RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan lacks adequate certified physiatrists, despite having huge population as compared to United States that has over 11000 board-certified physiatrists, who work in complete coordination and commitment for rehabilitation.

This was stated by Dr Sabahat Wasti, Vice President of the World Federation for Neuro-Rehabilitation, Gulf Region, at an annual international conference on 'Rehabilitation: Translational, Clinical and Research Perspectives,' organised by Ziauddin University (ZU), at its auditorium.

However, the ZU's Chancellor and former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain said "thinking proliferates neurons of mind and open-mindedness always makes a difference."

Speaking at the conference as chief guest, he further said, research and analysis occupies an important place in human mind since its origin. He said, in today's era, modern medicine, philosophy, engineering, upgraded technology are moving parallel together and 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," he said, adding: "now it is noticeable that we are further on the way ahead in expansion of our manoeuvres from a medical university to that of a general university rendering services in all the subjects of greater interest."

Internationally known keynote speaker Dr. Sabahat Wasti, said that rehabilitation is now underscored as a forefront specialty that is certainly an adjunct in clinical research which is intended to enable disabled patients in maintaining an optimal physical, sensory and psychological function.

"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, et cetera," he said.

He said early rehabilitation can prevent a lot that is associated with disease as secondary loss and largely results in increasing satisfaction of patient and family. He insisted medical rehabilitation should form core element of all treatment protocols and it is essential for those patients receiving advanced neurological, cardiac, pulmonary, cancer and trauma care.

He said it country such as Pakistan need to begin investing in the field of rehabilitation without further delay.

In his Ziauddin Memorial Lecture on 'Recovery and Rehabilitation in Addiction,' Muhammad Adeel Parvaz, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Fredman Brain Institute, New York, said that drug addiction is more a brain disease than 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.

He elaborated the consequences of drug abuse saying they are widespread and affect people irrespective of their ages. In addition to addiction, drug abuse is interrelated to multiple health problems, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, and many more. 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, he said.

Professor Dr. Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor, ZU, said ultimate objective of such event is to create awareness on importance of rehabilitation and its modern implications. He said Ziauddin University is aiming towards achieving excellence in the field of research on neurosciences and rehabilitation.

Earlier, Dr. Talat Mirza, Dean Research, ZU, welcomed the guest and said that today's conference is the multidisciplinary program which involved many stakeholders related to rehabilitation. He said his University is fully equipped with all the resources to host such type of mega events. The conference was largely attended by the renowned speakers from USA, Dubai, Malaysia and Spain whose thought-provoking sessions on rehabilitation were hailed by audience, largely.