First International Symposium on: Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease: September 16-18, 2003; Irvington, Virginia, U.S.A.

Historically, medical research has been focused on studies of adults rather than children. Research in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is no exception, and this restricted approach has caused a significant deficiency in our understanding of this condition that, with an increasing frequency, manifests first in childhood and adolescence. Although there has been significant new information garnered from studies in adult IBD patients during the last few decades, critical questions regarding the onset of IBD remain unanswered, and very few meetings focused on pediatric IBD have been held during this period of time. With the support of the National Institutes of Health, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America and Giuliani s.p.a., we organized a meeting for pediatricians, pediatric gastroenterologists and investigators who not only have an interest in enhancing understanding of pediatric IBD but also have access to patients and research facilities to perform relevant studies. By bringing together a critical mass of physicians and scientists with an interest in pediatric IBD, our hope was to stimulate discussion, interest, and excitement in the developmental aspects of eminently chronic conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The ultimate goal was to stimulate new research initiatives to improve our understanding of the early mechanisms of IBD in the pediatric population. The philosophy behind the meeting was to bring together pediatric gastroenterologists from all corners of the globe to interact with nationally and internationally recognized experts in the fields of microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, molecular biology and genetics. Such an interchange in a secluded setting could foster the development of new ideas and collaborations to study IBD in children. The makeup of the participants was international, comprising representatives from the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Israel and Brazil. The speakers were uniformly acclaimed experts in their respective fields, and the other participants comprised of two groups of pediatric gastroenterologists: three quarters of the attendees were junior faculty with an interest in IBD in general or pediatric IBD in particular, and one-fourth were senior members of the pediatric gastroenterology community with a track-record of studies in pediatric IBD. The intimate nature of the gathering and the secluded surroundings allowed the speakers and participants to interact throughout the day, both formally during the various sessions and informally during breaks and after-meeting time. Exciting discussions between the faculty and attendees occurred, with plenty of brainstorming, and overall, a great deal of cross-fertilization was accomplished. The effectiveness of these interactions was proven by the planning of several collaborative studies among participants, and a great deal of enthusiasm was generated to hold a similar meeting within 2 to 3 years. The expectations are that the meeting itself and the publication of this symposium will have a long-lasting impact by increasing awareness of clinical, translational, and basic research opportunities to further our understanding of pediatric IBD, and beginning to provide new insights into the management of children with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Based on this initial meeting, it is obvious that the future of pediatric IBD is bright with plenty of enthusiasm, interest and expertise available in many centers throughout the world to seriously address basic mechanisms of early intestinal inflammation, new diagnostic modalities and start implementing new therapeutic approaches to promote the health and welfare of children with IBD.

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