February 2011

Dear Friends

Although it has been a long time since our last newsletter, I am now pleased to be able to tell you that due to the tremendous efforts and generosity of its supporters, committee members and trustees, the Sophie Cameron Trust has achieved many of its objectives.

Established in 2001, the Trust aimed to increase recognition of Encephalitis Lethargica and support research into the causes of this devastating illness. As those of you who follow our website at www.thesophiecamerontrust.org.uk already know, around £285,000 has been spent on research and other activities related to EL. A national surveillance programme, led by our Scientific Adviser, Professor Gavin Giovannoni, has also been established. On a monthly basis every neurologist in the UK is now asked about patients displaying symptoms of EL. This is a major step forward in increasing awareness of EL among the medical profession. The survey will provide detailed information about the incidence of EL and the samples collated will be useful in future research.

In addition, the Trust has supported the publication of the first comprehensive study on EL to be produced for more than half a century. Written by the American professor, Joel Vilensky PhD, ‘Encephalitis Lethargica: During and After the Epidemic’ has recently been published in hardback by Oxford University Press and should be available from any bookshop or at Amazon.

Given all the above, we feel this is a good time to celebrate what has been accomplished and wind up this small and successful charity - although it is planned that the website will continue to operate as an information source for some years to come. Sophie was only seventeen when she fell ill with EL, but she had hoped for a career in medicine and her family feel that she would be very proud of the objectives the Trust has realised.

Since the beginning, the Royal High School Bath, has been very supportive of the Trust and last year, its outgoing Head, James Graham-Brown, was instrumental in deciding that the new performing arts centre should be named after Sophie. The Sophie Cameron Performing Arts Centre will be officially opened on 3rd May 2011 with a performance of the comedy play, ‘The Tamworth Two,’ written by James Graham-Brown, an award-winning playwright, at 6.45 pm. A commemorative plaque will be presented and we propose to use the occasion to celebrate the achievements (and the coming to a timely end) of The Sophie Cameron Trust. Seats will be limited, so if you would like to attend, please contact our secretary, Sue Howell, at Kelston House, College Road, Bath BA1 5RY, or on 01225 424224, or at sue@howell15.plus.com at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all in having supported the Sophie Cameron Trust in so many different ways over the last ten years. For me it has been both a pleasure and an honour to be so involved with such a worthy charity and one where every penny has been so well spent.

With kind regards

Bernard Whiteside
Trustee and Chairman of the Fundraising Committee of SCT

Newsletter Archive

May 2008
October 2007
March 2007
September 2006
March 2006
October 2005
March 2005
September 2004
January 2004
May 2002
June 2003

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