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by Peter Zelewski
In February 2002 the Working Committee of the Vasculitis-Support-Group received an invitation from Dr. Schmitt (assistent medical director of the nephrology/endocrinology department at the 5th Medical Clinic Mannheim) to participate in the second meeting of the Mannheim Vasculitis Group. The programme consisted of lectures by medical experts and started with an introduction by Professor Dr. F.J. van der Woude, director of the 5th Medical Clinic. Lectures on the following topics were delivered:
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Vasculitis - what is it?
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Dr. Irmgard Neumann, Wien.
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How does Vasculitis originate? New findings on risk-factors.
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Dr. R. Kettritz, Berlin.
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Early recognition - early treatment: strategies for the avoidance of permanent harm.
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Dr. W. H. Schmitt, Mannheim.
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New attempts in the treatment of Vasculitis.
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Dr. R. Birck, Mannheim.
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A lecture by Mr. Peter Zelewski "help for self-help - on the value of a vasculitis-support-group" ensued.
Then Mrs. Ingrid Grobe-Woweries (from Hemsbach) spoke on "living with vasculitis - the experience of a concerned one."
Finally a new information.booklet for vasculitis-patients and their families was introduced by Mrs. Rita van der Woude: "The Vasculitis-counsellor"
The event ended with a buffet and informal talks from patient to patient.
The Bad Bramstedt "Working Committee Vasculitis" was presented by Mrs. Helga Naujoks, Mr. Ulrich Dunkel and Mr. Peter Zelewski. We unamimously thought the lectures of the experts highly informative and reflecting the latest state of knowledge. We had the opportunity of motivating vasculitis-patients to establishing their own regional support-groups. The founding of support-groups in Bingen and Mannheim, for instance, appears to us as another success. We hope we will be able in the future, too, to encourage more patients to establish further support-groups elsewhere.