Dr. Jeffrey Deitch accepting questions from the audience.

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The 21st International Symposium for ALS/MND was held December 2010 in Orlando, Florida. The Symposium is organized by the Motor Neuron Disease Association and the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations and the ALS Hope Foundation sponsors the Allied Professionals' Forum and the Ask the Experts session.

Leaders of organizations from around the world convene first for the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations meeting. Dr. Jeffery Deitch presented an overview of RNA and the research surrounding it at this meeting. He was also elected as Treasurer of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations.

These meetings end with an Ask the Experts session where local residents have the chance to come and listen to presentations by experts in the field and ask questions. This session was chaired by Dr. Jeffery Deitch.

Then one full day is devoted to the Allied Health Professionals' Forum which brings together allied health professionals from around the globe. Sara Feldman was part of the program committee for this event. She and Donna Harris presented "Improving Communication Between the ALS Center and Caregivers in the Community."

The International Symposium for ALS/MND completes the final three days of meetings. Dr. Heiman-Patterson, co-chaired one of the meetings.

The poster session is another means of exchanging information and educating others to the work being done at the MDA/ALS Center of Hope. The following posters were supported by members of our team: Dr. Terry Heiman-Patterson and Dr. Jeffrey Deitch presented "Neuropathology of Mice Expressing a Very Low Copy Number of the Mutant Human G93A SOD1 Gene Associated with ALS" with support from co-authors Rachel Masel and K. Kocher. Vincent Petaccio, a biomedical engineering student at Drexel presented a poster on his work with the Brain Computer Interface, "Comparing the Efficacy of the Checkerboard Paradigm Versus the Row/Column Paradigm in a P300-Based Brain Computer Interface in Individuals with ALS" with Dr. Heiman-Patterson and Sara Feldman as co-authors.

Dr. Jeffrey Deitch presenting his lecture to the International Alliance of MND Associations.

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Berlin, Germany was the setting for the 20th International Symposium for ALS/MND organized by the Motor Neuron Disease Association in cooperation with the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations held in December 2009. Terry Heiman-Patterson MD, Jeffrey Deitch PhD and Sara Feldman PT attended the symposium. The Allied Professionals' Forum and the Ask the Experts sessions were sponsored by The ALS Hope Foundation.

The International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations meeting convenes leaders of organizations from around the world to discuss issues impacting individuals with ALS wherever they live. Dr. Jeffery Deitch presented at this meeting on "How to answer the question "Is there any progress in finding a cure.""

The Allied Health Professionals' Forum brings together allied health professionals from around the globe. It is an important meeting for these health professionals such as nurses and therapists to learn from each other and network with others providing care. Sara Feldman gave a presentation on "The P300 Speller; Using a Brain Computer Interface for Communication" during which she described the research being done at the MDA/ALS Center of Hope using the Brain Computer Interface.

During the symposium, Dr. Heiman-Patterson, along with Dr. Jeffrey Rosenfeld from UCSF, California, chaired the clinical session "Translating Evidence into Practice."

The poster session was another means of exchanging information and educating others to the work being done at the MDA/ALS Center of Hope. The following posters were supported by members of our team: Dr. Terry Heiman-Patterson presented two posters 1) "Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) Linked to Phenotype in the G93A SOD1 TG Mouse" with support from co-authors Dr. Elizabeth Blankenhorn, Dr. Guillermo Alexander, Matt Myerson and Dr. Jeffrey Deitch in the laboratory and 2) "Effects of NIPPV Initiation on Pulmonary Function Testing in ALS Subjects" along with Dr. Michael Sherman, Sara Feldman, and Melonie Mitchell from the Center. They were also co-authors on " Factors Associated with Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation Compliance in ALS/MND Patients" presented by Dr. Carlayne Jackson from University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas.
Sara Feldman presented a poster on the work done by her biomedical engineering student Jennifer King on "An Examination of the Effect of Ground and Reference Electrode Placement on the Accuracy of the P300" with Dr. Heiman-Patterson as a co-author.

The people that we met, the connections that we made, the individuals that inspired us and the knowledge that we were both able to leave and take away will forever stay with us. The experience reaffirms our drive and desire to continue this fight against ALS.

The ERICA eye gaze system versus manual letter board to aid communication in ALS/MND
Donna Harris, Mark Goren
British Journal of Neuroscience Nursing
Volume 5, Issue 5; 08 May 2009, pp227-230.