10 – 14:25
Lunch: 14:25 – 15:25
Flesh presentation and posters of young researchers: 14.25-15.25
| 15:25 – 17:15 h |
VI. PARKINSON’S DISEASE UPDATES ON GENETICS AND NEUROIMMUNOLOGY
Chairmen: Slavica Kovačić and Vladimira Vuletić
Slavica Kovačić, M.D., PhD, Assistant Professor, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Longitudinal changes in free-water of the substantia nigra in PD
Dejan Georgiev, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Genetic testing before deep brain stimulation for movement disorders: is it really needed?
Nataša Klepac, M.D., PhD, Professor, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
How can non-pharmacological interventions support a person with cognitive impairment?
Darko Chudy, MD, PhD, Professor, University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia
Parkinson’s disease updates
Vladimira Vuletić, M.D., PhD, Professor, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka and Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Microbiota and neurodegenerative diseases
| 17:15 h |
VII. CLOSING REMARKS
Chairman: Vladimira Vuletić
