AARDA to host forum related to autoimmune diseases on Aug. 4

The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) is hosting a "What Every American Needs to Know About Autoimmune Disease" forum on Saturday, August 4th , 2012. The event will be held at Oregon Health Sciences University's Doernbecher Children's Hospital in the Vey Conference Center on the 11th Floor. The address is 700 SW Campus Drive in Portland. Registration begins at 9:30am. The program begins at 10:00am and ends at 4:00pm. Lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is required.

The day-long conference is free and open to everyone. Many of the nation's leading scientists and medical professors will make presentations including Dr. Noel Rose, the director of the Johns Hopkins Autoimmune Disease Research Center. With more than 50 years of autoimmune research to his credit, Dr. Noel R. Rose is an internationally renowned expert in autoimmune disease. He was instrumental in establishing the whole field of autoimmunity, and his textbook, "The Autoimmune Diseases" is a classic.
Virginia T. Ladd, AARDA Founder and President, believes that informational forums are essential in understanding autoimmune disease. She also adds that awareness is important among women.

"It has been reported that autoimmune disease is on the rise. There has been an unexplainable increase in incidents of Celiac disease, lupus and Type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, women are more likely than men to be affected; some estimates say that 75 percent of those affected--some 30 million people--are women. Still, with these statistics, autoimmunity is rarely discussed as a women's health issue," says Ladd.

Source: American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association