2026 Latin American Huntington’s Disease Conference
Agenda Académica
DAY 1 – September 2, 2026 - Patient & Advocate-Centered Workshops
- 09:00 AM - 04:00 PM
- Session 1 – Youth Engagement (closed session; requires invitation)
- HDYO Meeting – Youth Ambassadors & Country Leaders (Latin America) Chair: Jenna Heilman (Huntington’s Disease Youth Organization, HDYO)
- Session 2 – Patient Associations (closed session; requires invitation)
- LatAm Patient Association Gathering Topics: Common needs, clinical trial readiness, advocacy strategies Chairs: Asunción Martínez & Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuán (Factor-H)
- Session 3 – Caregiver Training (open session; requires registration)
- Caregiver Training Workshop Topics: Home adaptations, at-risk individuals, advanced care, prevention of complications Chairs: Roger Cachope, Sonia Moreno, Alex Fisher (UK HD Network)
- Opening Event
- 05:00 - 05:30 PM
- Welcome & Opening Remarks
- Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuán & Roger Cachope (Factor-H)
- 05:30 - 06:30 PM
- Huntington’s Disease in Colombia
- — Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia (GNA)
- Special Tribute — Honoring Francisco Lopera & Omar Buriticá
- 07:00 - 10:00 PM
- Reception & Welcome Dinner
DAY 2 – September 3, 2026
- Opening
- 08:00 - 08:30 AM
- Opening: Factor-H work in Venezuela
- Marina Gonzalez de Kauffman
- Session 1: Biology & Genetics
- 08:30 - 09:00 AM
- General Overview of Key Questions in HD
- Jeff Carroll
- 09:00 - 09:30 AM
- GWAS & Modifier Genes in HD
- Vanessa Wheeler (Harvard Medical School)
- 09:30 - 10:00 AM
- Role of Exon 1 Variants
- Elena Cattaneo (University of Milan)
- Break
- Session 2: Improving Care
- 10:15 - 10:45 AM
- HD Landscape in Mexico
- Donají Toledo
- 10:45 - 11:15 AM
- Physiotherapy & PACE-HD
- Lisa Muratori (UCL)
- 11:15 - 11:45 AM
- Cognitive Reserve
- Jaime Kulisevsky (Hospital Sant Pau, Barcelona)
- 11:45 - 12:15 PM
- End of life care
- Daniela Alburquerque (pre-recorded)
- Lunch break
- Session 3: Experimental Therapeutics
- 01:30 - 2:00 PM
- uniQure Program
- Daniel Leonard (uniQure)
- 02:00 - 02:30 PM
- Novartis Program
- TBD (Novartis)
- 02:30 - 03:00 PM
- Prilenia Program
- Michael Hayden (Prilenia Therapeutics/Ferrer)
- Break
- Session 4: Tracking Disease Progression
- 03:35 - 04:05 PM
- Structural & Fluid Biomarkers
- Rachael Scahill (UCL)
- 04:35 - 05:05 PM
- Neurophysiological markers
- TBD
- 07:00 - 10:00 PM
- Dinner offsite
DAY 3 – September 4, 2026
- 08:00 - 08:30 AM
- Occupational Therapy in HD - The caregivers’ program in Venezuela
- Alex Fisher, UK
- Session 1: Biology & Mechanisms
- Post-Mortem HD Brain Analysis
- Steven McCarroll (Harvard)
- 09:00 - 09:30 AM
- Somatic Instability mechanisms
- TBD
- 09:30 - 10:00 AM
- CAG-CAA Interruptions
- Nathaniel Heintz (Rockefeller University)
- Break
- Session 2: Clinical Care
- 10:15 - 10:45 AM
- HD in Brazil
- Roberta Saba
- 10:45 - 11:15 AM
- Motor Management
- Ralf Reilmann (George Huntington Institute)
- 11:15 - 11:45 AM
- HD Psychiatric management
- Jesús Ruiz Idiago (Barcelona)
- 11:45 - 12:15 PM
- Neuropsychology in HD
- Saúl Martínez-Horta (Hospital Sant Pau)
- Lunch break
- Session 3: Therapeutics
- Skyhawk Therapeutics
- Pannie Triffillis (Skyhawk Therapeutics)
- 01:30 - 02:00 PM
- Skyhawk Therapeutics
- Pannie Triffillis (Skyhawk Therapeutics)
- 02:00 - 02:30 PM
- Roche Program
- Peter McColgan (Roche)
- 02:30 - 03:00 PM
- Alnylam/Regeneron
- Kevin Sloan (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals)
- Break
- 03:00 - 03:30 PM
- SOM Biotech
- Rossella Medori (SOM Biotech)
- 03:30 - 04:00 PM
- Access to High-Cost Therapies
- Daniel Ciriano (Argentina)
- 04:00 - 04:30 PM
- Closing Remarks — Factor-H Youth programs
- 07:00 - 11:00 PM
- Closing dinner offsite
