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Dear FrienDs anD Colleagues, another esPe meeting awaits us, this time in Dublin, ireland, so we may share recent scientific developments and experience the cordial hospitality of the President of the esPe meeting, Professor Hilary Hoey. The scientific programme is being finalised and you can find the latest news on this page. of course, the programme will be enriched by your abstracts. esPe is the leading society for paediatric endocrinology worldwide. as a consequence of this, we can proudly relate several esPe activities from across the continents in this issue of your newsletter. amongst these, we introduce you to new esPe initiatives, such as the esPe Caucasus & Central asia school (page 3), as well as our ongoing activities, including news from india (page 3) and the esPe Maghreb school for training in africa (page 4), which was greatly appreciated by the members and participitants. There are many benefits of being an esPe member, including sharing and participitating in all these activities, and we encourage you to join if you have not yet done so. We continue to introduce national societies in the newsletter, and in this issue we have news Welcome continued from page 1 from the Turkish Pediatric endocrinology and Diabetes society (page 5). We thank our Turkish colleagues for sharing their information with us. Please let us know news from your national society. Hormone Research in Pediatrics, the official journal of our society, has a new editor in Chief from 2014, stefano Cianfarani. on page 5, you can read more about his perception and expectations for the journal. among the other activities of esPe, the research Fellowship is well known and has an important impact on the scientific world. an interview with one very successful applicant on page 7 will really be encouraging for young colleagues. We also bring you updates from the recent very successful esPe Winter school (page 9) and the Bone and growth Plate and obesity Working groups (page 8). last but not least, we express our deep condolences for the loss of Professor Henriette a Delemarre-van de Waal (1952–2014), who has contributed so much to paediatric endocrinology in europe and around the world. on page 6, you can read Jan-Maarten Wit and ieuan Hughes’ moving obituary in her memory. as always, we on the editorial board strive to maintain the quality of the newsletter and to enrich it with feedback from all members. i particularly thank lars sävendahl for his support as well as my colleagues in the newsletter team, with whom i always have the opportunity to work with great enthusiasm and collaboration. Do let us have your contributions and feedback. Yours sincerely, Professor Feyza Darendeliler Editor, ESPE Newsletter [email protected]
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Dear FrienDs anD Colleagues, another esPe meeting awaits us, this time in Dublin, ireland, so we may share recent scientific developments and experience the cordial hospitality of the President of the esPe meeting, Professor Hilary Hoey. The scientific programme is being finalised and you can find the latest news on this page. of course, the programme will be enriched by your abstracts. esPe is the leading society for paediatric endocrinology worldwide. as a consequence of this, we can proudly relate several esPe activities from across the continents in this issue of your newsletter. amongst these, we introduce you to new esPe initiatives, such as the esPe Caucasus & Central asia school (page 3), as well as our ongoing activities, including news from india (page 3) and the esPe Maghreb school for training in africa (page 4), which was greatly appreciated by the members and participitants. There are many benefits of being an esPe member, including sharing and participitating in all these activities, and we encourage you to join if you have not yet done so. We continue to introduce national societies in the newsletter, and in this issue we have news Welcome continued from page 1 from the Turkish Pediatric endocrinology and Diabetes society (page 5). We thank our Turkish colleagues for sharing their information with us. Please let us know news from your national society. Hormone Research in Pediatrics, the official journal of our society, has a new editor in Chief from 2014, stefano Cianfarani. on page 5, you can read more about his perception and expectations for the journal. among the other activities of esPe, the research Fellowship is well known and has an important impact on the scientific world. an interview with one very successful applicant on page 7 will really be encouraging for young colleagues. We also bring you updates from the recent very successful esPe Winter school (page 9) and the Bone and growth Plate and obesity Working groups (page 8). last but not least, we express our deep condolences for the loss of Professor Henriette a Delemarre-van de Waal (1952–2014), who has contributed so much to paediatric endocrinology in europe and around the world. on page 6, you can read Jan-Maarten Wit and ieuan Hughes’ moving obituary in her memory. as always, we on the editorial board strive to maintain the quality of the newsletter and to enrich it with feedback from all members. i particularly thank lars sävendahl for his support as well as my colleagues in the newsletter team, with whom i always have the opportunity to work with great enthusiasm and collaboration. Do let us have your contributions and feedback. Yours sincerely, Professor Feyza Darendeliler Editor, ESPE Newsletter [email protected]
as We on THe esPe TeaM welcome you to the first edition of the esPe newsletter for 2014, we look forward to the year ahead. We would like to remind you of some of the great benefits of esPe membership! • reduced registration fees at esPe annual meetings • reduced subscription fees for Hormone Research in Paediatrics • access to grants, prizes and awards • access to esPe e-learning and webcasted lectures • access to the members-only section of the website, including the members’ directory • Tri-annual newsletter and regular e-communications • Voting rights and the ability to be elected to the esPe Committees and Council as We on THe esPe TeaM welcome you to the first edition of the esPe newsletter for 2014, we look forward to the year ahead. We would like to remind you of some of the great benefits of esPe membership! • reduced registration fees at esPe annual meetings • reduced subscription fees for Hormone Research in Paediatrics • access to grants, prizes and awards • access to esPe e-learning and webcasted lectures • access to the members-only section of the website, including the members’ directory • Tri-annual newsletter and regular e-communications • Voting rights and the ability to be elected to the esPe Committees and Council There are many exciting initiatives planned for the year, including a new Diabetes/obesity school and a new Caucasus & Central asia school (see page 3), as well as the many existing activities which will continue in 2014. esPe’s programmes, new and old, need your support and we are available to answer any queries or to receive any feedback you may have. if you have any comments please contact us via [email protected], or find us on Facebook and Twitter. Please note that Joanne Fox-evans has now returned from maternity leave. Hannah Bonnell, Joanne Fox-Evans, Tracey-Leigh Meadowcroft ESPE Team
riCKeTs anD ViTaMin D HaVe Been the subject of intense debate over the last years. recent north american guidelines (published by the institute of Medicine and the endocrine society) include recommendations on vitamin D that are partly controversial but which have a significant impact on public health, both for paediatric practice and the health economy worldwide. These guidelines differ from recommendations by paediatric societies, such as those published by the Pediatric endocrine society (Pes). Consensus Conference on Prevention and Management of Rickets not all paediatric endocrinologists and nutritional specialists are in agreement with existing guidance, especially when considering its worldwide implementation. in addition, there is new evidence, in particular from rare disorders of vitamin D metabolism unique to paediatrics, and health economical aspects that need further consideration. Therefore, the esPe Bone and growth Plate Working group has reached out to endocrine sister societies and experts on paediatric bone, nutrition, public health, epidemiology and health economics to arrive at a worldwide consensus, not only on vitamin D, but on the prevention and management of rickets. This consensus endeavour has been endorsed by the esPe Clinical Practice Committee and esPe Council. scientific work on the consensus questions has already started. The consensus meeting will be held on 29–31 May 2014, in Birmingham, uK. To read more about the work of the ESPE Bone and Growth Plate Working Group see page 8.
gloBalisaTion oF esPe as a soCieTY, as well as the success of the French-speaking Winter school since 2010, led to the idea of a russian-speaking school in the Caucasian and central asian countries, where paediatric endocrinology is still largely underdeveloped and hence worthy of esPe input. Because english is not widely spoken in these countries, the esPe Council has approved a bilingual – russian and english – teaching course with dual projection. Ferring Pharmaceuticals is very kindly sponsoring this Caucasus & Central asia (C&Ca) school, initially for 3 consecutive years. The esPe C&Ca school aims to support paediatricians who have entirely or partially completed their basic paediatric training and who are now either established in, or intending to develop a deep and continuing interest in, paediatric endocrinology and diabetes. The course will follow the successful formula of the esPe Winter school, taking 5 days and including interactive lectures by experienced esPe members and paediatric endocrinologists from the Caucasus and central asia, with the aim of covering all main topics in paediatric endocrinology. These lectures will be supplemented by small group sessions to discuss teachers’ cases, and case presentations by the students. The course also includes an introduction to clinical research. This year, preference will be given to applicants from the Caucasian and central asia countries: Kazakhstan, uzbekistan, azerbaijan, armenia, georgia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. The deadline for applications is 30 april 2014. see www.eurospe.org/education/ education_caucasus.html for more information. We hope that this initiative to develop paediatric endocrinology and diabetes will have a very positive effect on improving child health and forging important links between the various countries, as well as with esPe itself. Rasa Verkauskiene, [email protected] ESPE C&CA School Co-ordinator esPe, TogeTHer WiTH colleagues from the asia Pacific Paediatric endocrine society, the Japanese society for Pediatric endocrinology and the international society for Pediatric and adolescent Diabetes, once again took part in the Pediatric endocrine Training (PeT) course and indian society for Pediatric and adolescent endocrinology (isPae) meeting in Bangalore, india, on 26 november–1 December 2013. attendees from esPe included nick Bishop (sheffield, uK), senthil senniappan (london, uK) and olaf Hiort (lübeck, germany), who introduced the participants at the PeT course and the delegates at the isPae meeting to topics on paediatric bone disease, disorders of sex development and hypoglycaemia. The PeT course was modelled on the esPe summer school, with two or three participants assigned to a mentor who provided guidance and correction both before and during the meeting. approximately 30 fellows attended over the 3 days. The cases were excellent and the standard of presentation high; this was clear from the feedback given by the faculty at the debrief session. The faculty clearly felt that the course had met its objectives of both educating and inspiring participants from across the asia Pacific and australasian regions. The main isPae meeting was held at a city centre hotel. it attracted about 300 delegates, including almost half the participants from the C&CA Schools 24–30 October 2014 Almaty, Kazakhstan Host: Rima Bazarbekova 2015 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Host: Gulnar Rakhimova 2016 Baku, Azerbaijan Host: Gunduz Ahmadov PeT course. invited lectures were interspersed with interesting cases. Further informal discussions regarding management of difficult cases were held throughout the meeting. The meeting enabled further strengthening of clinical and research collaboration between indian colleagues and esPe members. several indian fellows expressed interest in esPe Clinical Fellowships, and practising endocrinologists have offered to participate in research studies, both clinical and molecular, in the field of paediatric endocrinology. The venues and organisation for both events were excellent, as was the enthusiasm of all who attended. esPe can be proud to have supported a really productive and worthwhile endeavour, and we look forward to supporting our indian colleagues in paediatric endocrinology again in the future.
THe esPe MagHreB sCHool sTarTeD as a 3-year teaching programme, beginning in Morocco in 2011 and continuing in Tunisia in 2012. its aim was to promote the education of young paediatric endocrinologists in the francophone countries of north africa. The third esPe Maghreb school event in algiers on 20–25 november 2013 was a great success. We warmly thank asmahane ladjouze, Maître assistante at university Hospital of Bab el oued, for her commitment as local organiser. of 35 applications received, 13 students were accepted from algeria, 7 from Tunisia and 6 from Morocco. seven students were new to the Maghreb school, while the others had previously attended at least one of the other events. During the 4½-day course, the atmosphere was one of warm friendship and great enthusiasm. The programme, in French, covered growth in chronic disease, pubertal disorders, late endocrine effects of cancer and its treatment, adrenal disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Delegates benefited from interactive lectures, case presentations from each student and the teachers, small group workshops discussing research projects and proposals from the students, and the presentation of selected projects to the plenum. There was also a ½-day excursion to the historic roman remains of the coastal town of Tipaza, followed by an evening meal featuring traditional algerian cuisine. a teaching faculty of six esPe members and teachers from each of the three north african countries supported the programme, which now has a web-based educational resource in French, with slides of the conferences and case presentations (for participants only at www.endocrinologie-enfant.net). During this first cycle of 3 years, seven students have attended all three esPe Maghreb schools. in addition, seven students have spent between 2 months and 1 year training in paediatric endocrinology at european centres (some as part of the esPe Clinical Fellowship programme), and at least 12 abstracts have been presented at the esPe annual meetings. an effective network now supports an ongoing collaborative project on disorders of sex development in the three north african countries, and further collaborative work is actively being discussed. We acknowledge Pfizer’s generosity in agreeing to extend their funding for the programme for a further 3 years. The next esPe Maghreb school takes place on 12–16 november 2014 in Morocco. see www.eurospe.org/education/education_maghrebProject.html. Juliane Léger and Malcolm Donaldson ESPE Education and Training Committee
HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS Has reCenTlY changed editor in Chief, renewed the Board of associate editors and enjoyed improvements in design and production. i took over as editor in Chief in January 2014. under the successful and invaluable guidance of Paul Czernichow, Hormone Research in Paediatrics has become the worldwide leading journal in the field of paediatric endocrinology. i am honoured to have inherited this precious legacy and my commitment is to further strengthen the journal’s prestige by increasing its readership and citation rate. i am aware of the difficulties presented by the existence of so many old and new potential competitors, as well as the extensive budget cuts in medical research that have significantly reduced investments in all disciplines – without sparing paediatric endocrinology. However, this time of crisis can be turned into an opportunity by concentrating resources on excellence. and this is exactly what we aim to do: to promote excellence in paediatric endocrinology. i and all the associate editors are ready to take up the challenge of improving the journal’s quality by rigorous selection of articles and invited mini-reviews, giving priority to contributions that either advocate change in or illuminate clinical practice. This ambitious goal cannot be achieved without the involvement of each individual esPe member, who should recognise the value of reading, citing and publishing in Hormone Research in Paediatrics. The journal is mainly ‘made’ by the readers, who drive the publication policy with their feedback and contributions. i strongly encourage you to contact me or any associate editor directly whenever you have proposals for improving the quality and circulation of our journal. as i have written in my first editorial, all of us, as members of the paediatric endocrine community, share the same aim, which is summarised in the esPe motto, ‘improving care of Find out more about Hormone Research in Paediatrics at www.eurospe.org/journal Turkish Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes Society Formed in 1994, the Turkish Society has more than 200 members, led by President Peyami Cinaz ([email protected]) and Council members Feyza Darendeliler, Behzat Özkan, Bumin Dündar and Ayhan Abali. Working groups and projects our working groups cover Puberty ([email protected]), Growth and growth hormone (GH) ([email protected]), Bone health ([email protected]), Diabetes ([email protected]), Congenital adrenal hyperplasia ([email protected]), Thyroid ([email protected]), Obesity ([email protected]), Disorders of sex development (DSD) ([email protected]), Turner syndrome ([email protected]), Hirsutism ([email protected]), and Endocrine disruptors ([email protected]). They aim to publish guidelines, organise multicentre national studies, and enhance public awareness of endocrine diseases in childhood. The society’s future projects include a web-based registry for paediatric endocrine disorders and web-based multicentre studies. Conferences, courses and training in addition to our 3-day annual meetings, we have an annual 2-day case discussion symposium. Three local meetings take place annually across Turkey to address local practitioners. in 2008, the esPe Congress was held in istanbul. The Diabetes Working group organises a 2-day course for nurses, and other local courses cover growth and growth disorders, puberty, DsD, statistics, and presentation skills. We use our own national training programme, based on the esPe training programme. Guidelines and publications The society has guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of gH deficiency, gH treatment in small for gestational age individuals, and transition in gH deficiency. as well as a peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology (JCrPe; www.jcrpe.org), we have a twice-yearly newsletter, publish case discussions on our website and provide translations of esPe leaflets. Prizes and grants at every annual meeting, prizes are awarded to the best oral and poster presentations. We also award prizes to the best three original articles and top case presentation published in JCrPe, and to colleagues who have published articles in journals listed in the science Citation index (expanded). Fellows and academicians may apply for a clinical or research fellowship grant to study abroad. children with endocrine diseases by promoting knowledge and research’. This is the aim of Hormone Research in Paediatrics, which wants to be an instrument in your hands to keep you up to date, refine scientific and clinical skills, and contribute to the dissemination of knowledge in paediatric endocrinology. The publisher, the editorial Board, the associate editors and i look forward to having you join us on the road ahead. Stefano Cianfarani, [email protected] Editor in Chief, Hormone Research in Paediatrics
Bringing you recent highlights from the world of research
How did your research career begin? From mid-2009, i worked in Dr laura audí’s paediatric endocrinology lab in Barcelona, spain, where we performed genetic studies. My background includes a degree in biology, and my PhD focused on genotoxicity and cytogenetics. in Dr audí’s lab we analysed genes from patients with adrenal disorders, disorders of sex development (DsDs) or growth disorders. in october 2010 i moved to Bern, switzerland, to begin a 6-month assignment in Professor Christa Flück’s steroids lab, to learn about and perform pilot functional studies on previously detected genetic mutations. Why did you apply for an ESPE Fellowship? To complete the planned work and to learn more techniques concerning functional testing of mutations, i realised a longer stay in Bern was needed. it was quite close to the application deadline, but although i had left it a bit late, i worked on my project application carefully and had very specific aims and outcomes. My principal aim was to complete the project based on studying mutations of NR5A1/ sF-1 (which mainly causes DsDs in males, and ovarian insufficiency in females) while my other aim was to study mutations in other genes, also related to DsDs or adrenal disorders. And how has it helped you achieve your aims? We have elucidated the clinical, genetic and functional impact of ten novel mutations of NR5A1/sF-1 (see Camats et al. 2012 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 97 e1294–e1306). now we are attempting to explain the high variability of phenotypes of patients with NR5A1 mutations and how these heterozygote mutations can cause disease. We also assessed the functional impact of one novel sTar splicing mutation (Camats et al. 2013 Clinical Endocrinology Supporting young researchers esPe Full researCH FelloWsHiPs enaBle the most talented young scientists and paediatric endocrinologists to conduct research worldwide at leading centres of excellence. The esPe short‐term research Fellowship provides support for a research project of 2–6 months’ duration at a host institution of excellence. sponsored by novo nordisk a/s, the programme provides up to 2 years of financial support and has helped launch powerful careers. Maintaining high quality experimental and clinical research is of utmost importance as it will strengthen the future of paediatric endocrinology. For 20 years, the programme has launched the careers of scientists and clinicians from a wide range of specialties linked to paediatric endocrinology and diabetology. it is a unique opportunity to experience collaboration with foreign colleagues who will most often become lifelong friends. so far, some 45 fellows from 14 countries have benefited from 2 years of support. Here we highlight the success of one beneficiary, Dr núria Camats. The esPe research Fellowship Committee found her achievements to be remarkable and a model for others to follow. To apply for a Fellowship, see full details at www.eurospe.org/awards. Michel Polak, Chairman, ESPE Research Fellowship Committee (Oxford) doi: 10.1111/cen.12293), and of two novel CYP17A1 mutations. We are now performing functional studies of 11 novel MAMLD1 mutations and variants from 46,XY DsD patients. How will you build on your research experience? although my esPe research Fellowship funding finished in september 2013, i will continue my collaboration with Professor Flück for some time. My research is focused on sF-1, because i am interested in the lack of phenotype–genotype correlation in patients with NR5A1/sF-1 mutations. We will apply exome sequencing in some patients, as well as studying mutations in other DsD-related genes. My project has been very fruitful and i am glad i will be able to work on it further, thanks to a swiss grant which i recently obtained. The Fellowship has fostered excellent collaboration for the research groups in Barcelona and Bern, which we all hope will continue in the future. What would you say to other young researchers? For a postdoctoral research experience to be useful and valuable, i think it should last at least 2 years, and take place in a different lab from where one’s research started. The support of esPe in the form of these Fellowships to young researchers is therefore crucial in helping us to develop our scientific careers, and i would definitely recommend the Fellowships to aspiring paediatric endocrinologists. i thank esPe for granting me this research Fellowship. i have discovered a lot about science, research and techniques, and about how to organise and develop my everyday work. it has been a great privilege to collaborate with Professor Christa Flück and her team, from whom i have learnt a great deal and received a lot of support. Núria Camats
Obesity THe esPe oBesiTY WorKing grouP enJoYeD an excellent session last september in Milan, italy. it began with a presentation by Toru Miyazaki (Tokyo, Japan) entitled ‘novel therapy for the metabolic complications of obesity through the regulation of the apoptosis inhibitor of macrophages (aiM)’. aiM appears to be a beneficial molecule that impedes the progression of obesity, suggesting that it might be a promising target for next-generation anti-obesity drugs. His research has indicated that, in the early period of developing obesity, aiM might help prevent progression through lipolysis. However, when this lipolytic effect is excessive, it triggers macrophage-induced chronic inflammation, leading to insulin resistance. Hala Tfayli (Beirut, lebanon) spoke on ‘Declining β-cell function in children relative to insulin sensitivity with escalating oral glucose tolerance test 2-h glucose concentrations’, discussing the transition in children from normal glucose tolerance to overt diabetes type 2. Disposition index (Di) describes the capacity of the pancreatic β-cells to secrete additional insulin to compensate over time for alterations in insulin sensitivity. she has found that significant decrements in Di are present in overweight youths well before any established diagnostic criteria of glucose intolerance can be made, and current criteria may represent a relatively advanced stage of impairment in β-cell function relative to insulin sensitivity. ‘Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in the regulation of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BaT)’ were discussed by andrew Whittle (Cambridge, uK). BMP8B plays a role in the direct regulation of thermogenesis, and studies have shown that BMP8B regulates energy balance in partnership with hypothalamic aMPK. Mice deficient in the protein were hypophagic but gained weight nonetheless, due a reduced metabolic rate. in contrast, mice deficient in pro-atherogenic lDl receptor relative (lr11), a negative regulator of BaT, were hypermetabolic and were protected from obesity. Further studies concerning BMP8B’s actions in energy balance may offer greater insight into mechanisms that specifically increase energy dissipation by BaT. Finally, Martin Wabitsch (ulm, germany) considered ‘Mitochondrial dysfunction in white adipose tissue and obesity’. in states of caloric excess, adipocytes expand to store lipids. When the cell reaches the limit of storage, endoplasmic reticulum stress develops, with adipokine secretion and inflammation. Further insight into mitochondrial function has been gained by studying variants in the fat mass- and obesity-associated (FTO) gene in genome-wide association studies. FTO-deficient mice are resistant to obesity, in keeping with the finding that adipocytes without FTO exhibit fourfold higher expression of uncoupling protein-1 (uCP-1), with resultant mitochondrial uncoupling and induction of a ‘BaT phenotype’. Better understanding of the signalling pathways involved in mitochondrial dysfunction and uCP-1 expression in adipocytes of obese individuals might lead to new treatment options for obesity. Members also discussed the new esPe obesity Working group research protocol. This will involve studying insulin levels in lean and obese children during different Tanner stages. suggestions concerning the protocol and volunteers to help with quality control and statistical analysis of results from the different geographical centres were invited. Working group members will communicate by email to work out the details of the research protocol. Bessie Spiliotis, Co-ordinator, [email protected] Bone and Growth Plate 2013 Was a gooD Year for the Working group – but 2014 will be even better! our eu-wide collaborations and networking activities are showing their first fruits. PTH pump therapy for autosomal dominant hypoparathyroidism The first results of our european Working group collaboration between Paris, riom, Clermont Ferrand, angers, london, innsbruck and Birmingham were presented at the 9th Joint Meeting of Paediatric endocrinology as an oral communication (FC12-187). replacing parathyroid hormone (PTH) as a 24-h continuous s.c. teriparatide infusion via an insulin pump was demonstrated to be a safe and highly efficacious replacement therapy for patients with activating mutations of the calcium sensing receptor. Consensus Conference on the Prevention and Management of Rickets Following endorsement by all paediatric endocrine societies, and with the support of experts from nutrition and epidemiology, as well as the esPe Clinical Practice Committee, the preparations for this paediatric worldwide consensus meeting are going ahead at full steam. The consensus meeting will be held in Birmingham on 29–31 May 2014 (see page 2). New frontiers several new industry studies are coming up which will involve european centres. information will be distributed amongst Working group members as appropriate, via our european Bone and growth Plate network directory. in addition, we will be applying for CosT (european Co-operation in science and Technology) action on early onset bone fragility to support our networking and educational activities. We would like to encourage scientists to submit proposals for collaborative research studies at a european level. Feel free to contact me as the current Working group Co-ordinator at the email address below.
The following ESPE Working Groups will meet during the ESPE
annual meeting, at 08.00–11.00 on Friday 18 September:
ESPE Bone and Growth Plate Working Group
ESPE Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics Working Group
ESPE DSD Working Group (Advances in endocrine
understanding and detailed phenotyping of DSD)
ESPE Obesity Working Group
ESPE Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology Working Group
(Ovarian function in adolescence: from physiology to pathology)
ESPE Turner Syndrome Working Group (Little big things)
The ESPE Nurses' Working Group will also meet in Dublin,
at a time yet to be confirmed
ESPE is now more than 50 years old. Your Society has been uniting paediatric endocrinologists ever since its formation,
aiding communication and education and improving patient care. In this article, we look back at the Society's formative
THe 19TH esPe WinTer sCHool took place in Kachreti, georgia, on 20–26 February. our venue, the Hotel ambasadori in Kachreti, lies in the Kakheti region of georgia, about 80km east of the capital Tbilisi. applicants from the Caucasian countries, Turkey, russia, ukraine, the Middle east and north africa were given preference this year. With considerable difficulty due to the very high quality of applications, we selected 28 out of over 50 candidates. There were nine georgian students, four of whom were from an adult endocrine background, six students from Turkey, four from the gulf and two from egypt, while individual students came from each of azerbaijan, Belarus, greece, india, Poland, russia and ukraine. We were delighted to welcome Véronique Beauloye from Brussels, Belgium, as a new faculty member, and also Zoran gucev from Macedonia, who will host the 2015 Winter school in skopje. David Metreveli and ekaterina Kvaratskhelia from Tbilisi were Host Co-ordinator and local organiser respectively of this year’s event, and they organised a superb meeting. This included an excursion into the hilltop town of sighnaghi (სიღნაღი in georgian script!), a visit to st nino monastery and an evening meal in a restaurant above the Khareba winery, with a 5-piece band of traditional georgian singers. other faculty members were John gregory (Cardiff, uK), angela Hübner (Dresden, germany), Margaret Zacharin (Melbourne, australia) and me, Malcolm Donaldson (glasgow, uK; Co-ordinator). Winter school’s aim is to cover all the main aspects of paediatric endocrinology and diabetes during the 5 days and 6 nights. This task is becoming more formidable as expanding areas of interest – such as bone health, obesity, type 2 diabetes and late endocrine effects of childhood cancer and its treatment – demand more and more time! The format includes: • interactive lectures (facilitated by handouts) from the teachers • small group activities, including rehearsal of student cases and research presentations, and the ever-popular sessions of teachers’ cases, and • student case presentations to the plenum. The research lectures this year were conducted jointly by John gregory and me in an interactive fashion, and we selected 11 students to present their research or audit projects to the plenum on the last two evenings. This was my last Winter school and a thoroughly enjoyable one at that, with plenty of enthusiasm for paediatric endocrinology during our 12-hour working days, spirited singing in the evenings and a memorable if chaotic students-versus-teachers game of crazy golf during lunchtime on the final day! i am delighted that John gregory is taking over as Co-ordinator from 2015 onwards – it is very good to know that Winter school is in such safe and capable hands. i would like to take this opportunity to thank ineke Beukers from anita Hokken-Koelega’s department for all her patience and support in steering me through the variety of financial transactions which are required for Winter school. i wish also to pay tribute to angela Hübner who also leaves Winter school this year. angela has made a huge contribution to the success of Winter school, participating in no less than 12 schools, with 5 years (2003–2008) as Co-ordinator. Her clear, structured lectures on molecular genetics, basic endocrinology and the adrenal gland have been much appreciated by generations of Winter school students. Finally, we would like to express our continuing gratitude to Phil Boothroyd and his team from Ferring Pharmaceuticals who have sponsored Winter school since its inception in 1995. Thanks to Ferring’s generosity, esPe has been able, through Winter school, to touch the lives of hundreds of trainee doctors in eastern europe and beyond.
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