Editor's Memo:

Richard Channick, MD

This past June I winged my way to my former home state, California, for PHA's 9^th International Conference and Scientific Sessions. As I rode in from the airport, past the uniquely Southern Californian strip malls and bungalows, I reflected on how much has changed in this meeting, and this disease.

What was once a small gathering of patients and caregivers is now a fully developed, multifaceted conference with “something for everybody.” Medically-led sessions, during which experts interact with patients, caregivers, and health care providers on virtually every PAH topic, provide the backbone of the Conference. Scientific Sessions, geared toward physicians, enhance the flavor of the meeting and allow presentation of new data and concepts. There is even a new CME track to Conference, geared toward physicians and nurses with an evolving interest in pulmonary hypertension.

And then there is the networking, maybe the most valuable part of Conference. Networking is defined as “a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest.” This term perfectly describes the happenings at Conference. Networking occurs in all directions among patients, caregivers. and healthcare providers. This is the only meeting I know in which dining companions can include a patient from Boise, a husband/caregiver from San Francisco, a physician from Columbus, and a nurse from Buenos Aires. Now that's what I call networking!

Not surprisingly, the evolution of Conference perfectly mirrors the growth of the PHA itself. The iconic image of 4 people sitting around a kitchen table has morphed into a major organization that provides a dizzying array of services to patients, develops and implements many invaluable educational programs, and funds both basic and applied research. A remarkable evolution!

This issue of Advances is devoted to the Scientific Sessions from Conference. Just as the Conference and PHA have evolved, so too has the science of pulmonary hypertension. The Scientific Sessions focused on new players in the PH world: growth and inflammation. Karen Fagan has done an outstanding job in coordinating this issue; the authors are major contributors to this burgeoning field and I am confident that the work outlined here will, one day, lead to new therapies focused on the fundamental defects in the vasculature.

Oh, and during Conference I found my way to an In-and-Out Burger, a fine establishment I've greatly missed since leaving California. A “double-double” and a statin, the perfect meal!