The 9th Summer School of Myology took place on 14-23 June 2006.
This annual event organized by the Institute of Myology and sponsored by the French Muscular Dystrophy Association (AFM-Association Française contres les Myopathies) and the European Neuromuscular Centre attracted 38 students from 21 different nationalities this year.
As last year, there were many Indian and South American representatives. The increasing popularity of the Summer School attracted attendance from four new countries this year: Serbia, Taiwan, Armenia and Costa Rica.
The 10-day interactive program was an excellent opportunity to participate in lectures and workshops provided by world renowned specialists in the field of neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders.
J. Andoni Urtizberea, a clinical myologist now involved in respite care for neuromuscular patients in Hendaye, Basque Country, played a pivotal role in the organisation and success of this 9th edition of the Summer School together with his colleagues working at the Institut de Myologie, Norma Romero, Michel Fardeau, Stéphanie Tardy and many others.
Five of the speakers present came from abroad to enlighten participants with exciting advances in their respective research fields:
Dr. Alberto Rosa is an Argentinean MD involved in molecular genetics of many neuromuscular diseases in his hometown of Cordoba, Argentina. His contribution to myology is two-fold: he described the second LGMD 1A family ever reported in the scientific literature, and second, he has been conducting many research projects on FSHD, facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, a disease whose underlying cause remains unclear to date.
Dr. Rolf Schroeder is a German neurologist and researcher based in Cologne, Germany. His research is presently focused on protein aggregate myopathies. These myopathies are an emerging group of muscle diseases whose nomenclature is still debated. Formerly known as desmin-related myopathies, they are characterized by structural abnormalities and marked by the aggregation of intrinsic proteins within muscle fibers, and by defects in a growing number of different genes such as: desmin, alpha-B crystalline, myotilin, plectin, valosin-containing protein, and many others yet to be discovered.
Dr. Anders Oldfors is a Swedish pathologist based in Göteborg who recently pioneered the concept of myosinopathies. This newly recognised group of neuromuscular disorders has different clinical phenotypes including those pertaining to congenital and/or distal myopathies and is related to mutations in the myosin heavy chain genes.
Dr. Giovanni Meola is an Italian professor of neurology at the University of Milan. Since the very early description of PROMM disease by Prof. Ricker in Germany, he has acquired an undisputed clinical expertise in that rare variant of myotonic dystrophy and carried out many clinical studies in the field, notably at the cognitive level.
Dr. Thomas Voit is a child neurologist by training and profession but he is also one of the worldwide leading experts in clinical myology. He is currently working in Essen, Germany, and is expected to join the Institute of Myology in Paris next September as Medical and Scientific Director. His contribution to the complex field of congenital muscular dystrophies has been widely acknowledged.
A novelty for 2006 is the publication of a ‘Summer School of Myology Textbook’ which is currently in preparation.
The courses from this years’ Summer School will be published on line in pdf format by September 2006.
