Symposium Tuesday, June 3, 2008 07:00h - 08:30h Lower Ballroom Breakfast will be provided
7:00 h   Chairman's introduction: Craig Kessler, Washington 7:10 h   Monitoring plasma VWF:RCo levels in clinical praxis - are all assays the same? Andreas Hillarp, Malmö 7:20 h   Functions of VWF under physiological flow conditions - a need to reassess some established beliefs Christoph Kannicht, Berlin 7:40 h   Challenges in the management of peri-surgical hemostasis in VWD patients - clinical experience with wilate® Mario von Depka, Hannover 8:00 h   Long term prophylaxis in VWD patients - an evolving concept Erik Berntorp, Malmö 8:20 h   Concluding remarks and discussion	Looking for milestone improvements in VWD treatment - tasks defined and resolved wilate®, a new generation albumin-free, double virus-inactivated VWF/FVIII concentrate of high purity has been developed specifically for the treatment of von Willebrand disease. Among other practical questions, this session will adress the issue of the clinical monitoring of VWF:RCo levels, especially the differences resulting from the use of different analytical methods. Furthermore, the symposium will shed light on the recent findings about the VWF-functions under physiological shear stress conditions, demonstrating the need to radically reassess current perceptions of the underlying mechanisms of VWF replacement therapy. In this light, a particular attention will be drawn to the question of the quality of VWF in different VWF-concentrates. In addition, the management of peri-operative hemostasis will be discussed, especially with regard to VWF and FVIII levels after repeated dosing. The topic of the concept of long term prophylaxis in VWD and the relevant findings from wilate® clinical studies will round up this VWD forum. Don't miss our other symposium: "Von Willebrand factor in FVIII complex concentrates: from laboratory to clinical practice" at 12:30h - 14:00h on Wednesday, June 4, 2008.