Oregon Health & Science 7th Annual MS and CNS Neuroimmunology Symposium 2024

The 7th Annual MS and CNS Neuroimmunology Symposium was a specialized one-day event organized by Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the VA Portland Health Care System.
Held in September 2024, this symposium was designed to update clinicians on the rapidly evolving landscape of white matter disorders. The 2024 curriculum was particularly notable for moving beyond standard Multiple Sclerosis (MS) care to address “mimics” like gliomas and the cutting-edge frontier of cell-based therapies (stem cell and CAR-T approaches) for CNS autoimmunity.
+ What You Will Learn
The 2024 agenda focused on distinguishing MS from other pathologies and managing complex symptoms. Key learning outcomes included:

The “Molecular” Diagnosis: How genetic testing is reshaping our understanding of white matter disorders, moving from phenotypic description to molecular classification.

Red Flags for Mimics: Recognizing Diffuse Midline Glioma, a serious malignancy that can masquerade as inflammatory myelopathy (spinal cord inflammation), avoiding catastrophic delays in diagnosis.

Cell-Based Therapies: A deep dive into the future of Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (aHSCT) and emerging mesenchymal stem cell trials for progressive MS.

Biomarker Integration: Practical case studies on using Serum Neurofilament Light Chain (sNfL) and other fluid biomarkers to track disease activity and treatment response in real-time.

Pain Management: Evidence-based interventional and pharmacological strategies for the chronic, often refractory neuropathic pain seen in neuroimmunological disorders.

+ Event Details

Event: 7th Annual MS and CNS Neuroimmunology Symposium

Date: September 14, 2024 (Saturday)

Location: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon (Hybrid Format)

Course Director: Vijayshree Yadav, MD, MCR, FANA, FAAN

+ Who Should Attend

General Neurologists: Who need to distinguish between “typical” MS and complex genetic or neoplastic mimics.

Neuro-Oncologists: Interested in the intersection of inflammatory and neoplastic CNS disease.

Physiatrists (PM&R) & Pain Specialists: Managing the long-term functional deficits of CNS autoimmunity.

Allied Health Professionals: Nurses and PAs who manage the day-to-day monitoring of patients on high-efficacy immunotherapies.

+ Why It Matters

Faculty Expertise: The event featured Dr. Jeffrey Cohen from the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center, a global authority on experimental therapeutics, who provided the keynote on “Emerging Cell-Based Therapies.”

Diagnostic Precision: The session on “Molecular Landscape of White Matter Disorders” (Dr. Wojciech Wiszniewski) addressed a critical gap in adult neurology: identifying undiagnosed leukodystrophies that persist into adulthood.

VA Collaboration: The course highlighted the strong partnership between OHSU and the VA MS Center of Excellence, offering unique insights into the care of veterans with neuroimmunological conditions.

+ Topics

01 Molecular landscape of white matter disorders
02 Diffuse midline glioma A serious and under-recognized mimic of inflammatory myelopathy
03 Emerging cell-based therapies in MS
04 Biomarkers in MS A case-based presentation
05 Pain management for chronic and complex disorders