You are cordially invited to attend The 7th International 22q11.2 Deletion Meeting and The 10th Annual Max Appeal Conference in Coventry, England, taking place over three days as "back to back" meetings for parents and professionals. A common social function on the second evening will bring all together for a terrific time. The venue is the spectacular Ricoh Arena, home of Coventry City Football Club. The venue is close to the historic Warwick Castle and the Royal Shakespeare Company where some of the children's activities are planned to take place. Regular flights operate through Birmingham International Airport but the centrally located Arena is easily accessible from London and the North.
Advances in diagnostic testing have led to the recognition of a common and complex microdeletion syndrome caused by a chromosome 22q 11.2 deletion. This condition, affecting thousands of children worldwide, causes symptoms that can affect any organ of the body, including such common abnormalities as congenital heart disease, palate abnormalities, and immune deficiency as well as a unique pattern of learning disabilities, delays in language development, and psychosis. The severity and spectrum of clinical findings in this syndrome are widely variable. Advances in palliative surgical interventions have decreased any effect on the reproductive fitness of affected individuals leading to a gradual increase in familial cases, making this an increasingly important medical and surgical problem.
The first International conference to discuss this complex disorder convened in Strasbourg, France, in September 1998. Professionals from around the world met, and exchanged ideas and decided that the dialogue was worth continuing. Subsequent meetings have occurred every two years in Philadelphia, Rome, Atlanta, Marseilles, Utrecht and now on the 29th and 30th July in Coventry in the UK.
The first Max Appeal annual conference for families was held in 2001 in Birmingham and then at various locations around England including Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Bristol, Cambridge, Leicester and now , for the first time over two days, on the 30th and 31st July in Coventry, Warwickshire.
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Dr Donna McDonald-McGinn - Genetics - 22q And You Centre, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Prof Peter Scamber - Molecular Genetics - Institute of Child Health, London Dr Anne Bassett - Adult Psychiatry - University of Toronto, Canada Prof Bernice Morrow - Molecular Genetics - Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York Dr Bruno Marino - Peadiatric Cardiology - Institute of Paediatrics, University of Rome |
Dr Solveig Oskarsdottir - General Pediatrics and Immunology - Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden Dr Nicole Philip - Genetics- Hôpital d'Enfants de la Timone, Marseilles, France Dr Kate Sullivan - Immunology - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Dr Ann Swillen - Educational Pyshology - University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium Dr Jacob Vorstman - Child Psychiatry - University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands |
General information
The scientific programme on the 29th and 30th July is targeted to all health care professionals and basic science researchers, including physicians (both general and specialists), scientists, genetic counsellors, psychologists, speech therapists, audiologists, educators, nurses, and other health care professionals.
The family programme on the 30th and 31st July is aimed at parents, other family members, carers and all those concerned with the day to day care of people with the condition and those who wish to discover more about the condition.
