 A previous international open meeting was held on this topic at the Royal College of Surgeons of England from 20th – 22nd June 2002 to outline the advances and current problems in ectopic ossification and especially in the rare disorder of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP). In the past six years of research from then there have been numerous remarkable advances in knowledge and information concerning the causes of this condition, culminating identifying the disease gene mutations and formulating more specific patient treatment recommendations. Furthermore, a great deal of research has been performed concerning the cell biology of bone initiation, BMP cell signalling, muscle degeneration and relevance to FOP. This international conference seeks to promote research and clinical knowledge in this area and further develop collaborative programmes with laboratories actively working in wider fields of skeletal and developmental biology.
Ectopic or Heterotopic Ossification is a pathologic process leading to the formation of true bone tissue within the soft tissues. It is frequently observed in soft tissues around joints, thereby impairing function, in atherosclerotic plaques, and in the central nervous system and the process occurs with less frequency in some cancers. This unwanted bone complicates arthroplasty, fractures, burns and spinal cord and brain injuries Ectopic ossification is also an aspect of a number other diseases such as Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, Progressive Osseous Heteroplasia, Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy and primary osteoma cutis.
|
An International Symposium on Ectopic Ossification with particular 
