9th Meeting of the European Society for Sexual Medicine
Vienna, 3 -6 December 2006
Siegried Meryn
Chairman of the 9th Annual ESSM Meeting
Modern sexual medicine and science met Sigmund Freud at the capital of his heritage.
9th Congress of the European Society for Sexual Medicine (ESSM)2006
The 9th Congress of the European Society for Sexual Medicine (ESSM) was held from December 3 – 6, 2006 at the Hofburg Congress Centre in Vienna.
More than 2000 participants from 64 countries discussed the latest scientific developments in Sexual Medicine. The 9th congress of the ESSM was opened with a Mozart Gala ceremony presented by members of the world famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Ballet, attended by more than 1300 guests.
At the historical Hofburg Palace, the imperial heart of the former Austrian empire, top scientists and doctors shared the latest breaking news in the field of Sexual Medicine and exchanged highly relevant new practical data and guidelines. 439 abstracts were submitted and 409 accepted. The varied program of this 4-day meeting included 67 oral presentations, 75 moderated poster and 170 posters. All different sessions, like master lectures, round tables, interactive sessions and video courses were highly appreciated and attended.
Main topics of the 9th ESSM congress were the study of women’s sexual health which continuous to increase in prominence, furthermore new developments in the medical and surgical management of erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, the relationship between sex and quality of life for both genders, the relationship between sexual function and satisfaction, health and disease, hypogonadism and metabolic syndrome, testosterone supplementation and among others the aging couples.
During this meeting, the ESSM Research Grant was given to Christina Damsted Petersen (Denmark) for her project on ‘Botox therapy for women diagnosed with vestibulodynia’ and to Ponco Birowo (Germany) for his work on ‘Characterization od smooth muscle tone regulation in the human seminal vesicle’. ESSM also welcomed three new executive committee members: Bruno Giammusso (Italy), Santiago Richter (Israel) and Pedro Simões Vendeira (Portugal). The new executive committee will continue the commitment of the previous one establishing new standards in the field of Sexual Medicine.
The 9th congress of the ESSM 2006 was a further milestone in the history of ESSM and will be followed by even a more successful meeting – the 10th congress of the ESSM from November 25 – 28, 2007 in Lisbon.