The Scientific Committee welcomes the submission of abstracts for presentation at the 26^th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis and the 15^th Annual Conference of Rehabilitation in MS (RIMS).

In order to standardise the abstract layout, we kindly ask you to read the guidelines at this link carefully.

Guidelines for preparation of abstracts

1. Abstracts may only be submitted via Internet. 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. Poster presenters must be available and present to stand by their posters during their assigned poster sessions.
5. Abstracts should contain only original material not published or presented elsewhere prior to 13 October 2010.
6. Use a short specific title indicating the nature of the investigation. 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.
7. 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.
8. Avoid complex mathematical formulae. For the symbols ≤ or ≥, type instead <= or >=. For superscript use caret (^) e.g. 10^6 instead of 10⁶. Do not use Greek letters and symbols. Instead of “IFN-γ” use for example “IFN-g” or “IFN-gamma”.
9. Use generic drug names.
10. Tables, charts or other graphics may not be included and will be deleted by the editors.
11. The abstract text may not be longer than 2500 characters including spaces (ca. 500 words).
12.  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.
13. A selected number of abstracts will be accepted for oral presentation based on their scientific merits and on their relation to the topics addressed in the scientific programme of the Congress. We therefore encourage submissions on the main topics covered in the scientific programme.
14. Disclosure of conflict of interest (e.g. grant support, consultancy, membership on advisory councils, speaker’s bureau) and source of funding is mandatory. Each listed author should prepare a one sentence statement to this effect.
15. 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 27 May 2010. (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:

Clinical aspects of MS
1. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis
2. MS variants
3. Natural course
4. Epidemiology
5. MS symptoms
6. Clinical assessment tools
7. Economic burden

Pathology and pathogenesis of MS
8. Pathology
9. Experimental models
10. Genetics / transcriptomics
11. Immunology
12. MS and infections
13. Environmental, sex-related and life-style factors
14. Neurobiology
15. Repairing mechanisms

16. Imaging

Notification

Abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and authors will be notified of acceptance by email in mid July. Full instructions concerning preparation and presentation will be included.

Publication

All accepted abstracts will be published in a supplement to the journal “Multiple Sclerosis”. This will be handed out to all registered participants with the congress documents onsite. Full text of accepted abstracts will be viewable online at the congress website as from the first day of the congress.

Presentation available on the ECTRIMS website

The poster and ppt-slides of accepted presentations will be posted on the ECTIMS website after the congress.
All authors will therefore be asked to agree to the publication of their actual poster or ppt-slides of the oral presentation. For agreement please click the appropriate checkbox during the online abstract submission process.

Young Scientific Investigators' Session

Abstracts submitted by presenting authors who are aged 35 or younger (born on or after 1 January 1975) 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 27 May 2010 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 1975) 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.Applications without passport copy or arriving after 27 May 2010 will not be considered.Applicants will be notified in mid July (just after acceptance notification).

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

Late Breaking News Abstract Deadline

Late Breaking News abstracts containing important findings not available before the general abstract deadline can be submitted until 2nd August 2010.
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.-).
Award winning poster authors will give a short presentation in the Plenary Session 3 on Saturday, 15 October 2010.
A further prize of € 500.- will be awarded to the best RIMS poster.
Two additional prizes of € 1500.– each will be awarded to the two best oral presentations given by young investigators (born on or after 1 January 1975).
Prizes will be awarded in the closing plenary session.

Abstract submission has been closed.