"Following the highly successful inaugural BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Heart and Mind conference in 2008, an encore is to be held, once more in the delightful town of Prato, Italy, in September, 2010. Prato is only 25 minutes drive from Florence. At the inaugural meeting the organizers were pleased to host an international rollcall of delegates, from Canada, England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, USA and Australia. The 2010 meeting I am sure will also be a stimulating and enlightening international event, surpassing even the first meeting".

"The BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute is Australia's highest profile and most productive cardiovascular research institute. The commitment of the Institute to the mental stress - cardiovascular disease concept is evident in our 25 years of research and public advocacy in this field".

"The conference will have as its centrepoint the link between psychological medicine and cardiovascular disease, aiming to delineate the relationship between stress, mental illnesses and the development and course of heart disease and hypertension. It will showcase the crucial epidemiology, the mediating neural and other mechanisms, and the pharmaceutical, social and psychological measures applicable to prevention and treatment".

"The program promises to provide an instructive and exciting blend of research and patient care elements. The direct participation of internationally renowned scientists and practitioners from the fields of psychology, psychiatry and cardiovascular medicine will ensure this".

Conference Themes:

- Occupational stress links to coronary heart disease and hypertension
- The mediating biology of psychogenic heart disease
- Metabolic Syndrome origins in mental stress
- Genetic and epigenetic contributions to the brain/heart disease nexus
- Triggering of myocardial infarction and lethal arrhythmias by acute mental stress
- Takotsubo ("octopus pot") cardiomyopathy caused by mental stress
- Stress, gender and heart disease
- Depressive illness and coronary heart disease in indigenous populations
- Cardiovascular disease accompanying psychiatric illnesses
- Depressive illness, panic disorder, chronic mental stress, schizophrenia
- Cardiac safety with psychoactive drugs
- Mind-heart interaction with therapy
- Cardiac devices causing anxiety disorders
- Cardiac risk from psychotropic drugs
- Impact of cardiac surgery on cognition and mood
- Psychosocial measures for secondary prevention of heart disease
- Clinical pathways for management of mental illness in cardiovascular disease
- Cardiovascular disease accompanying psychiatric illnesses
- Depressive illness, panic disorder, chronic mental stress, schizophrenia

Professor Murray Esler AM, FRACP, PhD
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
Associate Director BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute

Professor Graham D. Burrows AO KCSJ
Professorial Fellow, Department of Psychiatry of the University of Melbourne and Consultant Psychiatrist at The Melbourne Clinic, Richmond.

Congress Venue:
Monash University Prato Centre
Palazzo Vaj
Via Pugliesi, 26
59100 Prato
Italia

Conference Convenors:
Professor Murray D Esler AM – Chair
Professor Graham D Burrows AO KCSJ – Chair
Dr Marlies Alvarenga

Conference Organiser/Manager:
Jeanette Bourke
Susannah Bourke

Scientific Committee:
Assoc Prof David Barton
Dr Gavin Lambert
Dr Elisabeth Lambert
Assoc Prof Markus Schlaich
Dr Rosemary Schwarz

Scientific program

Wednesday, 1 September 2010

14:00 Registration
18:00 Welcome Cocktail Reception
Palazzo Vaj Outdoor Terrace, Monash University, Prato

20:00

Thursday, 2 September 2010

08:15 Meeting Opening
Professor Murray Esler, BakerIDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Head: Hypertension, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute

08:30 Stress, Anxiety and Heart Disease
Chair Professor Graham Burrows The Melbourne Clinic Australia

- Stress Cardiomyopathy in 2010 : Further Insights into the mechanism of stress induced myocardial stunning 40 minutes
Dr Ilan Wittstein, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, United States
- Getting to the heart of sudden death 25 minutes
Professor Chris Semsarian, University of Sydney, Australia
- Active projections to nucleus raphe pallidus during conditioned fear in the rat 15 minutes
Dr Daniel M Vianna, University of New South Wales, Australia
- Early life stress blunts endothelial angiotensin (Ang) II signaling and enhances Ang II-induced vasoconstriction in adult male rats 15 minutes
Dr Jennifer S Pollock, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, United States
- A sympathetic view of stress related illnesses 25 minutes
Dr Gavin W Lambert, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
10:30 Morning Tea

11:00 Psychogenic Cardiovascular Disease: Experimental Models
Chair Associate Professor Markus Schlaich BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Australia

- Coping styles in animals : individual variability, disease associations and underlying neurobiological mechanisms 25 minutes
Professor Sietse de Boer, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
- Chronic stress and cardiovascular disorders : what can we learn from the animal models? 25 minutes
Prof Eugene Nalivaiko, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy - University of Newcastle, Australia
- Social defeat and isolation: cardiac, adrenocortical and behavioral effects in rats 15 minutes
Prof Andrea Sgoifo, Stress Physiology Lab - Dept. of Evolutionary & Functional Biology - University of Parma, Italy
- Sympathoadrenal system activity and gene expression in rats with paraventricular nucleus deafferentation after stress exposure 25 minutes
- Professor Richard Kvetnansky, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Republic

12:30 Lunch
13:30 Meet the Experts - Panel Discussion
Chair Professor Don G Byrne Australian National University Australia

- Psychiatry for Medical Internists: Can we prevent people with schizophrenia dying so young? 30 minutes
Professor David Castle, St. Vincents Health, Australia
- Cardiology for Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Social Scientists 30 minutes
Prof Murray Esler, BakerIDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Perceived Stress Predicts Increased B-type Natriuretic Peptide and One Year Hospitalizations in Heart Failure Patients 15 minutes
Prof David S Krantz, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, United States
- Poor mental health, cortisol reactivity and risk of subclinical coronary calcification 15 minutes
Ms Adrie Seldenrijk, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Ambiguity Tolerance and Sensory Processing Style in women with Heart Disease 15 minutes
Miss Tahereh Zamani, Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University Tehran, Iran
- Panel Discussion: Precision in Diagnosis: Psychiatry versus Cardiology 45 minutes
Professor Graham Burrows, The Melbourne Clinic, Australia
Professor Garry Jennings, Director, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
Professor Ernest Hunter, Queensland Govenment, Australia
Dr Rosemary Schwarz, Foundation for the Survivors of Torture, Melbourne, Australia
Dr Marlies Alvarenga, BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
Professor Bruce Singh, University of Melbourne, Australia

16:00 Poster Session with Wine and Cheese

Friday, 3 September 2010

08:30 Depressive Illness: Indigenous Populations, Social Disadvantage, Heart Risk Mechanisms
Chair Professor Bruce Singh University of Melbourne Australia
- Going to the heart of the matter : What have we learned about the psychosocial determinants of heart disease? 40 minutes
Professor Ichiro Kawachi, Harvard School of Public Health, United States
- Heart and Mind : Evolving understandings of chronic cardiovascular disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations 25 minutes
Professor Ernest Hunter, Queensland Govenment, Australia
- The Cost of Disadvantage: Exploring the biopsychosocial correlates of cardiovascular risk and disease in Indigenous Australians 25 minutes
Dr Alex Brown, BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
- Controversies in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Depressive Disorders 25 minutes
Professor Graham Burrows, The Melbourne Clinic, Australia

10:30 Morning Tea

11:00 Psychogenic Cardiovascular Disease: Personality, Gender, Clinical Implementation
Chair Dr Rosemary Schwarz Foundation for the Survivors of Torture, Melbourne Australia

- Type A behaviour and cardiovascular disease: A promise unfulfilled 25 minutes
Professor Don G Byrne, Australian National University, Australia
- Stress, gender and heart disease. Opportunities for intervention 25 minutes
Professor Kristina Orth-Gomer, Karolina Institute, Sweden
- Impact of two different extracorporeal circulation systems to the postoperative cognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery 15 minutes
Ms Kalliopi Megari, 1. School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
- Psychosocial factors and prevention of cardiovascular disease: Implementation of research findings 25 minutes
Professor Prasuna Reddy, Deakin University, Australia

12:30 Lunch
13:30 Afternoon Free
18:00 Conference Banquet

Saturday, 4 September 2010

09:00 Depart from Prato

A DAY IN AN EARLY 15TH CENTURY TUSCAN VILLA

Today we move the conference to the spectacular Villa Castelletti, an elegant an imposing Villa which has always been the country dwelling of noble and wealthy families. Now beautifully restored, it has become a premier venue for events and conferences. The ancient Italian garden, centuries-old trees, the lake in the park, plus the incomparable view of the countryside looking towards the city of Florence are yours to enjoy today.

Note: Accompanying Persons attending cooking class will leave at the same time with class commencing at 10.00 am

Buses will leave at 9.00 am from Piazza Santa Maria delle Carceri (200 m from Monash Prato Centre)

Villa Castelletti
Via di Castelletti, 5 - 50058 Signa - Firenze

09:45 Psychogenic Cardiovascular Disease: Neural, Molecular and Epigenetic Mechanisms
Chair Prof Eugene Nalivaiko School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy - University of Newcastle Australia

- Sympathetic nerve activity in stress induced cardiomyopathy 25 minutes
Professor Yrsa Sverrisdottir, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Epigenetic control of the norepinephrine transporter gene in depolarized neurons 25 minutes
Professor Assam El-Osta, BakerIDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Australia
- Autonomic neurocardiac dysregulation in R6/1 transgenic models of Huntingdon's disease 25 minutes
Associate Professor Xiao-Jun Du, BakerIDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Australia

11:00 Morning Tea
11:30 Depression, Stress and Hypertension
Chair Dr Marlies Alvarenga BakerIDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Australia

- Stress and hypertension: integrating findings from population and experimental studies 40 minutes
Professor Andrew Steptoe, University College London, United Kingdom
- Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Risk in Depressive Illness 20 minutes
Dr David A Barton, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
- The stress neural biology of essential hypertension 15 minutes
Prof Murray Esler, BakerIDI Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Meeting Closes 15 minutes
Professor Garry Jennings, Director, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia
13:00 Lunch
14:45 Buses Depart for Prato

Info: prato2010.org
http://www.prato2010.com/