The 9th annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) will be held in Madrid, Spain, this fall. This is the leading gathering of respiratory specialists in Europe. Presentations will be given of the unpublished results of over 3000 studies covering the extremely broad-ranging field of respiratory and lung diseases.
Lung cancer, asthma, chronic bronchitis and sleep apnoea are just some of the topics that will be addressed at this annual Congress.
"It is one of the year's outstanding scientific events", says Nicols Gonzlez Mangado, the chairman of the congress. "This meeting will be a unique, historic occasion, as Spain will be welcoming over 10'000 of the world's leading specialists in respiratory pathology".
Over and above the 3000 advanced studies that have been selected for free communications (either oral presentations or posters), the program includes over 50 specialized symposia featuring the best experts, and covering a range from basic and applied research to still unpublished clinical trials.
"This meeting offers a very attractive combination for a wide audience of specialists, adds Manuel Cosio, the Vice-Chairman of the meeting. That is why the ERS has attracted more and more investigators from all over the world and why our annual meeting is really growing in importance. Madrid got a record number of submitted 3740 abstracts, out of which 3035 were accepted, Manuel Cosio is pleased to report.
One of the symposia, for instance, will be devoted to highly promising new approaches to the prevention of lung cancer. Very recent advances in this field have opened the way to pre-invasive cancer treatment, which stops the formation of cancer cells using an aerosol that will soon undergo human trials. Also in the field of lung cancer, the meeting will be told how it is becoming possible, using sophisticated medical imaging (computerized tomography) techniques, to diagnose the illness at a sufficiently early stage to apply therapy.
Occupational asthma is an issue which is raising an increasing number of questions, to which three more Madrid symposia will be trying to provide some answers. What sort of working conditions, for instance, are more conducive to the disorder, and are some individuals more exposed than others? What are the main risk factors and how much of a problem is absenteeism in different countries? These are the kind of questions the best European and American specialists will be trying to answer.
The 9th ERS annual meeting will also be focussing on artificial ventilation methods. These are techniques intended for patients who need help with their breathing, either because they have been placed in intensive care or because they are seriously affected by chronic respiratory deficiency. One of the symposia will be discussing a worrying problem that has been investigated by a special international task force: certain forms of pneumonia can be caused by the most commonly used method of ventilation, in which the ventilator tube is inserted into the throat. This is even the second most frequent cause of hospital infection.
As if in reply to the results produced so far by that task force, another symposium will for the first time be reporting on large-scale clinical trials undertaken in three European countries on so-called non-invasive ventilation, which consists in blowing air instead through a mask attached over the patients nose and mouth. This method is said to offer many clinical advantages, to save many lives and to work out considerably cheaper.
One of the most popular topics of the meeting, sleep apnoea, will have two major symposia entirely devoted to it for an opportunity to discuss all related issues. For instance, how many individuals are affected by the condition? What sort of health effects can be expected from this nocturnal respiratory disorder, which can even lead to congestive heart failure? What are the implications of ensuing daytime drowsiness, which lies at the root of many accidents? The issues raised will also look at possible medical remedies using well-tried techniques.
The spirit of adventure will not be forgotten at the meeting, since the organizers have decided to extend the agenda to respiratory problems faced by mountaineers, deepsea divers and astronauts. Whether it is on mountain peaks, on the deep sea or out in space, what particular precautions are needed to cope with extreme living conditions?
Apart from those exciting issues, there are other newsworthy topics that could make up some good stories, such as:
- Lung transplants: who benefits most and when?
- 23 years after the outbreak of legionnaires disease: could another common bacteria cause a new epidemic?
- Tuberculosis on the eve of the 21st century.
- Do infections protect or predispose for the development of asthma?
- Lung volume reduction for serious respiratory deficiency: paradoxical beneficial effects.
Again: registration is free for journalists, who will benefit from a modern, fully equipped press center. Embargoed press releases will be available at the meeting. In addition, press conferences will be held every day on very attractive topics, from Monday to Wednesday.
If you would like to attend the meeting, or to receive advance embargoed releases by e-mail (approx. 10 days prior the congress), please send an e-mail to ERS99EK@cedos.int.ch
Don't forget to specify your registration (attending or receiving releases) and please indicate your full name, name of the media, and where you are located (town, country). Thanks.
Cedos International Centre de documentation et d'information scientifiques
Distribution worldwide of peer reviewed scientific/medical research results
Media contact:Eric Schaerlig