PWN at Spain’s 2019 Endocrinology Society Congress

From the desk of Jorge D Faccinetti, co-founder – The Spanish Society of Endocrinology or SEEN (Sociedad Española de Endocrinologia y Nutricion) had their annual conference – Congreso, in Spanish – this past October in Bilbao, Spain.  In preparation for our Spanish edition launch, Pituitary World News en Español, we attended and participated in several of the conference activities. A wonderful experience of camaraderie, education, and collaboration.  We felt very welcomed by the physicians, scientists, and patient leaders we met, and are looking forward to publishing some of the relevant information presented. If you’d like to learn more about the subjects discussed at the conference, please review this document (please note this document is in Spanish) and contact us for more information.

At the SEEN reception Dr. Javier Salvador, Professor of Endocrinology, Universidad de Navarra, Raquel Ciriza, president Spanish Acromegaly Patient Association, Jorge D Faccinetti co-founder and chief editor, Pituitary World News

I addition to the SEEN congress, we participated in the 7th annual meeting organized by the Spanish Association of People affected by Acromegaly (Asociacion Española de Affectados por Acromegalia), a first-rate patient support organization dedicated to making life easier for patients with the disease. This is our second time attending this gathering.  This year’s theme “Beyond Igf-1” (Mas alla de la Igf-1), offered captivating presentations:

Dr. Manuel Puig, Head of the Service of Endocrinology and Nutrition at Germans Trias Pujol University Hospital and Associate Professor of Endocrinology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, discussed a novel study to be undertaken in Barcelona using AI and face recognition to aid in early diagnosis. Please stay tuned for a podcast with Dr. Puig, where he talks about this study in detail, including his plans to work with the world-renowned Barcelona Football Club.

Dr. Javier Salvador, Professor of Endocrinology, Universidad de Navarra, presented his views on the effects of acromegaly on sex drive and libido.  We also recorded an entertaining podcast with Dr. Salvador about his views of pituitary disease in general, the barriers to early diagnosis and his opinions on how to tackle these challenges.  Stay tuned for this one as well!

A fascinating and intriguing look at how muscles change with excess growth hormone and Igf-1 and how that may affect muscle reaction to training and exercise by Dr. Elena Valassi, Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute, Endocrinology/Medicine Departments, Hospital de Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

A panel that included leading endocrinologists namely Dr. Sonia Gaztambide, Dr. Elsira Boveda, and Dr. Gregorio Catalan discussed the critical advantages and important work of a multidisciplinary team.

Ms. Raquel Ciriza, president of the Spanish patient association laid out plans and projects for 2020.  We are looking forward to learning more and participating in those initiatives.

These are my acromegaly friends in Spain. An outstanding group of dedicated people and physicians at the patient gathering in Bilbao.

We conducted several captivating interviews with leading Spanish physicians and researchers and attended presentations including a most fascinating presentation by Dr. Marta Korbonits on genetics and pituitary disease, and an interesting discussion with Dr. Susan Web, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist in Hospital Sant Pau, and Professor of Medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

We are pleased to report great support and excitement for our Spanish edition launch, which will include distribution in the Spanish speaking world.  To that end, we will be attending the World Alliance of Pituitary Organizations (WAPO) meeting in Argentina in 2020 to further develop our collaborative plans and publish content from our Latin American patient members, medical and scientific communities.

Our thanks to Dr. Irene Breton Lesmes, president of SEEN for her inclusionary approach, to Clara Compaire, Director of the SEEN press relations office, for making our job easy to do from Bilbao, and to Raquel Ciriza and Bego Madariaga for all their help!

 

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