XIII ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE CHILD NEUROLOGY SECTION
San Servolo, Venice, Italy - September 13, 2003

Dear colleagues,
the International School of Neurological Sciences (ISNS), sited in
Venice, has a consolidated tradition in promoting educational events in the field of
Child Neurology. This year the XIII Annual Symposium of the ISNS is focused on
brain damage in preterm infants.
Prematurity is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in industrialized
countries; preterm infants are at increased risk of developmental disabilities,
academic difficulties, and behavioral disorders, even in the absence of intellectual
deficits.
Our knowledge about causal pathways of brain damage in preterm birth has been
rapidly growing and other determinants, different from perinatal asphyxia, such as
inflammation of membranes, have been recently implicated in the pathogenesis of
brain damage.
In order to prevent CNS injury in these infants, the promotion of clinical and basic
research, finalized to provide new insight into the etiology, clinical assessment,
treatment evaluation and neuroprotection, is needed.
You are cordially invited to join us and to attend this XIII ISNS Annual Symposium
that will take place on September 13 th , 2003 in the unique surroundings of the San Servolo islet in Venice.
Best Regards,
Prof. Paolo Curatolo

Deadline for submission of abstract: May 31 st , 2003
Abstracts (300 words max.) shoud be sent by email to Prof. Paolo Curatolo – curatolo@uniroma2.it
Selected abstracts will be published on the Journal of Child Neurology.
For any other informations, please contact: Manuela Morandini
PTS Congressi
Tel.: +39 06 85355590
Fax: +39 06 85356060
manuela.morandini@ptsroma.itg

Preliminary programme
BRAIN DAMAGE IN PRETERM INFANTS: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES.

Chairman: P.Curatolo, F. Paladin
9.30: Opening remarks (P. Curatolo, F. Paladin).
10.00: Inflammatory response and brain damage in preterm infants (O. Dammann).
10.30: Markers of brain damage in animal models (G. Calamandrei).
11.00: Determinants of brain damage in preterm infants (C. Arpino).
11.30: Coffe break
11.50: Early prediction of neurological sequelae in preterm infants (G. Cioni).
12.20: Neuroimaging procedures in preterm infants (E. Mercuri). *
12.50: Discussion.

13.00: Lunch.

Chairman: E. Fedrizzi, S. Harel
14.00: Efficiency of early treatment in preterm infants (M. Velickovic).
14.20: Visual disorders in preterm infants: clinical evaluation and early intervention (E. Fazzi).
14.40: Ambulatory prognosis in preterm infants with cerebral palsy (M. Bottos). *
15.00: Long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants (S. Harel).
15.20: Is the preterm infant bound to develop a learning disability? (L. Lopez)
15.40: Coffe break
15.50: Pharmacological approach to cerebral palsy in preterm infants(V. Leuzzi). *
16.10: Botulinum Toxin injections: long term outcome in preterm infants with cerebral palsy (A. Papavisiliou).
16.30: Outcome measures and evaluation of results in treatment of preterm infants ( E. Fazzi, M. Bottos)
17.10: Discussion
17.30-18.00: Conclusion (P. Curatolo)

* to be confirmed