From the 7th Joint Italian-German Purine Club Meeting to European Purine Club Meetings.

The 7th Joint Italian-German Purine Club Meeting—“Advances in basic and translational purinergic research” has been held at the Sapienza University in Rome on July 20–22, 2017. The congress has been planned to provide an innovative and comprehensive overview of the latest research developments in the purine field, encouraging the contributions by young investigators. Special sessions were devoted to the roles of purines in central nervous system cell proliferation and maturation, in cancer and organ disease, in nervous transmission and pain, in structure and medicinal chemistry, in immunity and inflammation, and in the cardiovascular system. Attention has also been devoted to new putative purinergic therapeutics in different pathologies. Two plenary lectures were held and, according to tradition, we had the pleasure to welcome opening remarks by the “father of purines” Geoffrey Burnstock. The Italian Purine club was honored to award the prize “Giuliana Fassina” to Geoffrey Burnstock. Participants were estimated in 140 scientists not only from Germany and Italy. We have welcomed the participation of eminent scientists in the field of purines from additional European countries, like Allison Gartland and Richard Evans from UK, Maria Teresa Miras-Portugal, Rafael Franco and Pablo Pelegrin from Spain, Ana Sebastiao from Portugal, Helle Praetorius and Jens Leipziger from Denmark, Beata Sperlagh from Hungary, David Blum from France, Henning Ulrich from Brazil, and Tobias Engel from Ireland. The idea of the forthcoming establishment of European meetings had the approval of purine researchers who agreed that the purine field had grown up enough to feel the need to expand the German-Italian joint meetings to the other European countries. The kind and generous offering by Maria Teresa Miras-Portugal to organize the 1st European Congress on Purines in 2019 in Spain was welcomed with enthusiasm