PRESS RELEASE
Embargo :
do not publish before
Friday, September 3
12:00 GMT
Glasgow, world capital of respiratory medicine
Four-day scientific and medical summit
hopes to boost the fight
against the many types of lung disease
Thousands of specialists in respiratory medicine will
converge on Scotland this weekend for the 14th Annual
Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS),
which will continue until Wednesday noon.
Respiratory clinicians, scientists, physiotherapists, medical
equipment manufacturers and pharmaceutical industry
representatives from over 100 countries are eager to
exchange information on their latest discoveries,
experiments, ideas and projects for better management of
respiratory diseases.
This is a huge challenge, since these diseases are the
leading cause of death worldwide, costing the European
countries alone almost 100 billion euros, and that asthma
alone affects over 150 million people globally.
The International Congress opening this Saturday evening at the Scottish Exhibition
Conference Centre in Glasgow is Europe's largest annual scientific gathering in respiratory
medicine.
The success of the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS), now in its
14th session, continues to grow year by year. Indeed, the number of delegates has increased by
over 60% in 5 years. Last year, by attracting a total of 15,000 participants in Vienna, it became
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the world’s largest conference on respiratory medicine, rivalling the American Thoracic
Society’s annual congress, long considered to be the leader in the field.
This event provides a unique platform for important improvements in the understanding and
treatment of lung diseases, with speakers from among the world’s leading experts in this field.
The scope of the concerns addressed by respiratory medicine – and thus by the 14th ERS
Congress – is reflected in the number and variety of the sessions on its agenda.
Impressive Programme
Including the various Symposia, the "Meet the Professor” seminars, the Evening Symposia,
and the Postgraduate Courses, there are over 110 scientific sessions laid on for the participants
attending the Congress.
In addition, nearly 4000 unpublished abstracts will be presented and discussed during more
than 250 free communication sessions (oral presentations, poster discussions or thematic
posters), providing an update on the latest developments in lung disease research.
Participants will also be able to explore over 100 stands in an international exhibition
covering almost 5000 square metres.
While the majority of the participants (65%) are, of course, pulmonologists, a further 10% are
scientists and 10% paediatricians.
Some of the subjects for discussion at the Congress, though, are also bound to capture the
wider public interest.
Here we could mention, for example, the very latest developments in the study and treatment
of respiratory problems at night (particularly obstructive sleep apnoea), which cause snoring
and many serious consequences, including road accidents due to daytime sleepiness.
Or the new occupational respiratory diseases associated with some aspects of modern life,
from popcorn manufacture to the booming nanotechnology industry.
Or, indeed – and this is only the tip of the iceberg – the rapid development of ethical
considerations connected with the treatment of respiratory disease.
Also among the subjects on the Congress’s menu, of course, will be the great “classics” such
as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tuberculosis, community-acquired
pneumonia and lung cancer.
Material for great stories
The many press releases on unpublished free communications and the daily press conferences
organised at the press centre will provide journalists with first-rate material for exciting
articles.
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Not to mention some spectacular announcements to be made by the ERS during the Congress,
which should be of enormous interest both to specialised journalists and to the doctors
themselves.
Founded in 1990, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) is a non-profit, international
medical organisation with more than 7,000 members – scientists, doctors and allied health
professionals, coming from over 100 countries.
The Society’s mission is to advance respiratory medicine by stimulating and coordinating the
actions of its members, in order to achieve the highest possible medical, paramedical and
social standards in the treatment of respiratory disease.
For further information,
please contact the ERS Press Office:
ers@cedos.int.ch
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