Board of the International Association for the History of Nephrology Ayse Balat – President Iwannis Stefanidis – Past President Davide Viggiano – President Elect Vincenzo Savica – Treasurer Natale G. De Santo - (ex officio) Councillors:

OBITUARy

The 12th Congress of the International Association for the History of Nephology (IAHN) took place in Istanbul on June 30-July 2, 2022, organized by Professor Ayse Balat, newly appointed President of IAHN and by Ahmet Aciduman, Professor of History of Medicine at the University of Ankara and Councillor of IAHN. The Congress―in presence and online―started with a memorable cruise on the Bosphorus and included two State- of-the-art lectures, 7 plenary lectures, 5 mini lectures, 24 oral presentations and an introduction dedicated to Istanbul. The following is a personal view of the 12th IAHN Congress, the view of a physician scientist who has had the possibility to attend to all IAHN Congresses (1) including the Conference on History of Nephrology in Naples and Montecassino on October 28-30, 1993, that gave origins to IAHN (2). “The notion of organizing a conference on History of Nephrology was first conceived in July 1991, in a bus on the highways of Poland by Natale G. De Santo, Shaul G. Massry and Garabed Eknoyan”(2). State-of-the-art Lectures Garabed Eknoyan , opened the Congress online with a stimulating and complex State- of-the-art Lecture on Interstitial Nephritis, Wherefrom, Wherein and Whereto that received many favourable comments at the congress site. Eknoyan set out on a journey from 1827 to the present, starting with chronic lesions described by Richard Bright. He explained that renal lesions from scarlet fever observed in 1858 guided the definition of acute interstistial nephritis (AIN) in 1898. The subsequent milestone was the definition on tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) in 1963 and its fibrotic lesions that have pioneered our understanding that progression of kidney diseases is independent of their etiologies.

Figure 1. Professor Angielski (photo Janusz Ostrowski)

On 22 April 2022, an outstanding Polish scientist and an Honorary Member of the Polish Society of Nephrology, Professor Stefan Angielski, passed away.( Fig. 1) S. Angielski was born in Liuboml in Volyn in 1929. At the age of 11 he was deported to Siberia with all of his family, and only managed to return to Poland after WW2. Meanwhile, his father was murdered in the Katyn massacre in 1940. He began his medical studies at the Medical Academy in Gdańsk in 1949, where he obtained his diploma in 1954. His professional career began while he was still an undergraduate at the Department of Physiological Chemistry of the Medical Academy in Gdańsk. In 1958–1964, Stefan Angielski was a lecturer at the Laboratory of Pathological Biochemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and then, in 1964–1999 - the Head of the Laboratory and then Department of Clinical Biochemistry which he had organised. It is worth adding that it was the first unit of this type in Poland and one of very few in the world. In 1958, S. Angielski obtained a doctoral degree in medical sciences on the basis of the work "Amino acids in the urine of identical and fraternal twins", and in 1963 - the title of habilitated doctor for the work "Effects and transformation of maleic acid in the kidney". He received the title of associate professor in 1973 and professor in 1980. He was the author or co-author of over 250 scientific papers, which were cited in the world literature about 2,000 times. He was also an editor or author of chapters in 12 textbooks on clinical biochemistry, laboratory analysis, nephrology and hypertension. Stefan Angielski held high positions in international scientific bodies. In 1975–1980 he was an expert of the World Health Organisation on Genetics, and in 1980–1991 - a member of the Board of the International Society of Nephrology, being internationally responsible for the department of kidney metabolism. In 1999, after his retirement, he became the Head of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Nephrology at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Professor Stefan Angielski also held very important administrative positions at the Medical Academy in Gdańsk. In 1970–1975 he was Director of the Institute of Pathology, in 1975–1980 Vice-Rector for Science, and in 1990–1993 the Rector of the University. He was awarded with, inter alia, the Gold Cross of Merit, the Knight's Cross and the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Medal of the National Education Commission and the Johannes Hevelius Award of the City of Gdańsk. Professor Stefan Angielski’s death is a big loss for Polish science, his alma mater and the Polish Society of Nephrology. Janusz Ostrowski

Figure 2. Speakers from the left: prof. Marcin Adamczak, prof. Beata Naumnik, prof. Janusz Ostrowski, prof. Ryszard Gellert.

INFO FROM POLAND

World Kidney Day in Poland Similarly to the rest of the world, also in Poland a scientific session has been organised to mark the World Kidney Day. This year, the event took place on 11 March and was again organised by Professor Ryszard Gellert, Director of the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in Warsaw and the National Consultant in Nephrology. The session attended by about 200 participants was still held in a remote system. The lecturers were leading Polish nephrologists, including members of the IAHN, prof. Andrzej Więcek (honorary member), Prof. Przemysław Rutkowski (former member of the IAHN Board) and prof. Janusz Ostrowski, former President of the society. The main topics discussed included: the report on the state of renal replacement therapy in Poland, SARS-CoV-2 in nephrology, pharmacorevolution in nephrology and nephrology development prospects. (Fig. 2) NEPHROCARDIOLOGY Conference Another prominent event in Poland was the scientific and training conference titled "Nephrocardiology", which is also organised periodically by the centre of nephrology in Białystok, led by prof. Beata Naumnik. It took place on 22-23 April at the Medical University of Białystok in the Branicki Palace. The conference gathered a large group of participants interested in topics common to the fields of nephrology and cardiology. As in the previous case, IAHN members, prof. Andrzej Więcek as a lecturer, and professors Przemysław Rutkowski and Janusz Ostrowski as session leaders and participants of discussion panels, took an active part. (Fig. 3,4) Congress of the Polish Society of Nephrology Undoubtedly, the most important event would be the 14th Congress of the Polish Society of Nephrology held in Wrocław, where prof. Zdzisław Wiktor established Poland’s first nephrology clinic back in 1958. The congress took place on 9-11 June and was attended by about 500 participants. Many hot issues were discussed, including optimisation of renal replacement therapy, interdisciplinary care for patients with nephropathy, treatment of glomerulopathy, inhibition of the progression of chronic kidney disease, and directions of nephrology development. One of the most important points of the Congress was the election of the new Board of the Polish Society of Nephrology. For the second time in its history, the body will be headed by a woman, Professor Magdalena Krajewska, Head of the Department and Clinic of Nephrology and Transplantation Medicine at the Medical University in Wrocław. (Fig. 5,6,7)

Figure 4. Professor Janusz Ostrowski, first from the right. (photo Maria Ostrowska)

Figure 3. Professor Przemysław Rutkowski, second from the right. (photo Maria Ostrowska)

Figure 6. New Board of the Polish Society of Nephrology. Prof. Magdalena Krajewska fourth from the right. (photo: Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 5. Dr Marek Muszytowski, former IAHN Councillor, awarded with the title of Meritorious to Polish Nephrology. (photo: Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 7. Chairs of the scientific session. First from the left Janusz Ostrowski. (photo: Maria Ostrowska)

THE 12TH CONGRESS THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE HISTORY OF NEPHROLOGY

Natale Gaspare De Santo gave the second State-of-the-art lecture, on Renal Diseases of Roman Pontiffs . He started with the 1st description of crush syndrome that caused the death in 1192 of John XXI, the pope philosopher of Portuguese origin, five days after the ceiling of his office fell down on him while working. The case was narrated by Sifridus de Balnhusin,—a chronicler and Catholic presbyter at Ehrfurt (d.1306)—in Compendium Historiarum Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptorum . De Santo also covered renal stone disease of non-gouty origin (11 pontiffs), hydropsy of various origins (nine pontiffs), AKI associated with urosepsis (2I pontiffs) and gouty kidney stone disease (26 pontiffs). He also showed that there was a discrepancy in the prevalence on kidney stones in popes and what we see now in the general population. In pontiffs, uric acid stones more than calcium stones were detected. He also demonstrated that papal gouty stone disease fits well in the model hypothesized by the Theory of Epidemiological transition since gout and uric acid stones in the last 100 years disappeared from Vatican palaces, whereas they are increasing in the general population, thus pointing to the role of education in eradicating bad lifestyles. The work was complemented by data of Carmela Bisaccia et al. on Malaria a papal disease , showing that in the years 996 to 1590 AD, a group of 17 popes (from Gregory V to Urban VII) died of malaria. The Plenary Lecture of the Chairs of the 12th IAHN Congress Ayse Balat and Ahmet Aciduman presented data on Hamse-iŞanizade (KhamseShānī-zāde) the most important treatise written by Şanizade Mehmed Ataullah Efendi (1769 or 1771 – 1826), a most celebrated and pioneer Ottoman physician, historian, polymath and polyglot. The treatise consists of five books: the first on anatomy, the second on physiology, the third on diseases and their treatments, the fourth with surgical treatments, the fifth book is a pharmacopeia. The authors have focused their interest on the sections related to kidney and bladder anatomy, physiology, diseases and their medical and surgical treatments. Balat and Aciduman have examined the sections on the kidney and bladder anatomy, physiology, diseases and their medical and surgical treatments, transliterated into the modern Turkish alphabet and finally translated into English. So their presentation was on an original topic that appealed to audience because of its novelty. The Plenary Lecture of the President of the 48th ISHM Congress in IASI Dana Baran , Secretary of the of International Society of History of Medicine and President of the 48th ISHM Congress in Iasi this year, delivered a plenary lecture online entitled Some Romanian studies on renal physiology and Biological rhythms . She discussed “1. correlations between the renal system and the hypothalamic-pineal axis of the central circadian pace-maker; 2. impact of pineal serotonin, melatonin and arginine-vasotocin hormones and renin-angiotensin system on kidneys; 3. Kallikreinkinin system influence on blood pressure, coagulation, inflammation and pain; 4. quantitative and qualitative periodical oscillations of urinary excretion; 5. cardiovascular circadian rhythms, homeostatic variations and reciprocal interaction with the kidneys; 6. interference of endocrine, nutritional and metabolic rhythms with renal chronobiology; 7. erythropoietin circadian rhythms; 8. age influence upon renal biorhythms”. Very specialized and enlightening contributions on the history of nephrology, pediatric nephrology, dialysis, transplantation―from the second half of the 20th century to present―in Turkey, the Arab World, in Europe, Poland, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia and Pub Med were given by Ali Başcı, Ayfer GürGüven, RezanTopaloğlu, Dina Abdellatif, Janusz Ostrowski, Halima Resic, Sanjiin Racki and Iwannis Stefanidis . The talks of Halima Resic and Sanjin Racki fully detailed the excellency in dialysis and transplantation in Bosnia Herzegovina and at the University of Rijecka and in Croatia. The lectures of Katarina Derzsiova, M. Şükrü Sever and Mehmet Haberal had a great scientific and emotional impact on the congress. Katarina Derzsiova (Kosice) illustrated the emigration of scientists from Czechoslovakia during Soviet domination. She focused on the Prague Spring and on the invasion on the Warsaw Pact troops in 1968 lasting until 1989. The invasion of WPT into Czechoslovakia and the period of cruel normalization, had a very negative impact on the lives and work of the Czechoslovak people, especially on those with higher education. It caused a political emigration from behind the Iron Curtain. Many prominent scientists, physicians, writers, artists and journalists left. From the field of art she mentioned Škvorecký, Prečan, Lustig, Kohout, Landovský, Kundera, from the political field Pelikán, Tigrid. She illustrated the role of Jan Brod and William Ganz. Brod, President of the Third Congress of the International Society of Nephology in Prague in 1996 one of the signatories of Two Thousand Words: A Manifesto for Prague written by Ludvik Vaculik. It was a political emigration from behind the Iron Curtain. Brod emigrated to Germany. Professor William Ganz was the world-famous cardiologist of Slovak origin, born in Košice. In 1966 he emigrated to the USA. He was a co- inventor with Jeremy Swan of the Swan-Ganz balloon flotation catheter. Jiří Pelikán (1923-1999), left Prague and was given asylum in Italy. He was elected to the European Parliament for the Italian Socialist Party in 1979 and 1984. After The Velvet Revolution in 1989 he was part of the consultive council of President Václav Havel. Professor M. Şükrü Sever celebrated Erich Frank (1884-1957), the unsung pioneer in Turkish nephrology and reformer of the Turkish University. Frank, a German scientist who had explored the mysteries of orthostatic proteinuria, essential hypertension and diabetes insipidus in Breslau, “when Germany turned to Nazism, Frank moved to Turkey, where he was appointed co-chair of the Department of Medicine of the newly established Istanbul University. For the next 23 years, he trained a new generation of modern physicians and laid the foundation of several medical disciplines in Turkey”. Mehmet Haberal , Professor at the Baskent University Faculty of Medicine in Ankara, illustrated the history of kidney transplantation in Turkey. He personally started on November 3, 1975 and going on for a total of 3333transplants (May 2022). He proclaimed present difficulties of transplantation in Turkey and asked IAHN members to support the project for expanding the very limited deceased donor program. The outstanding lectures of Vincenzo Savica, Guido Bellinghieri, Iwannis Stefanidis and Athanasios Diamandopoulous Vincenzo Savica, the Treasurer of IAHN, added another pearl to his series on the history of urine. As usual he departed from antiquity to introduce the future. “In antiquity urine was considered a sacred element related to Hindu’s and Tantric religious traditions. It was not considered as a waste product of the body: but a distilled product selected from the blood and containing useful substances for body care. Sanscrit book Shiwambu’ KalpaVidhi, 5000 years BC, reported urine advantages and Sumerian doctors as well (4000 years BC).Today astronauts produce 23 liters of drinking water per day recycling urine and shuttle humidity. Now it was discovered that urea from human urine could be a great building material for future moon bases. In fact urea obtained from the urine of astronauts could be an accessible superplasticizer on the moon for lunar geopolymers by mixing it with regolite and water/ice present on the moon to build flexible and resistant structures plasticizing the concrete”. Savica did not miss the opportunity to tell the audience that for Eraclitus of Ephesus “Nothing is created, Nothing is Destroyed, Everything is Transformed”. Guido Bellinghieri was absent because of Covid-19. His lecture on “JeronimusRuscelli and His Contribution to Nephrology 1504-1566), was illustrated by Guido Gembillo. Ruscelli, a scientists of classical studies, was member of the Roman Academy of Sdegnati (scornful) and founder of the Academy of Secreti while working in Naples as advisor of Marquis Alfonso D’Avalos. He authored as Alexius Pedemontanus, a book entitled “The Secreti” that met with great success even after his death. In this masterpiece, “the author suggests therapies for the most varied diseases, claiming in most cases to have been tested experimentally in the presence of witnesses in at least three clinical cases and successfully. This is an Aristotelian memory method mainly based on the principle of provability and repetition so that they could be catalogued as scientifically valid proofs. From the over a thousand prescriptions reported in the 1567 edition of “The Secreti Novi”, which have been extrapolated, the substances used were the most varied and sometimes curious. According to Ruscelli, the prescriptions of this updated version of the book were “easy for everyone to do, of minor expense, and useful to all kinds of people”. The topics of this masterpiece range from general medicine suggestions to more specialistic indications, with a great variety of prescriptions and treatments of nephrological and urological interest”. Iwannis Stefanidis President of IAHN discussed the “Remedies for Kidney Ailments in “Physica” by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). A fascinating topic developed through a specific geographical itinerary. Stefanidis studied “the characteristics of the nephrology oriented remedies in “Physica” and compared them with the respective remedies in “de Materia Medica” (1st century AD) by Dioscorides Pedanios Anazarbeus. Among all plants there were 15 (5.1%) of nephrological interest (11 within plants and 4 within trees). Only some of the natural ingredients were found with the same indication in the ancient text (9 out of15). The nephrological treatment indications found included dysuria, nephritic pain and lithiasis in 87% and dropsy (oedema) in 13.0% - comparable with 10% in the Materia Medica. The author concluded that “Physica” gives a reliable picture of medicine in the 12th c. as it was practiced by the clergy for generations. It also incorporates Hildegard’s own observations and contemporary folk remedies. This fact is supported by the limited homology of nephrological remedies in Hildegard’s “Physica” with the respective remedies in “de Materia Medica”. Athanasios Diamandopoulous added an original and provocative hypothesis on the origin of Hippocrates’ thought. He focused “on some of his thoughts concerning the body’s functions, their counterparts in manual works and their interpretation as an early intuition of the renal tubule’s function as well. The material we used was the current knowledge of the physiology of the afferent, efferent convoluted tubules and Loop of Henle and a passage of Hippocrates’ work “Regimen”. The former, from its beginning to its end, pushes electrolytes, micronutrients and water out of its interior into the interstitial space and on the contrary, it reabsorbs some of them. This paradox countercurrent multiplication eventually achieves internal equilibrium. In Regimen 1.6 we read: “All other things are set in due order […] Those that take give increase, those that give make diminution. Men saw a log; the one pulls and the other pushes, but herein they do the same thing, and while making less they make more. Such is the nature of man. One part pushes, the other pulls; one part gives, the other takes”. Apparently, Hippocrates did not, and could not, know the details of renal function. Although his hypothesis is crude, we are justified to consider it as the medical ancestor of our current physiological knowledge”. The outstanding lectures of Vincenzo Savica, Guido Bellinghieri, Iwannis Stefanidis and Athanasios Diamandopoulous The new editorial board of IAHN’s Bulletin ( Janusz Ostrowski, Davide Viggiano, Guido Gembillo and Maria Kalientzidou presented very stimulating data. Janusz Ostrowski, our Past President, gave two extraordinary presentations. The first in collaboration with Jan Kurkus was on Robert Tigerstedt and the discovery of renin. The second on the history of nephrology in Poland before nephrology was added to the medical curriculum. Poland’s first nephrological clinic was established in Wrocław in 1958 and was directed by Zdzisław Wiktor (1911-1970). The first wave of Polish nephrologists included Thomas of Wrocław, Simon Sirenius, Jędrzej Śniadecki, Marceli Landsberg, Henryk Gnoiński, Witold and Tadeusz Orłowski, Andrzej Biernacki. On them there is ample literature and their role is acknowledged. Ostrowski identified four additional nephrologists of international fame, Tadeusz Browicz, Anastazy Landau and Stefan Dąbrowski. Tadeusz Browicz (1847-1928), was professor of pathology at the University of Krakow and was a discoverer of the Browicz-Kupfer cells. Anastazy Landau (1876-1957) was professor and author of significant contributions on renal physiology, glomerulonephritis, nephrosis and CKD during his tenure at the Institute of Improvement and Specialisation of Medical Personnel in Warsaw. Stefan Dąbrowski (1877-1947) was professor of medical physiology and chemistry at the University of Poznan and produced important studies on diffusion and absorption in the kidneys and on the chemical nature of urochrome. Davide Viggiano, Professor of Nephrology at the University Luigi Vanvitelli in Naples, incoming President Elect of IAHN and David Widmer of the Sloan Ketterling Institute, gave An Analysis of Historical Figures with Depression and Kidney Disease: Current Co-Morbidity Studies in Light of Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern Descriptions of Disease. They addressed the problem of gout and melancholia in history. “For example, the poet Giovanni Boccaccio was known to have suffered from gout and melancholia, several descendants of the Portuguese Avis and Spanish Trastamara dynasties, known for melancholia and madness, also suffered from gout and dropsy, and an interesting historical case series can be seen in Alderson’s review of causes of death for sultans of the Ottoman Empire. These historical records suggest an association of dropsy, gout, and melancholia paralleled in recent studies of kidney disease symptoms and depression”. Viggiano and Widmer made a jump from history to modernity and provided a new perspective for old concepts. Guido Gembillo et al. celebrated “Franz Volhard: the 150th Birth Anniversary of a Father of Nephrology and Hypertension. His talk nicely dissected the relevant parts of the “Die Brightische Nierenkrankheit. Klinik, Pathologie und Atlas”, authored by Volhardand Karl Theodor Fahr (1877-1945). “They developed a new classification of Bright’s disease reported in the book “revolutionizing the concepts behind the mechanisms of glomerulonephritis ”.They differentiated between (1) degenerative diseases, such as nephrosis (nephrotic syndrome); (2) inflammatory renal diseases, such as either focal (acute, chronic, postinfectious-interstitial) or focal embolic, or diffuse glomerulonephritis (3) arteriosclerotic renal diseases. Volhard and Fahr also focused on the different manifestations of uremia: they divided uremia-associated symptoms into two criteria called “true uremia” and “pseudo-uremia”. Guido Gembillo, also celebrated the 500th anniversary of the first report on Horseshoe Kidney. Gembillo et al. depart from 3 dates: 1522, 1564, 1761. “In 1522 Berengario da Carpi described for the first time this renal malformation in his masterpiece “Isagogae breves“ (Introduction to Anatomy). He reported the findings of a post-mortem examination in the public autopsy hall of the University of Bologna, describing “kidneys continuous as if they were one kidney, with two emulgent veins, two emulgent arteries, two ureteric ducts”. In 1564 Leonardo Botallo further described and illustrated the characteristics of this atypical anatomical presentation and later, in 1602, Leonard Doldius added more details by studying this anatomical feature in an autopsy. In 1761, Giovanni Battista Morgagni discussed this condition not only as a rare anatomical curiosity found only in necroscopy but discussed its physiological aspect”. Gembillo fully explored the data on the advent of surgery and those more recent on imaging technique. Maria Kalientzidou, councilor of IAHN, discussed Ancient Wisdom in Pandemic Times: Socrates’ Triple Filter Test. She pointed out that ”in the era of advanced information and communication tools, public understanding comes mainly from social media and consequently, this causes many conflicts regarding the prevention and treatment of the disease, shaping and constructing public opinion and reality. Paradoxically, although vaccination against Covid-19 has proven its efficacy and safety, it remains a profound issue of debate. Nowadays we navigate in social media sources to find the answers as Socrates was navigating in the ancient «agora» to give the answers by conducting the triple filter test”.

Janusz Ostrowski

Figure 9. Past-President of the IAHN, prof. Iwannis Stefanidis (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 8. From the left: Prof. Ahmet Aciduman (V-ce President) and Prof. Ayse Balat (Congress President) (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 11. Cruise on the Bosphorus (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure10. Cruise on the Bosphorus (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 29. Prof. Natale De Santo (first from the left) (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 12. Cruise on the Bosphorus (photo. Maria Ostrowska)

Figure 14. Participants of the Congress after session (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 13. Prof. Athanasios Diamandopoulos (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 16. Ing. Katarina Derzsiova (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 15. Prof. Natale De Santo (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 18. Dr Maria Kalientzidou (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 17. Prof. Davide Viggiano (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 20. Prof. Şükrü Sever (photo Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 19. Participants from Turkey (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 22. Prof. Ayse Balat (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 21. Dr Guido Gembillo during the lecture (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 24. Prof. Janusz Ostrowski (photo. Maria Ostrowska)

Figure 23. First left: prof. Ahmet Aciduman, prof. Ayse Balat, prof. Janusz Ostrowski, ing. Katarina Derzsiova, prof. Vincenzo Savica (photo. Maria Ostrowska)

Figure 26. Dr Carmela Bisaccia (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 25. Prof. Vincenzo Savica (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 28. Prof. Athanasios Diamandopoulos (second from the right), Honorary Member of the IAHN (photo. Janusz Ostrowski)

Figure 27. After General Assembly of the IAHN. Fifth from the left prof. Ayse Balat, new President of the IAHN (photo. Maria Ostrowska)

Very original work in progress A collection of very original data (mainly work in progress) were discussed by H. Nil Sari, Abdullah Yildiz et al, Sadik Nazik et al, Özant Helvacı, Eray Serdar Yurdakul and Nuray Güneş, Özant Helvacı et al, Ömer Bayrak et al., Murat Aksu, Özgür Kuş and Ahmet Aciduman, Ahmet Aciduman and his group . I was very impressed by the findings on sources of Efendi, and by those on Haly Abbas and on Rhazes . The data were very innovative, but difficult to catch on the run at a tightly run congress. On serendipity The presentation by Özant Helvaci and Burçak Cavnar Helvaci on 3 discoveries due to serendipity was captivating. The first was the discovery of phlorizin from the bark of the apple trees, published in Germany in 1835. The second was the administration of phlorizin to dogs that caused polyuria and glucosuria. The third is the current use of phlorizin-based drugs in clinical practice. Professors Emeriti and Emeritae at the 12th IAHN Congress Over the last years the Bulletin of IAHN directed by Janusz Ostrowski and the Bulletin of the European Association of Professors Emeriti (EAPE)―website: europemeriti.org―directed by Natale Gaspare De Santo on many occasions have published articles appearing in both journals, a sign of friendly and productive collaboration. The 12th IAHN Congress hosted presentations and/or chairs of many friends of EAPE, namely Garabed Eknoyan, Dana Baran, Halima Resic, Guido Bellinghieri, Athanasios Diamandopolous, Vincenzo Savica and Natale G. De Santo. At the 12th IAHN Congress they had the opportunity to meet with an outstanding group of Turkish Professors Emeriti and Emeritae who are historians of nephrology (Emel Akoglu, Ali Anarat, Ali Basci, Necla Buyan, Ruhan Düsünsel, Ayfer Gür Güven, Hulusi Kocak, Sevgi Mir, Ayşe Öner, Nil Sarı, Lale Sever and Mehmet Sükrü Sever. The hope is that both groups might be willing to collaborate for the progress of IAHN and EAPE. All together they were the salt of the 12th IAHN Congress. This report cannot provide to the readers of the Bulletin the atmosphere enjoyed at congress site and the sense satisfaction and excitement generated by the advent of a new cadre of historians of nephrology that holds the potential for innovation and continuity in excellency. Chairs and Speakers of the XIIth Congress of the International Association for the History of Nephrology (IAHN)" in alphabetical order: