Bones, Joints, and Muscles

• Fibromyalgia Workshop to Explore How to Discover More
  When: November 11–12, 2004
  Where: The Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC
  Institute: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

  Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common and chronic disorder characterized by widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points. It hits mainly women and its cause is still unknown. Symptoms tend to wax and wane over time.
  
  To assess what is known about this syndrome and determine the best ways to learn more, NIAMS and Oregon Health and Science University are holding a two-day conference titled Fibromyalgia Workshop: The Next Advances. Its goals are to:

  • Develop recommendations for integrated interdisciplinary (biomedical and psychosocial-behavioral) research directions to advance understanding of the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia.
    
    
  • Provide clinicians with the latest scientific information about the biological and psychosocial-behavioral interactions producing fibromyalgia, particularly through central pain processes.
    
    
  • Provide young or new (to fibromyalgia) investigators opportunities for career enhancement in interdisciplinary fibromyalgia research.
    

  Next Steps
  The workshop is open to the public and costs $150. A registration form and workshop agenda are available on the NIAMS Web site at www.niams.nih.gov/ne/mcw/fibro_mtg.htm. You can request and return an electronic registration form by sending an e-mail to koestler@ohsu.edu.  

Cancers

• Environmental Health Researchers Kick off Breast Cancer Sister Study
  When: October 2004
  Where: Nationwide
  Institute: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

  Sisters share a lot more than secrets and laughter. They also share genes and at least some elements of lifestyle. Scientists already know that if a woman has breast cancer, her sister has a much higher chance of developing the disease, too. That’s why the NIEHS is kicking off the Sister Study, which hopes to glean more information about environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer. Researchers believe ingredients in many common products interfere in the role of hormones, possibly contributing to breast cancer development. But studies have not been able to establish a strong link. More

  Next Steps
  For information or to join, call toll-free (877) 474-7837 or visit www.sisterstudy.org.  

Community Outreach, Community Outreach

• Medicine for the Public: 2004 Lecture Series
  When: October 19–November 16, 2004
  Where: NIH Campus, Masur Auditorium, Clinical Center Building 10, Bethesda, MD
  Institute: Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (CC)

  Reading failure in America, the biomechanics of human movement, medication addiction, and vaccines for biodefense are all leading-edge topics that will be addressed by experts during free lectures for the public. The lectures are part of the NIH Clinical Center's 2004 Medicine for the Public lecture series. Physician-scientists working to translate science into medicine will examine these topics:

  • Oct 19: Evidence-Based Education: Preventing Reading Failure in America
    
    
  • Oct 26: The Biomechanics of Human Movement: Could Leonardo da Vinci Fly?
    
    
  • Nov 9: Addiction to Medications: What Are the Risks and Who Is Vulnerable?
    
    
  • Nov 16: Viruses, Vaccines, and Emerging Health Threats

  Next Steps
  For details about specific topics or speakers, visit http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/about/news/mfp.shtml or call (301) 496-2563.  

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

• Lecture on Herb-Drug Interactions, Including St. John's Wort's Impact
  When: October 26, 2004
  Where: NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD
  Institute: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

  There is a growing awareness that herbs can adversely affect how well prescription drugs work in the body, sometimes with life-threatening consequences. People interested in hearing about this topic can attend a lecture, "Reverse Herbology: Predicting and Preventing Adverse Herb-drug Interactions," given by Steven A. Kliewer, Ph.D., of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. This lecture is sponsored by NCCAM's Distinguished Lectures in the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. More

  Next Steps
  This event is free and open to the public. The lecture also will be videocast and archived at http://videocast.nih.gov. For more information about NCCAM's Distinguished Lectures, visit http://nccam.nih.gov/news/lectures.  

Drug Abuse

• Future Addiction Research is Topic of Convention
  When: October 22, 2004
  Where: San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA
  Institute: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  Experts from many scientific disciplines will discuss recent findings and future research on addiction at a mini-convention sponsored by NIDA, Frontiers in Addiction Research. Sessions are open to the public as well as scientists and include:
  

  • Behavioral Neuroscience of Nicotine Addiction.
    
    
  • Creative Directions in Imaging.
    
    
  • Poster Presentations.
    
    
  • Mechanisms of Brain Resiliency and Repair.
    
    
  • The Role of Glutamate in Drug Addiction.
    
    
  • Keynote Speaker: Jacob A. Waletzky Award Recipient Presentation.
  
  This mini-convention will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, a nonprofit organization of physicians and scientists in basic research who study the brain and nervous system. The Jacob A. Waletzky Award is granted annually by the Society for Neuroscience to a young scientist researching in this field. More

  Next Steps
  More information is available at www.masimax.com/frontiers2004.  

Eyes and Vision

• THE EYE SITE Exhibit on Low Vision Will Visit 16 Malls in 2004
  When: March 1–October 16, 2004
  Where: Las Vegas, NV; Ashland, KY; Tucson, AZ
  Institute: National Eye Institute (NEI)

  To help people understand low vision (vision problems that interfere with a person's ability to perform everyday activities) and to explain what people with vision loss can do to stay independent, NEI developed THE EYE SITE: A Traveling Exhibit on Low Vision for Shopping Centers. The exhibit will visit 16 shopping malls during 2004, in Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, and Wyoming. Planning is under way for the 2005 tour. More

  Next Steps
  Members of the public can visit the exhibit during regular business hours at any mall on the tour. For more information, visit THE EYE SITE Web site at www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/eyesite/.  

HIV/AIDS

• Large Conference of AIDS workers to be Held in Philadelphia
  When: October 21–24, 2004
  Where: Philadelphia Marriott, Philadelphia, PA
  Institute: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

  The United States Conference on AIDS is the largest conference of AIDS workers in the nation and will this year be held in Philadelphia. More than 4,000 dedicated case managers, physicians, public health workers, advocates, policymakers, and other leaders are expected to attend. At this conference, they will hear about the latest tools and solutions for the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS and learn of new developments in HIV vaccine research, a promising prevention technology to fight the pandemic. NIAID's Division of AIDS will present seven different workshops related to AIDS vaccines.

  Next Steps
  The conference fee is $550. For further information, contact Mathew Murguia at (301) 435-7164 or view the conference site at www.nmac.org/conferences/USCA2004/default.htm.  

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