Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital

The Ilsong Institute of Life Science of Hallym University hosted the 13th Ilsong International Symposium on Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease(CJD) Surveillance System in Asia at the Ilsong Building on February 13, 2012.

The program started out with opening address by Dr. Yong-Sun Kim, director of Ilsong Institute of Life Science, followed by lectures on current status of CJD by country and its surveillance systems. Among the international professionals included Professor Krister Kristensson at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Professor Hidehiro Mizusawa at Tokyo Medical & Dental University in Japan, and Professor Xiao-Ping Dong at Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention in China.

Dr. Kim, the nation’s leading authority on diagnosis of CJD, said, “It was a great opportunity for all of us to share our opinions on current status of CJD in Asia and its surveillance system. I hope this symposium could pave the way for establishing a prompt and accurate surveillance system through our mutual cooperation among Korea, China and Japan.”

Established in 1994, the Ilsong Institute of Life Science has been conducting studies on basic research including aging related diseases, cytology, genetics and virology. As a unique diagnostic center for CJD in Korea, the facility works on basic research on pathogenesis of prion-related illness, the so-called ‘Mad Cow Disease.’ The center is also operating the Hallym-Uppsala International Co-Research Laboratory in Sweden sponsored by the National Research Foundation(NRF) of Korea.

The program is as follows:

■ Session 1: Pathogenesis of Neurodegeneration in Prion Diseases

1. Neuronal signaling in prion formation and dysfunction
Krister Kristensson, MD, PhD
Karolinska Institutet

2. Protein citrullination: new approach to biomarker discovery in prion disease
Eun-Kyoung Choi, PhD
Hallym University

■ Session 2: CJD Surveillance System in Asia

1. Prion disease in Japan
Hidehiro Mizusawa, MD, PhD
Tokyo Medical & Dental University

2. Understanding the pathogenesis of prion and surveillance for human prion diseases in China
Xiao-Ping Dong, PhD
Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention

3. Prion disease in Korea
Byung-Hoon Jeong, PhD
Hallym University

By Jong Hun Im, Int’l Operations Team, HUMC (imjonghun@hallym.or.kr)