The ECTS East meets West Symposium has become an unmissable appointment of our annual congress. Promoted by C. Gluer in 2016 at the 43rd ECTS Congress, this year more than ever the Symposium should be attended. Focused on the “Prevention of vertebral fractures” we will have the opportunity of listening and learning the most up to date research from distinguished scientists from Western (Drs S. Cummings, R. Eastell and C. Gluer) and Eastern counterparts (Drs H. Yue, Y.-C. Ha and H. Hagino).
The issue of vertebral fractures is indeed an important one; its definition and prevalence are so important that can influence guidelines of National Societies (a theme covered during the symposium) and obviously treatment.
The symposium includes an initial plenary session with lectures; these will be followed by a panel discussion with representatives from Chinese, Japanese and Korean societies, and from the ECTS Academy.
The exchange of ideas, as well as the mutual collaborations between ECTS and Eastern Societies in the field of calcified tissues, are fundamental steps to open new roads, thus increasing knowledge from which patients with metabolic bone diseases can take advantage. It is in this context that this year, for the first time, the Symposium will be followed by another session with the aim of sharing the results of collaborative grants that are ongoing between Calcified Tissue Society members and scientists from the Eastern Societies. This session, headed by H. Taipaleenmäki, mainly involves young scientists (Drs K. Hata, N. Wang, A. Veldhuis-Vlug and L. Wang) and is organised by the ECTS Academy. Once again this is a great opportunity not only to listen to exciting results but also to have new insights on how to continue on this fruitful collaboration.
We strongly believe that this year East meet West programme is outstanding and attractive. We cordially invite you not to miss the opportunity offered by the ECTS 2021 Digital Congress.