(Taken from application) Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) represents an increasingly recognized disorder in children and some adults that is characterized by severe, recurrent episode of vomiting. The etiology and pathogenesis of this syndrome are unknown. Further understanding of the pathogenic cascade in affected individuals will allow its treatment to evolve from its current empiricism to a rational basis and expand the basic understanding of the pathophysiology of emesis. In this application, we propose to hold a second scientific symposium on CVS.
The specific aims of this proposal are to: 1) Elucidate the potential mechanisms o CVS to build a pathophysiologic model of the disorder, and 2) to propose testable hypotheses, design research protocols and develop an infrastructure for ongoing research on CVS. The first scientific symposium on CVS was held in London, England in 1994 and brought together 13 clinical and basic scientists representing various disciplines. The objective of that meeting was to establish both diagnostic criteria and a clinical agenda. The next stage of inquiry is to develop a more fundamental understanding of the potential mechanisms involved in CVS and vomiting in general from a more detailed basic science perspective. Because previous symposia on nausea and emesis have tended to focus on specific chemotherapy-induced emesis, this symposium proposes to include a wider sampling of basic and clinical scientists due to the many unknown facets that are thought to impinge on CVS. The collaborative study of CVS will offer an additional research benefit to the study of emesis. The proposed format is to invite a core of 16 clinical and basic scientists to make 20 minutes presentations on their area of expertise pertinent to emesis research. Each session will be concluded with time for panel and audience discussion. The audience will include invited speakers as well as a broad spectrum of participants interested in the mechanisms of emesis who will be involved in discussion, working group sessions and a posted session. The symposium is proposed for May 1998 and will be held at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The goals of this symposium are to establish an interdisciplinary model of CVS and to develop infrastructure, hypotheses and preliminary protocols for interdisciplinary research. Conference proceedings will be published as a supplement to a journal or as a CRC volume.
