The primary goal of the 7th Cooley~s Anemia Symposium is the presentation and dissemination of current findings and the setting of future directions regarding basic and clinical research in thalassemia, the world~s most common genetic disorder. The proposed program will address recent advances in (1) gene regulation and expression; (2) regulation and pharmacologic manipulation of fetal hemoglobin production; (3) gene transfer and gene therapy; (4) relationship between genotype and clinical expression of thalassemia; (5) the pathophysiology, assessment and treatment of transfusional iron overload; (6) the treatment of complication of thalassemia with special reference to the complication now being seen for the first time in long- term survivors; (7) the prevention and control of thalassemia; (8) stem cell and bone marrow transplantation; and (9) psychosocial impact of thalassemia as a chronic illness. The symposium will integrate basic science and clinical research so that representatives of both of these disciplines can develop a mutual understanding of recent progress in thalassemia. A combination of keynote addresses, state-of-the-art lectures, oral presentations of recent research findings by leading investigators, discussion periods and poster presentations will provided a comprehensive overview of progress in the understanding and treatment of thalassemia The Cooley's Anemia Symposium, first held in 1964, is the major international conference on the subject of thalassemia, and the symposium has become the focal point for the presentation of new findings. Past symposia have been extremely successful, and the proceedings, published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, has become a major reference work for physicians and scientist involved in the study of hemoglobinopathies. The proposed symposium, to be co-sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences and the Cooley's Anemia Foundation, comes at a time of major ne advances in basic and clinical research related to thalassemia and permits the application of these findings not only to thalassemia but to other hematologic diseases and genetic disorders.
