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Event Watch
Bangalore to Host First Asian Conference on DMD
HCG and NIMHANS partners UPPMD to change the future for
Duchenne boys in India
The first Asian conference on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) would be held
in Bangalore, India, on February 28 and March 1st, 2009. United Parent Projects
Muscular Dystrophy (UPPMD), an organisation owned and managed by parents of
children with DMD, in collaboration with HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited
(HCG) and NIMHANS is holding this conference as part of its attempt to change
the future for Duchenne boys in the Asian region. The aim of this conference
is to empower and inform parents and physicians about diagnostics, state-of-the-art
care, research and clinical trials related to DMD and Becker Muscular Dystrophy
(BMD). Parents will have the opportunity to meet and listen to researchers,
physicians and experts in the field from all over the world about advances made
in improving the care for DMD. Also, the parents will learn the importance of
working together with Duchenne families from around the world by becoming a
part of the global Duchenne community. This conference will also focus on rehabilitation
and care of DMD children.
According to Dr Ajai Kumar, Chairman, HCG and a parent of DMD, "It is imperative
for parents of children suffering from DMD and BMD to have contemporary information
on these diseases. This not only ensures that the children suffering from these
diseases get the best practices of the best clinicians globally but also helps
to promote good standards of care."
Further, one in every 3,500 boys worldwide (an estimated 20,000 babies annually)
are afflicted by DMD. Also since there is no cure and the fact that it can happen
in any family across all ethnic and social groups means more awareness needs
to be created. DMD usually becomes clinically evident when the child begins
walking. Patients typically require a wheelchair by age 10-12 and die in their
late teens or early 20s. Life expectancy for Duchenne has barely improved. The
gene mutation that causes Duchenne is usually passed from mother to son, but
fully one-third of cases are spontaneous.
Contact:
Tel: ll 1800 10266 26
E-mail: uppmdindia@gmail.com
EH News Bureau
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