Symposium lectures on-line

Most of the lectures of the Symposium were published on-line. You can find the video presentations at the top of each lecture abstract. We hope to complete the whole on-line program in the near feature.

Pictures of Semmelweis Symposium 2008

You can find the pictures of all the three days of Semmelweis Symposium 2008 here.

Lecture of Prof. Sándor Kovács

You can find the whole video-presentation of Prof. Sándor Kovács at "Lectures" on the following page.

Summary

More than 500 participants from 20 countries attended Semmelweis Symposium 2008. You can find a detailed summary of the event here. A summary of press echo in the Hungarian media you can find here.

Poster abstracts

You can find the poster abstracts of Semmelweis Symposium 2008 here.

Scientific Program - printable version

You can download the printable version of the Scientific Program here.

Cardiovascular pharmacogenomics course

According to the program of Semmelweis Symposium, Peter Pokreisz (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) will give a lecture (in Hungarian) on cGMP regulatory mechanisms in cardiology at 18:00 Wednesday, 26 November.

Abstract submission period extended

The deadline for abstract submission was extended until 18 November 2008. More detailes on the Abstract submission form.

On-line registration

Participation in the program of Semmelweis Symposium 2008 is free.
However, completion the on-line registration form is required to attend the Symposium.

Abstract submission for poster presentation

Abstracts for poster presentation are welcome to the Semmelweis Symposium. Deadline for abstract submission  is 15 November. More detailes on the Abstract Submission Form.

PhD course registration

Semmelweis Symposium 2008 was accredited by the School of Doctoral Studies of Semmelweis University. Students attending all the three days of the Symposium will get 2 PhD credits.

OFTEX registration

Semmelweis Symposium 2008 was registred to the OFTEX system. Colleagues attending all the three days of the Symposium will get 20 OFTEX credits. For detailed information look for SE-TK/2008-07/00383 at www.oftex.hu .

Final program

The final program of the Symposium has been completed. For detailes visit to the Scientific Program pages.

Current trends in Cardiology

This year cardiology is in the focus of Semmelweis Symposium. The members of the Heart Center take the opportunity to kindly invite you to this event.

Background: Progression of chronic heart failure (CHF) is accompanied by activation of the inflammatory cascade. As a result of the sustained pro-inflammatory stimulation and prolonged endothelial overloading levels of hepatic acute phase proteins, cytokines and vasoregulatory hormones increase. These molecules are powerful biomarkers of advanced heart failure, brain natriuretic peptide being the most widely used and investigated. The aim of our study was to measure levels of several complement proteins, complement regulatory proteins and activation products in a large cohort of patients with CHF. Methods: 174 patients with CHF were recruited (age 68+11 years, 35 women) with diseases from mild, severe and advanced stages of the disease (34/54/65/21 patients classified into New York Heart Association I/II/III/IV classes). The different complement factors were measured by radial immunodiffusion (C9, C1INH), ELISA (C1rsINH, C4d, C3BbP, C3a, C5a, SC5b9, factor H and C4-binding protein) or immunoturbidimetry (C3, C4). Relevant clinical data and laboratory parameters were also registered. Results: Decreasing C3 and C3BbP whereas increasing C3a levels were significantly associated with higher NYHA classes (Kruskal-Wallis p<0.05 for all), the other complement parameters were not associated with advanced disease. Since levels of C3 may be increased as a result of up-regulation of its production (acute phase reaction), decreased by declining hepatic function or consumption via activation, complement activation index (C3a/C3) was calculated to reflect real C3 activation. C3a/C3 index was indeed associated with advanced disease (p<0.0001) and was very strongly related to markers of disease severity (NT-proBNP, endothelin-1, all p<0.001), of acute phase reaction (serum albumin, C-reactive protein, apoA1, all p<0.001) and different cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-alpha, p<0.05). Furthermore, there was significant correlation between C3a/C3 index and SC5b9 levels (p=0.001), whereas no correlation with the other activation products was observed. Discussion: Increased complement activation with decreased C3 levels was observed in patients with advanced heart failure. Markers of C3 activation correlated well with biomarkers of disease severity, acute phase reaction and inflammatory reaction. Since the complement activation in CHF is accompanied with increased levels of soluble C5b9 complexes, known to have pro-apoptotic effects, the causative effects of complement activation in the progression of CHF might be suspected. Our patients are clinically followed and prospective data will prove or disprove our hypothesis in the future.