Workshop report: 4th European crystal network meeting

The 4th workshop of the European Crystal Network took place recently in Paris. Approximately 40 biomedical scientists took part in this closed meeting, whose aim was to facilitate scientific exchange and foster collaborations between centers involved in research in crystal-induced inflammation and crystal deposition diseases. Rheumatology was well represented at the meeting, but there were also participants from other medical disciplines (genetics, epidemiology, nephrology) and basic scientists with diverse interests (crystallography, biochemistry, inflammation, physics). Within the rheumatic diseases, a major focus is gout and hyperuricemia, but the role of calcium crystals in disease is also gaining interest. Recent advances in genetics, inflammation research and the biochemical pathways that mediate calcium crystal deposition were some of the highlights of this year’s meeting. New clinical and therapeutic aspects of hyperuricemia and gout were also discussed. This report summarizes the subjects that were presented with reference to gout and hyperuricemia. Other presentations on the mechanisms of tissue calcification and their possible role in osteoarthritis are not summarized here.