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Scleroderma Foundation Participates In 2009 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting

On October 17-21, The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) held its 17th Annual Scientific Meeting in Philadelphia, Penn. As in previous years, the Foundation hosted an information and education exhibit booth at this year’s event.

The five-day conference brings together approximately 15,000 clinical rheumatologists, researchers and other medical professionals from around the world.  Many of these individuals attend the meeting to learn more about the latest treatments and other research developments regarding rheumatic conditions, such as scleroderma. At this year’s event, the number of sessions and presentations focusing on scleroderma—and the number of individuals attending them—increased once again, suggesting that scleroderma is gaining greater attention among the medical community.

The traffic at the Scleroderma Foundation exhibit was among the heaviest of all nonprofit organizations represented at the conference.  “It was extremely gratifying to see the amount of interest in the Foundation’s patient-focused and medical-focused information,” noted Foundation Chief Executive Officer Robert Riggs.  “Interest and inquiries from physicians and researchers actually created lines at our booth, as people waited to speak to our staff and gather materials,” Riggs said.  In fact, Foundation staff members who attended ACR were continually restocking the exhibit table by the hour with information to keep up with the demand.

Of particular interest among ACR attendees, was the launch of the Scleroderma Foundation’s first-ever clinical newsletter, The Scleroderma Spectrum.  “This new bi-annual publication is part of a multi-phased educational campaign designed to bring attention to the importance of annual echo screenings for systemic sclerosis patients to check for the onset of pulmonary arterial hypertension,” commented the Foundation’s Education Manager, Kerri Connolly.” Future issues will focus on treatments of PAH, but also on other complications associated with scleroderma, such as GI issues and Raynaud’s phenomenon, as the Foundation continues its efforts to raise greater awareness of the many cross-over complications with which people with scleroderma must contend.”

The Spectrum was available to attendees in both print and digital format for added convenience, and was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer, Inc.  The ECHO Campaign is made possible by grants from both Actelion Pharmaceuticals, US and Pfizer, Inc.

The ACR meeting was a successful event not only for the Foundation, but also for many exhibitors and attendees.  Thanks to the support of pharmaceutical sponsors, the Foundation was able to provide even more information to clinicians about the latest research and news regarding scleroderma and related diseases. Once again, the ACR conference fostered renewed hope for the continued development of research and new therapies for scleroderma.