PHOTO
Kuwait: Under the patronage of: His Excellency Minister of Health DR. Ahmed Al Awadi. Supported by: Ministry of Health – Kuwait, “Kuwait Pediatric Neurology” Conference kicks off today in Kuwait, the two days leading event organized by Maarefah Management, and welcome local, regional and international speakers and top notch experts and clinicians in the field of Pediatric Neurology, with a focus on essential updates in in pediatric neurology disorders. Metabolic and genetic diseases are considered rare hereditary disorders that form a health burden that requires full attention, and will serve to advance the understanding of epidemiology and mechanisms of neurological diseases, discuss advances in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, and improve the health outcomes of the children of Kuwait living with chronic neurological diseases. And will highlight all the updates related to this vital specialty, from diagnosis to treatment of many disorders, and will discuss all the challenges that face the practitioners.
Dr. Yaqoub Altammar, assistant undersecretary for external medical services, Ministry of Health – Kuwait, said: “The Ministry of Health has exerted constant effort to develop healthcare services to meet the needs of citizens and residents in the State of Kuwait. We are also working big projects to accommodate the increased demand for the healthcare sector through the expansion of health facilities, hospitals and medical centers across the country. Along with developing qualified healthcare professionals and necessary medications for patients. Children and newborn care are an important priority for the Ministry of Health in Kuwait, as we are constantly working on developing healthcare services by establishing specialized healthcare facilities, raising awareness about children’s diseases, and supporting medical research”.
“We believe that pioneering events such as the Sixth Kuwait Paediatric Neurology Conference will provides the ideal opportunity for developing new ideas and exchanging experiences among regional and global experts”. Added Dr. Yaqoub Altammar.
Dr. Asmaa Al Tawari, head consultant of pediatric neurology unit, pediatric department, Al Sabah hospital, Kuwait, head of Kuwait Pediatric Neurology Conference said: " Kuwait Pediatric Neurology Conference considered as a continuous chain of scientific and medical communication in Kuwait to discuss important topics in pediatrics in general and pediatric neurology in particular, as there is a complete shift in early diagnosis of chronic neuro-genetic diseases and early treatment, more than 720 visitors and 32 speakers and lecturers from 12 local, regional and international countries participating in this leading event, and more than 500 organizations
contributed to it”. “The conference discusses the most important topics in pediatric neurology, in addition to developments in pediatric neurology, and aimed to reach all segments of the medical community so that the effectiveness of dealing with chronic and hereditary neurological diseases including epilepsy to develops the child's health path”. Added Dr. Asmaa Al Tawari.
About prevention of the neuromuscular diseases, Dr. Laila Bastaki , Director & Consultant, Kuwait Medical Genetics Centre, Kuwait, said: “Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGT) allows couples to reproduce while avoiding risk of having offspring with an inherited debilitating or fatal neurological disorder. PGT has been carried out for neuromuscular conditions with various modes of inheritance, including spinal muscular atrophy, Huntington disease, fragile X syndrome, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, susceptibility genes for cancers with nervous system involvement and many others. By ensuring unaffected pregnancies, PGT circumvents the possible risks of pregnancy termination and avoiding the birth of affected offspring”.
“PGT has been integrated in modern preventative neuromuscular in Kuwait Medical Genetics Center. It has already become an alternative to traditional prenatal diagnosis, allowing establishing only unaffected pregnancies and improving reproductive outcomes. This is applied in accordance with feto-maternal safety, reliability, accuracy and associated religion/morality factors as well. Advanced molecular technologies with better resolution are becoming the gold standard for embryo pre-implantation mutation screening and testing”. Added Dr. Laila Bastaki.
Dr. Alaa E. Elshafey, Professor Emeritus and consultant of Clinical Molecular Genetics, Kuwait Medical Genetic Center, Kuwait, commented: “Neurological disorders, mainly neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy, comprise clinically and genetically challenging conditions in children due to complexity of their etiology. Only a few patients can be genetically diagnosed before the era of next generation sequencing. The aim of this talk is to share the experience of Kuwait Medical Genetic Center in the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) gene panel and whole exome sequencing in the diagnosis of a group of undiagnosed patients referred to the center during the last two years (2021-2022)”.
Dr. Aceel Alawadi, head of Pediatric Department at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, Kuwait, presented a scientific lecture about long term ventilation and respiratory care in children with neuromuscular disease. Said: “The recent advances in genetics and molecular science led to a revolutionary therapies that changed the course of some neuromuscular diseases from fatal to chronic diseases. Respiratory complications of NMD remains the major cause of mortality and morbidity. Delays in diagnosing respiratory insufficiency has a significant impact on quality of life in this population. This talk highlights the updates related to respiratory care in children with neuromuscular disorders”.
-Ends-
For more information about “Kuwait Pediatric Neurology” Conference, please visit:
For Media inquiries & RSVP please contact:
Doaa Mohamed
pr@maarefah-management.org
About Maarefah Management:
Maarefah Management is a world-class events, training, and association management company that works closely with government institutions, industry bodies and professional associations to help individual’s career development to grow and sustain successful businesses. The company’s conferences and specialised training courses are developed by highly experienced scientific committees creating up-to-date scientific and technical programs tackling current and critical industry issues.
