Meeting Report

Dysphagia Research Society 1997

The Sixth Annual Dysphagia Research Society Meetingwas held this year in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October16–18, 1997. Abstracts of the 54 scientific oral andposter presentations given at the meeting are published inthis issue ofDysphagiaand illustrate the wide range oftopic areas and high quality that have become an impor-tant and exciting part of this meeting. The DysphagiaResearch Society is a unique society and the annualmeeting provides a forum for individuals from manydifferent disciplines to share their expertise, knowledgebase, science, and ideas, with a focus on an area of com-mon interest—swallowing disorders. The meeting wasattended by over 200 participants.

A number of themes were evident throughout themeeting, three of which centered on comprehensiveSymposia and special State of the Art Lectures. The firstdealt with ‘‘the brain and swallowing.’’ Insights wereprovided into some of the newer clinical technologiessuch as magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, andmagnetic stimulation of the brain (presented by Dr. Sha-heen Hamdy); and the potential for sophisticated elec-trophysiological studies to characterize the fundamentalpathways and circuits that regulate swallowing (pre-sented by Dr. Barry Sessle and Dr. Andre Jean). In theDodds-Donner State of the Art Lecture, Dr. Jean empha-sized the importance of neural inhibition as well as ex-citation, and developed the concept that the ‘‘swallowingcenter’’ of the brainstem is unlikely to be a separatefunctional unit devoted only to swallowing but is part ofa multifunctional system with other regulatory aspectssuch as respiration and blood pressure control.

The second theme centered on the need for criti-cal appraisal of everything we do in investigating andmanaging patients with swallowing disorders through thedevelopment of evidence-based guidelines, and properuse of outcomes research. These aspects were high-lighted by the state of the art lecture on Evidence-basedGuidelines in Health Care Practice, given by Dr. Geof-frey Anderson, and the Dysphagia Outcomes Symposiaand Discussion Panel led by Mrs. Rosemary Martino-

Fernie and Dr. Susan Langmore. In particular, progressof a working group dealing with ‘‘Dysphagia Out-comes’’ was reported and generated a great deal of con-structive and vigorous discussion.

The third Symposium dealt with the Supra-esophageal Complications of Gastroesophageal Reflux.This is an area that has been largely ignored. This Sym-posium was chaired by Drs. Reza Shaker and KulwinderDua and brought the different pulmonary, pharyngealand laryngeal, and oral aspects of gastroesophageal re-flux into prominent focus.

It was also evident in the many scientific presen-tations of submitted work that significant advances arebeing made in the radiological, endoscopic, physiologi-cal, and other technical modalities used for the assess-ment and management of patients with dysphagia. At-tention is being paid to the sensory as well as the motorcomponents. Common wisdom is being questioned interms of the terminology used, and relative to the broadspectrum of function as one proceeds from what is con-sidered to be normal to what is obviously abnormal.

I know of few societies or meetings where thistype of multidisciplinary approach and interaction is fo-cused on a common area of interest to provide a mediumfor the interchange of ideas, presentation of good science,and the development of important research directions in aspecific field. I would encourage all of those who share thiscommon interest in swallowing disorders to join the Soci-ety, to attend and participate actively in the meetings, and tocontribute to the knowledge base and understandingthrough this unique and interdisciplinary interaction.

Next year’s meeting will be chaired and orga-nized by the incoming president of the Dysphagia Rela-tion Society, Dr. JoAnne Robbins. I look forward to theprogram that she and her committee will organize, to theparticipation of old and new faces, and to the new ideas andresearch that will certainly emerge over the next year.

N.E. Diamant, M.D., F.R.C.P.(C)The Toronto Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dysphagia 13:136 (1998)

© Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1998