I so wish I was there

The North American CF Conference started yesterday and I'm so bummed that I can't be there this year. I'm already working on plans to be there next year. I wanted to share an article and video that the CF Foundation posted on their website about the conference. There is so much hope.

First Day of North American CF Conference Features Breakthroughs in Research and Inspiration from People with CF\

November 4, 2011 The North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC) kicked off its 25th anniversary on Nov. 3 with exciting reports from the CF drug development front and powerful messages of hope from people with CF and their families. Nearly 4,000 medical professionals, researchers and caregivers from around the world convened in Anaheim, Calif., to discuss the latest results of CF research studies and exchange ideas about ways to improve the quality of life for people with CF. In his opening remarks at the conference’s first plenary session, Robert J. Beall, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, described the remarkable progress of potential drugs targeting the underlying cause of CF. “We are on the cusp of the greatest breakthrough in the history of CF,” he said, “and it would not have been possible without teamwork — from around the world and across disciplines.” In a video presentation, Lauren Brenneman, 33 — an adult with CF and mother of 4-year-old Isaac, who also has CF — shared her inspiring story of participating in a clinical study of VX-770, a potential therapy under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the basic defect in some people with CF. Marcus A. Mall, M.D., of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, capped off the first day with a stimulating overview of milestones in understanding and treating the underlying cause of CF since the first NACFC 25 years ago and the lessons that can be applied to development of the “next generation” of therapies and used as a model for other rare diseases. Watch Lauren Brenneman and her son Isaac's video presentation