COPD Istanbul 2014

Dear Friends,

After a successful start with the COPD Istanbul project in 2013, we are proud and happy to welcome you to the second edition, which will take place between 7 - 10 March 2014. COPD ISTANBUL 2014 will mark the second annual COPD Conference which will be held at the Istanbul Hilton Convention & Exhibition Center.

http://copdistanbul.org/?p=main

The conference will be attended by a wide range of professionals such as industry leaders, university academics and researchers from all the regions including Turkey, Middle East, Asia, North Africa and Europe. Our approach to this project is both simple and effective: we come together to exchange and debate today’s knowledge on COPD, in order to prepare for and contribute to the future. Therefore it should not surprise you that we focus on young scientists in the field, who are looking to broaden their horizon and develop their careers. 

http://copdistanbul.org/?p=main

The high level of our scientific faculty guarantees an inspiring atmosphere for all attendees, and of course we will make sure that the format of our sessions and gatherings allow you to successfully interact with your peers. Thus we look forward to receiving suggestions from potential participants on the topics and issues they would like to see discussed and presented.

We invite especially the young researchers, who would love to present their work to known and yet unknown specialists. There will be ample opportunity for discussions and networking. Special sessions will be created for those who wish to present their latest work.

http://copdistanbul.org/?p=main

All of this content will be made available to you near the beautiful blue of the Bosphorus in Istanbul. We look forward to welcoming you at COPD ISTANBUL 2014.

Best wishes,

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of
COPD ISTANBUL 2014

Prof. Mario Cazzola, Italy Chair

Prof. Nikolaos Siafakas, Greece Vice-chair

Prof. Gunseli Kilinc, Turkey Vice-chair

Rare Disease Day 2014: Join Together for Better Care

The video demonstrates the 2014 theme "CARE" showing the many facets of caring for people living with a rare disease and their families.The seventh Rare Disease Day takes place on 28 February 2014.  
"Join Together for Better Care" and participate!

Join an activity taking place near you to demonstrate global solidarity.
www.rarediseaseday.org

2014 Guidelines on Severe Asthma

Dear friends I am happy to share with you new Guidelines on Severe Asthma which was published in European Respiratory Journal last week!

Severe or therapy-resistant asthma is increasingly recognised as a major unmet need in Respiratory medicine at the global level. A Task Force, supported by the European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society, reviewed the definition and provided recommendations and guidelines on the evaluation and treatment of severe asthma in children and adults. 

It is hoped that the current emerging understanding of the immunopathobiology of severe asthma, of biological agents and of emerging inflammatory and molecular phenotypes will generate and lead to safe and effective biomarker-driven approaches to the therapy of severe asthma. 

Kian Fan Chung, Sally E. Wenzel, Jan L. Brozek, Andrew Bush, Mario Castro, Peter J. Sterk, Ian M. Adcock, Eric D. Bateman, Elisabeth H. Bel, Eugene R. Bleecker, Louis-Philippe Boulet, Christopher Brightling, Pascal Chanez, Sven-Erik Dahlen, Ratko Djukanovic, Urs Frey, Mina Gaga, Peter Gibson, Qutayba Hamid, Nizar N. Jajour, Thais Mauad, Ronald L. Sorkness, and W. Gerald Teague
International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma Eur Respir J 2014 43:343-373; published ahead of print 2013, doi:10.1183/09031936.00202013

Janus Look in Pulmonology: COPD-Asthma overlap syndrome

In ancient Roman religion, Janus (his name in Greek is 'Ιανός - Ianós) is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, passages, endings and time. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. The Romans named the month of January (Ianuarius) in his honor.

An overlap syndrome is a disease in which a patient presents with symptoms of two or more diseases. That is why Janus can be associated with overlap syndrome.

Multiple epidemiological studies demonstrate that in persons with obstructive airway disease, as many as half or more may have overlapping of asthma and COPD. The term Asthma COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) was recognized and is appearing for the first time in GOLD 2014, but without clear definition and therapeutic options. A COPD-Asthma overlap syndrome is defined as an airflow obstruction that is not completely reversible, accompanied by symptoms and signs of increased obstruction reversibility. For the clinical identification of overlap syndrome COPD-Asthma Spanish guidelines proposed six diagnostic criteria. The major criteria include very positive bronchodilator test [increase in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) ≥15% and ≥400 ml], eosinophilia in sputum, and personal history of asthma. The minor criteria include high total IgE, personal history of atopy and positive bronchodilator test (increase in FEV1 ≥12% and ≥200 ml) on two or more occasions. The overlap syndrome COPD-Asthma is associated with enhanced response to inhaled corticosteroids due to the predominance of eosinophilic bronchial inflammation.The future clinical studies and multicenter clinical trials should lead to the investigation of disease mechanisms and simultaneous development of the novel treatment.

New review article on this Hot Respiratory topic just published in Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Medicine and its free for download.