“Thinking proliferates neurons of mind and open-mindedness always makes a difference”, former Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources and Chancellor Ziauddin University, Dr. Asim Hussain, said this while addressing to an annual international conference on “Rehabilitation: Translational, Clinical and Research Perspectives” hosted by Ziauddin University.
Speaking at the conference as a chief guest, Dr. Asim Hussain said that Research and analysis occupies an important place on human mind since its origin. In today’s era, modern medicine, philosophy, engineering, upgraded technology are moving parallel together, research is a key stone in the process of collection of data, its analysis, hypothesis and final conclusions drawn.
“At Ziauddin University we have always been inclined towards advocating and encouraging the research at every stage and now it is noticeable that we are further on the way ahead in expansion of our maneuvers from a medical university to that of a general university rendering services in all the subjects of greater interest”, Dr. Asim added.
Addressing to the conference, International key note speaker Dr. Sabahat Wasti, Vice President World Federation for Neuro-Rehabilitation, Gulf Region, said that rehabilitation is now no longer the backend service, moreover, it is underscored as a forefront specialty, certainly an adjunct in clinical research which is intended to enable disabled patients in maintaining an optimal physical, sensory and psychological function.
Dr. Sabahat further emphasized that today US has over 11000 board-certified physiatrists who work in complete coordination and commitment for rehabilitation. Moreover, it is important to mention here that despite having population highly greater than US, Pakistan at present lacks huge numbers of certified physiatrist in comparison to that of United States in the field of rehabilitation.
He further highlighted and added that now the massive progress is being made in the discipline of rehabilitation with the latest emerging trends of technology and medical advancement as new modalities of treatment became available that improved survival of antibiotics, surgery, steroids, chemotherapy, innovative surgeries etc.
He also suggested that early rehabilitation can prevent a lot that is associated with disease as secondary loss and largely results in increasing patient’s and family satisfaction. He insisted that medical rehabilitation should form core element of all treatment protocols. It is essential for patients receiving advanced neurological, cardiac, pulmonary, cancer and trauma care. It is now the need of an hour for country like Pakistan to begin investing in the field of rehabilitation without further delay.
Ziauddin Memorial Lecture, given by Muhammad Adeel Parvaz, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Fredman Brain Institute, New York, on “Recovery and Rehabilitation in Addiction” said that drug addiction is more a brain disease now then referring it as a social problem. He said that like other diseases, drug addiction is also preventable, treatable but if it fails to be remediable then it will last forever.
Dr. Adeel Parvaz elaborating the consequences of drug abuse further said that they are widespread and affect people irrespective of their ages. Besides addiction, drug abuse is interrelated to multiple health problems, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, and many more. Whereas, on the other hand, it is also linked to homelessness, crime, and violence. Thus, it can be rightly said that this addiction is costly for both individuals and society.
Prof. Dr. Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor, Ziauddin University, addressing at the conference said that ultimate objective of such event is to inculcate and creating awareness on the importance of rehabilitation and its modern implications. Ziauddin University is aiming towards achieving excellence in the field of research on neurosciences and rehabilitation.
Earlier, Dr. Talat Mirza, Dean Research, Ziauddin University welcomed the guest and said that today’s conference is the multidisciplinary program which involved many stakeholders related to rehabilitation and our University is fully equipped with all the resources to host such type of mega events.
The conference was largely attended by the foreign renowned speakers from USA, Dubai, Malaysia, Spain who gave a very thought provoking session on the topic of Rehabilitation to a large audience at University’s auditorium
