European Federation of Endocrine Societies
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January 2004 News Alert   http://www.euro-endo.org
European News  
Regulars
Internet petition asks EU to repeal clinical trials directive
New resource to help researchers move within Europe
EU blueprint of basic research
11.7 Million euro awarded for obesity and diabetes research
Growth hormone helps the heart
 
News from EFES top | next
http://www.euro-endo.org/news.htm


Now you can submit to EJE online!
The European Journal of Endocrinology has launched online submission and peer review, making it quicker and easier to submit your articles to EJE. The ESPERE (electronic submission and peer review) system enables authors to submit their articles as PDF files by registering on the site at http://www.eje.org/eje/onlinesub.htm. Users are given advice on creating their files and guided step-by-step through the submission procedure.

Authors submitting through ESPERE should benefit from more rapid publication than with the paper-based system. In addition, they are able to view the status of their manuscripts throughout the review process, their submission history and can also submit additional files, such as their revised manuscript.

More details and submission instructions are available at http://www.eje.org/eje/onlinesub.htm

EFES News - are you getting yours?
If you are a member of any of the European national endocrine societies, you should receive a free copy of EFES News (http://www.euro-endo.org/news.htm) each spring and autumn. If you are not receiving this and would like to, please send your full name and address to: jane.shepley@endocrinology.org

The latest issue of EFES news (Spring 2003) is now available on the EFES website at: http://www.euro-endo.org/issue9.pdf.

EFES Website
Please add the EFES website home page to your favourites http://www.euro-endo.org. Navigate through the pages and give us your feedback and suggestions. Please send any websites you would like to see added to EFES Links to: jane.shepley@endocrinology.org

The EFES Executive Committee sincerely appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you.


What's Hot in EJE? top | next
http://www.eje.org/

Advances in diagnostic practices affect thyroid cancer incidence in France
L Leenhardt et al

Volume 150 Issue 2, pp 133-139
(http://www.eje.org/eje/150/eje1500133.htm)

During the last 20 years France has seen an increase in thyroid cancer incidence but no clear cause for this had been identified. The improvement in medical, surgical and pathological diagnostic practices is considered by many to be the most likely explanation for this, and in their retrospective study Leenhardt and co-workers reinforce this opinion.

Their study served to elucidate two aspects of the rise in thyroid cancer incidence: the changes in patient characteristics referred with thyroid diseases and to analyse the trends in diagnostic practice during the study period. Based on studies of arbitrarily selected centres, an increase in ultrasonography scans and cytological practices arose during the 20 years, although the number of patients undergoing thyroid surgery remained constant. Statistical evidence indicated that only changes in cytological practices were significantly associated with the increase in thyroid cancer incidence.


EFES CONFERENCES top | next
http://www.euro-endo.org/congress.htm
 
3-6 March 2004 German Society of Endocrinology Symposium. Thyroid cancers: diagnosis and therapy
Dresden, Germany
organiser: Prof G Vollmer
Web: http://www.medkongresse.de/dge2004

22-24 March 2004 23rd Joint Meeting of the British Endocrine Societies with the European Federation of Endocrine Societies
Brighton, UK
organiser: Feona Horrex, BioScientifica, Euro House, 22 Apex Court, Woodlands, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 4JT, UK
Phone: +44 1454 642212
Fax: +44 1454 642222
Email: feona.horrex@endocrinology.org
Web: http://www.endocrinology.org/SFE/BES2004/default.htm

3-7 September 2005 7th European Congress of Endocrinology
Goteborg, Sweden
organiser: Congrex Goteborg AB, Ref. ECE 2005, PO Box 5078, SE-402 22 Goteborg, Sweden
Tel: +46 31 7086000
Fax: +46 31 7086025
Email: ece2005@gbg.congrex.se
Web: http://www.ece2005.com
2007 8th European Congress of Endocrinology
Budapest, Hungary

Please visit the EFES conferences pages for a full listing of events.
EFES COURSES top | next
http://www.euro-endo.org/courses.htm
 
7-9 May 2004 EFES Regional Postgraduate Course in Clinical Endocrinology
Wroclaw, Poland
organiser: Prof Andrzej Milewicz, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology,
Wroclaw University of Medicine, Pasteura 4, PL-56-367 Wroclaw, Poland
Phone: +48 71 3209603
Fax: +48 71 3282349
Email: milewicz@endo.am.wroc.pl

4-6 November 2004 3rd EFES Czech-Hungarian-Polish-Romanian-Slovak Regional Postgraduate Course in Endocrinology
Prague, Czech Republic
organisers: Prof Josef Marek, President of the Czech Endocrine Society and Dr Michal Krsek, Chairman of the Local organising Committee, 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, U nemocnice 1, 128 08 Prague 2, Czech Republic
Fax: +420 2 24919780
Email: mkrse@lf1.cuni.cz

18-20 November 2004

12th EFES Postgraduate Course in Clinical Endocrinology
Sitges, Spain
organisers: S Webb, Department of Endocrinology, Hospital de Sant Pau, Padre Claret 167, 08025 Barcelona, Spain (Phone: +34 93 2919042 Fax: +34 93 2919270 Email: swebb@santpau.es) or M Puig-Domingo, Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Clinic, Villaroel 171, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Email: mpuig@medicina.ub.es



OTHER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES top | next
 
 
2 March 2004 Environmental and Human Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
London, UK
Contact: SCI Conference Department, 14/15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 75981563
Fax: +44 (0)20 72357743
Email: janette.niccolls@soci.org
Web: http://www.soci.org

18-20 March 2004 Joint International Symposium on Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide, Amylin and Calcitonin. 4th Symposium on Adrenomedullin and Proadrenomedullin N-20 Peptide
Zurich, Switzerland
Contact: Prof JA Fischer, Research Laboratory for Calcium Metabolism, University of Zurich, Klinik Balgrist, Forchstrasse 340, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel: +41 1 3861651
Fax: +41 1 3861652
Email: fischerj@balgrist.unizh.ch or wborn@balgrist.unizh.ch
Web: http://www.symposium2004.ch

14-17 April 2004 ESCI 2004: The 38th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Contact: Utrecht University Conference Office, PO Box 80215, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Tel: +31 30 2532728
Fax: +31 30 2535851
E-mail: esci2004@fbu.uu.nl
Web: http://www.esci.eu.com/default.asp?page=meetings

18-22 April 2004 2nd International GH-IGF Symposium
Queensland, Australia
Contact: Intermedia Convention and Event Management, 11/97 Castlemaine Street or PO Box 1280, Milton, Queensland 4064, Australia
Tel: +61 7 38585597
Fax: +61 7 38585510
Email: grs2004@im.com.au
Web: http://www.ghigf2004.im.com.au

21-24 April 2004 5th International Symposium on Women's Health and Menopause - New Findings, New Strategies, Improved Quality of Life
Florence, Italy
Contact: MENO 2004, Fondazione Giovanni Lorenzini, Medical Science Foundation, Via A. Appiani 7, 20121 Milan, Italy
Tel: +39 02 29006267
Fax: +39 02 29007018
Email: info@lorenzinifoundation.org
Web: http://www.lorenzinifoundation.org/menopause2004/index.html

16-19 June 2004 ENDO 2004: 86th Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA, USA
Contact: Beverly Glover, Meetings, The Endocrine Society, 8401 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 900, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-5817, USA
Tel: +1 301 9410220
Fax: +1 301 9410259
Email: bglover@endo-society.org
Web: http://www.endo-society.org

1-4 September 2004 International Congress of Endocrinology
Lisbon, Portugal

Contact: International Society for Endocrinology, Department of Chemical Endocrinology, 51-53 Bartholomew Close, London EC1A 7BE, UK
Tel: +44 20 76064012
Fax: +44 20 77964676
Email: l.h.rees@mds.qmw.ac.uk
Web: http://www.jingo.com/ise/ice2004.htm

5-9 September 2004 40th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes
Munich, Germany
Contact: Rheindorfer Weg 3, D-40591 Düsseldorf, Germany
Tel: +49 211 7584690
Fax: +49 211 75846929
Email: annual-meeting@easd.org
Web: http://www.easd.org/customfiles/easd/40th/welcome.html

18-22 September 2004 30th Annual Meeting of the European Thyroid Association
Istanbul, Turkey
Scientific Secretariat:
Dr. M.F. Erdogan, Dr. S. Güllü
The Society of Endocrinology & Metabolism of Turkey
Tel: +90 312 425 20 72
Fax: +90 312 425 20 98
E-mail: gurbuz.erdogan@semt.org.tr , murat.erdogan@temd.org.tr
ETA 2004 Congress Secretariat (PCO)
Intra Istanbul Travel
Tel: +90 212 2191925
Fax: +90 212 2473085
E-mail: eta2004@intratravel.com
Web: http://www.eta2004.com

GRANTS and PRIZES top | next
 


American Society of Clinical Oncology: international travel grant
ASCO is pleased to announce the third year of the ASCO International Travel Grants Program. ASCO will be awarding a limited number of travel grants to individuals from countries with limited resources that meet the eligibility requirements.

The monetary award is designed to cover expenses (coach airfare, hotel, and meals) in order to attend the ASCO Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana USA, June 2004. Grant recipients will also receive complimentary meeting registration. Deadline: 4 February 2004

To review criteria for the 2004 International Travel Grants Program and to apply, visit http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002596-00_18-0031005,00.asp

European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC): long-range research initiative
Part of CEFIC’s Research and Science programme, this long-range research initiative’s mission is to identify and fill gaps in our understanding of the hazards posed by chemicals and to improve the methods available for assessing the associated risks.

This award will be presented to an individual for the proposal of a novel interdisciplinary research project in the field of toxicology.

Project specifications including budget details and an application form can be found on the website: http://www.cefic-lri.org. Deadline for applications is 1 March 2004

Jobs and Grants Forum on the EFES website
Attention jobseekers! Post your details on the site.
Attention employers! Advertise jobs or search for suitable candidates online.
Attention funders! Add your grant to the EFES forum.

Go to: http://www.euro-endo.org/jobs.htm



EUROPEAN NEWS top | next
 


Internet petition asks EU to repeal clinical trials directive
European health-care researchers have launched a campaign calling on the European Parliament and Commission to repeal their Directive (EC/2001/20) on Good Clinical Practice. The internet petition states that this ruling will mean that administrative costs of clinical trials will be so high that those without pharmaceutical backing, such as those cancer research trials involving generic or widely available drugs, or (as in the case of screening) no drugs at all will be too costly to carry out by charities or volunteers.

To see more, and sign the petition go to: http://www.saveeuropeanresearch.org

New resource to help researchers move within Europe
An online Life Sciences Mobility Consultancy (LSMC) has been launched by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), with help from the European Commission’s research Framework Programme.

The website is designed to provide researchers with access to information on mobility within Europe, and includes searchable information on grants, fellowships, awards, workshops and practical courses in the life sciences, as well as listings of scientific vacancies throughout Europe.
For further information see: http://mobility.embo.org

EU blueprint of basic research
On 15 January European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin presented the communication “Europe and fundamental research”, which provides an overview of basic research in the EU as compared to other regions and calls for a debate on how to promote this field.

In the last 20 years Europe’s basic research has been overshadowed by mainly applied, market-orientated research. Our fundamental science work now lags behind the US. Busquin noted “Today’s research will turn into tomorrow’s growth, competitiveness and better quality of life. The US has understood this. Ours is a wake-up call: we need to act now to reverse this situation and fill the gap”.

Future initiatives to redress the balance include adopting the scheme of individual grants awarded to researchers on the basis of excellence (that the US National Science Foundation already do), so that individuals in any European country can compete with all other researchers. The creation of a “European Research Council” will also be one of the main themes of the Union’s future action in the field of research.

A wider political debate on these actions will take place in the coming months.

11.7 Million euro awarded for obesity and diabetes research
The FP6 programme has awarded 11.7 million euro to a large multicentre project to identify novel drug targets to fight the obesity epidemic. The researchers’ goal is to find four to five new genetic targets which can be influenced by medicines to cure obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.

The grant is the largest the European Commission has ever given to obesity and diabetes research and it is currently the largest award in the area of chronic diseases (excluding cancer).
24 European institutions including three companies are participating and it is being coordinated from Goteborg University.

Growth hormone helps the heart
Researchers in Greece have found that supplementing ACE inhibitor and diuretic treatment with growth hormone in patients with heart failure leads to significant improvement in heart function and better uptake of oxygen during exercise.

The team investigated whether the immune-modulating effect of growth hormone was helpful in combating the abnormal immune reactions that may contribute to chronic heart failure.

Growth hormone therapy (4 IU every second day over 12 weeks) led to a reduction in levels of various inflammatory factors and a rise in an anti-inflammatory compound.

The study, by Adamopoulos and colleagues, is published in December 15 issue of the European Heart Journal. For full text go to: http://www.harcourt-international.com/journals/euhj

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS top | next
 


New work suggest melatonin could help hypertensive patients
Researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research in Amsterdam have found that giving nightly melatonin supplements to men with untreated hypertension for three weeks lowered their nighttime blood pressure. Systolic pressure reduced by an average of 6mmHg and diastolic by 4mmHg.

The report, by Scheer and coworkers, is published in the February issue of Hypertension. For full text go to: http://hyper.ahajournals.org

Possible link between low testosterone levels and Alzheimer’s disease
Investigators at the National Institute of Aging, one of the US National Institutes of Health, announced that results of their prospective, observational study is the first to associate low circulating levels of free testosterone with AD in men, years before diagnosis.

The team found that for every 50 percent increase in the free testosterone index, there was about a 26 percent decrease in the risk of developing AD. Testosterone levels also dropped more precipitously with age in those men who later developed AD.

The authors stressed that no causal relationship had been confirmed and that it was unknown if hormonal therapy or any other intervention could safely prevent AD.

The report, by Resnick and coworkers, is published in the January 27 issue of Neurology. For full text go to: http://www.neurology.org

 
COMMERCIAL NEWS top | next
 


Finland is first European market to approve Nebido
In December, a depot formulation of testosterone (Nebido) was approved in Finland, it first European market for the treatment of hypogonadism in men. Further approvals in Europe are expected in the course of 2004.

Only four injections of Schering’s new testosterone formulation are required over a year, patients currently have to have on average 22 injections.

New long-acting LHRH implant drug application
Valera Pharmaceuticals submitted a new drug application to the US Food and Drug Administration for Vantas, the company’s long-acting Histrelin (LHRH) implant for treating prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in American men, and the market for LHRH therapeutics is expected to grow to 1.4 billion USD in 2004.

 

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