| Words of Welcome
We are pleased to welcome you to the second expert meeting on
Prader-Willi syndrome following the first one which was held in
Zurich in 2002. The aim of this meeting is to debate the practical
issues with respect to the comprehensive care of this complex
genetic disorder in order to clearly identify those approaches
in which there is a general consensus and those that are still
debatable and need further research. Experts will cover the varied
features of this disease from genetics to epidemiology, and endocrinology
to learning and psychiatric disorders from the point of view of
both routine practice and research. All sessions will be followed
by open discussions which will be further synthetized into an
updatable folder available soon after the meeting. Current evidences,
outstanding questions as well as future directions will be clearly
stated for each topic in order to stimulate research ideas and
action.
Having been involved in the care of children with PWS for 20
years and in charge of the reference centre in France for this
rare disorder since 2004, I am aware that some aspects of routine
care have dramatically improved, while others although critical
are still incompletely covered or ignored. At the conference we
will do our best to try to actively promote, optimise and broadcast
all the aspect of care of people with PWS. The meeting will take
place in the old hospital in the beautiful city of Toulouse at
Hotel-Dieu Saint-Jacques built in the sixteenth century near the
Garonne River. The conferences will be held in the Salle des Pèlerins
close to the old chapel and lunches will be served in the amazing
Salle des Colonnes.
We are very thankful to Pfizer for making this meeting possible
and demonstrating their continuous interest in optimising the
care of patients with Prader-Willi syndrome and to the hospital
director and the mayor of Toulouse. We hope to attract to this
meeting not only paediatricians and geneticists but also adult
endocrinologists, psychiatrists, experts in sleep disorders and
many physicians and researchers involved in Prader-Willi syndrome.
We look forward to welcoming you to Toulouse in October 2006.
Professor Maïthé Tauber
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