On March 10th, the NEUROVASC working group held its Spring Meeting in Milan, Italy. The meeting brought together our experts to discuss the progress of ongoing projects and future ones. The agenda included a variety of topics, ranging from updates on the upcoming VASCERN summer school and the progress of…
A new Pill of Knowledge (PoK) video entitled Genetic Counseling in Heritable Thoracic Aortic Diseases is now available! This video was presented by Liesbeth Wildero Van Wouwe and validated by members of the Heritable Thoracic Aortic Diseases (HTAD) Working Group. This PoK video gives a comprehensive overview of genetic testing, genetic counseling…
Rare Disease Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on the last day of February. It is a day for patients, families, and advocates to come together to raise awareness about rare diseases and the challenges faced by those living with them. To mark this special occasion, VASCERN…
The Vascular Anomalies Working Group (VASCA-WG) met for a one and half days meeting in Brussels, Belgium on January 30th and 31st. It was chaired by Prof. Miikka Vikkula (VASCA-WG Chair) and Prof. Leo Schultze Kool (VASCA-WG Co-Chair). Attendees included patient representatives from the European Patient Advocacy Group (ePAG) for…
We are proud to congratulate Professor Miikka Vikkula, Chair of the Vascular Anomalies Working Group (VASCA-WG) as the recipient of the 2023 Earl P. Benditt Award presented by the North American Vascular Biology Organisation. The Earl P. Benditt award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding discovery or developed…
A new article titled Paediatric lymphoedema: An audit of patients seen by the paediatric and primary lymphoedema group of vascular European Reference Network (VASCERN) has been published in the VASCERN Special Issue of the European Journal of Medical Genetics. It is co-authored by members of the Pediatric and Primary Lymphedema Working Group (PPL WG). Primary…
We are excited to feature an interview with Dr. Birutė Vaišnytė, a vascular surgeon from Vilnius, Lithuania, in our first VASCERN Spotlight of 2023. Dr. Vaišnytė is a member of the Vascular Anomalies Working Group (VASCA-WG). In this interview, she discusses how she became interested in the field of vascular…
The Vascular Congenital Anomalies and Pediatric Vascular Surgery Working Group of the Portuguese Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery held their biannual meeting on the 19th of November in Oporto, Portugal. Prof Mikka Vikkula, Chair, VASCERN Vascular Anomalies Working Group (VASCA WG), and Manuela Lourenço Marques, ePAG Deputy Co-Chair, VASCERN…
New guidelines on the diagnosis and management of aortic disease have been published by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. These guidelines aim to guide clinicians to make informed decisions in the diagnosis, genetic evaluation and family screening, medical therapy, endovascular and surgical treatment, and long-term…
In this VASCERN Exchange Program interview, we are thrilled to interview Dr. Maryanne Caruana from Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Malta. Dr. Maryanne Caruana is a member of the Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease (HTAD). In this article, she shares what her goals were for the exchange program, and the lessons…
