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...Michael Chopp, Ph.D., the scientific director for the Neuroscience Institute at Henry Ford Hospital. His research has focused on the cellular and molecular biology of cell injury; the microvascular pathophysiology of stroke, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disease; laboratory models of stroke; and MRI.

Prof. Michael Chopp has continued his leadership of an outstanding research group at Henry Ford Hospital (HFH). An internationally recognized expert in the development and treatment of stroke, Prof. Chopp was one of a small international group of scientists invited by the World Health Organization to Geneva to discuss how best to study and treat this disease. He was also invited to give four plenary lectures on this topic at international conferences (as well as many other talks).

In support of his research, Prof. Chopp received four major grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to HFH this year. Seven OU pre-doctoral students (W. Chen, K. Christopolou-Hurd, M. Jacobs, P. Jiang, S. Kaya, V. Nagesh, Z.G. Zhang) work in his laboratory. He plans to give an OU Physics Colloquium entitled "The Clot Thickens: Murder, Suicide, and MRI."

The focus of Prof. Chopp's research is the development of treatments for stroke. His goal is to salvage affected brain tissue. He and his group have recently identified novel death pathways of brain cells after stroke. After the onset of a stroke, brain cells undergo self destruction, a form of programmed cell death. This suicidal process is programmed by genetic alterations. They have identified proteins and genes resposible for the promotion of this form of cell death. With this knowledge, they may be able to intervene to inhibit this suicidal process of cell death.

They have also found that after a stroke secondary events contribute to the growth of the dead tissue. A major contributing factor to this secondary injury is the influx of white blood cells into the region of damage. They have identified the signalling molecules that target these cells to the site of injury and have blocked the function of these molecules. Their data indicate that using this therapeutic approach the amount of injured brain tissue is decreased by a factor of two, and that they can significantly reduce damage from stroke. Prof. Chopp and his group have also developed novel imaging methods using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that permit the non invasive evaluation of the health status of brain tissue. These techniques allow them to identify whether brain cells are simply affected and compromized by the stoke, are in the process of dying or are already dead. This imaging modality may have an important impact on the treatment of stroke patients and will likely improve the management of these patients.

He and his group have recently identified novel death pathways of brain cells after stroke. After the onset of a stroke, brain cells undergo self destruction, a form of programmed cell death. This suicidal process is programmed by genetic alterations. They have identified proteins and genes resposible for the promotion of this form of cell death.

INVITED SPEAKERS
J. Steven Alexander, USA
Bulent Arslan, USA
Raj Attariwala, CANADA
Clive Beggs, UK
Ralph Benedict, USA
Randall Benson, USA
Michael Chopp, USA
Chong P. Chung, TAIWAN
James R. Connor, USA
John Cooke, USA
Patricia Coyle, USA
Michael Dake, USA
Diana Driscoll, CANADA
Robert Fox, USA
Yulin Ge, USA
Donato Gemmati, ITALY
E. Mark Haacke, USA
Ziv J. Haskal, USA
Joseph Hewett, USA
Rick Hoge, CANADA
Han-Hwa Hu, TAIWAN
David Hubbard, USA
Csaba Juh Asz, USA
Nikolaos Liasis, GREECE
Michael Markl, USA
Karen Marr, USA
Sandy McDonald, CANADA
Erica Menegatti, ITALY
Sandra Morovic, ITALY-CROATIA
Andrew Nicolaides, ITALY
Seshadri Raju, USA
Stefan Ropele, AUSTRIA
Fabrizio Salvi, ITALY
Salvatore Sclafani, USA
Adnan Siddiqui, USA
Marian Simka, POLAND
Kamil Ugurbil, USA
Gisel Viselner, ITALY
Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, USA
Paolo Zamboni, ITALY
Robert Zivadinov, USA

I think Dr. Hu and Dr. Chung from Taiwan are the doctors who have researched global transient amnesia and jugular valve insufficiency?

Those are the Doctors who found my LIJV is >90% blocked. They operated 8 patients with results ranging from slight improvements to remarkable recovery. As it is still experimental and that my EDSS is pretty high; they want to wait for expanding the procedure.

Dr. Alexander is an cardiovascular biologist working on how small blood vessels become injured during the process of inflammation. Several diseases including stroke, cancer, Crohn's disease and diabetes are associated with disturbances in how blood vessels restrict exchange of their contents, leading to the development of edema. Our current models indicate the dysregulation of several classes of junctional molecules (tight or occludens junctions, adherens junctions and complexus adherents junctions) mediate the elevated exchange of solute proteins and inflammatory cells during active inflammation. A new and important direction in this area of research is the development of models which consider the lymphatic system and the growth of lymphatic endothelial cells which is known to participate in tumor cell metastasis, but also acute and chronic inflammation.

SCIENTIFIC MEETING - OVERVIEW
Saturday, February 18, 2012
1:00PM 3:00PM Consensus Workshop on Vascular Imaging in CCSVI: Ultrasound Session
3:30PM 5:30PM Consensus Workshop on Vascular Imaging in CCSVI: MR Imaging Session

Sunday, February 19, 2012
8:30AM 10:00AM Consensus Breakout Session
10:30AM 12:00PM Multi-Modal Imaging in CCSVI (Integrating Multi-Modal Imaging Standard)
1:00PM 2:00PM Official Opening of the 2nd Annual Scientific Meeting
2:30PM 3:30PM Abnormal Venous Flow and Neurodegenerative Disease: Part 1
3:30PM 4:30PM Abnormal Vasculature in Neurological Disease Panel Discussion
7:00PM 9:00PM Evening Reception

Monday, February 20, 2012
8:30AM 10:00AM Perfusion, Hypoxia, Ischemia, Reperfusion
10:30AM 12:00PM Abnormal Venous Flow and Neurodegenerative Disease: Part 2
1:00PM 2:30PM CCSVI Introduction: Part 1
3:00PM 4:30PM CCSVI Consensus Guidelines for Diagnosis: Part 2
4:30PM 5:30PM Abnormal Vasculature in Neurological Disease Panel Discussion

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
8:30AM 10:00AM Abnormal Venous Flow and Neurodegenerative Disease: Part 3
10:30AM 12:00PM Iron and its Role In Neurovascular Diseases
1:00PM 2:30PM CCSVI Computational Fluid Dynamics and Measuring Flow: Part 3
3:00PM 4:00PM Abnormal Vasculature in Neurodegenerative Disease: Part 4 - Optical Issues
4:00PM 5:30PM Abstract Presentations

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
8:30AM 10:00AM CCSVI Clinical Trials Methodological Considerations: Part 4
10:30AM 12:00PM Treatment: Abnormal Venous Vasculature in Other diseases
1:00PM 3:00PM Abstract Presentations and Abstract Awards
3:30PM 5:00PM CCSVI Clinical Trials Outcomes: Part 5
5:00PM 5:30PM Closing Session: Passing of the Gavel

Treatment of other venous diseases: Abnormal venous vasculature in other diseases

(10:30am – 12:00pm) Clinical manifestations of acute and chronic venous obstruction in superior vena cava syndrome
(Ziv J. Haskal, USA)

Lessons from endovascular management of lower extremity venous obstruction (Seshadri Raju, USA)

Consequences of venous obstruction involving other vascular beds (Salvatore Sclafani, USA)

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: similarities & differences with CCSVI (Randall Benson, USA)

Occlusion, recanalization and thrombolysis (Bulent Arslan, USA)

Abstract Presentations and Abstract Awards (1:00pm – 3:00pm)

James F. McGuckin (USA) and Matteo Coen (Switzerland) and others to be chosen from selected abstracts

We have examined several venous specimens from MS patients in which CCSVI had
been diagnosed. Five of these specimens were obtained from patients undergoing
jugular vein reconstruction after restenosis following angioplasty and 10 additional
specimens were obtained from a patient with MS and CCSVI who died for unrelated
causes. Five control specimens were obtained at autopsy of patients who died for non
neurological diseases.

Closing Session: Passing of the Gavel (5:00pm – 5:30pm)

Robert Zivadinov, President 2011-2012
Marian Simka, President 2012-2013