20 years since the establishment of the BANTAO association (Balkan Cities Association of Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation and Artificial Organs).

The Balkan Cities Association of Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation and Artificial Organs (BANTAO) was born in Ohrid on October 9, 1993. The war in former Yugoslavia negatively affected the development of nephrology and also the connections among the nephrologists from the Balkans. However, there was willingness for further mutual collaboration between the nephrologists from the Balkans. The war in Yugoslavia created hate among people, between the newly established countries, and there were problems with the recognition of the names of the new countries, and so, the nephrologists decided to apply the ancient principle of using the names of the cities, instead of the countries, as the founders of the Association. The main goal of BANTAO is to promote scientific and technical cooperation in the fields of renal disease and artificial organs between the regions on the Balkan Peninsula and the world, to give an opportunity for exchange of experience and knowledge among the experts in the area and to engage in collaborative projects in order to demonstrate that cooperation is possible even on the turbulent Balkan Peninsula. The I BANTAO congress was held in Varna from September 22 to 24th, 1995 (President--D. Nenov, Varna). The II congress of BANTAO was held from September 6th to 10th, 1997 in Struga, (President--M. Polenakovic, Skopje). The III BANTAO congress was held in Belgrade from September 18th to 20th, 1998 (President--Lj. Djukanovic, Belgrade). The IV congress of BANTAO was held in Izmir from 14th to 16th November 1999 (President--A. Akcicek, Izmir). The V Congress of BANTAO was held in Thessaloniki from September 30th to October 3rd, 2001 (President--P. Stathakis, Athens). The VI Congress of BANTAO was held for the second time in Varna from 6th to 9th October 2003 (President--D. Nenov, Varna). The VII congress of BANTAO was held from September 8th to 11th, 2005 in Ohrid, (President--M. Polenakovic, Skopje). The VIII BANTAO congress was held in Belgrade, 16-19 September 2007 (President--V. Nesic, Belgrade). The IX BANTAO congress was held in Antalya, 18-22 November 2009 (President--A. Basci, Izmir). The X BANTAO congress was held from 13 to 15 October 2011 in Chalkidiki (President--D. Tsakiris, Thessaloniki). The XI BANTAO congress is being held on 26-29 September 2013 in Timisoara (President--A. Schiller, Timisoara). At the VII BANTAO Congress for the first time a CME Course was organized by ERA/EDTA and ISN/COMGAN entitled "Frontiers in Nephrology" with seven distinguished speakers. Very important event in the existence of BANTAO is the appearance of the BANTAO journal in 2003. The BANTAO journal has been published biannually since 2003. In the past 10 years, 20 regular issues; 2 supplements (Antalia and Chalkidiki congresses) have been published. Editors of the journal were as follows: 2003-2005--D. Nenov, Editor; 2005-2009--A. Basci, Editor; 2009--Goce Spasovski, Editor. Until now 332 papers have been published. The BANTAO journal is on EBSCO, DOAJ, SCOPUS. After the First Congress of BANTAO, F. Valderrábano, chairman of the EDTA--ERA Registry, at that time, wrote in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation (1996) 11:740: "Nephrologists of the Balkan countries meet across political frontiers and war fronts--an example to politicians! BANTAO: a new European Medical Association overcomes Political obstacles." Despite the difficulties imposed by major events, such as devastating wars and catastrophic earthquakes in many countries of the Balkan Peninsula BANTAO has made considerable progress. The BANTAO Congress was established as the major scientific and institutional forum for Balkan nephrologists, with its own journal, indicating our will to communicate, to collaborate, to get to know each other and to share our difficulties. Now, we expect further successful work of BANTAO.

Unit dosing of darbepoetin alfa for thetreatment of anemia in patients with end-stage renal disease being switched from recombinant human erythropoietin: Results of a phase IIIb, 27-week, multicenter, open-label study in Greek patients.

BACKGROUND: Darbepoetin alfa is an erythropoietis-stimulating glycoprotein with a ∼3-fold longer t1/2 and greater biological activity compared with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy andtolerability of long-term (24-week) darbepoetin alfa treatment in maintaining hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in the target range of 10 to 13 g/dL in patients undergoing dialysis; the patients were switched from rHuEPO to a less-frequent dosing regimen of darbepoetin alfa without an increase in dose. METHODS: In this Phase IIlb, open-label, multicenter study, patients withend-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing dialysis who were receiving rHuEPO BIW or TIW at baseline were switched to darbepoetin alfa QW; patients receiving rHuEPO QW were switched to darbepoetin alfa Q2W Administration of darbepoetin alfa was by the same route as previous rHuEPO administration (IV or SC). Patients received darbepoetin alfa for 24 weeks, including a 20-week drug titration period followed by a 4-week, stable-dose evaluation period. The mode, dose, and frequency of administration of darbepoetin alfa were compared with those of baseline rHuEPO. Tolerability assessment was based on spontaneous reporting and laboratory tests (hematology, vital sign measurement, iron status, and biochemistry). RESULTS: The study comprised 173 patients who were divided into 2 groups by route of administration (IV group, n = 146; SC group, n = 27). Mean (SE) adjusted increases in Hb concentration from baseline to the evaluation period for patients receiving darbepoetin alfa QW were 0.94 (0.32) g/dL and 0.38 (0.30) g/dL for the IV or SC routes, respectively (P = 0.004 and NS, respectively). For patients receiving darbepoetin alfa Q2W the mean (SE) adjusted increases in Hb concentration were 0.08 (0.53) g/dL and 0.48 (0.35) g/dL for the IV and SC routes, respectively (both, P = NS). No significant differences in IV/SC dose ratio were observed between the 2 routes of administration. In addition, no increases in darbepoetin alfa dose were observed. The most commonly reported adverse events were hypertension (8 patients [5%]) and vascular access thrombosis (4 [2%]). The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was 6 (3%). CONCLUSIONS: Darbepoetin alfa effectively maintained Hb concentrations within the target range without an increase in dose, even at a reduced dosing frequency. Overall, darbepoetin alfa was well tolerated.