Factor XIII Standardization WG-Collaboration

Dear Friends:

We are very glad that we can announce good news on the annual Factor XIII Symposium in Wiesbaden, Germany. Prof. Preisnner, the president of the 52th GTH meetings, kindly offered us the following condition;

all persons attending exclusively the Factor XIII symposium (speakers and possible individual attendants) will have free admission, thus there will be no registration fee.
It would be most helpful if you could send us a tentative list of people possibly attending exclusively the FXIII symposium, to avoid unnecessary confusion.

If you have not send us an E-mail regarding your attendance yet, I would like to ask you to inform us whether or not you can attend the Factor XIII Symposium on Feb. 20, 2008, as soon as possible, hopefully, no later than Jan. 31 (Mon.), 2008. Then, you will be on our waiver list.

mailing address: aichinos@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp

Thank you for your collaboration in advance.

Looking forward to meeting you in Wiesbaden soon.

Best regards,

Akitada Ichinose, MD & PhDs
Chairman of Factor XIII Standardization Working Party
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Program of Factor XIII Symposium and Standardization Working Party meeting at the 52nd annual GTH meeting in Wiesbaden

Akitada Ichinose, Yamagata Chairperson
Rainer Seitz, Langen Chairperson

No.      AG-02/A - Study Group / Arbeitsgruppe
Time:     12.00-13.20, Feb. 20, 2008
Room:     Saal 11A
Session title:     Factor XIII: Deficiency

AG-02A-01

Diagnosis and management of patients with transient/acquired factor XIII (FXIII) deficiency; Re-revisit
Akitada Ichinose, Yamagata, Japan Speaker

AG-02/A-02

Factor XIII levels in patients with different stages of liver cirrhosis
Laszlo Muszbek, Debrecen, Hungary Speaker

AG-02/A-03

Mutation detection rate in F13A and F13B genes among the German patients with mild FXIII deficiency
Vytautas Ivaskevicius, Bonn, Germany Speaker

AG-02/A-04

Plasmapheresis effectively removes factor XIII - merely one of the adverse effects of plasmapheresis, or a possible therapeutic strategy?
Norio Hanafusa, Tokyo, Japan Speaker

No.      AG-02/B - Study Group / Arbeitsgruppe
Time:     13.20-14.40, Feb. 20, 2008
Room:     Saal 11A
Session title:     Factor XIII and thrombosis

AG-02/B-01

Safety biomarkers and rFXIII therapy
Martin Olekseiwicz, Malov, Denmark Speaker

AG-02/B-02

FXIII and peripheral artery disease
Armin H. Shemirani, Debrecen, Hungary Speaker

AG-02/B-03

FXIII measures in patients with acute stroke
Verena Schro"der, Bern, Switzerland Speaker

No.      AG-02/C - Study Group / Arbeitsgruppe
Time:     14.40-16.00, Feb. 20, 2008
Room:     Saal 11A
Session title:     Structure-function of factor XIII

AG-02/C-01

Characterisation of factor XIII/fibrin interactions: Role in factor XIII activation
Helen Philippou, Leeds, UK Speaker

AG-02/C-02

Effect of novel bioceramics on a blood coagulation factor
Miho Nakamura, Tokyo, Japan Speaker

AG-02/C-03

A comparison of the effect of acetaldehyde upon Factor XIII activity with that on other coagulation factors
Arthur S. Brecher, Bowling Green, USA Speaker

AG-02/C-04

An essential role for Factor XIII in repair of the bronchial epithelium
Janis Shute, Portsmouth, UK Speaker

16:05-17:30: Factor XIII Standardization Working Party business meeting in Saal 11A

Ichinose A. (Japan, chair), Ariens R. (UK), Kohler H. P. (Switzerland), Muszbek L. (Hungary), Seitz R. (Germany), Raut S. (UK) Members

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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us (mailing address: aichinos@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp).

The working party (FXIIISWP) was established in February, 2000, in Erfurt, Germany, during the 44th GTH meeting, under the former chair of the Factor XIII subcommittee, Prof. A. Ichinose (Japan), with three other members from non-profit organizations including Profs. L. Muszbek (Hungary), R. Seitz (Germany), and T. Barrowcliffe (United Kingdom). The mission of the Working Party is to standardize factor XIII materials and methods for their measurement. A pilot study including plasma, two factor XIII concentrates, and a fibrinogen concentrate, all of which were candidates for standard materials, was completed recently, and the results reported to the Factor XIII Subcommittee of the Scientific and Standardization Committee of the ISTH during the 2003 SSC Annual Meeting on July 12, 2003, by Dr. S. Raut of the UK Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC).

The second FXIIISWP meeting was held on July 14, 2003, in conjunction with the 49th SSC Annual. All four members were in attendance with Dr. Rout present as an observer. The following points were agreed upon: 1) To further the standardization activities, the FXIIISWP will invite at least 12 non-profit organizations such as universities, research laboratories, government institutes, etc., to join in the effort. 2) As a first-step project, the WG will try to establish the standard plasma for factor XIII using a large batch of pooled plasma prepared at NIBSC. This plasma will be calibrated for factor XIII content using the local pooled plasma of NIBSC, as well as control plasma from commercially available kits. 3) The candidate plasma protocol for standardization and a protocol for measurement will be provided by the FXIIISWP to the participants of this trial. For the dilution of samples, the use of factor XIII deficient plasma is highly recommended. 4) Any routine methods in the participant laboratories can be used for measurement of factor XIII activity and its antigen. 5) Factor XIII concentrates, recombinant XIII, fibrinogen concentrates, and fibrin sealant will be included in the second-step of the WG's project. 6) The third FXIIISWP meeting was held in February, 2004, in Hamburg, Germany, during the 48th meeting of the GTH.

Accordingly, laboratories interesting in participating in this important effort are asked to come forward by contacting one of the following core members of the FXIIISWP:

Akitada Ichinose: aichinos@med.id.yamagata-u.ac.jp
Laszlo Muszbek: muszbek@jaguar.unideb.hu
Ranier Seitz: seira@pei.de