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Chinese Society of Dermatology: Past, Present, and Future
editorial
Chinese Society of Dermatology: Past, Present, and Future
D
ermatology in China began in the midnineteenth century. Missionary doctors from America and Europe introduced Western medicine to China and established several hospitals, including Fujian Union Hospital in Fuzhou City (1860), Renji Hospital in Wuhan City (1866), and Peking Union Hospital in Beijing (1921). The Chinese government also established hospitals, such as Peking University Hospital (1915) and the Chinese Central Hospital (1918), in the early twentieth century. At that time, dermatologists saw large numbers of patients suffering from infectious diseases—especially venereal diseases—and the discipline was called dermatovenereology. In 1931, Chester N. Frazier and Ch’uan-K’uei Hu from Peking Union Hospital reported hypovitaminosis A for the first time (Frazier and Hu, 1931). The report marked the first contribution of Chinese dermatologists to global dermatology, and the article is still cited in current dermatology textbooks. The Chinese Society of Dermatology (CSD; http://www.csdnet.org) was founded in 1937 as a member society under the Chinese Medical Association. The first president of the CSD was Hong-Kang Chen. However, the work of the CSD was suspended during the Second World War and subsequent civil war. After establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Chinese dermatology once again began to develop rapidly. In 1952, Chuan-Kuei Hu, from Peking University, was elected president of the CSD. In 1953, the official journal of the CSD, the Chinese Journal of Dermatology (in Chinese), was founded. During that period, Chinese dermatologists contributed significantly to the control of venereal diseases, leprosy, and tinea capitis in mainland China. From 1952 to 1986, the CSD was under the leadership of Chuan-Kuei Hu (president, 1952–1982), Hong-Jiong Li (president, 1982–1986), Guo-Liang Yang (vice president, 1952–1982), and other pioneering dermatologists. Unfortunately, the CSD lost 10 years of activity during the “cultural revolution” (from 1966 to 1976). In 1978, China opened its doors to the outside world, and Chinese dermatology began to
© 2009 The Society for Investigative Dermatology
progress much more rapidly than before. The presidents of the CSD from 1986 through 2006 included Kwang-Chao Wang (1986–1990), Xi-Tang Chen (1990–1994), and Hong-Duo Chen (1994–2006). One of the important activities of the CSD has been to organize academic meetings. From 1978 to 2006, the CSD held academic meetings every 4 years. In 2007, the CSD decided to hold the meeting annually. Participation in the annual meeting increased each year. In addition, increasing numbers of Chinese dermatologists have been able to study abroad and attend international meetings such as the annual meetings of the American Academy of Dermatology and the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. International colleagues have been invited in increasing numbers to attend Chinese dermatological meetings. The CSD hosted the 5th Asian Congress of Dermatology in 1998 and the 9th International Congress of Dermatology in 1998. In 2007, the CSD successfully hosted the 8th International Congress of the International Society of Cosmetic Dermatology. In June 2008, more than 2,000 participants from China and more than 30 guest speakers from abroad attended the 15th annual meeting of the CSD. In 2007, the CSD became a member of the International League of Dermatological Societies. The CSD maintains close relationships with dermatological societies of its neighboring countries. The China–Japan Joint Meeting of Dermatology is a good example; this venture began in 1988 and 10 joint meetings have been held over the past 20 years. In 2008, the Chinese Society of Dermatology, the Japanese Dermatological Association, and the Korean Dermatological Association agreed to merge the China–Japan Joint Meeting of Dermatology and the Japan–Korea Joint Meeting of Dermatology. The first meeting of the newly created Eastern Asia Dermatology Congress will be held in Fukuoka, Japan, in October 2010; in 2012, the 9th Asian Congress of Dermatology will be held in Hong Kong. We believe the meetings will attract more participants from mainland China than ever before. www.jidonline.org 1049
EDITORIAL
Dermatology is now a thriving discipline in China, and the CSD is composed of more than 20,000 members. The current president of the CSD is Xue-Jun Zhang, from Anhui Medical University. Ten subcommittees dedicated to various areas of dermatological research serve the CSD. At present, most investigative dermatologists are from university hospitals. Grants for dermatological research are now available to support laboratory investigation. We are pleased to see that the quality of research has improved, with more than 310 papers published during the past 5 years appearing in the Science Citation Index. Some work reported by Chinese dermatologists has had a global impact; for example, a description of the function of Langerhans cells, the discovery of new genes involved in skin diseases, and elucidation of the mechanisms of several autoimmune diseases (Chen et al., 1989; Wang et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2004, 2009; Han et al., 2006; Wen et al., 2009). As a whole, China is on a path of rapid development. We believe that Chinese dermatology will continue its own parallel rapid progression, thereby resulting in fruitful contributions to global dermatological science. Xue-Jun Zhang Associate Editor
1050 Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2009), Volume 129
References
Chen HD, Zhao YM, Sun G, Yang CY (1989) Occurrence of Langerhans cells and expression of class II antigens on keratinocytes in malignant and benign epithelial tumors of the skin: an immunohistopathologic study with monoclonal antibodies. J Am Acad Dermatol 20:1007–14 Frazier CN, Hu CK (1931) Cutaneous lesions associated with deficiency of vitamin A in man. Arch Intern Med 48:507–14 Han C, Rush AM, Dib-Hajj SD, Li S, Xu Z, Wang Y et al. (2006) Sporadic onset of erythermalgia: a gain-of-function mutation in Nav1.7. Ann Neurol 59:553–8 Wang L, Bu D, Yang Y, Chen X, Zhu X (2004) Castleman’s tumours and production of autoantibody in paraneoplastic pemphigus. Lancet 363:525–31 Wen Y, Liu Y, Xu Y, Zhao Y, Hua R, Wang K et al. (2009) Loss-of-function mutations of an inhibitory upstream ORF in the human hairless transcript cause Marie Unna hereditary hypotrichosis. Nat Genet 41:228–33 Zhang XJ, Liang YH, He PP, Yang S, Wang HY, Chen JJ et al. (2004) Identification of the cylindromatosis tumor-suppressor gene responsible for multiple familial trichoepithelioma. J Invest Dermatol 122:658–64 Zhang XJ, Huang W, Yang S, Sun LD, Zhang FY, Zhu QX et al. (2009) Psoriasis genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility variants within LCE gene cluster at 1q21. Nat Genet 41:205–10
Chinese Society of Dermatology: Past, Present, and Future
D
ermatology in China began in the midnineteenth century. Missionary doctors from America and Europe introduced Western medicine to China and established several hospitals, including Fujian Union Hospital in Fuzhou City (1860), Renji Hospital in Wuhan City (1866), and Peking Union Hospital in Beijing (1921). The Chinese government also established hospitals, such as Peking University Hospital (1915) and the Chinese Central Hospital (1918), in the early twentieth century. At that time, dermatologists saw large numbers of patients suffering from infectious diseases—especially venereal diseases—and the discipline was called dermatovenereology. In 1931, Chester N. Frazier and Ch’uan-K’uei Hu from Peking Union Hospital reported hypovitaminosis A for the first time (Frazier and Hu, 1931). The report marked the first contribution of Chinese dermatologists to global dermatology, and the article is still cited in current dermatology textbooks. The Chinese Society of Dermatology (CSD; http://www.csdnet.org) was founded in 1937 as a member society under the Chinese Medical Association. The first president of the CSD was Hong-Kang Chen. However, the work of the CSD was suspended during the Second World War and subsequent civil war. After establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Chinese dermatology once again began to develop rapidly. In 1952, Chuan-Kuei Hu, from Peking University, was elected president of the CSD. In 1953, the official journal of the CSD, the Chinese Journal of Dermatology (in Chinese), was founded. During that period, Chinese dermatologists contributed significantly to the control of venereal diseases, leprosy, and tinea capitis in mainland China. From 1952 to 1986, the CSD was under the leadership of Chuan-Kuei Hu (president, 1952–1982), Hong-Jiong Li (president, 1982–1986), Guo-Liang Yang (vice president, 1952–1982), and other pioneering dermatologists. Unfortunately, the CSD lost 10 years of activity during the “cultural revolution” (from 1966 to 1976). In 1978, China opened its doors to the outside world, and Chinese dermatology began to
© 2009 The Society for Investigative Dermatology
progress much more rapidly than before. The presidents of the CSD from 1986 through 2006 included Kwang-Chao Wang (1986–1990), Xi-Tang Chen (1990–1994), and Hong-Duo Chen (1994–2006). One of the important activities of the CSD has been to organize academic meetings. From 1978 to 2006, the CSD held academic meetings every 4 years. In 2007, the CSD decided to hold the meeting annually. Participation in the annual meeting increased each year. In addition, increasing numbers of Chinese dermatologists have been able to study abroad and attend international meetings such as the annual meetings of the American Academy of Dermatology and the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. International colleagues have been invited in increasing numbers to attend Chinese dermatological meetings. The CSD hosted the 5th Asian Congress of Dermatology in 1998 and the 9th International Congress of Dermatology in 1998. In 2007, the CSD successfully hosted the 8th International Congress of the International Society of Cosmetic Dermatology. In June 2008, more than 2,000 participants from China and more than 30 guest speakers from abroad attended the 15th annual meeting of the CSD. In 2007, the CSD became a member of the International League of Dermatological Societies. The CSD maintains close relationships with dermatological societies of its neighboring countries. The China–Japan Joint Meeting of Dermatology is a good example; this venture began in 1988 and 10 joint meetings have been held over the past 20 years. In 2008, the Chinese Society of Dermatology, the Japanese Dermatological Association, and the Korean Dermatological Association agreed to merge the China–Japan Joint Meeting of Dermatology and the Japan–Korea Joint Meeting of Dermatology. The first meeting of the newly created Eastern Asia Dermatology Congress will be held in Fukuoka, Japan, in October 2010; in 2012, the 9th Asian Congress of Dermatology will be held in Hong Kong. We believe the meetings will attract more participants from mainland China than ever before. www.jidonline.org 1049
EDITORIAL
Dermatology is now a thriving discipline in China, and the CSD is composed of more than 20,000 members. The current president of the CSD is Xue-Jun Zhang, from Anhui Medical University. Ten subcommittees dedicated to various areas of dermatological research serve the CSD. At present, most investigative dermatologists are from university hospitals. Grants for dermatological research are now available to support laboratory investigation. We are pleased to see that the quality of research has improved, with more than 310 papers published during the past 5 years appearing in the Science Citation Index. Some work reported by Chinese dermatologists has had a global impact; for example, a description of the function of Langerhans cells, the discovery of new genes involved in skin diseases, and elucidation of the mechanisms of several autoimmune diseases (Chen et al., 1989; Wang et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2004, 2009; Han et al., 2006; Wen et al., 2009). As a whole, China is on a path of rapid development. We believe that Chinese dermatology will continue its own parallel rapid progression, thereby resulting in fruitful contributions to global dermatological science. Xue-Jun Zhang Associate Editor
1050 Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2009), Volume 129
References
Chen HD, Zhao YM, Sun G, Yang CY (1989) Occurrence of Langerhans cells and expression of class II antigens on keratinocytes in malignant and benign epithelial tumors of the skin: an immunohistopathologic study with monoclonal antibodies. J Am Acad Dermatol 20:1007–14 Frazier CN, Hu CK (1931) Cutaneous lesions associated with deficiency of vitamin A in man. Arch Intern Med 48:507–14 Han C, Rush AM, Dib-Hajj SD, Li S, Xu Z, Wang Y et al. (2006) Sporadic onset of erythermalgia: a gain-of-function mutation in Nav1.7. Ann Neurol 59:553–8 Wang L, Bu D, Yang Y, Chen X, Zhu X (2004) Castleman’s tumours and production of autoantibody in paraneoplastic pemphigus. Lancet 363:525–31 Wen Y, Liu Y, Xu Y, Zhao Y, Hua R, Wang K et al. (2009) Loss-of-function mutations of an inhibitory upstream ORF in the human hairless transcript cause Marie Unna hereditary hypotrichosis. Nat Genet 41:228–33 Zhang XJ, Liang YH, He PP, Yang S, Wang HY, Chen JJ et al. (2004) Identification of the cylindromatosis tumor-suppressor gene responsible for multiple familial trichoepithelioma. J Invest Dermatol 122:658–64 Zhang XJ, Huang W, Yang S, Sun LD, Zhang FY, Zhu QX et al. (2009) Psoriasis genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility variants within LCE gene cluster at 1q21. Nat Genet 41:205–10