Graham Atherton introduces the meeting and gives a short talk on interesting facts about Aspergillosis with a Scottish relevance

1. Aspergillosis Patients Meeting3rd October 2010Edinburgh “Advice, information and mutual support”

2. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Aspergillosis Patients Meeting Format 10.00 Introductory talk 10.20 Steph Smith Appeal 10.40 Group discussion on problems you face using our service because of the distance involved 11.00-12.00 Social chat, cup of tea 12.00 Lunch served in this room 1-4pm Another Kingdon Exhibition

3. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Purpose of the Meeting The principle purpose of these meetings is to give patients and their carers an opportunity to: meet fellow patients for mutual support ask questions of staff for you to tell us how we can improve what we do: clinic or website for us to tell you how we are trying to improve our service

4. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Staff present Georgina, Marie & Debbie: Aspergillosis Specialist Nurses Chris Harris: National Aspergillosis Centre Manager – in charge of centre admin, receives calls to clinic Graham Atherton: Aspergillus Website, patient information, clinical support, this meeting

5. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Meeting Information Newsletter given out at clinic every month If you have a computer: http://www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients/patientsmeeting.php You will be able to find: Past meeting minutes, archive of newsletters & video recordings of talks Full details of this and more on our monthly newsletter available in clinic and at every meeting

6. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients View Meeting via your PC If you can’t make the meeting you can view it & listen in using our new computer facilities. Go to http://www.livestream.com/nationalaspergillosiscentre This will work with any modern internet browser or computer, no software downloads. You will probably need a broadband connection to the internet. You can chat by text to other viewers during the meeting

7. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Asthma – UK hotspot (2004)

8. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Asthma – Scotland worst in UK

9. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Aspergillus & Scotland Survey in 1999 - 74 per cent of homes in Scotland had significant levels of airborne Aspergillus compared with 9-29% in US (Piecková and Jesenská, 1999 Conditions are cool, dark, damp, buildings lack ventilation, ideal for mould & other asthma triggers e.g. bed mites, tobacco smoke, poor diet, Industrial irritants (air pollution) Damp buildings are strongly linked to childhood asthma *World Health Organisation www.who.int

10. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients History of Aspergillosis John Hughes Bennett 1812-1875 Eminent Edinburgh physician In his 1842 paper Bennett gave the earliest description of pulmonary aspergillosis. Bennett was one of the first to recognise the importance of the microscope in the clinical investigation of disease.

11. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients John Hughes Bennett Laboratory Originally opened in 1901 in honour of the man who first described pulmonary aspergillosis & leukemia The new John Hughes Bennett Laboratory (JHBL) is situated on one floor of a new building (completed in 1997) on the site of the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland.

12. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Contribution Scotland is the birthplace of modern Aspergillus genetics Guido Pontecorvo (“Ponte”), 1907–1999 1937 – Institute of Animal Genetics Edinburgh 1943 – fungal genetics – penicillin development 1945 – Lecturer in Genetics, Glasgow 1953 – comprehensively established Aspergillus as a model system to study micorbial & eukaryotic genetics

13. www.aspergillus.org.uk/newpatients Fungal Research Trust A leading UK charity funding research into fungal diseases. Spends £400 000 p.a. Established in 1991 >150 research papers published Also funds much of our patient information services & Aspergillus Website 2008 – voluntary donations raised a few hundred pounds per year 2010 – voluntary donations raised now exceed £10,000