Panamerican Congress of Spondyloarthropathies, Cartagena, Colombia, October 20-22, 2005: Latin American Rheumatology Comes of Age!

摘要

The first Panamerican Congress of Spondyloarthropathies was held in Cartagena, Colombia, October 20-22, 2005. The congress was sponsored by the Colombian Society of Rheumatology and the PanAmerican League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR), organized by Dr. Rafael Valle, Chairman of the Spondyloarthropathy Committee of PANLAR. The primary objective of the congress was to review and discuss the Latin American experience on spondy-loarthritic disorders. Over 100 Latin American rheumatolo-gists representing almost every country of Central and South America were in attendance, along with well known spondyloarthropathy experts from Europe and North America. The congress was well organized, with simultaneous translation of all sessions for non-Spanish speakers.The congress was divided into 4 consecutive sessions, each with one or 2 invited speakers, followed by 4-6 short podium presentations, including an oral presentation of research abstracts.The opening presentation and keynote address was delivered by Prof. Joachim Sieper of Germany, who discussed the mechanisms of action of biologic agents in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Prof. Sieper described his group's work on the mechanism of action of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and other cytokines in AS; discussed newer research from his laboratory on an experimental model and data from spine research obtained from autopsy material demonstrating the identification of potential antigens derived from cartilage; and reviewed the role of inflammatory mononuclear cells, such as CD 8+ T cells, and also of activated fibroblasts in triggering the inflammatory reaction seen in AS.