This year the Marseille congress program has been designed to bring together the latest advances in clinical science and updates on challenging clinical practice issues. Thus, in the main program we will have a joint ECTS-ASBMR debate on the clinical utility of bone turnover markers in the management of osteoporosis, a topic discussed from a practical perspective, as well as an update on the mechanisms and management of osteoporosis in premenopausal women. Two hot topics are cellular senescence, which will be discussed in the Big Clinical session from the point of view of senescence and the skeleton, including the role of senolytics, and also, the topic of anabolics, from the perspective of what we know and don’t know about them. Other topics will include the clinical implications of bone marrow adiposity, the importance of nutrition in bone health and the bone involvement in arthritis.
The ancillary program includes a session on Best of the year in clinical science and the most relevant data from two ECTS clinical guidelines on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis and on the recommendations in the use of densitometry in clinical practice, the latter in collaboration with other scientific societies. As usual, several Meet the expert sessions have also been organised to address topics such as “what is the target to reach to discontinue treatment?”, practical aspects on rare bone diseases and thyroid hormones and bone. One session that promises to be of interest is the joint ECTS-IFMRS session, with marked usefulness for clinical researchers, on the Musculoskeletal Knowledge Portal, introducing the portal, giving examples of how to use it as well as in its potential. In addition, the ECTS Academy will have its own space with scientific activities including a Poster forum, a seminar and gathering, and a pre-congress day session.
As in previous years, the pre-congress day will include a National day, the Mellanby training course focusing on bone turnover markers, and several joint workshops with other related scientific societies.
I would like to emphasise that the Scientific Program Committee has been working for months to offer a high-level congress, selecting the best speakers for each topic and coordinating a program expected to be innovative and attractive to clinical scientists. I hope we have succeeded in achieving this goal.
We look forward to seeing you in Marseille!