Sharing Progress in Neonatal (SPIN) Lung and Brain.

nia, meconium aspiration syndrome and congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Results from these studies may lead to a widening of the clinical indications for surfactant therapy, something that would have greatly pleased Bengt Robertson, in whose name the lecture was given. The second invited speaker was Robin H. Steinhorn from Washington, D.C., USA, who discussed advances in the pathogenesis and treatment of neonatal pulmonary hypertension [3] . Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn is more common than realised and affects both term and preterm infants. Although there have been numerous recent therapeutic advances in the past decade, there is still no magic bullet. Once the mainstay of treatment to cause pulmonary vasodilatation, oxygen is now known to have both risks and benefits. Exogenous surfactant and inhaled nitric oxide may be useful for less severe pulmonary hypertension, and both reduce the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Other drugs with potential to benefit infants with pulmonary hypertension include milrinone, sildenafil and hydrocortisone. Steinhorn concluded that continued laboratory and clinical investigation will be needed The first Sharing Progress in Neonatology (SPIN) meeting incorporating the 31st International Workshop on Surfactant Replacement took place in Naples from June 3–4, 2016. It is fitting that this meeting should be held in Italy where the surfactant poractant alfa is manufactured for the treatment of preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome worldwide [1] . Naples is Italy’s third largest city after Rome and Milan. It is also famous for being one of the oldest cities in the world with great artistic merits. The meeting started with the 8th Bengt Robertson Memorial Lecture given by Virgilio P. Carnielli from Ancona, Italy. His lecture was entitled ‘Neonatal Respiratory Diseases in the Newborn Infant: Novel Insights from Stable Isotope Tracer Studies’ [2] . Apart from respiratory distress syndrome, which is due to a primary deficiency of pulmonary surfactant, the pathogenesis of a variety of other neonatal respiratory disorders may involve secondary surfactant dysfunction. Studies by Carnielli and his colleagues using stable isotope tracers have increased our understanding of surfactant metabolism in many of these respiratory disorders of the newborn, including pneumoPublished online: June 3, 2016