Introduction
The Motor Neurone Disease Association, in collaboration with the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations, welcomes you to Brussels for the 25th International Symposium on ALS/MND. This year we are warmly welcomed by our hosts at ALS Liga, Belgium as they celebrate their twentieth anniversary and the symposium reaches its quarter of a century milestone, a huge achievement symbolising 25 years of progress – but still with many questions to be answered.
Many thanks to Professor Wim Robberecht who, after many years of hard work and commitment, chairs the symposium programme committee for the last time this year. Prof Robberecht and the committee have compiled a stimulating and varied platform programme that includes ground breaking scientific topics and thought provoking clinical sessions. Joint opening and closing plenary sessions reflect on the continued need for new treatments and the hurdles that must be overcome in order for a drug to reach clinical trials. Parallel scientific and clinical sessions running for the remainder of the symposium will explore a wide variety of key themes across the field, with a third parallel session focusing specifically on aspects of care practice such as end of life decisions, respiratory management and nutritional assessment.
Once again the quality of the poster presentations is outstanding and with two dedicated poster sessions there will be plenty of time for extensive viewing and lively debates - look out for those posters which have been selected for the poster prize competition. If you are presenting a poster yourself, please upload your final version onto the F1000 poster website to allow even more researchers to access your work, and help us to fulfill our commitment to the international exchange of knowledge. It's a safe and easy way to get your work seen.
Finally, don't forget to use the #alssymp on Twitter to have your say on all symposium related issues; we love to hear your comments and views!
Research Development Team
Motor Neurone Disease Association, Northampton, UK