title: Hereditary dysautonomias: current knowledge and collaborations for the future.
abstract: The hereditary dysautonomias (H-Dys) are a large group of disorders that affect the autonomic nervous system. Research in the field of H-Dys is very challenging, because the disorders involve interdisciplinary, integrative, and "mind-body" connections. Recently, medical scientists, NIH/NINDS representatives, and several patient support groups gathered for the first time in order to discuss recent findings and future directions in the H-Dys field. The H-Dys workshop was instrumental in promoting interactions between basic science and clinical investigators. It also allowed attendees to have an opportunity to meet each other, understand the similarities between the various forms of dysautonomia, and experience the unique perspective offered by patients and their families. Future advances in H-Dys research will depend on a novel multi-system approach by investigators from different medical disciplines, and it is hoped that towards a common goal, novel "bench-to-bedside" therapeutics will be developed to improve the lives of, or even cure, patients suffering from dysautonomic syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Institute of Human Genetics, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, HIM Building, Room 422, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Math P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cuajungco
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Felicia B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Axelrod
authors.forename: Italo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Biaggioni
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Alan E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Guttmacher
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gwinn-Hardy
authors.forename: Maureen K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Max J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hilz
authors.forename: Giris
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Jordan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jens
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Liggett
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Sonia R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Peltzer
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Berish Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Quandra
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Scudder
authors.forename: Linda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Gail E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Sonenshein
authors.forename: Jesper Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Svejstrup
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Slaugenhaupt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009462:Neurology / Q000639:trends*