We have worked hard to be able to offer you an exciting programme with really new topics in the arena of metabolic bone diseases. From the start there was a good collaboration between the Basic Co-Chair of the meeting (Dr. Hanna Taipaleenmaeki) and myself, which is resulting in intriguing and promising workshops on senescence and bone, osteoimmunology and bone, and sex hormones and bone. Each workshop will have a basic and a clinical lecture, which is important for better cross-talk between the basic and clinical scientists and deepening of our translational insight.
Then, in the clinical part of the programme, we have topics addressing the questions that arise from our work in the outpatient clinic. For example, we will cover the currently available diagnostics tools for bone disease in chronic kidney disease; the effects of bariatric surgery on calcium and bone metabolism; and, related to the (expected) introduction of romosozumab in Europe in 2021, we will discuss the mechanisms of action of osteoanabolic drugs and their treatment options.
We also recommend the ASBMR/ECTS debate on the question whether “precision medicine will give a better outcome that current standard of care”; sessions organized by and targeted on the growing number of health professionals; poster sessions, which can be made “as lively and interactive as before” even in a virtual world; focus on new imaging techniques to estimate bone quality, but also on well established techniques such as DXA and VFA with the question “Do we perform technically optimal DXA/VFA measurements?”; joint meetings organized by ECTS/ICCBH, ISBM/ECTS, ETCS/IMRS; and of course “East meets West’’.
The full scientific programme will be available soon. We hope you will register for the meeting (save money by registering before 17th of March!) and that you will be able to select the most exciting personal programme for you, out of so many highlights. Apart from that, we hope that our virtual meeting will be interactive, by asking questions to speakers (and by scoring the quality or relevance of the questions), by contacting poster presenters and speakers, visiting the coffee shops etc.
One of the most statements of a famous Dutch football player, Johan Cruyff, was: “each disadvantage has its advantage”. So, it is a virtual meeting, but I am convinced that with such an attractive programme and if we are all open for interaction, it will be a great and inspiring meeting for all of us. We hope to meet you at ECTS 2021!