DHM is an interdisciplinary meeting, bringing together researchers and physicians from different disciplines to exchange their most up-to-date data in this continually evolving field and to transfer it to clinical practice. It is the leading event of its kind, attracting up to 400 physicians and researchers from all over the world.  How small (and larger) molecules interact with the immune system and elicit hypersensitivity, toxicity, autoimmunity is still an enigmatic issue. It is not easy to diagnose, as the resulting diseases are often puzzling, and the test procedures are not yet definitively established. The last few years have brought many new insights and dramatically changed our view of hypersensitivity reactions. What was considered unpredictable became, for some drugs, highly predictable. What was bizarre became a well understood disease and  protocols on how to diagnose became available. Simultaneously new issues have arisen, for example, the side effects of biologicals have become a growing concern. So it is time to meet again and to discuss the latest progress with your colleagues.

This year’s topic will be Pharmacology and Toxicology in Times of Change: Opportunities and Perspectives. The aim of the meeting is to gather researchers and scientists interested or working in the fields of experimental pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, clinical, experimental or regulatory toxicology, or in pharmaceutical medicine. Each discipline will present the opportunities and perspectives in their fields. In this context we also aim to encourage and foster the contacts between the academic, clinical and industrial sector. Another benefit of the meeting is that it provides to our younger members the possibility for contacts in order to help them preparing their career plans in the academic, clinical, industrial or other fields. 

This first EU summit on chronic diseases will discuss medical, social and economic benefits of sustainable investments in health, ways to reduce the burden of chronic diseases, and how to strengthen the prevention and management of chronic diseases, with a focus on EU added value and action.

Ziel des Workshops: Daten zu den möglichen Auswirkungen und Ursachen einer mütterlichen Adipositas in der Schwangerschaft auf das werdende Kind sichern; bevorzugte Therapieansätze kennenlernen. Kommunikationsart: Kurzbeiträge und offene gemeinsame Diskussion.

The currently used regulatory test methods in the fields of neurotoxicity (NT) and developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) are mainly based on in vivo approaches using rodents. New developments, in particular the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework aim at incorporating mechanistic informations into the risk assessment process, moving from solely apical animal testing to mechanism-based decision-making. In addition, the need of testing a large amount of chemicals as stated in the European REACH legislation, as well as the 3 R’s strategy for replacing, reducing and refining animal testing, have stimulated the development of alternative methods. Moreover, recent developments using cells of human origin derived from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells will allow safety testing based on human biology. Discussions and collaborations between scientists of academia and industry and scientists involved in risk assessment are necessary to define the requirements for the development of in vitro NT / DNT testing strategies suitable for regulatory purposes. Within the framework of the initiation of this dialogue between scientists and regulators, XeRR is organizing this symposium presenting some of these alternative methods for NT and DNT testing.

Der Workshop orientiert sich an den regulatorischen Bedürfnissen im Zusammenhang mit den wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen für Nanomaterialien. Wir bieten eine Standortbestimmung der Nanopartikelregulation in der Schweiz und der Europäischen Union. Anhand von konkreten Beispielen zeigen wissenschaftliche Experten die Grenzen und Möglichkeiten der Expositionsbestimmung (Modellierung und Messung), der Gefährlichkeitsabschätzung (Nanotoxikologie und Nanoumwelttoxikologie) und der resultierenden Risikoabschätzungen auf. Kursteilnehmer und Experten erarbeiten eine kurze Handlungsempfehlung zu den regulatorischen und wissenschaftlichen Herausforderungen von Nanomaterialien.

The main topic of our Congress this year is "Life style, toxicants and environment: influence throughout reproductive life". Human population and action affects the environment, and at the same time both women and men are increasingly exposed to environmental hazards and components present in daily consumables. These global and micro environmental hazards have an impact on reproductive health, menopause, reproductive cancers and life expectancy. Asknowledge concerning such toxic effects has been emerging, we are convinced that our Women's Health Congress will provide you with a compact and up-todate overview of the evidence.