Congress Report: 5th Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Summit on Osteoporosis in Bratislava, 2-3 December 2011

Major aims of the 5th Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Summit on Osteoporosis held in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 2 and 3 December 2011, were to provide participants with state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of osteoporosis research, diagnosis, and therapy and to evaluate, compare, and discuss the very heterogeneous health care situations and related challenges in the different countries in CEE and elsewhere. The summit was attended by 70 delegates from 15 countries. State-of-the-art lectures given by international authorities on osteoporosis covered a broad spectrum of topics ranging from osteoporosis in the male population, novel therapies in osteoporosis such as cathepsin K and sclerostin inhibitors, and the implementation and use of FRAX® in CEE, to an update on denosumab for the management of osteoporosis. Workshops organized to enable the exchange of individual experiences addressed the importance and current availability of osteology training for physicians and the impact of patient training programs on therapy compliance. Furthermore, the availability of and need for standardized quality controls and therapy guidelines in different CEE countries were discussed. Finally, based on a questionnaire, a very up-to-date analysis of all participating countries regarding incidences of osteoporosis, commonly used diagnostic and therapeutic measures, the number of specialists and specialized hospitals, and differences in the reimbursement situation in the different countries was generated and presented. On the whole, the very authentic contributions and the synergistic exchange of ideas allowed the identification of both positive developments as well as still existing issues and needs in diagnosis and therapy of osteoporosis.