EUROPEAN MEETINGS

Close to 500 delegates from over 46 countires attended the biennial NeuroGASTRO 2023 meeting in Bucharest from Aug 31st to Sept 2nd, with the excitement palpable as we returned to a face-to-face meeting for the first time since 2019. Key opinion leaders presented the state-of-the-art developments in the field of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. It was particularly inspiring to see the quality and breadth of topics presented by young scientists, via both oral and poster presentations. The associated Postgraduate Course provided participants with a comprehensive practice-oriented of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal motility and functional disorders. A Hands-on Course for gastrointestinal manometry and functional investigations was an innovative new addition to the programme.

The outstanding programme stood under the motto of “Advancing understanding and management in Neurogastroenterology and Motility” and included challenging and rewarding discussions about mechanisms underlying normal and disordered gastrointestinal function, pain mechanisms and visceral hypersensitivity, the role of the microbiome and diet in health and disease, dietary interventions, mechanisms and diagnostic techniques in food intolerance, disorders of gut-brain interaction in health and disease, and technologies for the assessment of gastrointestinal motility and perception. A special moment in the opening ceremony was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Paul Enck (Germany), with a further highlight being the mini-concert from the Romanian Medical Doctor Chamber Orchestra.

The meeting once again served to highlight ESNM as the number one European representative of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, with clear take home message being how well the affiliated societies worked successfully together to deliver such a high-quality meeting. Special acknowledgement must go to the local organisers, Vasile Drug and Dan Dumitrescu, who excelled in the role of hosts and were excellent ambassadors for the Romanian Society of Neurogastroenterology. Magnus Simren is also to be commended in his expert guidance and leadership of a very engaged scientific committee. It was also gratifying to see return of in person networking between young and experienced researchers and clinicians, and the meeting was a great forum for the continued development and visibility of the Neurogastroenterology and Motility field. I’m sure we are all eager to join the next chapter of this now well-established European event, which will be hosted by Qasim Aziz in 2025 in London. See you there!