Aims and Objectives
The objective of the Working Group of the Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis is to advance understanding from the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and to find out new treatments for atherosclerosis and atherosclerosis-related diseases.
Activities
We have actively discussed the nature of WG23’s role since there still are concerns that we represent a very fundamental area of research which may not be fully appreciated in such a clinical meeting as ESC Annual Meeting.
However, last year in Berlin Basic Science Track organized as integral part of the meeting was very successful and certainly increased the visibility of the basic science in ESC Annual Meeting. This will now continue in Vienna meeting and we look forward to feedback from the Basic Science Track program.
It was also discussed whether a special poster meeting with some refreshments could be organized prior to the ESC Annual Meeting where people with accepted abstracts could present their work in a similar way as poster presenters are invited to present their work before AHA Annual Meetings. This proposal was discussed at ESC Board and as a lukewarm compromise, a separate area has now been arranged for the posters representing basic science cluster, but separate abstract session was not allowed. However, I think the situation in Vienna Meeting is acceptable and that we need to further develop this concept in the forthcoming ESC 2004 Meeting.
In Vienna, WG23 has been involved in the organization of the following sessions:
- 942: The adventitia: an unrecognised arterial layer in atherogenesis
- 943: Matrix turnover in atherosclerosis and heart failure
In addition, WG23 is involved in several sessions in Basic Science Track.
ESC 2004 Meeting will be held in Munich and proposals for the scientific sessions need to be sent
to the Chairman by the end of September 2003. It is noteworthy that the submission system now
goes through ESC website which reduces possibility of errors and brings all the proposals in the
same format with required contact information.
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