
Anne-Marie Bisgaard
Consultant, PhD
Center for Rett syndrome, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Rigshospitalet, Copenagen Denmark

Anne-Marie Bisgaard
Consultant, PhD
My talk will include a review of the medical and physical issues and suggestions for follow-up of adults with Rett syndrome based on existing literature and experiences from a national Rett syndrome center.
Objectifves :
- meet other professionals and families and to learn about the everyday life with Rett syndrome
- learn families, other caregivers and professionals about Rett syndrome from my medical experiences and perspectives
- increase my own knowledge about how to treat Rett syndrome

Joost GRIBNAU
Professor in Developmental Biology
Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Joost GRIBNAU
Professor in Developmental Biology

Nicoletta LANDSBERGER
Full professor of Molecular Biology
I am a molecular biologist that started to work on MeCP2 in the USA when I was working as a PostDoc and MeCP2 was not identified yet as the cause of RTT. Since 1999, the year of the discovery that MeCP2 mutation cause RTT, I shifted my research interests exclusively on RTT and other neurodeloppmental disorder. In general, we aim at characterizing the molecular and cellular allterations underspinning RTT with the final aim of identifying novel therapeutic approaches.
Objectives :
- With this communication I will present one of the research projects that are currently ongoing in the lab.
- The presentation will focus on a preclinical study of cell therapy that to the best of my knowledge has not been used so far for RTT.
- Further, I will discuss how this approach permitted and might still permit to reveal interesting molecular targets for the treatment of RTT.

Anne-Sophie Lapointe
Project manager for the rare diseases mission (DGOS)
Ministry for Health and Prevention

Anne-Sophie Lapointe
Project manager for the rare diseases mission (DGOS)
Since 2004, with the launch of three successive national plans, France has put in place a unique system to support sufferers and their families. This has been made possible by the high level of medical and research expertise in France, but also by the strong mobilization of families, associations and professionals. This co-construction and co-working approach has enabled us to pursue and amplify the contribution of patient associations and their families to the definition and implementation of policy in favor of rare diseases. The 7th European Rett Syndrome Congress is a step in this direction.
Objectives
Because data is scarce, clinical observation of rare diseases must be used for research.
The patient's own experience and experience helps to improve our knowledge of the natural history of the disease.
Certain questions or criteria that are important for research can thus be enriched by the data provided by the clinic.
In this way, the clinic becomes an important source of knowledge, helping to build more appropriate care pathways.
We regularly work closely with the Banque nationale de données maladies rares (BNDMR) to share data between care and research, in conjunction with the national health data system.

Laure Soulez Larivière
Dietician-nutritionist and speech therapist
Après avoir exercé le métier d’orthophoniste, je consacre maintenant mon activité à l’accompagnement diététique d’enfants et d’adultes en situation de handicap ou concernés par la maladie chronique.
Si s’alimenter est un plaisir pour la plupart d’entre nous, cela peut s’avérer difficile chez les personnes porteuses du syndrome de Rett.
Objectifs pédagogiques :
faire le point sur les principaux troubles nutritionnels et oro-moteurs mais aussi apporter des solutions pour faciliter le temps du repas.

Meir Lotan
Physical Therapist
- Physical therapy
- Motricity
- How can physical therapy help your child with Rett Syndrome?
- Important issues in motricity of individuals with Rett Syndrome
- The audience will understand the importance of physical activity for those with Rett syndrome
- The audience will understand the motor difficulties faced by individuals with Rett
- The audience will understand appropriate intervention for individuals with Rett Syndrome

Mathieu MILH

Jeffrey Neul
Director, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
Advances in understanding the pathophysiology of Rett syndrome and development for preclinical disease models enabled the development of novel therapeutic approaches. At the same time, clinical studies enabled clinical trial readiness. The combination of these efforts has led to a bright future fofor development of new meaningful therapies fo Rett syndrome.
Objectives
I hope to provide an overview of how information gained from natural history studies has enabled the development of clinical research to evaluates novel therapies in Rett syndrome developed through basic and translational research.

Michela PERINA
Physiotherapist
The effectiveness of rehabilitation is achieved when it is conducted at a high frequency and in a generalized manner; that is why AIRETT has created software that allows remote monitoring of motor (Tele-AIRETT), cognitive and communicative (AMELIE) rehabilitation for patients with Rett syndrome. This way, it is not the patients with Rett syndrome who go to the specialist, but the specialist comes to homes, schools, and rehabilitation centers of families with Rett syndrome.
Objectifs pédagogiques :
To make known a rehabilitation approach that allows all patients with Rett syndrome to be followed by specialists; the opportunity, through this project, to train therapists, teachers, and parents and monitor the rehabilitation of patients with RETT syndrome.

Jan-Marino Ramirez
Professor and Director
University of Washington School of Medicine Seattle Children’s Research Institute

Jan-Marino Ramirez
Professor and Director
Breathing and autonomic disturbances are a hallmark of Rett Syndrome. This talk will describe the neuronal mechanisms underlying dysautonomia from the basic science to the clinic.
Objectives :
Gain insights into the mechanisms underlying erratic breathing in Rett Syndrome, the role of hypoxia, oxidative stress and the importance of cardiorespiratory coupling.

Marina SEMINO
Psychomotor Therapist
The effectiveness of rehabilitation is achieved when it is conducted at a high frequency and in a generalized manner; that is why AIRETT has created software that allows remote monitoring of motor (Tele-AIRETT), cognitive and communicative (AMELIE) rehabilitation for patients with Rett syndrome. This way, it is not the patients with Rett syndrome who go to the specialist, but the specialist comes to homes, schools, and rehabilitation centers of families with Rett syndrome.
Objectifs pédagogiques :
To make known a rehabilitation approach that allows all patients with Rett syndrome to be followed by specialists; the opportunity, through this project, to train therapists, teachers, and parents and monitor the rehabilitation of patients with RETT syndrome.

Karen SPRUYT
Professor – researcher
In children with neurodevelopmental disorders, problematic sleep is found with greater frequency and severity. During this talk, we will present a summary of sleep findings in individuals with Rett syndrome.

Stéphane JULLIEN
Speech and Language Therapist, Lecturer, Doctor in Language Sciences
Institute of Logopaedic Sciences,
University of Neuchâtel
ISAAC Francophone

Stéphane JULLIEN
Speech and Language Therapist, Lecturer, Doctor in Language Sciences
Why do you think it is important to take part in the 7th European Rett Syndrome Congress?
Professionals and families need a platform for exchanging information about Rett syndrome. Professionals should have the opportunity to keep abreast of advances in research and recommendations for good practice, particularly with regard to alternative communication methods (AAC) and speech and language therapy.
Can you summarise your speech at the conference in a few words, and what were your teaching objectives?
The implementation of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) involves transdisciplinary collaboration between different professionals and collaboration with families in both assessment and intervention. Both assessment and intervention must be deployed in the person's daily life. Observation grids filled in by the team and the sharing of objectives as part of individualised projects are recommended practices.

Gillian Townend
Leturer and Researcher at University of Reading, UK - Research Lead at Rett UK
University of Reading, UK - Rett UK

Gillian Townend
Leturer and Researcher at University of Reading, UK - Research Lead at Rett UK
Gill Townend is a Lecturer and Researcher in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading in the UK, Research Lead for Rett UK, and a freelance researcher at the Rett Expertise Centre Netherlands. Dr Townend led the project team behind the development of the international Rett Syndrome Communication Guidelines which were published in 2020. Her other research interests include development of alternative methodologies for assessing language and cognition, eye tracking and the functional use of eye gaze for communication, and language processing in Rett syndrome.

Laurent VILLARD
Head of the Human Neurogenetics lab
Head of the Human Neurogenetics lab in the Marseille Medical Genetics Center.
In charge of the moleculare diagnosis of genetic epilepsies in Marseille University Hospital.