By Aida Kondybayeva, MD
Aida Kondybayeva
For years, the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) has reached out to Kazakhstan and its neurology community. However, language barriers made it difficult to establish a connection. After a two-year effort by Prof. Daniel Truong and Saltanat Kamenova, with the valuable assistance of Aida Kondybayeva, the International Neurology Forum for Parkinsonism and Related Disorders was held in Kazakhstan. The forum was hosted by the Asfendiyaroy Kazakh National Medical University and was attended by more than 120 Kazakh neurologists.
Prof. Aikan Akanov, rector of the university, opened the forum by thanking the organizers and emphasizing the importance of the event for Kazakhstan. Internationally known speakers included Profs. Erik Wolters from the Netherlands, Truong from the United States and Carlo Colosimo from Italy. Speakers from Kazakhstan included Guram Pichkhadze from the Virtual Institute of Neuroscience, Saltanat Kamenova, chairwoman of the department of neurology at the university and Marat Asimov, chairman of the department of medical psychology.
All of the lectures were translated in real time for the audience. The topics discussed were broad and included the diagnosis, pathology and neuropsychology of
Opening statement of the International Neurology Forum by Prof. Aikan Akanov on Sept. 23, 2014, with Prof. Guram Pichkhadze, Erik Wolters and Daniel Truong.
Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia, as well as the management of these disorders. In addition to the presentations, several workshops were offered, led jointly by Profs. Shelekov, Truong, Perlenbetov and Nurmagambetova.
The meeting was supported with a grant from the International Association for Parkinsonism and Related Disorders (IAPRD). All participants received a free textbook as a gift from the IAPRD. On the last day of the forum in her closing remarks, Prof. Kamenova noted the importance of this event for doctors and young neurologists of Kazakhstan and thanked Profs. Wolters and Truong for their noble mission in the development of the educational program.
