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BSSA Annual Medical meeting & 2008 AGM
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Doctors, Dentists and Consultants - £60
Medical Trainees, Junior Doctors and support staff - £30
BSSA members Free of charge |
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On Saturday 11 th October 2008 the BSSA will be holding a Medical meeting, Sjögren's Syndrome New Horizons, at the Birmingham Dental Hospital .
The meeting will include talks from speakers all over the country all with an interest in Sjögren's syndrome. The talks are open to medics, Sjögren's sufferers and the general public, there will also be a general forum hosted by two consultants, which will give sufferers the opportunity to ask questions, and the forum has been extended due to its success last year.
The BSSA will also be holding their AGM at the same meeting giving all the opportunity to attend.
BSSA members, even though your entrance is free of charge we ask if you could still request a ticket before as we only have a limited number of places. If you wish to bring a partner or friend there will be a charge of £15, this is to help cover costs, and again tickets need to be purchased before hand.
For more information or tickets please write to: BSSA, Po Box 10867 , Birmingham , B16 0ZW . Cheques made payable to BSSA. Thank you.
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BSR 2008 conference
The British Society of rheumatologists (BSR) held an annual four day scientific meeting, and this year it was held in Liverpool 's ACC's 3400m2 Arena, where the BSSA had a stand.
BSR currently has around 1,500 members in the UK and overseas; the majority of these are consultant and trainee rheumatologists. BSR also has a number of members who are allied health professionals, primary care workers, scientists and others working in the field of rheumatology. |
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The exhibition was filled with the UK 's leading pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers, medical publishers, professional societies and other organisations involved in the field of rheumatology. Where delegates could visit interactive stalls, observe practical demonstrations, pick up interesting literature and merchandise, and network with colleagues and different organisations.
The BSSA were also represented at the exhibition by volunteers from the Liverpool support group, Barbara, BSSA trustee and Isabel, BSSA office manager. This gave the BSSA the opportunity to raise awareness of Sjögren's Syndrome with delegates and promote the BSSA. The stand, 2m x 3m was always manned by two volunteers, which meant no delegate escaped our presence during the week. At the stand we gave out over 900 pieces of literature regarding the Sjögren's Syndrome and BSSA, also as the volunteers are sufferers they could answer so many of the medics questions and give them a first hand account of how Sjögren's syndrome effects their lives.
A big thank goes to all those who came along and gave there time.
For taking the time in helping the BSSA and raising awareness with so many medical professionals, hopefully this will increase their knowledge of Sjögren's Syndrome which in turn will help our members and other sufferers.
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Sjogren's Syndrome - All you need to know and more!
and the BSSA 2007 AGM |
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Over 100 people joined the BSSA on Saturday 6th October for a conference on Sjögren's Syndrome. It was attended by medical professionals and BSSA members all eager to find out as much as they possibly could about this disabling condition.
The conference was held at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon where delegates were cheerfully greeted by Toral who currently works alongside Isabel, the Office Manager for the BSSA. |
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9.30am the conference begins with talks on the practical management of Sjögren's Syndrome:
Chair Dr. Elizabeth Price
Dr. John Hamburger Sjögren's Syndrome, the oral component Mr Francisco Figueiredo the impact of dry eye disease in Sjögren's patients
Sue Brown the role of Nurse Specialist in the management of Sjögren's Syndrome |
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After an informative hour, everyone enjoyed refreshments, which gave fellow sufferers the opportunity to share stories and talk to specialist nurses, doctors and consultants. It also gave the BSSA a chance to sell Christmas cards and merchandise and nobody was allowed to escape' without buying raffle tickets. All of the prizes for the raffle were very kindly donated by Woolworth's and Wilkinson's.
There was opportunity to visit the stands on display from pharmaceutical companies. This was perfect for the medical professionals to speak to the company representatives about the details of their products. |
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10.45am the conference re-commences with talks on the differential diagnosis and current medical management:
Chair Dr. Simon Bowman
Professor Patrick Venables The boundaries of Sjögren's Syndrome
Dr. John Hamburger The mouth in Sjögren's Syndrome and what's new?
Dr. John Hunter, Glasgow Improved management of destructive arthritis in Sjögren's Syndrome
Dr. Colin Pease Myalgia, a symptom common to several disorders, Fibromylagia, Polymylagia or Sjögren's Syndrome |
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It was an extremely busy time for the Regional Liaison Officers (RLO's) who came from all over the country including Glasgow , Liverpool and Manchester . Their efforts were very much appreciated by the BSSA.
The RLO's also held a meeting which was attended by Isabel. As Office Manager for the charity, Isabel was able to update the RLO's about what she had been doing on their behalf and at the same time it also allowed the RLO's to raise any issues or concerns and to swap ideas for fundraising and supporting members.
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The BSSA would like to say a huge thank you to all of their RLO's for the hard work they do throughout the year and the great support they give to their members.
The Medical Council held their meeting too. Chaired by
Dr. Simon Bowman, Medical President, they had the opportunity to discuss the placement of their annual research grant and which members of the council would sit on the Selection Committee. At the meeting articles for future issues of the newsletter were discussed and members volunteered their support in the production of them.
he BSSA are very lucky to have a very supportive Medical Council with such a wealth of expertise and knowledge. |
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At 1pm, the afternoon session of the conference began with both talks and a forum.
Talks in the main lecture theatre:
Chair Professor Patrick Venables
Dr. Luke Dawson Salivary gland hypofunction
(research update)
Dr. Frances Hall T cells in Sjögren's Syndrome
Professor Constantino Pitzalis Mechanisms of autoimmunity and lymphomagenesis in Sjögren's Syndrome |
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The forum was well attended and hosted by Dr. S. Rigby as well as Bridget and Gill from the BSSA helpline. It was a great success and the material distributed was very informative.
The day continued with the BSSA AGM, which again was very well attended. Chairman Linda Stone presented her report on the progress of the BSSA during the last 12 months as well as the future plans for the charity, in particular with fundraising. The BSSA can keep running with the members it currently has, but if the charity wants to make a difference by raising awareness or supporting research into Sjögren's Syndrome, then it needs to raise more funds. |
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The BSSA office is making fundraising a primary issue over the next twelve months and is asking for continued support from its members. Every single contribution a member makes by whatever means, whether it's filling a money box, having a coffee morning or organising an event, will make a guaranteed difference.
Dr. Simon Bowman, Trustee and Medical Council President, highlighted areas of significance within the accounts and also reinforced Linda Stone's comments that the BSSA needs to continue working with its members to raise much needed funds and increase the profile of Sjögren's Syndrome. |
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This in turn will then help people receive the informed medical support they require. With increased funds, more in-depth research into Sjögren's Syndrome can be funded by the BSSA and at the end of the day, if the BSSA do not fund the research into this condition, who will?
To conclude the AGM, Linda Stone and Dr. Simon Bowman, through rotation, retired as trustees but were then immediately re-elected. They then welcomed Barbara Preston, who was previously the RLO for the Liverpool group, as a new trustee for the charity. This now confirms the trustees as Linda J. Stone OBE, Dr. Simon Bowman, Dr. Elizabeth Price, Dr. John Hamburger, Professor Stephen Porter and Barbara Preston. |
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14.45pm the final set of talks began on Sjögren's and
extra glandular manifestations
Chair Dr. Colin Pease
Dr. Nurhan Sutcliffe Neurological manifestations of
Sjögren's Syndrome
Dr. Shirley Rigby Skin manifestations of Sjögren's Syndrome
Dr. Roope Manhas Cardiovascular risk in Sjögren's Syndrome
Dr. Elizabeth Price Urogynae & GI manifestations of Sjögren's Syndrome |
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Linda Stone then went on to offer her thanks to the speakers and all of those who attended the day. The raffle was drawn and prizes distributed with the final part of the day involving
Dr. John Hamburger cutting a beautiful 21st birthday cake that was kindly baked by Dr. Price and iced by Jill Barrow. He then passed his own thanks on to
Dr. Price for arranging such a successful day along with the support of the BSSA office |
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Sjögren's International Clinical Collaborative Alliance (SICCA)
Anybody who suffers from dry mouth or dry eyes wanting more information either for themselves or a family member or wishing to become part of the SICCA project, or indeed to be investigated for Sjögren's Syndrome, should contact Dr Beni Jacob, Sjögren's Syndrome clinic, King's College London Dental Institute, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT (or by e-mail via mariska.adamson@kcl.ac.uk ). Alternatively ring on 0207 188 4374/ 0207188 4391. Detailed information on SICCA can also be found on the website www.sicca.ucsf.eduww
Three years ago, the National Institute of Health in the USA funded a major international collaboration with the objective of properly defining the characteristics of primary Sjögren's Syndrome and its various sub-types. It also aims to identify diagnostic markers which can be used in the future and amass a repository of patient samples which can be used by any research group to further study into the syndrome. From the beginning of 2007, the Sjögren's Syndrome group at Guy's Hospital became the sixth international centre and the only one from the UK to be a partner in this project. The other centres are in Buenos Aires ( Argentina ), Beijing ( China ), Denmark and Japan with the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) coordinating the alliance. It has been named the Sjögren's International Clinical Collaborative Alliance (SICCA) and the six participating groups use identical forms and methods to collect data from patients, their oral, ophthalmologic and rheumatologic examinations and collections of bio specimens, including tears, saliva, serum, DNA and salivary gland tissue. Professor Stephen Challacombe, together with Professor Gabriel Panayi, founded a multi-disciplinary Sjögren's clinic at Guy's Hospital in 1989. This clinic continues to have oral medicine, rheumatological and ophthalmological input and is the basis of the link with SICCA.
The aim of SICCA is to develop diagnostic criteria and provide well-characterised specimens to scientists studying the genetics, immunology and treatment of Sjögren's now and in the future. At the moment, more than 700 patients around the world have signed on to the registry and we hope that the London Group will enable UK patients, family members and other individuals to sign up to this study.
.sicca.ucsf.edu |
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