The International Congress for Ataxia Research (ICAR) was held in London on November 12-15. This was the biggest gathering of people interested in ataxia, with 600 attendees from 32 countries. The audience included scientists, clinicians and representatives from pharmaceutical companies and patient organizations.
The latest research and findings in the ataxia field were shared through talks, workshops, debates and poster presentations. Around 350 scientific research posters were presented and over 80 invited talks were given.
A true symbol of our global progress was the amount and quality of the DRPLA research presented at ICAR. We also showcased our 5-Year Impact Report and other pamphlets at a booth to raise awareness about our work.
Velvet Smith and Bereket Gidi from Dr Carroll’s group delivered a talk on DRPLA mouse research at the main stage. They presented the positive results from testing antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) in these mice which present a severe form of DRPLA, and how treatment with ASO improves DRPLA-related symptoms in these mice.
In addition, there were seven posters highlighting the outstanding body of global research:
- Prof Shi-Rui Gan from Fujian Medical University (China) presented clinical information from 116 people with DRPLA across different provinces in China
- Prof Louise Corben from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Australia) presented preliminary findings from using a spoon to track upper limb movements in the DRPLA Natural History and Biomarkers Study
- Dr Rosella Abeti from University College London (United Kingdom) showed results from a pilot study testing Omaveloxolone in cells derived from people with DRPLA
- Dr Sheng-Hang Kuo from Columbia University Medical Center (United States) showcased preliminary results from the first N-of-1 clinical trial in DRPLA
- Dr. Joanna Korecka from Harvard Medical School (United States) presented her research on designing, testing and validating ASOs for DRPLA
- Dr Silvia Prades from CureDRPLA and Ataxia UK presented the latest data from the 53 participants enrolled in the CureDRPLA Global Patient Registry
- Dr Silvia Prades from CureDRPLA and Ataxia UK presented the findings from interviews done with people with DRPLA and their families to gather important information on the impact of DRPLA and their preferences for treatments
Image footnote: On the left, Velvet Smith and Bereket Gidi from Dr Carroll’s group delivering talk on DRPLA mouse research at main stage. On the right, Dr Silvia Prades with Dr Sheng-Han Kuo and Dr Shi-Riu Gan.