On October 29-30, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) held a targeted workshop on dystonia, in partnership with dystonia advocacy groups including the DMRF. Entitled 'Defining Emergent Opportunities in Dystonia Research', the goal of the workshop was to consider and prioritize research opportunities to advance the understanding of and treatment of dystonia and to consider novel research tools, and emerging techniques. In addition, participants that included researchers, clinicians, representatives of nonprofit organizations, like DMRF, and NINDS/NIH staff assessed existing data and resources that may be leveraged to rapidly advance knowledge. Discussion topics included elucidating the pathophysiology of dystonia, bridging the gap between cellular abnormality and network dysfunction in dystonia therapeutic development and identification of future research priorities for dystonia. Presenters included DMRF Chief Scientific Officer, (photo at the bottom) who reminded participants that the dystonia community is anxiously waiting for scientific breakthroughs.
