Announcing the 2017 Rare Neuroimmune Disorders Symposium

Being diagnosed with a rare disorder like transverse myelitis can be isolating. Most people who are diagnosed with ADEM, NMOSD, ON, or TM have never heard of these conditions before being diagnosed, and all too often the medical professionals treating them have only treated a few patients with the same disorder. This can make it hard to manage the symptoms of these disorders, and it can be especially difficult when you don’t have anyone around you who is experiencing similar issues.

Every other year SRNA hosts an international Rare Neuroimmune Disorders Symposium (RNDS), an event in which individuals with ADEM, NMOSD, ON, and TM, their families, and the leading medical professionals and researchers come together to discuss the diagnosis, management of symptoms, and latest research on these disorders. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn about these disorders and interact with others dealing with similar symptoms and issues. We encourage anyone who can to attend the 2017 RNDS being held in Columbus, OH on October 20-21. Registration is now open!

Even if you can’t attend, all talks given at the Symposium will be video recorded and made available in our resource library and on our YouTube channel. We have dozens of talks from past symposia available as well. The most viewed video from the 2015 RNDS in Dallas, TX, “Advances in Neuro-Rehabilitation,” discusses the latest knowledge about rehabilitation after a rare neuroimmune disorder diagnosis, with a focus on activity-based restorative therapy and functional electrical stimulation (FES). The speaker, Dr. Becker, discusses how the spinal cord has endogenous stem cells, or stem cells that are already in the spinal cord, and how FES may be used to help these stem cells know where to repair damage. Dr. Becker will be giving an update on neurorehabilitation at the 2017 RNDS. Be sure to watch this video and others from past symposia, and we hope to see you in Columbus in October!