The 31st Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) will take place May 24-27 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
Typically hosting more than 2,000 attendees and 70 exhibitors, this event is the premier North American educational conference for international clinicians and scientists working in MS care and research, as well as members of more than 60 Veterans Administration MS programs and 225 MS centers in the United States, Canada and Europe.
This year’s meeting features a robust educational agenda with more than 130 educational hours of symposiums, workshops, lectures, panels, roundtable discussions, poster sessions, platform presentations and continuing education programs.
The educational content will highlight the latest developments in MS care to meet the needs of multi-disciplinary learners, including healthcare professionals, pharmacists, researchers and advocates, as well as mental health and rehabilitation professionals involved in MS care and research.
“This year’s opening day lectures feature some of the leading authorities in MS care and research,” the consortium’s CEO, June Halper, said in a statement. “The world of MS diagnosis, treatment and care is evolving, and attendees at the CMSC Annual Meeting will be immersed in the latest care strategies and research findings that lead to optimal outcomes for patients.”
The 2017 meeting agenda includes full courses on subjects such as fundamentals of MS care; current topics and trends in MS rehabilitation; core concepts for the MS nurse; an MS health professional’s guide to cannabis; CNS repair and ways to measure it; unique wellness approaches to progressive MS; controversies in multiple sclerosis treatments; T cells/B cells, and invisible symptoms: depression, cognitive dysfunction.
Aaron L. Boster, MD, a neuroimmunologist specializing in MS at Ohio Health, will open this year’s meeting with the John F. Kurtzke Memorial Lecture: “MS Comprehensive Care: A Team Sport.”
On May 25, Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, a neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research, will deliver the Presidential Lecture on “New McDonald Criteria,” addressing how criteria for diagnosing MS have been revised, and reporting on a consensus workshop recently convened to assess performance of the current 2010 McDonald Criteria.
Dr. Emmanuelle Waubant will moderate the John Whitaker Memorial Lecture on May 26 by Dr. Jerry Wolinsky, professor emeritus and former director of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston’s Multiple Sclerosis Research Group, on “How Research on Pediatric MS Can Inform Thoughts on MS Pathogenesis.”
On May 27, the Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Brian G. Weinshenker will deliver the Donald Paty Memorial Lecture, “Aggressive Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis: Is it Right for Most, Some or No Patients?” He will discuss arguments and inherent risks associated with aggressive MS treatment to help clinicians to develop a better understanding when discussing the topic with patients.
Informational and networking dinners on May 24 will include a talk, “Meet the Professor,” with Dr. Giancarlo Comi, who discusses “What is New in MS Treatment: The Benefits in Everyday Clinical Practice.”
A full schedule of meeting events can be found at http://cmscscholar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017_Agenda-HM.pdf.
For information on how to register for the CMSC conference, visit http://cmscscholar.org/registration/
To cover the event as a member of the media, please contact Annie Scully at annie.scully@mscare.org or call her at (201) 310-9252.
