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| GUEST EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 60
| Issue : 1 | Page : 3 |
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First international assembly of ocular inflammation societies hosted by Uveitis Society of India
Narsing A Rao
Doheny Eye Institute, University of Sothern California, Los Angles, USA
| Date of Web Publication | 30-Dec-2011 |
Correspondence Address:
Narsing A Rao
Doheny Eye Institute, University of Sothern California, Los Angles
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0301-4738.91333
How to cite this article:
Rao NA. First international assembly of ocular inflammation societies hosted by Uveitis Society of India. Indian J Ophthalmol 2012;60:3 |
Recently, there has been remarkable progress in the diagnosis and management of uveal inflammatory diseases and ophthalmologists from India have contributed significantly to such advances. Although such progress is apparent in major academic institutes with devoted faculty specialized in management of uveitis and related intraocular inflammations, such clinical details in treating uveitis are not widely disseminated to other ophthalmologists globally and, in particular, in the developing world. In India and other developing countries, uveitis resulting from bacterial and other infectious agents is common and at global stage; however, sufficient attention has not been paid in addressing these infectious diseases, which form leading cause of blindness. In an attempt to enhance the management of such diseases in India and other developing and developed countries, it is great that members of Uveitis Society of India organized and hosted a congress on uveitis/intraocular inflammations and infections, which included gathering of over 22 national and international ocular inflammation societies under the banner of International Assembly of Ocular inflammation societies. These participating societies were from several countries from Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe, with participation of over 500 delegates representing all the contents of globe. This was truly a historic event in the field of intraocular inflammations and uveitis.
The historic congress was held at Taj Exotica, Goa, an exotic venue with its pristine beaches and colorful tropical flowers, and with wonderful, hospitable hosts from India, on November 13-16, 2011. The scientific program covered all aspects of intraocular inflammations and infections including ocular adnexa and orbit. There were 46 sessions including workshops and lunch symposia. These sessions focused on recent developments in the management of ocular inflammatory diseases, which is a common goal of all of the participating societies and their members and guests. This common goal led to organization of the international assembly of ocular inflammation societies. This was a unique gathering of world-renowned experts on ocular inflammation, each with a genuine interest in disseminating their knowledge and expertise about the diagnosis and management of recalcitrant ocular inflammation. The knowledge and expertise was shared with participants from many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Africa.
Successful organization of a congress like this at the global level required the sincere effort and commitment of uveitis experts from around the world. It would be impossible to name all those individuals from the various participating societies who had helped organize the Congress. However, among the international societies, the support provided by the executive committee and by the members of the International Ocular Inflammation Society was instrumental in organizing the congress and developing the scientific program. The program committee members included Professors Phuc LeHoang, Bahram Bodaghi, Quan Dong Nguyen, and SR Rathinam. Organizing the Congress in the unique ambience of Goa, with its intriguing mixture of Indian and Portuguese culture, would have been impossible without the tireless efforts of the local organizing committee members from India, Drs Kalpana Babu and Jyotirmay Biswas, Virender Sangwan, and the members of the Uveitis Society of India. One of the highlights of the congress was workshops on intraocular inflammatory and infectious diseases which are commonly prevalent in South-East Asia and Asia-Pacific regions. Among these, the workshop organized by Professor Amod Gupta provided insight into the diagnosis and management of intraocular tuberculosis. Moreover, new concepts on inflammatory molecular role in diabetes and age-related macular degeneration were introduced and such sessions were organized by Professor Natarajan and international participants from USA and other courtiers.
I had a great honor of serving the congress as chairman and interacting with dedicated members of Uveitis Society of India in organizing the congress. The congress was highly successful in its primary goal of disseminating current advances in the management of uveitis to participating ophthalmologists from India and other countries. Moreover, the congress at Goa reflected the co-operative efforts of all the participating societies, and I am confident that with the continued co-operation and support of the International Ocular Inflammation Societies and the other participating workshop leaders, we can look forward to a leading role played by uveitis experts from India in the future congresses held in India and abroad with the common goal of preventing global blindness from ocular inflammation.
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