A working group meeting entitled "The Role of Fatigue in Rheumatic Diseases" will be held September 8-10, 2004, at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, Va. This meeting is funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? National Institutes of Health. The New Jersey Medical School of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) will coordinate the meeting.

The goal of the meeting is to identify knowledge gaps associated with the study and treatment of fatigue in rheumatic illnesses, including lupus, fibromyalgia and associated disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and to compare the current state of this knowledge to that available in disorders such as cancer, cardiovascular conditions, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis. Participants will try to identify possible theoretical or clinical advances made in the latter set of disorders that could be applied to better understand and treat fatigue as it pertains to rheumatic illnesses. The product of the workshop will be a summary paper to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Space is limited to a small group of invited researchers and clinicians. However, NIAMS and UMDNJ also value the input of patient advocacy and support groups. In order to make outside group participation possible, the meeting coordinators will videotape all meeting presentations and plenary meetings to produce DVDs that will be available shortly after the meeting.

To order your free DVD, please send an e-mail to Gudrun Lange, Ph.D., at lange@njneuromed.org, or mail your request to:

Dr. Gudrun Lange 
DVA NJ Health Care System 
385 Tremont Avenue (Mail Stop 129) 
East Orange, NJ 07018

Once you have viewed the DVD, you will be able to post comments and suggestions at feedback@njneuromed.org until September 30, 2004. Your feedback is encouraged and valued and will enhance the final summary paper.