NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

AIM ETS

During the period April- September 2026, AIM’s activities focused primarily on organizing the 2026 Joint AIM-ASNP Congress, held in Bologna from May 13 to 16. The Congress saw the active participation of 876 attendees, featuring over 150 Italian and international speakers, 11 parallel workshops, and 320 selected abstracts—comprising 66 oral presentations and 254 posters—published in Supplement No. 1/2026 of Acta Myologica, the Association’s official journal.

The Congress also attracted numerous corporate sponsors and secured endorsements from 19 public and private institutions. The presence and participation of 12 Patient Associations — to whom a dedicated round-table discussion was devoted — were particularly welcomed and appreciated.

As is customary, awards were presented for the best contributions, oral presentations, and posters; this year, a record total of 14 awards were given.

The Giovanni Nigro Award, sponsored by the Centro Gaetano Torre per le Malattie Muscolari Association, was awarded this year to Dr. Federica Trucco for a presentation titled: “Disease modelling in Duchenne muscular dystrophy – single-centre pilot study using a machine learning approach”.

Additionally, on June 24, 2026, the Association organized the “AIM Live Myology Updates” webinar titled “Neurological examination of the newborn and child: How to identify early signs of neuromuscular disease,” followed on September 23 by the “AIM Live Myology Updates” webinar titled “Women with neuromuscular disease: Gynecological and reproductive challenges.”

MSM

The 14th Congress of the Mediterranean Society of Myology (MSM) will likely be held in the autumn of 2027 to commemorate its founder Giovanni Nigro, on the tenth anniversary of his passing.

NIL ETS Association

The Association of the Italian Network of Laminopathies (NIL) started its activity in 2009 with the aim of promoting biomedical and clinical research on Laminopathies. The Association is open to all those who want to share its perspectives, statute and regulations.  NIL is currently involved in two main projects: the first project - coordinated by IRCCS Besta Neurologic Institute in Milan - is a survey on nuclear envelopathies in Italy, aimed at collecting all available clinical data on the diverse laminopathies including Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy, Congenital Muscular Dystrophy-LMNA-related (L-CMD), Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM1A), Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, Mandibuloacral Dysplasia, type 2 Familia Partial Lipodystrophy. The project involves researchers from both Universities [Pisa (Endocrinology Unit and Neurology Unit), Rome Tor Vergata, Bologna (Pediatric and Endocrinology Departments) and Naples (University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli) and National Hospitals (Bambino Gesù Hospital, the IRCCS Fondazione Istituto di Scienze Neurologiche in Bologna, Bologna), Gaslini Pediatric Hospital in Genova. The second project is aimed at evaluating the effect of the secretome from Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy patients on myogenic differentiation of muscle cell precursors in culture. This project is coordinated by the CNR Institute of Molecular Genetics in Bologna and involves the University of Pisa, Neurology Unit, the IRCCSs Istituto di Scienze Neurologiche in Bologna and Besta Neurologic Institute in Milan, and the Gaslini Pediatric Hospital in Genua.

The NIL is participating in the organization of the 6th International Congress on Laminopathies, to be held in Maastricht (Netherlands) from May 19 to 21, 2027; the local organizer is Rogier Veltrop, a member of the NIL Scientific Committee. The 33rd meeting of the Italian Laminopathy Network, organized with the valuable contribution of Adele D’Amico, will be held in Rome on November 6th at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, located at Piazza S. Onofrio, 4. Further information is available on the network’s website, https://www.networkitalianolaminopatie.eu.

WMS

The 31st Annual International Congress of the World Muscle Society is being held in Hiroshima, Japan, from September 29 to October 3, 2026. In addition to three days dedicated to presenting the latest scientific findings, the event offers participants the opportunity to network with colleagues active in the field. The program accommodates up to 700 scientific posters and 60 short oral presentations, alongside three days of plenary sessions featuring invited speakers and presenters. A pre-congress training course, open to 100 participants, took place on September 28 and 29, 2026; this initiative provided a unique opportunity for early- to mid-career clinicians, researchers, therapists, and neuropathologists from around the world to gain deeper insight into modern approaches and developments in the field of myology.