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Spring Pain Research Conference 2008
B RA I N R E SE A R CH RE V IE W S 60 ( 20 0 9 ) 1
a v a i l a b l e a t w w w. s c i e n c e d i r e c t . c o m
w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / b r a i n r e s r e v
Preface
Spring Pain Research Conference 2008 The first Spring Pain Research Conference was held in 1998 and was designed to bring together, in an informal setting, investigators working in the field of pain research. The goal was to use this conference as a vehicle in which innovative ideas and current progress in understanding pain mechanisms and potential therapies could be shared, but to use a format that was more intimate than that found at many of the larger congresses. This first meeting, jointly organized by Frank Porreca and Norman Bowery (in collaboration with Robert Sloviter), came about through a series of emails inviting pain researchers to Grand Cayman, BWI to present their work and participate in scholarly discussions both during and after conclusion of the daily program. Since there was no organized sponsoring society, no particular aspect of pain research was given a specific focus. The presentations were simply aimed at a broad but knowledgeable pain research audience and for this reason, short, sharp lectures (10 min in length) were requested on a wide variety of topics with as much discussion time as possible. Given the setting, it should have been of no surprise that many of the presentations were made barefoot and in beach attire, in at least one case not even dry from the beach. Both the format and the setting, as well as generous opportunity for informal interaction with colleagues resulted in an extraordinarily successful and productive week with much new information presented and heated discussions ensuing about the relevance of specific mediators or mechanisms of pain. This conference was attended by approximately 80 people, and with their encouragement, the organizers attempted to ensure that this event continued on into the future. The Spring Pain Research Conference recently met for the 6th time in April, 2008 marking the 10th anniversary of the initial meeting. This bi-annual meeting has enjoyed continued support from the pain community with attendance represented from countries around the globe and increasing in number each year to its current level of approximately 200 participants. Along with increased attendance has been an increase in the number of presentations and the diversity of topics covered. In 2008, topics that were discussed included the role of voltage gated ion channels, GPCR agonists,
cytokines, chemokines and intracellular mediators in acute and chronic pain states. Additionally, the specific contribution of plasticity in afferents innervating the joints and the viscera, novel mechanisms of signaling between skin and nerve, the modulation of pain by descending circuits, forebrain mechanisms, the role of glia in signaling to the nervous system, the role of neuronal chloride regulation in neurons, and ionotropic cannabinoid receptors were intensively discussed. New advances in potential therapy of pain including the assessment of TRP channels as targets for treatment of pain were presented along with discussion of prediction of therapeutic efficacy of potential treatments for pain in humans and clinical evaluation of novel mechanisms of pain modulation. As in previous years, the highlight of this meeting was the free interaction and communication between academic and industrial scientists alike, the strong contributions of both senior and more junior investigators and the continuous presentation of cutting-edge and novel data and ideas. The positive feelings of those in attendance were voiced, just as they were 10 years ago, in the desire to continue the meeting every two years with the next meeting to be held in 2010 where again the neurobiology of pain and potential translation to novel therapy will be discussed. As always, all are invited to attend and to participate as the field of pain research grows in its sophistication and relevance to human disease. As a celebration of the 10th year in which the meeting was held, the organizers of the different symposia were invited to synthesize the concepts presented in their sessions in manuscripts prepared with the speakers. This series of manuscripts presents highlights of many key points and concepts which were presented at the meeting and will become a resource for those of us engaged in this research area.
0165-0173/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2008.12.022
Frank Porreca * Todd W. Vanderah Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85718, USA * Corresponding author.
a v a i l a b l e a t w w w. s c i e n c e d i r e c t . c o m
w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / b r a i n r e s r e v
Preface
Spring Pain Research Conference 2008 The first Spring Pain Research Conference was held in 1998 and was designed to bring together, in an informal setting, investigators working in the field of pain research. The goal was to use this conference as a vehicle in which innovative ideas and current progress in understanding pain mechanisms and potential therapies could be shared, but to use a format that was more intimate than that found at many of the larger congresses. This first meeting, jointly organized by Frank Porreca and Norman Bowery (in collaboration with Robert Sloviter), came about through a series of emails inviting pain researchers to Grand Cayman, BWI to present their work and participate in scholarly discussions both during and after conclusion of the daily program. Since there was no organized sponsoring society, no particular aspect of pain research was given a specific focus. The presentations were simply aimed at a broad but knowledgeable pain research audience and for this reason, short, sharp lectures (10 min in length) were requested on a wide variety of topics with as much discussion time as possible. Given the setting, it should have been of no surprise that many of the presentations were made barefoot and in beach attire, in at least one case not even dry from the beach. Both the format and the setting, as well as generous opportunity for informal interaction with colleagues resulted in an extraordinarily successful and productive week with much new information presented and heated discussions ensuing about the relevance of specific mediators or mechanisms of pain. This conference was attended by approximately 80 people, and with their encouragement, the organizers attempted to ensure that this event continued on into the future. The Spring Pain Research Conference recently met for the 6th time in April, 2008 marking the 10th anniversary of the initial meeting. This bi-annual meeting has enjoyed continued support from the pain community with attendance represented from countries around the globe and increasing in number each year to its current level of approximately 200 participants. Along with increased attendance has been an increase in the number of presentations and the diversity of topics covered. In 2008, topics that were discussed included the role of voltage gated ion channels, GPCR agonists,
cytokines, chemokines and intracellular mediators in acute and chronic pain states. Additionally, the specific contribution of plasticity in afferents innervating the joints and the viscera, novel mechanisms of signaling between skin and nerve, the modulation of pain by descending circuits, forebrain mechanisms, the role of glia in signaling to the nervous system, the role of neuronal chloride regulation in neurons, and ionotropic cannabinoid receptors were intensively discussed. New advances in potential therapy of pain including the assessment of TRP channels as targets for treatment of pain were presented along with discussion of prediction of therapeutic efficacy of potential treatments for pain in humans and clinical evaluation of novel mechanisms of pain modulation. As in previous years, the highlight of this meeting was the free interaction and communication between academic and industrial scientists alike, the strong contributions of both senior and more junior investigators and the continuous presentation of cutting-edge and novel data and ideas. The positive feelings of those in attendance were voiced, just as they were 10 years ago, in the desire to continue the meeting every two years with the next meeting to be held in 2010 where again the neurobiology of pain and potential translation to novel therapy will be discussed. As always, all are invited to attend and to participate as the field of pain research grows in its sophistication and relevance to human disease. As a celebration of the 10th year in which the meeting was held, the organizers of the different symposia were invited to synthesize the concepts presented in their sessions in manuscripts prepared with the speakers. This series of manuscripts presents highlights of many key points and concepts which were presented at the meeting and will become a resource for those of us engaged in this research area.
0165-0173/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2008.12.022
Frank Porreca * Todd W. Vanderah Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85718, USA * Corresponding author.