Prof.Krishnamoorthy
Srinivas & Prof. ES Krishnamoorthy with
Prof. V Vedanarayanan at the National
Neuropediatric Symposium
Disorders
of the brain and nervous system are among
the most disabling illnesses that affect
young children and their families. These
include cerebral palsy, mental retardation
and learning disability, developmental dyslexia,
epilepsy, disorders of muscle and nerve,
and a spectrum of cognitive and behavioral
disorders, autism, attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder being examples. These
disorders often go undiagnosed and/or poorly
treated, largely due to the lack of local
expertise. The National Neuropediatric Symposium
was organized with the aim of addressing
this knowledge gap among medical and paramedical
professionals in an intensive manner, focusing
on a range of contemporary neurological,
neurosurgical and neurobehavioral issues
in pediatric neurology. The symposium highlighted
recent advances in the diagnosis and management
of childhood neurological illness, and serve
as a practical update for the interested
clinician. About 200 medical and paramedical
professionals from around the country took
part in this intensive symposium, hosted
by the Deepa Krishnan Child Neurodevelopment
Centre at the Voluntary Health Services
(VHS) Hospital, Taramani
Prof.
V Vedanarayanan receiving the award
The keynote
lecture to this symposium, the 3rd A Appa
Rao lecture, endowed by the family of Shri.
Appa Rao, a freedom fighter and industrialist,
was delivered by Professor Vetta Vedanarayanan,
who is Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics
at the University of Jackson, Mississippi,
USA. A graduate of JIPMER, Pondicherry,
Prof. Vedanarayanan did his postgraduate
training in the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, New Delhi, and at New York Medical
College. He then trained in clinical and
child neurology at Duke University Medical
Center before proceeding to undertake a
fellowship in neuromuscular diseases at
Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He carries
out international clinical research in childhood
muscle and nerve disease. He was ably supported
by an eminent national faculty, and an enthusiastic
audience, resulting in much interaction
and debate over a long day. A video demonstration
by Dr. V Jayakumar of clinical conundrums
in pediatric neurology got the symposium
off to a lively start, followed by introductory
keynote lectures by Prof. Krishnamoorthy
Srinivas and Prof. D Kamala. The sessions
on "Epilepsy" and "Recent Advances in Neuropediatrics"
that followed were enthusiastically received
by the interdisciplinary audience. In all,
the National Neuropediatric Symposium provided
an intellectual and academic feast, and
a hitherto unrivalled opportunity for clinicians
across disciplines to meet and exchange
ideas.
