SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM
| THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2026 | ||
| 07:30 – 08:15 | Registration | |
| 08:20 – 08:30 | Welcome / History of the LVV-PMR Conferences | Haner Direskeneli |
| 08:30 – 09:45 | Epidemiology and Classification of LVV Chairs: Christina Ponte, Fatoş Önen |
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| 08:30 – 08:50 | New Insights Learned From The Epidemiology of LVV | Sara Monti |
| 08:50 – 09:10 | LVV-Spectrum Disease – GCA/PMR (GPSD) | Bhaskar Dasgupta |
| 09:10 – 09:30 | Classification of TAK Among LVV and IMIDs | Haner Direskeneli |
| 09:30 – 09:45 | Discussion | |
| 09:45 – 10:15 | COFFEE BREAK AND POSTER VIEWING | |
| 10:15 – 12:00 | Genetics and Pathophysiology of LVV Chairs: Peter Grayson, Kornelis S.m. Van Der Geest |
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| 10:15 – 10:45 | Pathogenesis of LVV – GCA and TAK – Similarities and Differences | Cornelia Weyand (Online) |
| 10:45 – 11:05 | Genetics of GCA | Ann Morgan |
| 11:05 – 11:25 | Functional Insights Into The Genetic Basis of TAK | Amr Sawalha |
| 11:25 – 11:45 | Pathogenesis of PMR – IL-6, IL-17 and Beyond | Elisabeth Brouwer |
| 11:45 – 12:00 | Discussion | |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM (NOVARTIS)  Polymyalgia Rheumatica: Addressing Unmet Needs in Long-Term Disease Control |
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| 12:00 – 12:05 | Opening Remarks | Christian Dejaco Medical University of Graz, Austria |
| 12:05 – 12:25 | PMR in Clinical Practice: Addressing Unmet Needs to Improve Patient Care | Frank Buttgereit Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Germany |
| 12:25 – 12:45 | Looking Beyond Glucocorticoids: Exploring Targeted Approaches in PMR | Christian Dejaco Medical University of Graz, Austria |
| 12:45 – 12:55 | Q&A | Audience |
| 12:55 – 13:00 | Closing Remarks | Frank Buttgereit Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Germany |
| 13:00 – 13:45 | LUNCH BREAK | |
| 13:45 – 14:45 | Oral Abstracts (Session 1) Chairs: Sarah Mackie, Alojiza Hocevar |
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| 13:45-13:55 | Macrophage-derived galectin-3 promotes IL-6 production by synovial and arterial fibroblasts in the giant cell arteritis-polymyalgia rheumatica spectrum | Kornelis S.m. Van Der Geest |
| 13:55-14:05 | Persistence of Neutrophil extracellular traps, Senescent Cells and Exhausted T Cells in sequential temporal artery biopsies of giant cell arteritis patients.. | Charilaos Spyropoulos |
| 14:05-14:15 | The C5a/C5aR1 axis regulates multiple pathogenic pathways in giant-cell arteritis | Maria Cinta Cid |
| 14:15-14:25 | Crosstalk between T cells and Fibroblasts in Giant Cell Arteritis: Exploring the Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily Member 14 | Xue Gao |
| 14:25-14:35 | Local Vascular SAA1-FPR2 Signalling and Transcriptional Recapitulation of Active Disease Define Clinical Relapse in Giant Cell Arteritis | Reza Gheitasi |
| 14:35-14:45 | Mosaic Loss of the Y Chromosome is Associated with a Humoral-Myeloid Proteomic Signature in Giant Cell Arteritis | Simon M. Petzinna |
| 14:45 – 15:30 | Workshops and Meet The Experts 1 | |
| Fast-Track GCA Clinic: How to Set-Up? Workshop Hall 1 |
Cristina Ponte | |
| Biomarkers in LVV and PMR: Use in Clinical Practice Workshop Hall 2 |
Maria Cid | |
| Long-Term Outcomes and Mortality in TAK Workshop Hall 3 |
Durga Misra | |
| Disease Assessment in PMR? Biomarkers, Imaging, or PROs? Workshop Hall 4 |
Kornelis van der Geest | |
| How to Approach Isolated and Silent Aortitis Workshop Hall 5 |
Kenneth Warrington (Online) | |
| 15:30 – 16:15 | COFFEE BREAK AND SELECTED POSTER TOUR Please click here to view the detailed Poster Tour schedule. |
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| 16:15 – 18:00 | Imaging in The Diagnosis and Monitoring of LVV Chairs: Christian Dejaco, Ender Terzioğlu |
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| 16:15 – 16:45 | Debate 1: Which Imaging Technique to Diagnose and Follow-Up GCA? PET-CT vs Doppler US |
Daniel Blockmans Wolfgang Schmidt |
| 16:45 – 17:05 | Ultrasound Scoring in LVV: Are We Ready for Routine Clinical Use? | Christina Duftner |
| 17:05 – 17:25 | AI and New Imaging Techniques in LVV | Valentin Schafer |
| 17:25 – 17:45 | Imaging in PMR | Milena Bond |
| 17:45 – 18:00 | Discussion | |
| 18:00 – 18:30 | Chairs: Carlo Salvarani, Nilüfer Alpay-Kanıtez | |
| Debate 2: Imaging in TAK – Treatment Decisions Should be Based on Imaging Results – In Favor or Not? |
Allessandro Tomelleri Tanaz Kermani |
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| FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2026 | ||
| 07:30 – 08:30 | Workshops and Meet The Experts 2 | |
| Design of Clinical Trials in LVV and PMR Revisited: Treatment Targets and More – Can We Do Better in The Future? Workshop Hall 1 |
Moderator: Peter Merkel Participants: Daniel Blockmans, Wolfgang Schmidt, AW de Souza, Chetan Mukhtyar |
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| Assessment of Disease Activity and Damage in TAK Workshop Hall 2 |
Ruchika Goel | |
| Difficult-to-Treat GCA – How to Approach? Workshop Hall 3 |
Alojzija Hocevar | |
| Optimal Use of Glucocorticoids in LVV-PMR Workshop Hall 4 |
Sebastian Unizony | |
| Pediatric TAK Workshop Hall 5 |
Özgür Kasapçopur | |
| 08:30 – 09:50 | Treatment of GCA PMR and TAK Chairs: Ann Morgan, Ertuğrul Bölek |
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| 08:30 – 08:50 | 2026 EULAR Recommendations for The Management of LVV | Chetan Mukhtyar |
| 08:50 – 09:10 | Treat-to-Target in GCA and PMR | Christian Dejaco |
| 09:10 – 09:30 | Strategies for Tapering and Withdrawing Treatment for LVV and PMR | Peter Merkel |
| 09:30 – 09:50 | Management of TAK: What’s New? | Alexander de Souza |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Chairs: Durga Misra, Gokhan Keser | |
| Debate 3: TAK Treatment TNF-Inhibitors Should be The First Line Biologic in Most Patients with TAK. Tocilizumab Should be The First Line Biologic in Most Patients with TAK. Discussion: Personalized Approach – Which Drug for Which Patient? |
Fatma Alibaz David Saadoun |
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| 10:30 – 11:00 | COFFE BREAK AND POSTER VIEWING | |
| 11:00 – 11:30 | Chairs: Elisabeth Brouwer, Servet Akar | |
| Debate 4: GCA Treatment Upadacitinib Should be The First Line GC-Sparing Agent in Most Patients with GCA. Tocilizumab Should Stay The First Line GC-Sparing Agent in Most Patients with GCA. Discussion: Personalized Approach – Which Drug for Which Patient? |
Maria Cid Sarah Mackie |
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| 11:30 – 12:30 | Oral Abstracts (Session 2) Chairs: Valentin Schafer – Ruchika Goel |
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| 11:30-11:40 | Direct IL-6 Inhibitors for Polymyalgia Rheumatica: Efficacy and Safety | Alexey D. Meshkov |
| 11:40-11:50 | Recurrence of Polymyalgia rheumatica after treatment cessation: a nationwide cohort study | Agnete Overgaard Donskov |
| 11:50-12:00 | Childhood-Onset Takayasu Arteritis: Diagnostic Insights from 205 Patients in the ICTAK Registry | Muserref Kasap Cüceoglu |
| 12:00-12:10 | Use of JAK inhibitors in patients with refractory Takayasu arteritis: A worldwide retrospective study | Fatma Alibaz Oner |
| 12:10-12:20 | External Validation of the Southend Pre-Test Probability Score in an Irish Giant Cell Arteritis Fast-Track Pathway | Danielle Molloy |
| 12:20-12:30 | Hybrid 2-Hour [18F]FDG PET/MRI for diagnosis of giant cell arteritis: High accuracy at baseline and after 10 days of glucocorticoid treatment | Berit Dalsgaard Nielsen |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM (ABBVIE) GCA in Practice: A Conversation on Clinical Decision-Making  Speaker: Cristina Ponte |
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| 13:30 – 14:15 | LUNCH BREAK – GROUP PHOTO | |
| 14:15 – 15:00 | Workshops and Meet The Experts 3 | |
| Management Guidelines in LVV: Discussion Workshop Hall 1 |
Moderator: Haner Direskeneli Participants. Takahiko Sugihara, Carlo Salvarani, Sebastian Unizony |
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| What’s New in Treatment of PMR? Workshop Hall 2 |
Frank Buttgereit | |
| Vascular Interventions in TAK Workshop Hall 3 |
Emire Seyahi | |
| Mimics of LVV Workshop Hall 4 |
Ömer Karadağ | |
| Difficult Cases with LVV: Discussion Workshop Hall 5 |
Bhaskar Dasgupta Taryn Youngstein Sevil Kamalı |
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| 15:00 – 15:45 | COFFEE BREAK AND SELECTED POSTER TOUR Please click here to view the detailed Poster Tour schedule. |
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| 15.45 – 17:30 | Other Diseases and Comorbidities Associated with LVV Chairs: Frank Buttgereit, Murat Inanç |
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| 15.45 – 16:05 | Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in LVV | Taryn Youngstein |
| 16:05 – 16:25 | Large-Vessel Involvement in Behçet’s Disease | Gülen Hatemi |
| 16:25 – 16:45 | VEXAS Syndrome | Peter Grayson |
| 16:45 – 17:05 | LVV in Monogenic Syndromes | Ahmet Gül |
| 17:05 – 17:25 | What’s Next for Research in GCA, TAK, and PMR? | Peter Merkel |
| 17:25 – 17:30 | Concluding Remarks and Farewell | |