Hematology 2006 [antikvár]

fSm\ President's Message 48th Annual Meeting and Exposition 2006 Education Program Book It is with great pleasure that we present Hematology 2006, the American Society of Hematology Education Program Book. I myself have depended upon this yearly ASH publication to provide me with a reliable, updated, and authoritative review of a wide spectrum of topics in hematology. I personally have observed, over the past two decades, how frequently practicing clinicians and academic hematologists, as well as hematology Fellows, have come to depend upon this book as their main resource for studying a disease, its underlying pathophysiology, and advances in therapy. We all know that the authors of the chapters in each of these yearly Education Program Books are authorities in their respective subjects and can be relied on for a distilled and critical review of the topics covered. A sobering reality is that each major textbook in hematology can come out with a new and revised edition no more frequently than every five years, while advances in research are a continuing process. Therefore, these annually published ASH Education Program books have become what may be called a source of knowledge beyond the latest edition of our favorité textbook. The contents of Hematology 2006 faithfully reflect the agenda of ASH's Education Program for its annual meeting, with the advantage that each author can cover more in print than they can in the time available for their session. Thus, attendees love to listen to the material when presented in live sessions, and then they continue to use the print version as a textbook throughout the year. It is not generally recognized-but it is an important fact-that each article goes through a thorough review process, from independent experts as well as our first-rate cadre of Editors and the editorial staff. In addition, I would like the readers to note two new features in this book that deserve special mention here. Besides covering all major topics in hematology today, this year we have included a session on an important public health issue that relates to an aspect of hematology that is not frequently addressed. This session, "Bleeding Disorders in Premenopausal Women: (Another) Public Health Crisis for Hematology?," will be presented by Drs. Picozzi, James, and Rágni, a panel of experts in the field. ASH members and those who are attending the 2006 Annual Meeting are rightly proud that this year's HamWasserman lecture will be delivered by Professor Aaron Ciechanover on his ground-breaking work on the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which earned him a Nobel prize. We are delighted to be able to reprint (with permission) Prof. Ciechanover's Nobel lecture from 2004 in this issue of Hematology. As is always the case, this book is a result of a team effort. Although it would not be practical to mention every colleague who has contributed to this effort, I must mention just a few, who remained consistently dedicated to the task, committed an untold number of hours to it, maintained uncompromising standards of excellence, and, above all, kept a sense of humor while going through somé very stressful moments: Nancy Berliner, our Executive Editor, and her entire team of Editors, including Janine Bajus, Production Editor; Armand Keating, ASH's superb Secretary; and the famous duo of the two Charlies, Charles Linker and Charles Schiffer, the Co-Chairs of the ASH Education Program 2006. I hope you enjoy the Education Program, this issue of Hematology 2006, and the entire ASH annual meeting experience in Orlando. I ) , r\