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Vice Presidents Reports 2009:

EUROPE:

Since last meeting in Durban, as usual every year, I have asked twice the representative of the european affiliated societies to send me a brief annual report of their activities, but I never had any feed back. No great changes have been anyway recorded among the spinal cord community in the old continent with the exception of the increasing restriction in public resources to the health systems in almost all Countries.

According to my mission of helping new entry Countries in developing the care of Spinal Cord Lesions according to the european standards, I have participate to the second national meeting of the Rumenian Society of Spinal lesions, in Mamaia from september   till september 2009, where many european guests involved in the field of neurorehabilitation were present. The meeting was very interesting and had also the presence of russian colleagues. Some of the oral presentations were interesting from scientific point of view. The president of the Rumenian Society, prof. Gelu Onose, applied the request of beeing recognised as ISCOS affilated Society.

In Albania also something is moving. I had contacts with Sokol Murataj, a very active person on wheelchair, who is trying to set up a specialised Center in Tirana. I addressed him on the way of obtainig the funds for starting the job, I sent him all the most important italian laws with regards to the rights of disabled persons and I will support him in all the technical matters he will need for developing the project.

During this last year I have been very busy in organising our 48th annual scientific meeting. A great participation of european delegates coming from 28 different Countries hopefully demonstrates the incresing interest in our field. A high number of Turkish and Greek delegates has to be underlined.

There is a need in the future to optimize the communication between european community of Spinal Cord Lesion with the aim of creating a european net, starting from the participation of the local scientific siocieties of professionals involved in our field. Such goal should be, in my opinion, the main mission for the next future.

Dr Sergio Aito
aitos@ao-careggi.toscana.it

LATIN AMERICA:

2008 Activities

XIII Latin America Paraplegia Society Meeting  

It was organized the XIII Latin America Paraplegia Society Meeting – some special sessions about Spinal Cord Injury inside XXIII AMLAR (Latin America PM & Rehabilitation Society) Congress and XIII Congress of South Cone  (Regional PM & Rehabilitation Meeting of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Argentina), in October 27-30th 2008, in Punta del Este, Uruguay.  The meeting occurred in October 28th (http://www.amlar2008.org.uy). Dr William Donovan participated and there were people from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay Paraguay, Venezuela, Mexico, and Honduras. His participation was partially   sponsorship by ISCoS, which gave SLAP 2000 pounds for air tickets and hotel. SLAP and AMLAR organized the meeting with Scientific Committee and divulgate in all Latin America countries participants of SLAP. The SLAP Meeting had 100 participants and the program can be seen below:  

October 28, 2009

Opening

Dra. Graciela Borelli (Uruguay) (AMLAR Scientific Board President)

Módulo 1

Presidente: Dr. Marcelo Ares (Brasil)

Secretario: Dra. Martha Arriola (Uruguay)

Tratamiento farmacológico agudo en el Lesionado RaquiMedular

Expositor: Dr. Saul Wajskopf (Uruguay)

Respiratory Management in Spinal Cord Injury

Expositor: Dr. William Donovan (Estados Unidos)

Disautonomías en el Paciente Lesionado Medular

Expositor: Dra. Luz Helena Lugo (Colombia)

Osificación heterotópica. Guías de práctica clínica

Expositor: Dra. Anita Castro (Brasil)

Osteoporosis en el Lesionado Medular. Guías de Práctica Clínica

Expositor: Dra. Julia Greve (Brasil)

Infecciones Urinarias en el Lesionado Medular. Guías de Práctica Clínica para estudio y tratamiento

Expositor: Dr. Claudio Villa (Uruguay)

Módulo 2

Presidente: Dra. Joyce Bolaños (Venezuela)

Secretario: Dr. Juan Carlos Medrano (Bolivia)

Treatment of chronic pain in Spinal Cord Injury

Expositor: Dr. William Donovan (Estados Unidos)

Tratamiento farmacológico de la Espasticidad

Expositor: Dra. Lourdes Roballo (Uruguay)

Prevención de las principales complicaciones en el niño y adolescente con lesión Medular

Expositor: Dra. Adriana Lovisotto (Brasil)

Envejecimiento del paciente con Lesión Medular

Expositor: Dra. Mónica Agotegaray (Argentina)

Potencial motor y metas funcionales

Expositor: Dr. Marcelo Ares (Brasil)

F.E.S. y Ortesis en el Lesionado Medular

Expositor: Dra. Elena Sgobba (Argentina)

Módulo 3

Presidente: Dra. Elva García Salazar (México)

Secretario: Dra. Lourdes Roballo (Uruguay)

Prevención y Tratamiento de las Ulceras por Presión

Conferencista: Darren Hammond (Estados Unidos)

La mujer parapléjica

Expositor: Dra. Mónica Agotegaray (Argentina)

Sexualidad en Pacientes con Traumatismo Raquimedular

Expositor: Dr. Rodolfo Eichberg (Estados Unidos)

Orientación a pacientes, familiares y cuidadores del lesionado medular

Expositor: Lic. en Enf. Rosario Casella (Uruguay)

Neurorehabilitación, plasticidad y movilidad mediada por el entrenamiento: rol de la FES en la marcha del lesionado Medular

Expositor: Dr. Humberto Cerrel (Italia)

La exposición: Prevención y Tratamiento de las Ulceras por Presión es un auspicio de Roho Group

Conference

State of the art in Spinal Cord Regeneration

Conferencista: Dr. William Donovan (Estados Unidos)

 SLAP Council Meeting occurred on Wednesday, October 29th and SLAP was associated to AMLAR (Latin American Society of PM&R) and the meetings will be organized even two years during AMLAR Congress. The next one will be organized in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia  in August, and 25-28th 2010. 

2009 Activities

The Colombian SLAP representant Dr Luz Helena Lugo  and the Scientific Committee asking for two ISCoS faculty members and it were suggested Dr Wagih El Masry  and Dr Joan Vidal  (from Barcelona, Spain). We asked for some ISCoS sponsorship  and Dr Martin .R. McClelland B. answered that  ISCoS should support the attendance at SLAP of Mr. El Masry and Dr Vidal up to the total of £1000 each for their expenses upon submission of receipts by them (economy flight and hotel).  The web site of the congress is (http://amlar2010.org/index.html) and we are now organizing the definitive XIV SLAP meeting scientific program. 

2010 Activities

XIV SLAP Meeting combined with  XXIV AMLAR CONGRESS - Cartagena de Indias, Colombia  in August, and 25-28th 2010 (http://amlar2010.org/index.html). 

2012 /2014 Activities

XV AND XVI SLAP Meeting combined with AMLAR Congress in local and data to be determined. 

2015 Activities

ISCoS Meeting – in Brazil.

The local could be the “Sauipe Coast” a very special tourist place, located nearby Salvador, capital of Bahia state, on the Brasil northeast or Rio de Janeiro. We  received a very good offer from the Tourist Office  from Rio de Janeiro. The better date would be mid October, because there is no rain at this time. 

The Brazilian and Latin America Societies  that will be the meeting’s co-organizers are: Brazilian Society of Spinal Cord Lesion, Brazilian Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Society, Spine Brazilian Society and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Latin America Society.

Julia Maria D’Andréa Greve, MD
jgreve@usp.br

 

NORTH AMERICA:

The American Spinal Injury Association, Academy of SCI Professionals and Paralyzed Veterans of American recently combined to hold the Congress of Spinal Cord Medicine and Rehabilitation held in Dallas from September 23- 26. There were approximately 900 attendees. The  former American Paraplegia Society,  American Association of SCI Nurses, SCI Psychologists and Social Workers and the Therapy Leadership Council in SCI have combined to form the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals. The new president of ASIA is Alex Vaccarro, an orthopedic surgeon from Philadelphia and the new president of the Academy of SCI Professionals is William Bockenek, a physiatrist from Charlotte, North Carolina. The next meeting of ASIA will be held in May 2010 in Nashville Tennessee. The next meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada in September of 2010. The Howard Steel Pediatric SCI Conference, organized by the Shriner’s Hospital will be held from December 3-5, 2009 in Orlando, Florida.

SCOPE has continued to be involved as an Academic Industry Partnership in promoting the development of validated outcome measures post SCI and in promoting efficacious development of clinical trials. A meeting was held in November 2008 with support from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research in Washington, DC. Furthermore a paper listed below was developed to summarize recent work related to assessing outcome measures.  Spinal Cord (2009) 47, 582–591; doi:10.1038/sc.2009.18; published online 21 April 2009  Outcome measures in spinal cord injury: recent assessments and recommendations for future directions

Further activities that will be undertaken by SCOPE will be described by John Steeves.

The National Institute on Neurologic Disorders and Stroke is developing on line data bases related to neurologic disorders. They have embraced the International Data Sets and with the assistance of Fin Biering Sorensen, Susie Charlifue and Michael DeVivo have begun developing common data set elements and formatting to accompany the data sets. This information is going to be posted on line and use of these data points will be recommended to grantees of the National Institute of Health.

InStep is up and running with respect to the basic neurologic standards. The exact mechanism for access of this educational tool has not been finalized. The electronic training for the autonomic standards has not yet been completed. A pediatric program is also under development.  

Members of the Spinal Cord Injury Community are looking forward to the next combined ISCOS/ASIA meeting now scheduled to also partner with the US Model SCI Systems group in Washington DC in 2011.

Dr Marcalee Sipski Alexander
spinalcordmd@live.com

OCEANIA:

The Australian and New Zealand Spinal Cord Society (ANZSCoS) held a very successful Annual Scientific Meeting in Christchurch New Zealand 26-28 November 2008.  The Multidisciplinary Program featured a number of eminent international and local speakers: Dr Fintan Sheerin (Lecturer in General Nursing from the UK); Prof Michael Fehlings (Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, Medical Director of the Krembil Neuroscience Centre and the Spinal Program at Toronto Western Hospital); Dr Susie Charlifue (Co-Principal Investigator of the US Department of Education [National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research] SCI Model System at Craig Hospital), Dr Pat Dorsett (from Australia)  Dr Robin Youngson, Professor Richard Faull and Liz Cairns from New Zealand.

The 2009 ASM will be held in Perth, Western Australia from 25th – 27th November http://www.anzscos2009.org.au/ and the 2010 meeting, in Adelaide, South Australia from September 1st – 3rd  http://sapmea.asn.au/anzcos2010/index.html

The medical and allied health networking activities associated with ANZSCoS have facilitated the development of large multi-centre projects like those recently funded by the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative; Spinal Cord Injury and Physical Activity Research Program and the Sleep Health in Quadriplegia Study.

 ANZSCoS members have continued to develop www.physiotherapyexericses.com a (freely available) software which enables physiotherapists to search for exercises appropriate for people with SCI and compile personalised exercise booklets from it. The Programme has now been translated into Arabic, Vietnamese, Norwegian and Russian. An additional 400 exercises appropriate for children and adults with TBI or stroke have been added.

ANZSCoS members (with support by ASCON) have participated in exchange programs of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Medical staff with spinal units in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sydney and Melbourne. ANZSCoS is also exploring options for exchange with our near neighbours, in particular Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu.

The last two years has seen the development of the Australia New Zealand Spinal Cord Injury Network (ANZSCIN) formed (with sponsorship from the NSW Government) to facilitate SCI related research, particularly multi-centre projects, in Australia and New Zealand. A close working relationship is being developed between the two organisations.

Dr Stella Engel
stella.engel@sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au

SE ASIA:

I am writing a report of activities of spinal cord injury in this region. In the year of 2001 I initiated a net working of SCI management in the region to work closely. Gradually in the name of ASCoN it has been working well with our common interest. Maggie Muldoon has been working hard to coordinate this activity. In this year 20th – 22nd November, Katmandu, Nepal will hold this yearly scientific meeting. In December 2008 it was in Hanoi, Vietnam.  In this year September there was a workshop on rehab management for SCI in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Maggie and Stephan Muldoon helped the local organizer to hold this. 

From 1st January 2008, I changed my working place to join a corporate hospital as a consultant spine surgeon. Now I am more concentrated to the acute management of spinal Cord Injury as this kind of facilities were not available earlier in Bangladesh. We have started a spine centre of Square Hospital concentrated to acute or immediate management with standard Neurological ICU facilities. For the long term rehabilitation and integration still we are depending to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the paralysed (CRP).

On behalf of the Bangladesh Spine Society (BSS) we have been negotiating and working with the Government and non Government agencies to increase facilities in Govt. institutions and set up new rehabilitation centre in the non government sectors in Bangladesh.

Due to the failure or the lack of acute management facilities of SCI, uncountable deaths are happening and there is no exact data or the registry system in this region. This is a similar scenario in most of the regional developing countries.

Proposal:

Development of acute or immediate management facilities in the regional countries with the collaboration of regional experts, at least one centre in each country initially.

A strategic plan for the development of skill manpower and facilities to care and transport of acute SCI patients within the country to save lives and to prevent secondary damage to spinal cord. 

Prevention campaigning in the regional countries as the causes of SCI is similar in the developing countries and strengthening of local government legislations to avoid dangerous work and working environments to prevent SCI.

Aid agencies in the developing countries can play a role to develop SCI facilities in collaboration with the local government.

Dr Md. Fazlul Hoque
Fazlul@squarehospital.com