Paediatric endocrinology - prospectives and near future

Abstract

It is my greatest pleasure to introduce the papers devoted to Paediatric Endocrinology, coming in the current issue of Scripta Scientifica Medica! Paediatric Endocrinology is a relatively new but quickly and steadily developing paediatric subspecialty. While it is still unrecognized in some European countries, Paediatric Endocrinology was officially introduced in Bulgaria 20 years ago (in 1995). Even before that, many renowned paediatricians developed both endocrinology and diabetology and put the foundation for further development (professors Zhelev, Damyanova, Stanchev and others). In the 80s Prof. Lilia Peneva was the first Bulgarian paediatrician who officially joined the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and paved the way for efficient participation in the life of the biggest professional paediatric endocrine society nowadays. Since then many colleagues joined efforts in improving care for children with short stature, diabetes, rare endocrine and metabolic diseases and scientific potential grew in parallel. In 2010 the Varna Paediatric Endocrine Society (VAPES) was registered, and a year later – the Bulgarian National Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (BNSDE). Many causes have been raised and many problems solved, especially in day care. Both BNSPE and VAPES endorse the ESPE Training Syllabus (https://www.eurospe.org/education/education_training.html), and the quality and knowledge of trainees is improving constantly. This brings new successful researchers in the field, and gradually increases the number of publications in respected international journals. A good appraisal of the merit of the discipline’s development is the attraction of World renowned speakers to the annual meetings of both VAPES (www.vapesbg.org) and BNSPE (www.bnsde.org).