What is ectopic calcification?
Ectopic calcification is defined as inappropriate biomineralization occurring in soft tissues. It
can affect a wide variety of tissues such as arteries, valves, brain and
connective tissues (e.g. skin, joints) and result in significant morbidity
and mortality.
Is ectopic calcification rare?
Why is ectopic calcification important?
Our mission
INTEC
is the largest consortium of experts dedicated to advancing
the knowledge on acquired and genetic calcification towards clinical and
therapeutic applications by stimulating, facilitating and enhancing cooperation
and better transfer of knowledge as it bridges different
disciplines(rare versus common disease, genotype versus phenotype,
preclinical versus clinical) and sectors(academic
research, clinical research and industrial R&D).
We
want to achieve to have worldwide aware-ness for and acknowledgement of EC
as a serious health condition. For this to be achieved, our aims
are:
1.
to better understand the mechanisms, risk factors and modulators in
the different rare and common EC diseases and aging and,
2.
to translate this knowledge towards novel innovative therapeutic
strategies to mitigate the increasing burden of EC as part of primary and
secondary preventive measures.
INTEC
will invest in educational activities to share and discuss the
latest results in science and innovation with physicians, researchers,
patients and the general public. We will issue best
practice standards and policy briefs, summarizing research results on a
specific topic and making recommendations which can be used to weigh on the
public debate on rare diseases research and on health care management in the
aging population.
INTEC
will establish, consolidate and widen a community bridging separate fields of
science to achieve breakthroughs that require an interdisciplinary approach. It
offers a unique setting for novel discoveries in EC by integrating and
expanding the understanding of underlying mechanisms, risk factors, and
modulators. This will enable the design of coherent (pre)clinical research
programs, having an immediate impact on patients and the aging population.
Our strategy and activities
RESEARCH
INTEC’s innovative basis for research is the integration of different forms of acquired and hereditary EC diseases to identify common pathways, to map modifying factors and to improve diagnosis and treatment across the different patient populations.
INTEC’s fundamental research will improve the understanding of EC causes and the mechanisms underlying clinical variability and sex differences.
The fundamental science results are translated to the clinic with two main goals:
i) identification and validation of novel EC risk markers, by correlating basic science outcome with clinical data using the EC-DAP database
ii) exploration of new therapeutic targets and approaches that will lay the foundation for novel preventive and therapeutic solutions for EC.
EDUCATION
INTEC will exploit the interdisciplinary know-how and the vast experience in training and dissemination within the network. This will allow to:
i) provide better access to general information on EC and its role in disease and aging;
ii) provide training on exploitation and dissemination of results;
iii) enable education of health care professionals to improve management and diagnosis;
iv) give shape to future leaders in science and the private sector with a unique global view of pathophysiology from rare to common diseases and with the insights on how to drive translation of research results into effective interventions.
PUBLIC AWARENESS
INTEC will contribute to improved risk stratification and diagnosis based on a deepened understanding of causes and consequences of EC. From this, our objectives are to strengthen the knowledge and skills, competences and abilities of people, patients, communities and governments, to support governments in the definition of new public policies addressed to the civil society and to create conditions to support patients’ ability to participate in decisions affecting their disease and treatment, thus increasing their impact.