ZIAUDDIN UNIVERSITY HOSTS INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON ‘REHABILITATION’ 

By Aneel Ahmed Usmani

KARACHI:  “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 an annual international conference on “Rehabilitation: Translational, Clinical and Research Perspectives” hosted by Ziauddin University.

Speaking at the conference as  chief guest, Dr. Asim Hussain said that Research and analysis occupies an important place in 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 including the disciplines of management sciences and law as well”, 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.

.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.