SPECIAL ARTICLE

 

The history of SEIOMM (1987-2013)

Historia de la SEIOMM (1987-2013)

 

 

Roig Escofet D., García Borrás J.

With the collaboration of: del Pino Montes J., Sosa Henríquez M., González Macías J., Moro Álvarez M.J., Herrero L., Calvo Catalá J., Giménez Úbeda E., Quesada Gómez M., Díaz Curiel M., Lluch Mesquida P., Gómez Alonso C., Olmos Martínez J.M., Torrijos Eslava A., Guañabens Gay N., Nogués Solán X.

 

 

During the 1980s, the medical professionals associated with diseases of the locomotor apparatus began to pay attention to metabolic bone diseases, and among these, a pathology very common in advanced age, osteoporosis, which, until this time had passed almost unnoticed due to the absence of precise methods of diagnosis. Bone fractures, to a great extent brought on by osteoporosis, were frequent and provoked disorders and disabilities, above all in women after the menopause. The appearance of highly precise methods for the diagnosis of osteoporosis and of efficacious drugs for its treatment led to an increase in interest in this pathology on the part of medical specialists directly or indirectly associated with the locomotor apparatus such as internists, rheumatologists, endocrinologists, gynaecologists and nephrologists. In Spain this situation resulted in the formation of the Spanish Society for Bone and Mineral Metabolism Research (SEIOMM) and led to a pharmaceutical company offering DXA densitometry at 14 Spanish hospitals, facilitating the diagnosis and study of osteoporosis.

A management board presided over by Horacio Rico Lenza, and formed of Luisa Traba (Vice President), Sergio Serrano (Secretary) and Emma Rosa Hernández (Treasurer) established the basis of the constitution of this multidisciplinary organisation and organised the first symposium in Barcelona on the 6th December 1987, which saw a large number of participants. This symposium was the opportunity to hold the Assembly at which was appointed SEIOMM's first board of directors.

Earlier, in April 1987, the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Diseases had been formed, with the main objective of promoting the understanding of the physiopathology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of osteoporosis and other bone diseases. To achieve this it was considered necessary to support biomedical, clinical, nutritional and epidemiological research into these diseases and to promote their understanding, establishing education and training for doctors and other health professionals in this field. The same activities were taken on by SEIOMM and have been carried out, as far as possible, since the Society's foundation. SEIOMM is now a benchmark at an international level.

 

From December 1987 to December 1991

During this period the board of directors was made up of Daniel Roig Escofet (President), Ramon Peréz Cano (Vice President), María Luisa Mariñoso Barba (Secretary) and María Teresa Gonzaléz Álvarez (Treasurer). In addition, board members were appointed, each representing an Autonomous Community, whose role was to act as a link between the members in their respective Communities and the board of directors.

One of the first activities of the board of directors was to appoint a committee which would study the previous articles of association of the Society and propose modifications which they considered necessary. In accordance with this, new articles were drafted which were submitted for approval by the Extraordinary Assembly held in Seville on 3rd May 1989.

These articles had 35 sections, from which some specifics may be highlighted. The main objective of SEIOMM was the promotion of basic and clinical research into osteoporosis and other bone diseases. The national symposium of the Society would be held biennially, and a Monograph Meeting would be held on a current theme in the inter-symposium years. To each of these activities would be added a meeting of the General Assembly. Extraordinary Assemblies could be called for the modification of the articles of association or to deal with matters of vital importance and whose resolution could not wait for the next ordinary General Assembly. The board of directors would be made up of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and a representative of each Autonomous Community; but a permanent executive board was also established with four representatives from the Autonomous Communities. This would have decision-making powers. The board of directors would produce the agenda for the General Assembly of SEIOMM, which would coincide with the national symposium or the monograph meeting. The scientific programme of the symposia would be produced by the organising committee and would need to be approved by the board of directors of the Society. It was also determined that the President would be able to hold office for a maximum of 4 years. These articles were approved by an absolute majority of the Assembly.

It was considered that SEIOMM should establish and maintain contacts with other institutions or societies with similar objectives, both nationally and abroad. The first international contact was made with the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Disease. This occurred at a meeting held in Davos (Switzerland) in April 1988, which was attended by representatives of different national societies in Europe with similar objectives. The President of SEIOMM Daniel Roig Escofet attended as the Society's representative. Another Spanish representative, Aurelio Rapado Errazti, President of another Spanish association, the Spanish Association for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases (AHOEMO) also attended. This association had been established in 1988 as a federation of a number of Spanish scientific societies. Its objective was to inform the general public on the prevalence and serious effects of osteoporosis, as well as to give information to the press and other communications media, and sponsor research into all aspects of the disease through grants, prizes and large population studies. Its activities were social in character, whereas those of SEIOMM were exclusively scientific. Subsequently a number of activities were carried out jointly.

The relationship with the European Foundation resulted in SEIOMM organising an "International Symposium on bone metabolic diseases" in the Platja d'Aro (Girona) in October 1990, with the aim of making the Society better known externally. Attendance was high and specialists in these diseases attended from various European countries, as well as from South America, since SEIOMM had also established relationships with the Iberoamerican Society of Osteology and Mineral Metabolism (SIBOMM), of which Dr Díaz Curiel was secretary and in which SEIOMM had a representative.

At the Assembly, Professors Horacio Rico Lenza and Miguel Garrido Peralta were made honorary members.

During this period SEIOMM organised, in addition to the aforementioned international congress, a symposium in Seville (1989) and another in Oviedo (1991).

 

From November 1991 to October 1995

At the III Symposium held in Oviedo in November 1991 a new board of directors was appointed, now being formed by Jorge Cannata Andía (President), Concepción de la Piedra Gordo (Vice President), José Bernadino Díaz López (Secretary) and Javier del Pino Montes (Treasurer).

One of the details from this period is the participation of SEIOMM in the development of the Spanish Review of Bone Metabolic Diseases as the organ of the Society, along with AHOEMO and the Osteoporosis Working Group of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine, and the appointment of Jorge Cannata Andía as joint editor representing SEIOMM. SEIOMM continued to maintain its external relationships, and in May 1992 an International Symposium on Osteoporosis was held in Barcelona attended by representatives of various international societies. Dr Concepción de la Piedra Gordo was appointed as a member of the SIBOMM board, representing SEIOMM.

The introduction of densitometry in a number of Spanish hospitals facilitated the development of work relating to osteoporosis. Two types of research were requested of those receiving of the densitometers. One of these was a free choice. The other was common to all the groups and consisted of the measurement of the bone density of groups of people of different ages, with the aim of getting an idea of the normal values for bone mass in our country. This latter work, originally conceived of as having a transverse design, continued in a second phase with a longitudinal design in which the development of bone mass monitored over three years was studied.

In 1992, as a result of this work the "Study of bone density in the Spanish population. A multi-centric osteoporosis research project" was published, with the participation of the following hospitals: the La Paz Hospital (Madrid), the San Carlos University Hospital (Madrid), the Jiménez Díaz Foundation (Madrid), the Clinical University Hospital (Salamanca),the Insular Hospital (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), the Prínceps d'Espanya Hospital (Hospitalet), the Santa Creu i Sant Pau Hospital (Barcelona), the Esperanca Hospital (Barcelona), the La Fe Hospital (Valencia), the Virgen Macarena University Hospital (Seville), the University Hospital (Granada), the General Hospital of Asturias (Oviedo), the Miguel Servet Hospital (Zaragoza) and the University Clinic (Pamplona). Also involved, as well as SEIOMM, were the Osteoporosis Working Group of the Spanish Society for Internal Medicine (GTO), AHOEMO and the medical department of the pharmaceutical company Rhóne Poulenc Rorer.

The results of the study were published in various reviews and in the Spanish Review of Metabolic Bone Diseases. Notable among these was the article "Normal values for bone mineral density in the Spanish adult population". And in 1996, another work on this subject: "New frontiers in the study of bone density in the Spanish population" was published.

In 1993 SEIOMM awarded prizes to works on "Vitamin D metabolites and osteoporosis". The first prize was shared between two studies: "Osteoporotic hip fractures in old people. A social problem of physiopathology and prevention" by J.M. Quesada and J. Alonso, and "Levels of 25(OH)D in postmenopausal women and old people: its relationship with bone density" by Maria E. Martínez, M.T. del Campo, M.J Sanchéz-Cabezudo, J.A. García, J. Coya, M.T. Sánchez-Calvín, A. Torijos and L. Munuera. In addition, three second prizes were awarded.

During this presidency the AHOEMO was transformed. In 1993 it changed its name to the Hispanic Foundation for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases (Fundación Hispana de Osteoporosis y Enfermedades Metabólicas Óseas [FHOEMO] ), with a scientific committee formed by four members of SEIOMM (Jorge Cannata Andía, Bernadino Díaz López, Jesús González Macías and Daniel Roig Escofet) and four other members of different scientific societies previously associated with AHOEMO. The desirability of developing a protocol or document defining the relationship between SEIOMM and FHOEMO in order to facilitate bilateral collaboration was raised

At the executive board meeting of 19th May 1993 it was decided to name Drs Aurelio Rapado Errazti and Daniel Roig Escofet as honorary members for their outstanding work and effort in activities related to bone and mineral metabolism.

In this period SEIOMM symposia were held in Córdoba (1993) and Alicante (1995) and two monograph meetings, which the articles of association had established, were organised, one on "Glucocorticoids and bone" in Zaragoza (1994) and the other on "Paget's Disease" in Salamanca.

 

From October 1995 to October 1999

A new board of directors, whose appointment coincided with the Alicante symposium, was formed by Jesús González Macías (President), Adolfo Díez Pérez (Vice President), Manuel Sosa Henríquez (Secretary) and Manuel Díaz Curiel (Treasurer).

In this period the normal activities of the Society continued, predominantly the dissemination of new developments in bone diseases through courses, conferences and written materials, relationships with other organisations, and the promotion of research. A letter was sent to all hospital directors general to explain the need to highlight the significance of bone densitometry. Notable among other activities was a course on densitometry organised by the SEIOMM and led by Luís del Río Barquero, in Barcelona in November 1997. Also, a monograph meeting organised jointly by the IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation), FHOEMO and SEIOMM held in Madrid and presided over by Dr Antonio Torrijos Eslava on "the Menopause".

Relationships with overseas societies related with osteoporosis continued. As a minimum, a representative of SEIOMM went to Paris every six months to attend meetings with the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Disease (EFFO), which transformed during this period into the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), although there was no Spanish member appointed to its scientific committee. At the III Iberoamerican Congress on Osteology and Mineral Metabolism organised in Mexico in 1996 by SIBOMM, Dr Manuel Díaz Curiel was appointed as the SEIOMM delegate to that Society. In addition, Dr Adolfo Díez Pérez became the representative of SEIOMM to the European Calcified Tissue Society, and was chosen as a permanent member of the council of that society. There were also conversations with Professor Gennari, President of the International Federation of Societies on Skeletal Diseases (IFSSD) and with the World Federation on Osteoporosis (WFO) to try to integrate SEIOMM with these societies on condition that the Society would be able to play an active part, and be represented on the boards of directors or the executive councils of these societies. These conversations were not fruitful, but in the end these societies were integrated into EFFO, subsequently called the IOF, and disappeared.

At the General Assembly of SEIOMM held in Madrid on 16th October 1998, a modification of the statues was approved which created working groups with the aim of channelling the scientific activities of the members into one or other line of research according to their interests. At the end of this period there were already four functioning working groups, dedicated to "bone densitometry", " quality of life", "management of clinical history" and "research into ultrasound and bone metabolism", coordinated respectively by Luis del Río Barquero, Adolfo Díez Pérez and the last two by Manuel Sosa Henríquez. Over time other groups were added such as one on "risk factors" coordinated by Carmen Valdés Llorca.

The board of directors carried out an internal audit aimed at understanding the state of the Society for the administration. A detailed study was then proceeded with whose results were discussed at the meeting of the permanent executive board which took place in Santander on 16th February 1998. The following actions were carried out:

a) Regularisation of SEIOMM through its registration with the Register of Associations and compliance with the corresponding employment laws.

b) Regularisation of the situation of the secretary, proceeding with their contract and registering with the Social Security department.

c) Contracting with consultancies specialising in human resources, finance and accountancy so that monthly accounts could be managed, and annual accounts and a budget for the following year prepared.

In this period another honorary member was appointed: Dr Horacio Rico Lenza. SEIOMM was also modernised: an e-mail was set up for the services of members to enable communication with the board of directors and an internet web page was established for SEIOMM, developed by Xavier Nogués.

And there was a change: the biennial scientific meetings until then called symposia became congresses. The congresses were held in Granada (1997) and Sitges (1999) and the two monographic meetings in Madrid, on on "Biochemical markers for bone remodelling" and the other on "Densitometry". The latter was timed to coincide with a joint meeting with FHOEMO and EFFO.

 

From October 1999 to November 2003

A new board of directors was chosen: Adolfo Díez Pérez (President), José Manuel Quesada Gómez (Vice President), Nuria Guañabens Gay (Treasurer) and Xavier Nogués Solán (Secretary). In a motion to the General Assembly of SEIOMM held on 5th October 2002, the Society was notified that the President, Adolfo Díez Pérez had resigned due to his new position in a multinational company based in the U.S, and the presidency passed to the Vice President, José Manuel Quesada Gómez.

This period saw the death of two significant personalities in the field of bone diseases, and honorary members of SEIOMM: Dr Horacio Rico Lenzo, President of the first management board of SEIOMM, and Dr Aurelio Rapado Errazti, President of FHOEMO. The latter position passed to Dr Manuel Díaz Curiel.

Relations with national and overseas bodies were maintained, notably, an accord with the International Bone and Mineral Society (IBMS) by which for three years from January 2001 members of SEIOMM also had full rights to the IBMS, receiving the review Bone free. In addition, Dr Manuel Díaz Curiel was appointed as President of SIBOMM. SEIOMM participated in a congress of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine and in another of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine. The relationship with FHOEMO was maintained, with each Society reflecting its own chatacter: scientific exclusivity for SEIOMM and social exclusivity for FHOEMO. SEIOMM as generator of conferences, scientific meetings and other events aimed at professionals, and FHOEMO spreading knowledge of the diseases in the population through social and cultural activities.

The working groups already established were sustained. In 1999 a SEIOMM working group on protocols and clinical history was created, coordinated by Manuel Sosa Henríquez. The result of this work was SEIOMM's Clinical History, whose first version was presented at the congress held in Menorca in 2001 and subsequently modified at the monographic meeting in Toledo in 2002. This Clinical History was presented on a CD, with the collaboration of the Italfármaco laboratories.

A work entitled "Guide to Clinical Practice" produced by the working group on "Management of Clinical History" was published in the Spanish Review of Bone Metabolic Diseases and the Spanish Clinical Review. The content of the guide was developed over a period of two years. A draft was presented at the congress held in Menorca in 2001 and, and subsequently a debate was organised in a forum open to all SEIOMM members at the monographic meeting in Toledo. The introduction explained that the progressive increase in the incidence of osteoporosis, parallel to the demographic of aging in Spain, its morbidity and mortality, as well as its health and economic impact had led SEIOMM to develop this guide as a first step aimed at the population group most affected. It offered an indicative framework, in which the interested professional groups could develop action protocols adapted for each healthcare environment.

The Guide to Clinical Practice was developed by a group of experts from different specialities (internists, rheumatologists, endocrinologists, gynaecologists, nephrologists and specialists in family and community medicine), coordinated by an expert in evidence-based medicine. The group was formed by J. Calaf (gynaecologist), J. Cannata ( nephrologist), B. Díaz (internist) A. Díez Pérez (internist), J. González Macías (internist), N. Guañabens (rheumatologist), F. Hawkins (endocrinologist), A. Morales (rheumatologist), M. Muñoz Torres (endocrinologist), X. Nogués (internist), J. M. Nolla (rheumatologist), P. Orozco (family doctor), R. Pérez Cano (internist), J. del Pino (internist), J. M. Quesada (endocrinologist) and M. Sosa (internist).

The Society, alone or in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, stimulated active research in different areas of activity. 2003 was the third anniversary of the SEIOMM-MSD research calls, while the well-established FAES and Italfármaco research prizes continued, as well as those from the Lilly Foundation which had been presented at all the congresses.

Apart from research, SEIOMM carried out a number of educational activities, among which was the II Densitometry Course (Bone Measurement Technique Accreditation) in April 2001 in Barcelona under the direction of Luís del Río.

After many years in the post of editor of the Spanish Review of Bone Metabolic Diseases, Aurelio Rapado was succeeded by Manuel Diaz Curiel, and later, by Federico Hawkins Carranza jointly with Esteban Jódar Gimeno as editorial secretary. On a negative note, the lack of original articles put the continued publication of the review at serious risk.

The number of members of the society increased progressively from its foundation. In this period there were 317 members.

At the National Assembly held in Seville in 2000 it was agreed that members of the Society who retired would become Emeritus Members. In this period a congress was organised in Ciutadella (Menorca) in 2001, and another in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria) in 2003. The V Monographic Meeting was held in Seville (2000) on the theme of "Osteoporosis in males". This meeting was coordinated with the annual meeting of FHOEMO. The VI Monographic Meeting took place in Toledo (2002).

During this period it was proposed that the outgoing president would become part of the following board of directors, since the experience they had gained in the previous years could be useful.

 

From November 2003 until October 2007

At the General Assembly held on 21st November2003 in Maspalomas (Gran Canaria) a new board of directors was appointed. This consisted of Nuria Guañabens Gay (President), Manuel Muñoz Torres (Vice President), Carlos Gómez Alonso (Secretary) and Lius del Río Barquero (Treasurer).

In relation to the Society's finances, the meeting of the board of directors held in Cáceres in 2004 discussed the difficulties in carrying out financial management within a proper legal framework. In order to facilitate this, an agreement was reached between the board of directors and Pharma Consult for the management of the congresses. The SEIOMM would receive the benefits of the congress, once the corresponding share for the local committee organiser and for FHOEMO had been discounted, with the accounting and financial management of all the expenditure and income being the responsibility of Pharma Consult S.A.

During this period there was new revision of the articles of association, which occurred at a meeting called in Madrid to coincide with the congress of 2005. The following changes were approved:

- The national congress to be held annually, with the monographic meetings ceasing.

- The term of office of the board of directors was reduced from 4 years to 3.

- The maximum period for those representing SEIOMM on other societies would be 3 years.

- The election of president a year before the change of board of directors, to enable them to familiarise themselves with the essentials of SEIOMM.

- That the procedures of the scientific programmes be regulated.

A key activity was the updating of the guide to clinical practice for postmenopausal osteoporosis and its broadening to include corticoid and male osteoporosis. A scientific committee was appointed, coordinated by Jesús García Macías and formed of Guañabens Gay, Muñoz Torres, del Río Barquero and Díaz López. The updated guide was presented at the SEIOMM congress of 2007.

The relationships with other societies continued. Xavier Nogués Solán was the delegate for SEIOMM to the European Society for Calcified Tissue and Luis del Río to SIBOMM, continuing his previous relationship with the IOF and FHOEMO.

At the 2007 SEIOMM congress a round table was organised jointly with the ASBMR and a SEIOMM round table was organised at the IBMS congress in Montreal in June 2007, as well as at periodic meetings with the IOF.

The review Calcified Tissue International was added to previous subscriptions to foreign reviews such as Bone and Osteoporosis International, to which members of the SEIOMM had free access during this period.

In 2004 SEIOMM began awarding grants to members for their attendance at the annual congress of the ASBMR. These grants have continued to the present day,

The SEIOMM congresses took place in Madrid (2005), in Malaga (2006) and in Valencia (2007). In this period there was already only one monographic meeting (the final one) which took place in Cáceres on the theme of "Bone formation from the basic to the clinical". A new course for accreditation in densitometry was run by Luis del Río and Xavier Nogués. The reissue of the course on techniques for the measurement of bone mass, with the collaboration and accreditation of the International Society of Clinical Densitometry was proposed.

The prizes from Italfarmáco, communicated orally and through posters, from FAES Research 2004-2005, from SEIOMM-MSD, and the SEIOMM prize for the youngest researcher, continued.

The number of members increased up to 364 during this period.

 

From October 2007 to October 2010

The board of directors during this period was formed by Manuel Sosa Henríquez (President), Javier del Pino (Vice President), María Jesús Gómez de Tejada Romero (Secretary) and Esteban Jódar Gimeno (Treasurer).

At the last Assembly of his period in office the president, Manuel Sosa Henríquez gave a summary of the activities carried out, stating that they had they had met all the targets set:

- Provision of regular detailed information on the management of the Society mainly through bulletins and through the web.

- Creation of a new web site, which since then has been kept updated.

- In 2009 the Spanish Foundation for Bone and Mineral Metabolism Research (Fundación Española de Investigación Ósea y Metabolismo Mineral [FEIOMM]) was founded, associated with SEIOMM, its first president being Manuel Sosa Henriquez, with social objectives and dissemination activities appropriate to foundations. In terms of the Foundation's operational functions, FEIOMM research grants were created aimed at basic, genetic and clinical research.

- Development of new Articles for SEIOMM, and coordinated with those of FEIOMM.

- The production of the Society's own review (Review of Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism) given the difficulty in moving forward on this before.

- Stimulating and facilitating research, with almost 120,000 euros available for grants and the creation of 10 working groups. In 2009 the SEIOMM's committee of experts published the "Guide to clinical practice in postmenopausal osteoporosis, osteoporosis due to corticoids, and in men" (Rev Osteoporos Metab Miner 2009 1;1 53-60).

Up to this time, the administrative work of the Society had been carried out by someone with the trust of the Secretary of the board of directors in their home city. This meant that each time the board changed, all the documentation needed to be moved. It was proposed, therefore, that the location of the secretariat be permanent. It was then decided that the company SANED would provide this function and that they would make a person available to SEIOMM who would perform these administrative tasks.

The relationships with the other national and international societies participating in the study of osteoporosis and mineral metabolism continued. Notable among the international societies were the International Bone & Mineral Society, the International Osteoporosis Foundation, the European Calcified Tissue Society, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry and the Iberoamerican Society of Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism. Adolfo Díez Pérez was appointed as a member of the board of directors of the International Bone and Mineral Society, and Manuel Díaz Curiel and Nuria Guañabens Gay to the scientific committee of the International Osteoporosis Foundation. Cooperative research work was carried out with other scientific societies, such as the "Consensus Document on Vitamin D" and the "Study of the Prevalence of Non-vertebral Fractures in Patients in Treatment with Corticoids". The board of directors aimed to keep all the associates informed and an email address was approved for the dissemination of specific information. In addition, a SEIOMM Information Bulletin was created, which started to be produced in 2009 on a quarterly basis, through which provided concise information to all the associates on all matters regarding SEIOMM in the previous quarter, with the intention that all associates would be fully informed and up to date with everything related to SEIOMM through the web site.

In a restricted zone of the web site, access was given to Navibone, which allowed access to various reviews of interest such as Osteoporosis International, Calcified Tissue International and the Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism. In addition, by being members of the IBMS, thanks to funding from the Nycomed Laboratories, SEIOMM members had access to the reviews Bone and BoneKey. Also, thanks to the work of Adolfo Díez Pérez, access was also available to the review Progress on Osteoporosis.

The documents most consulted through the web site were SEIOMM's clinical guides, followed by the information bulletins and the NOF Guides. The "Spanish Review of Bone Metabolic Diseases" had to cease publication due to financial difficulties and a lack of original articles. In 2009 the "Spanish Review of Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism" was produced, replacing the aforementioned publication, issued three times a year, the third edition each year dedicated to recording the communications presented at the SEIOMM congress. Manuel Sosa was (and continues to be) the editor of the review. In addition to the printed form, an online version was produced, with its own web site accessible through a link from the SEIOMM web site. The Review was made open access for better dissemination, and is available in two languages: Spanish and English.

During this period, the following projects were established: a clinical case competition promoted by the Nycomed Laboratories; a blog on the web site which could be called "Talk to an expert"; an on-line course on Medicine and Law. A collaboration agreement was signed between the IBMS and SEIOMM aimed at developing an IBMS-SEIOMM joint round table, each society providing 50% of the costs. The first of these round tables was held in 2009 during the Santander conference on the theme "primary hyperparathyroidism". Drs Jan Bolersven from Norway and Serge Ferrari (Vice President) participated on behalf of the IBMS, and Drs Manuel Muñoz Torres, Estebán Jódar Gimeno and Manuel Sosa Hénriquez on behalf of SEIOMM. This collaboration has continued at each year's congress to the present day.

The number of members increased, reaching 447 in this period.

In November 2008 the congress was held in Oviedo in October 2009 the XIV congress in Santander, and in 2010 in Salamanca. In 2008 the congress of the European Calcified Tissue Society took place in Barcelona, A new course for accreditation in "Techniques for the Measurement of Bone Mass" was organised, led by Luis del Río and Xavier Nogués.

At the Salamanca congress Juan José García Borrás requested that it be put on record that: "support be given to retired members who, due to the lack of support from the pharmaceutical industry do not attend the congresses. Given the favourable financial policy which has been put in place by the board of directors and the creation of the Foundation, and since some funding has been requested for basic research, I ask that the interests retired members be taken into account, and that they are brought to the congresses, and that at the next executive meeting considers this plea and brings its decision to the next Assembly".

During this period the FAES FARMA-SEIOMM prizes were awarded. Seven ASBMR grants continued and a new Amgen-SEIOMM prize established. At the Santander congress of 2009, the Italfármaco Laboratories were honoured for having supported the prizes for the best oral and poster communications at the SEIOMM congresses for more than 15 years without interruption.

Carlos Lozan Tonkin, Jordi Farrerons Minguella and Juan José García Borrás were awarded honorary membership.

 

From October 2010

The board of directors during this period is made up of Javier del Pino Montes (President), Josep Blanch Rubió (Vice President), María Jesús Moro Álvarez (Secretary) and Carmen Valero Díaz de Lamadrid (Treasurer).

It was stated at the congress in Coruña in 2011 that FEIOMM had responsibility for the income and expenditure of the congresses, which means that some of the benefits which are obtained from them should be used to accomplish the action plans of FEIOMM, as well as funding its internal functions.

At this congress it was agreed to increase the membership fee which had remained unchanged for 15 years. After a number of interventions, the change from 27 to 35 euros in 2012, and then to 40 euros in 2013, was approved. At a meeting during this period some working committees were established in accord with the objectives developed using the Metaplan method, a method of group moderation for problem-solving. The following groups were approved: economic management, training and congresses, research committee, external relations and working groups. Based on these objectives a strategic plan was developed with a horizon of 2014.

In addition, a group of senior members of SEIOMM was formed on the initiative of, and in collaboration with, Dr Juan José García Borrás who was appointed as coordinator of the group.

Relationships with other scientific societies continued. In collaboration with the Spanish Society for Osteoporotic Fractures (SEFRAOS) and other related societies the "Blue Book on Osteoporotic Fractures in Spain" was produced. A collaboration agreement was signed with AEEM to collaborate in scientific activities related to postmenopausal osteoporosis. SEIOMM maintained its relationships as part of SIBOMM and the IOF. In relation to the IBMS, due to a change in its communication strategy, it swapped its relationship with Elsevier for one with Nature, and stopped receiving Bone, this being substituted by BoneKey.

With regard to research, the ASBMR grants continued to be given and a revision was announced of SEIOMM's Guides to Clinical Practice, coordinated by Jesús González Macías.

In this period the SEIOMM congresses were held in La Coruña (2011), Cuenca (2012) and in Tarragona (2013). In 2012 a SIBOMM congress was held in Madrid.

During this period improvements were made to information systems and information technology in relation to Web 2.0, including restructuring and redesigning the SEIOMM-FEIOMM and Review (Review of Osteoporosis and Mineral Metabolism) web site, and the creation of SEIOMM groups on Facebook and Linkedin. A cloud computing service was initiated for the use of members. The BIDI code was incorporated in the documents of the congresses and other SEIOMM documents. SEIOMM and FEIOMM were put on a sound footing, with the establishment of their own headquarters (Paseo de la Castellana 135, Madrid) and an executive secretary (D^a Lorena Herrero).

A group of senior members and a young researchers group have been formed, with meetings being organised post ASBMR.

The Cuenca congress approved the modification of the articles of association which would introduce the following changes:

1. A new home for SEIOMM headquarters.

2. Change to the closure of the accounts to enable the most up to date financial report to be given to the Assembly on June 30th each year.

3. An addition to the board of directors of two voting members was proposed, as well as creating the position of President Elect (the future President) to be incorporated into the board of directors, so that the strategy and activities of the Society may be planned with a horizon of two periods of office.

Note: this historical summary will be updated with the passage of time and as new data becomes available.