LUGANO, Switzerland,
November 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
12th International
AMD and Retina Congress in Prague,
2-3 Nov 2012
ESASO, the European School for Advanced Studies in
Ophthalmology, has opened the 12th AMD and Retina Congress
in Prague.
Following on from the 11th congress in Lisbon, which covered the whole spectrum of
retinopathy,
this year's meeting in the
Czech Republic takes a significant
step forward, demonstrating how international collaboration and
exchange among ophthalmologists can facilitate
therapeutic advancements. ESASO expects around 1000 delegates from
40 countries. Twenty-three plenary presentations are planned with
20 case studies, six meet-the-expert-sessions as well as panel
discussions and a poster exhibition.
The first session, will be chaired by Prof. Anat Loewenstein from the Tel Aviv Medical
Center and Prof. Frank Holz from the
University of Bonn, who will review therapeutic approaches to the
treatment of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). In particular, this
session will discuss the evidence for intravitreous aflibercept
which has the potential to offer new treatment options for patients
with RVO.
A second session focuses on surgical treatment of macular
diseases and will be chaired by Prof. Anselm Kampik from the Ludwig Maximillians
University in Munich and
Michael Georgopoulos from the
Medical University of Vienna and
the Vienna Medical Hospital. During this session, the Faculty
will discuss the role of surgical treatments in the management of
patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). An additional focus
will be the challenges and impact of cataract surgery in patients
with AMD and diabetic retinopathy.
Expanding the role of anti-VEGF therapy in ocular disease:
examining the evidence, is the title of the session to be led
by Prof. Leonidas Zografos, Chairman at the Faculty of Biology and
Medicine of the University of Lausanne and Prof. Gabriel Coscas from the Créteil University Eye
Clinic at the University of Paris XII. The session will cover a
controversial issue: the role of anti-VEGF therapy in the field of
ocular tumours.
With 366 million people worldwide predicted to have diabetes by
2030, the treatment of diabetic retinopathy is a key clinical
challenge, and will be the subject of the session chaired by Prof.
Paul Michell from the University of Sydney and Dr. Susan B. Bressler from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in
Baltimore. Leading retina
specialists will discuss a new system for the classification of
DME. This system facilitates innovative treatment paradigms that
minimise the risk of moderate visual loss, including the approval
of the anti-VEGF agent ranibizumab. In a roundtable discussion a
faculty of experts will address a variety of topics on the
management of DME, ranging from the role of wide-field angiography
and OCT, to systemic management.
A further session is devoted to the management of neovascular
AMD; Prof. Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth
from the University of Vienna and
Marco Zarbin from the New Jersey
Medical School in Newark NJ, USA
will Chair this session and 12 specialists will present various
interactive clinical cases including recalcitrant vascularized PED,
and the treatment of PCV in the anti-VEGF era.
In the final session, two scientists from the Oakland University in Royal Oak, MI, USA, Prof. Antonio Capone Jr., Clinical Professor of
Biomedical Sciences and Dr. George
Williams, Chair of the department of Ophthalmology will lead
a session highlighting the disorders of the vitreomacular
interface. One of the topics in this session will be to explore
whether pharmacological vitreolysis has the potential to induce
total posterior vitreous detachment without the need for surgery.
Beside this engaging scientific programme, the humanitarian
award, XOVA, will be an integral part of the congress. XOVA is an
award program led by international eye care specialists and
sponsored by Novartis Pharma and Alcon. XOVA provides funding (in
the form of a grant) to non-profit initiatives that are expected to
have a significant impact on unmet needs in ophthalmology. The 2012
XOVA award will be presented during the congress.
The ESASO Organising Committee of the
12th International AMD and
Retina Congress in Prague
Giuseppe Guarnaccia is President
of the ESASO Foundation and Director III of the Surgery Department
at the BMM Hospital, Reggio Calabria.
Borja Corcóstegui, Professor and Member of the ESASO Foundation
Board, Founder and Director of the Instituto de Microcirurgia
Ocular (IMO), Barcelona.
Francesco Bandello, Professor and Member of the ESASO Founding
Board, is Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the
University Vita-Salute Scientific Institute San Raffaele,
Milan.
12th AMD Congress 2012:
http://www.esaso.org/12th-international-amd-and-retina-congress
ESASO Education 2013:
http://www.esaso.org/programme-2013
ESASO Image Brochure:
http://www.presseportal.ch/go2/ESASO_Image_Brochure
Contact:
ESASO
c/o Università della Svizzera Italiana
Via Lambertenghi 10 A
6904 Lugano, Switzerland
Gariella Skala, General Manager
ESASO
Gabriella.Skala@esaso.org
Cell: +41-76-300-90-00