A.S.P.E.N. RESEARCH WORKSHOP ON CLINICAL NUTRITION

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The workshop has and will continue to be organized in close coordination with NIDDK staff (Drs. Van Hubbard & Michael Kenneth May). The workshop format is to bring together for one day 100 scientists interested and active in specific areas of clinical nutrition each year prior to the annual A.S.P.E.N. Clinical Congress. The workshop is organized around a Chair, Co-Chair and up to 8 speakers. The Chairs and speakers are all active scientists in disciplines of both basic and clinical research. Through active discussion between and among speakers and participants, we hope to identify each year promising areas for future investigation and collaboration on the chosen topic in clinical nutrition. The format of the workshop will also solicit active participation of young scientists and fellows by providing special travel funds for their attendance at the meeting. We have also established a submitted abstract award mechanism targeted specifically for abstracts related to the workshop topic each year from younger investigators. These mechanisms are designed to foster excitement and active participation of younger scientists in the workshop and will allow junior investigators to present work that will be seen by the distinguished speakers. The topic for the proposed lst-year (2001) workshop is on nutrition and inflammation. The background for the topic is that manifestations of many diseases (infection, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer) are often produced by the release of host endogenous inflammatory mediators (e.g. prostaglandins, cytokines, nitric oxide, reactive oxygen intermediates, and free radicals). In experimental and clinical studies, administration of specific nutrients can modulate the cascade of mediator release. Pharmaconutrients and dietary-related factors such as route of feeding and obesity can also influence systemic inflammatory response. Thus, experimental evidence would suggest that the inflammatory response may be altered by manipulation of route and composition of nutrients. Such promise has fueled over a decade of clinical investigation, yet no specific nutrient can be said yet to be standard therapy for any specific disease state. The purpose of the 2001 workshop is to summarize the current state of knowledge and to determine if any specific recommendation regarding use of these agents clinically can be advocated.