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NF Academy 2023 - Ella’s Blog

04 October 2023

I am Ella and I have NF1. Please have a look at my journal on the 2023 NF Academy, so young people with NF, and those without it, may have a better understanding of the condition.

As teens and young adults, life is hard anyway as our bodies are changing and hormones affect our moods. In addition, having an incurable and unpredictable condition makes it so much harder to deal with. I’m sure I’m not the only one to feel quite sad and depressed by it all.

I hope that by becoming a young NF Ambassador, it helps support others and raises awareness.

October 2023

In September, I attended the 2023 edition of the NF Academy, organised by NF Patients Europe, and held in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Academy lasts for a week, and is an educational programme for young adults with NF. 19 young adults from all over Europe participated and received a diploma as NF Ambassadors.

During the week, NF experts talk about various issues such as mental health, patient advocacy, and rare disease management in Europe. Together with Portuguese partner Organisation Associação Portuguesa de Neurofibromatose, NF Patients Europe help the NF Ambassadors to work together on a better future for NF patients.

Days 1 - 3

After sleeping for most of the previous night I woke up in the Seminario Torre D'Agulla Casais. The breakfast was not the best, literally bread and fruit on repeat; so I went to the local supermarket's bakery to fill me up until lunchtime, Portuguese local food is quite amazing.

We then met up in one of the conference rooms, with the Office of Psychology in which we did team building activities. My favourite of Saturday’s activities was the introduction web. This is where we would hold a string and introduce ourselves and a fun fact and then pass it on to someone else while keeping some of the string.

On Saturday afternoon, we all took taxis to the beach where we watched the sun set and went in the sea for a paddle.

I preferred the Sunday activities because we seemed more relaxed with the Office of Psychology team. My favourite activity was creating boxes through origami. It was challenging but fun, as we could decorate and put our thoughts and feelings in.

In the afternoon we went to the local outdoor swimming pool for a couple hours; it was freezing cold compared to the warm weather in Lisbon. After this, we moved to the VIP Arts Hotel in central Lisbon which was amazing and really posh as it was a 4 star hotel. 

I got to have my own room with a double bed and bath to use. However, I found it challenging to go in and out of the bath due to my hypermobility and I kept tripping over myself.

Day 4:

We had to leave early as we had to travel to the other side of the city to visit a Science University.

The purpose of this trip was to go and visit university laboratories that are sometimes used for clinical trials for new drugs being developed. We learned about genetics and the scientific side of clinical trials.

During the break, we looked around the park which was very scenic and beautiful. However, I started to become ill due to the warm weather and had to go back with the Irish and the other UK contingency as they were coming down ill as well.

I recovered and later went to an Italian-Portuguese with the rest of NF Patients United. I had a pork flatbread, bruschetta and fries with a diet cola. The food was very tasty.

Day 5: 

We had to say goodbye to Melpo from Cyprus, as she had to go back home due to work scheduling issues.

We all gave her a group hug and individual hugs and wished her well. She told us we are all ‘her family’ and ‘we will always be there for each other no matter what’.

A few hours later, she messaged us on our Whatsapp group that she was back home safe and well. I hope to see her soon.

We then learned how clinical trials work and the different routes of administration for trial drug and these are:

  1. Intravenous - this is where they will inject through the arm but there is a limited CNS delivery.
  2. Intramural - injection in the shoulder, which is therapeutic and normally where topical medication is trialled at.
  3. Intrathecal - injections in the back and is normally used for treating cutaneous neurofibromas.

After this, we then went for a Chinese meal, I'm not really a fan of Chinese but I gave it a go. I decided to have spring rolls and a pork Chow Mein and it tasted really nice and the restaurant looked over the views of the Lisbon coast.

We then went up the Gondola lift, enjoying the Lisbon sunset. It took us from the “25 de Abril Bridge”, also known as the 25th April Bridge, to the Oceanarium.

Day 6:

I went to a patient advocacy session run by Alexion, which was bought by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in 2021. They told us that they listen to the stakeholders, who tell doctors and pharmaceutical companies what is in the best interest for each patient. They also told us about how clinical trials work and how long it takes for medication for genetic conditions to go to market.

We then went for a meal at a traditional Portuguese restaurant with APNF. I decided to try fried pork and clams, which surprised me as it was really tasty and I would eat it again.

I enjoyed this trip of a lifetime especially meeting people from different cultures and countries.

I felt more at home and I could talk to people about living within as they have been through very similar experiences as I have. I have learnt that there is treatment for NF being produced at the moment and looking at future generations, especially with genetic testing during pregnancies and before women decide to get pregnant.

I would like to go again next year, as I have made many friends and I wanna keep in touch and see them more as they’ve gone last year. I’ve done it again this year as they’ve become more of a family and they want to learn more.  Hopefully one day, more people from Nerve Tumours UK will be able to go to the NF Academy and learn the same, or very similar information as I have.

Register virtually for the NF Best Practice seminar 2023, taking place on Sunday 15 October 8.30am - 2.15pm

Masterclasses in NF: Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome as Differential Diagnosis to NF1/Legius Syndrome - Prof. Dr. Katharina Wimmer

Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome as Differential Diagnosis to NF1/Legius Syndrome

Prof. Dr. Katharina Wimmer, Medical University of Innsbruck

Masterclasses in NF: Rare NF1-Associated Tumors in Adults - Eric Legius & Prof. Ellen Denayer

Masterclasses in NF: Rare NF1-Associated Tumors in Adults

Eric Legius, MD, PhD, University Hospital Leuven

Prof. Ellen Denayer, University Hospital Leuven

Masterclasses in NF: Optimising Hearing Outcomes in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Simon Freeman

Masterclasses in NF: Optimising Hearing Outcomes in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis

Simon Freeman, MPhil FRCS, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Salford Royal Hospital

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Dermatological Manifestations - Pierre Wolkenstein, Laura Fertitta & Sirkku Peltonen

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Dermatological Manifestations

Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD, Hopital Henri-Mondor, Paris, France

Laura Fertitta, MD, Hôpital Universitaire Henri Mondor

Sirkku Peltonen, MD, PhD, University of Gothenberg, Sweden

Masterclasses in NF: Breast Cancer in NF1 - Gareth Evans

Masterclasses in NF: Breast Cancer in NF1

Gareth Evans, MD, University of Manchester, UK

Masterclasses in NF: Pain in Non-NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - David Pang

Masterclasses in NF: Pain in Non-NF2-Related Schwannomatosis

David Pang, MD, ChB. Guys and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, London

Masterclasses in NF: Distinguishing Non-NF2-Related from NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Clinical and Genetic Approaches - Said Farschtschi

Masterclasses in NF: Distinguishing Non-NF2-Related from NF2-Related Schwannomatosis - Clinical and Genetic Approaches

Said Farschtschi, MD, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis - Eric Legius & Prof. Ellen Denayer

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis

Eric Legius, MD, PHD, University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium

Prof. Ellen Denayer, University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium

NF2 Working Together: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

NF1 Working Together Part 2: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

NF1 Working Together Part 1: from a tentative diagnosis and beyond

Understanding  the impact that a tentative diagnosis has on a parent. Information and access to the existing NTUK and Specialist Nerve Tumours medical and non medical care network.

Masterclasses in NF: Surgery in NF2 - Michel Kalamarides & Andrew King

Masterclasses in NF: Surgery in NF2

Michel Kalamarides, MD, PhD, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

Prof Andrew King, MBBS FRCS FRCS(SN), Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK

Masterclasses in NF: Cognition and Behaviour in NF1: Phenotype and Treatment Approaches - Shruti Garg, Andre Rietman

Masterclasses in NF: Cognition and Behaviour in NF1: Phenotype and Treatment Approaches

Dr Shruti Garg, MBBS, MRCPsych, MMedSci, PhD, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, United Kingdom. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK

Andre Rietman, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Masterclasses in NF: Emotional Challenges in NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis - Susie Henley, Thomas Pletschko & Verena Rosenmayr

Masterclasses in NF: Emotional Challenges in NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis

Susie Henley, DClinPsy, PhD, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London UK

Thomas Pletschko, PhD, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Verena Rosenmayr, Clinical Psychologist, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pediatric Management - Rianne Oostenbrink

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Pediatric Management

Rianne Oostenbrink, MD, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Masterclasses in NF: Associated Glioma in Children - the Optic Pathway and Beyond - Amedeo Azizi

Masterclasses in NF: Associated Glioma in Children - the Optic Pathway and Beyond

Amedeo Azizi, MD, PhD, Head of the Paediatric Neurofibromatosis Program and Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Program, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Orthopedic Manifestations - Eric Legius and Christophe Glorion

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Orthopedic Manifestations

Eric Legius, MD, PhD. Head of Clinical Genetics Department of the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium

Christophe Glorion, MD, PhD, Department of Paediatric Orthopedic and Traumatologic Surgery, Hopital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris, France. 

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumours - Rosalie Ferner and Viktor-Felix Mautner

Masterclasses in NF: NF1 Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumours

Prof Rosalie Ferner, Consultant Neurologist and Lead Clinician for Neurofibromatosis, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK and Trustee of Nerve Tumours UK

Viktor-Felix Mautner, MD, PhD. University Medical Centre in Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Head of NF Outpatient Department

Masterclasses in NF - Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Cutaneous Neurofibromas - Pierre Wolkenstein and Sirkku Peltonen

Masterclasses in NF - Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Cutaneous Neurofibromas

Pierre Wolkenstein, MD, PhD. Hopital Henri-Mondor, Paris, France. Head of the Department of Dermatology

Sirkku Peltonen MD, PhD. University of Gothenberg, Sweden. Professor of Dermatology

INFER (International NF Educational Resources) is a series of online educational lectures for medical professionals by leading neurofibromatosis experts. The Masterclasses take place online approximately once a month, each on a different topic, and include real-time interaction between the expert presenter and the participants. The presentations are conducted in English, with real-time audio interpretation available in 6 additional languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. A recording of each INFER masterclass is then be made available online in each language for those who could not attend an event. INFER is an initiative of Children’s Tumor Foundation Europe, supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca. https://ctfeurope.org/research/masterclasses-in-nf

BPNA Keynote Lecture - Prof Rosalie Ferner - Neurofibromatosis 1 in the 21st Century

‘Neurofibromatosis 1 in the 21st Century’

Keynote Lecture at the 48th British Paediatric Neurology Association Annual Scientific Meeting on 21st January 2022

Prof Rosalie Ferner, Consultant Neurologist and Lead Clinician for Neurofibromatosis, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London. Member of the MAB of Nerve Tumours UK and Trustee of Nerve Tumours UK