BIOSTRESS BIOSTRESS.MIL – The Use of Biomarkers in the Military: From PTSD Susceptibility to Disease The first symposium on Biomarkers in the Military was held in 2012 in New York in conjunction with the annual conference of the international society for. Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE). Immediately following this year’s ISPNE on August 23, 2013, a second special one-day satellite symposium will be held that will highlight progress and innovation in the field of biomarkers research for PTSD and other combat trauma disorders in military settings. This field is developing at a very rapid pace. So the relevant question that is central to this day is: what have we learned one year later? This day aims to bring together researchers who have been supported by the Departments of Defense, Veterans Administrations, the National Institutes of Health, or other government funded and relevant non-profit agencies around the world to identify Posttraumatic Stress (PTS) symptom susceptibility/risk -, disease - and therapy biomarkers, and to study the impact of blast-related Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). We will feature a series of discussions by pre-eminent researchers in the field in the form of plenary panels and roundtables. PTS symptoms can develop in the aftermath of combat or other life threatening traumatic events. Unfortunately, while there are numerous studies describing potential PTS biomarkers, some of which might progress to the point of practical use in the future, none as yet have been clinically validated. We aim to synthesize some of the latest findings on potential imaging -, psychological -, endocrine - and molecular PTS biomarkers and attempt to classify them into susceptibility/risk -, disease - and therapy markers. In addition, we will discuss the interface between TBI and PTS symptom emergence, and also discuss TBI biomarkers. These biomarkers may be especially useful for the military, but also extend to other high exposure groups, e.g. police officers and firefighters to identify individuals at high risk for PTS or TBI in order to allow for primary prevention strategies or, if exposure has already occurred, to allow preventive therapy to inhibit or mitigate secondary symptoms or resulting illnesses, e.g. heart disease, dementia. PTS therapy could be considerably improved by the use of biomarkers that validate and support the diagnosis; by biomarkers that predict the success of various therapeutic strategies before their application and by biomarkers that allow monitoring of the course of therapy. The fact that no validated biomarkers are so far in clinical use stresses the urgent need for further biomarker research to better elucidate the molecular underpinnings of PTS, and for collaborative work with larger sample sizes. In support of that aim this symposium outlines the current state of research on PTS and TBI biomarkers by bringing together military leaders and key researchers to review current findings and to discuss current and future applications. Looking forward to welcome you in Amsterdam for this day! No registration fee. Seating is limited. All participants are kindly reminded to bring a passport or ID card with them in order to obtain a security badge to gain access to the Naval Barracks. Location of the meeting: Naval Barracks Amsterdam Kattenburgerstraat 7 1000 BA AMSTERDAM Organizers Prof dr COL VERMETTEN, Military Mental Health – Research/LUMC/UMC, the Netherlands Prof Dewleen BAKER, VA Center for Stress and Mental Health and University of California, San Diego, USA Prof Rachel YEHUDA, Mount Sinai School of Medicine/Bronx VA, New York Registration: Email Linda van Dun at [email protected]. Please provide passport number for entrance to base. For ISPNE registered particiapants: A bus will depart at 0700 from Golden Tulip Hotel in Leiden. If you come by car please also provide license plate number of the car for entrance and parking on the base. If you come by train of other means of transportation and need information to the base, see the information in this package. High officers (generals) will be picked up from airport. Several hotels are nearby. Please see the package with specific information. Lodging is possible at the base for limited group. Please email Mrs Joke Geluk , [email protected]. Program advisors: Prof Robert Ursano, USA; Prof Murray Stein, USA; COL Carl Castro, USA; Prof Ron de Kloet, NLD; COL Rakesh Jetly, CAN; Prof Alexander McFarlane, AUS; Prof Mark Geyer, USA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prefinal Program 0830-840 Welcome BGen Johan de Graaff tbd 0840-915 Update on biomarkers (concepts, designs definitions) Prof Rachel Yehuda/New York, USA Prof Dewleen Baker/San Diego, USA Prof dr COL Eric Vermetten/Leiden-Utrecht, Netherlands 0915-1030 PTSD markers of disease – hormones, sleep and metabolomics MODERATOR PROF DR COL Eric VERMETTEN/Leiden-Utrecht, NETHERLANDS Prof J Douglas Bremner/Atlanta, USA Dr Mirjam van Zuiden/Amsterdam, Netherlands Prof Alexander Neumeister/New York, USA Dr Spoormaker/Munich, Germany Prof Thomas Neylan/San Francisco, USA Prof Robert Naviaux/San Diego, USA 1030-1100 COFFEE 1100-1230 PTSD markers of disease – genetics, epigenetics and genomics MODERATOR COL Rakesh JETLY/Ottawa, CANADA Asst Prof Caroline Nievergelt/San Diego, USA Dr Geert Smid/Oegstgeest, Netherlands Dr Christiaan Vinkers/Utrecht, Netherlands Dr Bart Rutten/Maastricht, Netherlands Dr Ulrike Schmidt/Munich, Germany Prof Stephen Glatt/San Diego, USA 1230-1330 LUNCH 1330-1430 New discoveries in blast related TBIs MODERATOR MAJ Erik de SOIR/BELGIUM Prof Dewleen Baker/San Diego, USA Prof Dr Marten Risling/Stockholm, Sweden Prof Mingxiong Huang/San Diego, USA Col Jack Tsao/Washington, USA 1430-1530 PANEL DISCUSSIOB; Military collaborations in and across nations – Military leadership: will this pay off for the new generation of veterans? MODERATORS PROF David SPIEGEL/San Francisco, USA – Prof Rachel YEHUDA/New York, USA Col Rakesh Jetly/Ottawa, CAN Col Jan van den Ham/Utrecht, Netherlands Maj drs Erik de Soir/Brussels, Belgium Prof Neil Greenberg/London, UK Col Peter Zimmerman/Berlin, Germany tbd Dr Ron Hoover, USA tbd Prof dr Adelbert Bronkhorst/Zeist, Netherlands Ron dr Ron de Kloet/Leiden, The Netherlands Prof dr Dick Swaab/Amsterdam, Netherlands 1530-1600 ADJOURN 1600 - BOAT RIDE Amsterdam Canals (optional) 1900 - DINNER (optional)
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 22:59:15 +0000