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August 29th, 2003

Octapharma sponsors Primary Immune Deficiency Summer School


For the 3rd consecutive year, Octapharma will sponsor a summer school for young doctors in training. The course will take place in the Algarve Portugal, during September 2003.

Organised by the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) and co-sponsored by Octapharma, the week long course is designed to provide education on the diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment of primary immunodeficiencies.

ESID is a non-profit organization whose main objectives are to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information among doctors, nurses, biomedical investigators, patients and their families concerned with primary immunodeficiency diseases and also to promote research on causes, mechanisms and treatment of these disorders [more] (Please note clicking this link will take you outside the Octapharma website)

The training of young clinicians in recognising and treating Primary Immune Deficiencies (PID) is extremely important. As many as 10 million people worldwide are affected by PID, yet many die or suffer from extreme discomfort due to non-diagnosis.

More than 100 primary immunodeficiency diseases have been identified to date. They range widely in severity. Primary immunodeficiency diseases are characterized by illnesses that can often be recurring, persistent, debilitating, and chronic
  • Primary immunodeficiency diseases can go undetected because they do not have unique symptoms of their own. Rather, they appear as "ordinary" infections, often of the sinuses, ears, or lungs. They can also cause gastrointestinal problems or inflammation of the joints. Families and doctors are often unaware that the troubling conditions they are dealing with are actually rooted in a defect of the immune system

  • The infections can be chronic. This means they keep coming back, sometimes frequently, and can be severe. They tend to require prolonged recovery, and the patient may respond poorly to a conventional course of antibiotics.

  • The diseases can strike males and females of all ages, though they frequently present themselves early in life. The more severe immunodeficiency diseases are detected most frequently in children.

  • Early diagnosis and treatment of primary immunodeficiency disease is essential to preventing the infections from causing permanent damage

Treatment for PID includes antibiotics for recurring infections and immunoglobulins such as Octagam® and Gammanorm®

These products work by replacing the antibodies that the body cannot make on its own and are accepted as the 1st line treatment for a range of primary immunodeficiency diseases.


© Octapharma AG, 2003