This proposal seeks partial support for an international symposium on """"""""New Directions in Biology and Disease of Skeletal Muscle,"""""""" to be held April 23 to April 26, 2006 at the New Orleans Wyndham Hotel in New Orleans, LA. This is the second meeting held on this topic. The first meeting covering the topic of mechanisms of and therapy for muscle degenerative disorders was held January 25-27, 2004 in San Diego, California. There are now over 20 different genetic defects that lead to muscular degeneration and muscular dystrophy. The identification of these genes has pointed to new pathways critical for the normal and abnormal function of muscle. The first meeting was attended by clinicians and scientists, and this meeting discussed new findings related to pathogenesis and treatment-oriented research. The first meeting was felt to represent a significant advance for the field with its full focus on mechanisms of muscle degenerative disorders. The 2004 meeting was attended by 182 participants. Over three days, there were 39 oral presentations and 72 posters presentations. This meeting served its purpose to provide a forum for information exchange leading to improved integration of knowledge about muscle function and dysfunction with an emphasis on potential therapy. We are now planning to hold a second meeting, over two years after the first, to continue to focus on cellular and molecular aspects of skeletal muscle as they relate to health, disease and dysfunction. Our mission is to bring together researchers who do not often attend the same meetings and to improve the treatment options for the muscular dystrophies. The current proposal details the meeting schedule over a three day period with six sessions on muscle membrane instability, muscle membrane repair, nuclear membrane defects, glycosylation events, gene therapy and cell therapy as topics to be covered. In addition, there will be two poster sessions. Trainees are strongly encouraged to attend and participate. ? ? ?
