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"Stroke is a
medical emergency in which time is of the essence and patients can
be left crippled for life if urgent care is not instituted immediately,"
said Professor Ashfaq Shuaib, Chairman of Neurology at University
of Alberta in Canada. He was speaking at a two-day conference on
"Advances in Neurology", which concluded at Aga Khan University
(AKU) on December 24, 2002. The event was jointly sponsored by The
Pakistan Society of Neurology and the Pakistan International Neuroscience
Society, and a similar meeting is planned for December 2003.
Professor Shuaib,
an internationally renowned stroke expert, also drew attention to
new research highlighting important prevention strategies for stroke,
such as safer and more effective blood-thinning medication and modification
of stroke risk factors. He drew attention to the results of a major
clinical trial conducted in North America (ALLHAT study) in which
inexpensive blood pressure medicines like diuretics were found to
be equally effective in stroke prevention as more expensive drugs
like calcium-channel blockers and angiotension blockers. Dr. Shuaib
said the future of stroke care was very bright as research into
improved stroke treatments had become a national priority for many
countries around the world and stroke research was proceeding at
a furious pace.
Professor Shuaib's
lecture was followed by a panel discussion on stroke in Pakistan.
Dr. Saad Shafqat, consultant neurologist at AKU, noted that stroke
represented a huge burden in Pakistan, with around 0.5 to 0.8 million
stroke victims in the country based on projections from the National
Health Survey of Pakistan. Dr. Aziz Sonawalla, also of AKU, identified
lack of public awareness about stroke as a major impediment to effective
treatment in our setting. Dr. Shaukat Ali, consultant neurologist
at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, emphasized the need to promote
stroke awareness through media outlets and mass education programmes.
Dr. Nadir Ali Syed and Dr. Sarwar Siddiqui also participated in
the panel discussion.
Earlier, the
conference was inaugurated by remarks from Dr. Shahid Masud Baig,
Chief of Neurology at AKU, and Professor Ashfaq Shuaib, each highlighting
the need to collaborate in professional and academic ventures for
advancing the cause of neurology in Pakistan. In his comments on
the occasion, Professor Wasim Jafri, Chairman of Medicine at AKU,
noted that neurology was finally getting due recognition in Pakistan
as the number of trained consultants was rising and neurology departments
were now established at all the major hospitals throughout the countr.
In the other
scientific sessions, Dr. Zeba Vanek, a movement disorders specialist
from University of California at Los Angeles, spoke on recent advances
in the management of Parkinson's disease. She elaborated on a host
of new treatment strategies, including drugs as well as surgical
options, which have transformed the outlook for Parkinson's disease
patients. Dr. Tahseen Mozaffar, a neuromuscular specialist from
University of California, Irvine, presented an update on muscular
dystrophies. He discussed how molecular genetics had revolutionized
the diagnosis and classification of these disorders.
On the second
and final day, papers were read on brain imaging by means of MRI
and other modalities including functional neuro-imaging. The speakers,
Dr. Zafar Sajjad of Ziauddin Medical University and AKU and Dr.
Naveed Yousuf from Illinois Neuroscience Foundation, discussed the
powerful new techniques that are allowing doctors to visualize the
living brain in great detail. In the afternoon session, Dr. Zahid
Cheema from University of Oklahoma reviewed the latest advances
in the treatment of myasthenia gravis, a disorder of muscle weakness
and fatigue. Dr. Mohammad Wasay of AKU, spoke on thrombosis in cerebral
veins, which is an uncommon but important cause of stroke.
The conference's
concluding talk was given by renowned senior neurologist Professor
Akhter Ahmed. The Founding Chairman of the Neurology Department
at Civil Hospital, he reviewed the research into neurological diseases
that has taken place there over the years. Professor Ahmed also
provided an absorbing historical and panoramic perspective on neurology
in Pakistan.
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