Dear EPUAP Member, the Fifth European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Open Meeting held in Le Mans, France was once again an extraordinary happening to 'share experiences' in our field. Providing a forum for people to exchange their ideas, advances, scientific and clinical research, education tools was a major goal for the EPUAP scientific programme committee. This was also the first time that the EPUAP joined a national society, the PERSE French group, and I really think that we must pursue this habit again in the future. The atmosphere during the symposium was always warm and caring, yet full of excitement and enthusiasm. A rich and diverse array of common, complex and controversial social and clinical issues in pressure ulcer management were discussed, providing the real sense of the vitality of our society. Considerable progress has been made in our understanding of pressure ulcers at both the scientific and clinical levels. The epidemiology of the disease is now better understood and there have been considerable advances in understanding the mechanisms of pressure development. From the fifth EPUAP meeting we have heard that new advanced dressings and pressure relief equipment will soon be introduced that may dramatically change the way we treat mild to moderate lesions. Furthermore, biotechnological approaches provide extra hope for highly selected patients. Despite the recent terrorist attack in the United States, we were proud to honour Mrs Barbara Braden as a recipient of the EPUAP Lifetime Achievement award. The incoming President of the NPUAP Prof Courtney Lyder was also in Le Mans to share with the Europeans the educational activities from United States. We must continue the friendship exchange of ideas and interactions with our colleagues in the United States.

The European Pressure Ulcers Prevalence Project was undertaken on 14 November and the data will be elaborated from the co-ordinators soon. Our society has given great emphasis on this project and I personally think that the results will have major impact in different countries from a social and political point of view.

At the beginning of the new year we may be considered satisfied about what we have achieved during the previous years and we are looking forward to reach new and ambitious goals in the future and I encourage all the EPUAP members to be involved in the activities of the society and to send us comments and suggestions about future developments,

Marco Romanelli
President

Dr Marco Romanelli presents Mrs Barbara Braden with the EPUAP Lifetime Achievement award