The first meeting report, "Advances in Bipolar Disorder: Selected Sessions from the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder," covers the 9th International Conference on Bipolar Disorder (ICBD) held in Pittsburgh, PA, June 9–11, 2011. The conference focused on a number of important issues concerning the diagnosis of bipolar disorders across the life span, advances in neuroscience, treatment strategies for bipolar disorders, early intervention, and medical comorbidity. This meeting report presents key points from the sessions including: strategies for moving biology forward; bipolar disorder and the forthcoming new DSM-5 nomenclature; management of bipolar disorders—both theory and intervention, with an emphasis on the medical comorbidities; and a review of several key task force reports commissioned by the International Society for Bipolar Disorder (ISBD).

The second meeting report covers the Sixth International Congress on Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS), the only multidisciplinary forum devoted specifically to SDS, held at the New York Academy of Sciences June 28–30, 2011.  SDS is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder involving multiple organ systems and affecting children and young adults. The meeting report explores the most important recent advances in our understanding of the clinical features, current management, and treatment of SDS, and the molecular function of SBDS in hematopoiesis, leukemogenesis, and organogenesis.

The third paper in this volume presents draft consensus guidelines for diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of Shwachman-Diamond syndrome.  Evidence-based conclusions were made whenever possible. However, as in other rare diseases, the data are often anecdotal. Therefore, recommendations were also based upon the consensus of experienced clinicians from Canada, Europe, and the United States during and following an international SDS conference.  New recommendations regarding diagnosis and management have been made reflecting advances in understanding the genetic basis and clinical manifestations of the disease.

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