The Scientific Committee welcomes the submission of abstracts for presentation at the 23^rd  Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis and the 12^th Annual Conference of Rehabilitation in MS (RIMS).

Abstracts may only be submitted at this website

In order to standardise the abstract layout, please read the guidelines carefully.

Guidelines for abstract preparation

1. Abstracts may only be submitted via Internet at the above website. Abstracts submitted by fax or email will not be accepted.
2. Abstracts must be submitted in English. Please use UK English spelling.
3. The presenting author of an accepted abstract must register and attend the congress.
4. Abstracts should contain only original material not published or presented elsewhere prior to 11 October 2007.
5. The background and goals of the study should appear clearly to the reader. The methods and results must contain data, and the conclusions should be clearly expressed.
6. All abbreviations must be defined the first time they appear in your text (but, do not define in the title). Example: Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS), before being used as an abbreviation only.
7. Avoid complex mathematical formulae. For the symbols ≤ or ≥, type instead <= or >=s. For superscript use caret (^) e.g. 10^6 instead of 10⁶. Do not use Greek letters and symbols. Instead of “IFN-γ” use “IFN-g” or “IFN-gamma”.
8. Tables, charts or other graphics may not be included and will be deleted by the editors.
9. The abstract text may not be longer than 2500 characters including spaces (excluding title & authors).
10.  Authors should indicate their presentation preference:
    • poster presentation only
    • oral or poster presentation
    "Poster only" implies that your abstract will be considered for poster presentation only and will not be eligible for the poster prize. (see below)
    The Programme Committee reserves the right to decide on the final allocation and presentation method.
11. If your research has been granted any commercial or institutional support, you will be asked to disclose this in a one sentence statement during the submission process.
12.  Please make sure to state your correct e-mail address. After having submitted your abstract, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail with the following information:
    • reference number of your abstract (for correspondence and questions that might arise)
    • your personal user code and password.
    Should you wish to make corrections to an abstract already submitted or if you wish to submit other abstracts later, you may use your personal access codes. This will shorten the submission procedure. Corrections to abstracts can only be made up to the deadline of 31 May 2007. (if you do not receive a confirmation by e-mail please contact the Abstract hotline!)

If you have difficulties in submitting your abstracts or if you need any further information, please contact the Abstract Hotline (Monday – Friday during CET business hours): Ph. +41 61 686 77 22.

Topics
Authors are requested to select a topic under which they wish their abstract to be reviewed:

Notification
The abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and acceptance will be confirmed in mid July. All accepted abstracts will be published in the journal “Multiple Sclerosis”. Computer projection will be available in all lecture halls.

Young Scientific Investigators' Session
Abstracts submitted by presenting authors who are aged 35 or younger (born on or after 1 January 1972) may be considered for the Young Scientific Investigators’ Session. Selected presenters will be invited to make a 15-minute presentation (including discussion). If you wish to be considered for this session, please click the appropriate checkbox during the online abstract submission process. You will be required to upload a copy of your passport as proof of eligibility. Prepare this document in one of the following formats: MS Word document, gif, jpg or pdf file.

Applications without passport copy or arriving after 31 May 2007 will not be considered.

Travel Grants
A limited number of travel grants will be made available to young scientists (born on or after 1 January 1972) whose abstracts have been accepted for oral or poster presentation. Interested scientists should click the appropriate checkbox during the online abstract submission process. You will be required to upload a copy of your passport as proof of eligibility. Prepare this document in one of the following formats: MS Word document, gif, jpg or pdf file.

If you have difficulties uploading your passport copy, please contact the Abstract Hotline on ++41 61 686 7722

Applications without passport copy or arriving after 31 May 2007 will not be considered.
Applicants will be notified in mid July.

Late Breaking News Abstract Deadline
Late Breaking News abstracts containing important findings not available before the general abstract deadline can be submitted until 15 August 2007. Please contact the Abstract Hotline for further details:  Ph. +41 61 686 77 22

Prizes
Five prizes will be awarded to the best poster presentations (€ 1500.–, € 1000.-, and three prizes at € 750.-). A further prize of € 500 will be awarded to the best RIMS poster.Award winning posters will be presented in a plenary session on Sunday, 14 October.
Two additional prizes of € 1000.– each will be awarded to the two best oral presentations given by young investigators (born on or after 1 January 1972). Prizes will be awarded in the closing session.

Abstract submission has been closed.