3rd Swiss-Kyrgyz High Altitude Medicine
and Research Symposium
September 21 - 25, 2024, Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic

Scientific Programme

Organizers:
Michael Furian, Zurich
Silvia Ulrich, Zurich

Max Gassmann, Zurich & Lima
Talant Sooronbaev, Bishkek

Programme overview
Day 1 – Saturday, September 21, 2024:
Arrival of participants in Bishkek airport, visit of National Center of Cardiology andInternal Medicine, transfer to Naryn by bus.

Day 2 – Sunday, September 22, 2024:

Start of the Symposium: Lectures, discussion, Plenum

Day 3 – Monday, September 23, 2024:
Lectures, discussion, Gala Dinner

Day 4 – Tuesday, September 24, 2024:

Lectures, discussion, poster discussion, Art Exhibition

Day 5 – Wednesday, September 25, 2024:
Roundtable discussions, visit of the Naryn hospital, departure to Bishkek or individual
travel in the afternoonSaturday, Sept. 21, 2024
Arrival, scientific meeting and exchange, preparation for travel to Naryn
05:00-11:00

Arrival of international guests in Bishkek airport, transfer to city.

12:00-13:30

Lunch

13:30-15:00

Welcome and guided tour through the National Center of Cardiology
and Internal Medicine and Department of Respiratory Medicine.

15:00-19:30

Travel from Bishkek to meeting site at Naryn. Check-in at Hotel Khan
Tengri

20:30

DinnerSunday, Sept. 22, 2024
Swiss-Kyrgyz continuous medical education seminar, state of the art lectures Part 1 (Chair: Talant Sooronbaev & Silvia Ulrich)
08:30-08.45

Welcome / Opening Ceremony

08:45-09:15

Erkin Mirrakhimov

Heart disease and the mountains

09:15-09:45

Alessandra
Chiodini

Heart failure update

09:45-10:15

Horst Olschewski

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, risk
stratification, comorbidities and implication fortherapy

10:15-10:30Coffee Break

Swiss-Kyrgyz continuous medical education seminar, state of the art lectures Part 2 (Chair: Horst Olschewski & Maamed Mademilov)
10:30-11:00

Silvia Ulrich

Update in pulmonary embolism

11:00-11:30

Otto Schoch

Update tuberculosis and infectious diseases
in remote areas

11:30-12:00

Peter SchmidGrendelmeier

Update on allergies with special impact onmountain areas

12:00-13:30

Lunch

Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024
Swiss-Kyrgyz high altitude research pioneers Almaz Aldashev and Konrad Bloch(Chair: Silvia Ulrich & Max Gassmann)

13:30-14:00

Talant Sooronbaev

The role and contribution of academician
Mirrakhimov M.M., academician Aldashev A.A.
and Professor Konrad E. Bloch in thedevelopment of high mountain research in theKyrgyz Republic

14:00-14:30

Michael Furian

Behind the scenes: Preparations of the highaltitude studies led by Konrad Bloch

14:30-15:00

Konrad Bloch

Going to altitude in healthy and patients withrespiratory disease – a personal perspective

15:00-15:30

Coffee BreakHot topics in high altitude and Hypoxia research(Chair: Ralph Schermuly & Andrea Olschewski)
15:30-16:00

Matthias HiltyMicrocirculation and betablockers at HA

16:00-16:30

Baktybek
Kojonazarov

Lung and heart perfusion in experimental
pulmonary hypertension

16:30-17:00

Ralph Schermuly

Hypoxia and the right ventricle – from
pathophysiology to novel therapies

Invitees only: Plenum event (Chair: T. Sooronbaev)
18:30-19:30

5-point roadmap for Kyrgyz high altitude medicine.

19:30

DinnerMonday, Sept. 23, 2024
Hypoxia: from molecule to physiology(Chair: Lars Kaestner & Martina Muckenthaler)
08:30-09:00

Julián Aragonés

Erythropoiesis and lung response to hypoxia

09:00-09:30

Andrea Olschewski

Pathophysiology and genetics of pulmonary
hypertension

09:30-10:00

Wolfang Kübler

Inflammation, pulmonary artery stiffening andhypoxia - is there a link?

10:00-10:30

Coffee break

Living in a hypoxic environment - physiological threats and adaptation(Chair: Matthias Hilty & Adilet Omuralieva)
10:30-11:00

Rob RoachAcclimatization to high altitudes

11:00-11:30

Max Gassmann

Highlanders worldwide and their hemoglobin
levels11:30-12:00

Martina
Muckenthaler

Reprogramming the immune microenvironment
with iron

12:00-13:30LunchMonday, Sept. 23, 2024
Pulmonary vascular diseases at low and high altitude(Chair: Mona Lichtblau & Otto Schoch)13:30-14:00

Mona Lichtblau

Right heart function in COPD going to altitude

14:00-14:30

Silvia Ulrich

Travelling to and living at high altitude withpulmonary vascular disease

14:30-15:00

Simon Schneider

Performance of patients with pulmonary
vascular disease at high altitude

15:00-15:30

Coffee break

Altitude tolerance – current and future research(Chair: Michael Furian & Rob Roach)
Linda Keyes

Highlights from the UIAA Medcom
Recommendations for Women’s Health at High
Altitude16:00-16:15

Alina Häfliger

Sex-specific difference in health-related
altitude-effects and their prevention byacetazolamide

16:15-16:30

Aijan Taalaibekova

Monitoring sexual hormones in women goingto altitude – results from a pilot study

16:30-17:00

Michael Furian

Introducing the HighCyle project: Effects of
preventive acetazolamide on AMS in womentravelling to high altitude

17:30-19:00

Governor, Naryn
Oblast, Organizers

Welcome address, ceremony

19:00-22:00

Gala Dinner

15:30-16:00

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024
Oral presentations of Kyrgyz researchers(Chair: Konrad Bloch & Erkin Mirrakhimov)
08:30-08:45

Asel Budaichieva

Chronic kidney disease

08:45-09:00

MyskalDuishenalieva

Problems of diagnosis and treatment of arterial
hypertension in high altitude conditions

09:00-09:15

Adilet Omuralieva

Features of diagnostics on echocardiographyof cardiovascular diseases in high altitudeconditions.

09:15-09:30

AizhamalTabyshova

Economic aspects of COPD in Kyrgyzstan

09:30-09:45

Maamed Mademilov Qualitative research on implementation of CRP
Gulzada Mirzalieva POCT in Chui and Naryn Regions

09:45-10:00

Elvira Isaeva

10:00-10:30

Coffee BreakIntroducing the project COORDINATE

Manifestation and prevention of altitude illness(Chair: Rob Roach & Linda Keyes)
10:30-11:00

Konrad BlochPrevention of altitude illness in preexisting
disease11:00-11:30

BenoitChampigneulle

Definition and update on chronic mountainsickness

11:30-12:30

Poster session

12:30-13:30

Lunch

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024
Consequences of chronic exposure to occupational and environmental hazards(Chair: Martina Muckenthaler & Peter Schmid-Grendelmeier)
13:30-14:00

Otto Schoch

Occupational lung diseases: dust exposure

14:00-14:30

Talant Sooronbaev

Health of highlanders – experiences and needs
in Kyrgyzstan

14:30-15:00

Mona Lichtblau

Climate change, in- and outdoor air pollution
and respiratory health

15:00-15:30

Coffee break

Hypoxia research – different systems and future direction(Chair: Benoit Champigneulle & Julián Aragonés)
BenoitChampigneulle

Expedition5300: limits of human adaptations in
the highest city in the world - New findings andperspectives

Lars Kaestner

Regulation of red blood cell numbers in microgravity and after return from prolonged sojournat high altitude16.30-17.00

Nurgul Toktogulova

Relationship between high-altitude hypoxia
and cytosolic ATP and liver fibrosis in MAFLD
and DM 2

17:00-18:30

Art exhibition

19:00-22:00

Dinner

15:30-16:00

16:00-16:30

Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024
Networking and collaboration event
08:30-09:30

Round table events (invitees only)

09:30-10:00

Coffee Break

10:00-13:00

Director, Naryn
Health Center

Visit of Naryn Health Center and discussion
with local stakeholders (nurses, feldshers,
family doctors, different health care providers)

13:00-14:00

Symposium End

Wrap-up, department to Bishkek

Affiliations
Prof. Silvia Ulrich, MD
PD Mona Lichtblau, MD
Prof. Michael Furian, PhD
Simon Schneider, PhD
Prof. Konrad E. Bloch, MD
Alina Häfliger, MD
Department of Pulmonology, University Hospital
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Alessandra Chiodini, MD
Department of Cardiology, University Hospital
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Matthias Hilty, MD
Institute of Intensive Care, University Hospital
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Peter Schmid-Grendelmeier, MD
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Max Gassmann, DVM
Institute of Veterinary Physiology, University ofZurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Talant M. Sooronbaev, MD
Prof. Erkin Mirrakhimov, MD
Maamed Mademilov, MPD
Asel Budaichieva, MD
Myskal Duishenalieva, MD
Adilet Omuralieva, MD
Aizhamal Tabyshova, MD
Gulzada Mirzalieva, MD
Elvira Isaeva, MD
National Center for Cardiology and InternalMedicine, Bishkek, Kyrgyz RepublicProf. Otto Schoch, MD
Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen,
Switzerland

Prof. Martina Muckenthaler, PhD
Department of Molecular Medicine and Center
for Translational Biomedical Iron Research,
University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg,
Germany
Prof. Julián Aragonés López, PhD
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid,Spain
Prof. Ralph Schermuly, MD
Baktybek Kojonazarov, MD, PhD
University Hospital Giessen, Giessen, Germany
Institute for Lung Health, Giessen, Germany
Benoit Champigneulle, MD
University of Grenoble, France
Prof. Robert Roach, MD
Department of Medicine, University of Colorado
Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, USA
Prof. Linda E. Keyes, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine, Universityof Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora,
USA
Prof. Horst Olschewski, MD
Prof. Andrea Olschewski, MD
Medical University of Graz / Ludwig Boltzmann
Institute, Graz, Austria
Prof. Wolfgang Kübler, MD
Institute of Physiology, Charité –Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Prof. Lars Kaestner, PhD
Medical Faculty, Saarland University,
Homburg/Saar, Germany

Sponsoring
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our main sponsors for their generous
support of this scientific congress. Your contributions are instrumental in making thisevent possible, allowing us to bring together researchers, scholars, and professionals
from around the world to share knowledge and foster collaboration.