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Advances in the Biomedical Research of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Life and Matter Sciences International Symposium September 26-27, 2012 Barcelona

General information

Venue: Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona (PRBB) C/ Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona. España

  • Throughout the Symposium there will be simultaneous translation

Organized by:

Fundación Ramón Areces

In cooperation with:

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras

Coordinator/s:

Luis A. Pérez-Jurado Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona. Spain

  • Description
  • Programme

This meeting will focus on recent advances in understanding autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of clinical entities sharing in common the occurrence of impairments in communication skills and social interaction, and the presence of repetitive stereotyped behaviors and interests. Co-morbidity with intellectual disability and other medical and/or neurological conditions occurs in a significant proportion of ASD cases. Currently, it is estimated that 1 in 110 children are diagnosed with ASD. To date, the clinical and etiologic heterogeneity of ASDs have posed serious difficulties for the proper definition of diagnostic criteria, standardized clinical practices, epidemiological conclusions and therapies. However, while most causes of autism are unclear yet, significant progress has been recently made towards unraveling the underlying disease etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms. Recent technological advances in multiple fields including genomics, neuroimaging, molecular and cell biology and neurobehavioral sciences have provided tremendous tools to foster research on ASD.

Bringing together key researchers working on ASDs at multiple levels, our aim is to update the state-of-the-art scientific knowledge and strategies with special emphasis in considering how research findings can be directed and rapidly translated towards improved diagnosis, prognosis and novel therapies and treatments.

The meeting will be divided in five sessions, targeting the:

  1. Clinical aspects and epidemiology
  2. The genetic and molecular basis 
  3. The study of physiopathology with cellular and animal models
  4. The strategies for early diagnosis and prevention
  5. the therapeutic options and public health policies for ASD. The medical and social needs of patients and families will also be considered with a few communications from support groups

In addition to the presentations about leading research findings in the field, this Symposium will be organized to attain a high level of interaction and discussion, open to the participation of other researchers, clinicians and support groups, in an interdisciplinary forum with the main goal to exchange ideas and contribute to foster research on ASD.

Wednesday, 26

8:45

Welcome and Introduction

Raimundo Pérez-Hernández y Torra
Director, Fundación Ramón Areces. Spain.

Francesc Palau 
Director, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER). Valencia. Spain.

Luis A. Pérez-Jurado 
Coordinator of Symposium.

SSession 1: Clinical aspects and epidemiology

9:10

The neurobiology of autism spectrum disorders

Manuel F. Casanova
University of Louisville, KY. United States.

9:50

Clinical definition and standardization of assessment protocols for early diagnosis of ASD

Ricardo Canal-Bedia
Universidad de Salamanca. Spain.

10:30

Epidemiology of ASD and environmental risk factors

Manuel Posada
Instituto de Investigación en Enfermedades Raras. ISCIII. Madrid. Spain.

11:10

Break

Session 2: The genetic and molecular basis of ASD

11:30

Structural genomic and single gene mutation burden in ASD

Evan E. Eichler
University of Washington, Seattle. United States.

12:10

Solving the multifactorial etiology of ASD: Association studies and rare variant analysis

Bru Cormand
Universitat de Barcelona. Spain.

12:50

Epigenetics at the interface of genetics and environment in autism

Janine LaSalle 
University of California Davis. Sacramento. United States.

13:30

Break

Session 3: Studying asd physiopathology, cellular and animal models

15:30

Interneuronal and synaptic dysfunction in ASD

Óscar Marín
Instituto de Neurociencias. CSIC-Universidad Miguel Hernández. Alicante. Spain.

16:10

Key role for genetic buffering and synaptic homeostasis in the susceptibility to autism

Thomas Bourgeron
Institut Pasteur. CNRS. Paris. France.

16:50

Novel perspectives in behavioral phenotyping of mouse models of ASD

Mara Dierssen
Centro de Regulación Genómica. Barcelona. Spain.

17:30

Modeling ASD using patient specific iPS cells

James Ellis
Hospital for Sick Children. Toronto. Canada.

18:10

The social needs

Poster presentations. Associations and Support Groups.

Thursday, 27

Session 4: Focus on early diagnosis and prevention

9:00

Tools and biomarkers for early detection: the BASIS study

Mayada Elsabbagh
McGill University. Montreal. Canada.

9:40

In vivo functional imaging studies in ASD

Declan G. Murphy
King's College. London. United Kingdom.

10:10

Causative and secondary metabolic disturbances in ASD

Rafael Artuch
Hospital Sant Joan de Deu. Barcelona. Spain.

10:50

Translating discoveries into diagnostics: the clinical utility of genetic markers and risks

Luis A. Pérez-Jurado
Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona. Spain.

11:30

Break

Session 5: Therapeutic options and public health

11:50

From pathophysiology to treatment in ASD

Susan E. Swedo
National Institute of Mental Health. Washington. United States.

12:30

Novel therapies and therapeutic targets for ASD

Will Spooren 
F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Basel. Switzerland.

13:10

Strategic public health policies and resources

Álvaro Ramírez
European Autism Public Health Alliance. Dublin. Ireland.

13:50

Concluding remarks
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