Free talks on ageing by world experts
Published on: Tuesday, August 02, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: There are some very world famous names as international speakers for the forthcoming 12th National Geriatrics Conference hosted by Sabah for the first time and open to the public for free. Geriatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and care of old people.Organising Chairman Dr Peter Selestine said the Committee managed to get Dr John Morley who is a very prominent geriatrician from USA.
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"One of America's foremost authorities on geriatrics, Dr Morley is an internationally known expert in male menopause/low testosterone, nutrition, aging and sexuality, Alzheimer's disease and general aging issues as well as obesity," he said.The award-winning geriatrician said sexual activity declines with aging but one study found that 26pc of persons in the USA between 75 and 85 years old were sexually active. In his paper on "Seniors and Sex", he will discuss the major problems in men and women, (including hypogonadism affecting both men and women), and treatment options such as testosterone replacement therapy which is relatively safe.According to Dr Morley, hypogonadism (reduction of hormone secretion of the gonads, that is, testes or ovaries) is extremely common in older males but only half of decreased libido (sexual drive) in them (older males) is due to testosterone deficiency.
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Dr Selestine said the other renowned consultant geriatrician is Dr Duncan Forsyth from Cambridge, UK, who will be talking about Parkinson's disease in the elderly and also delirium in his paper on "Delirious about Delirium". Dr Forsyth had said that this debilitating disease of the brain affects 127,000 people in the UK.
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"There is no cure as yet, and treatments are aimed at reducing the symptoms of it," he was quoted as saying.Another world famous neurologist from Singapore, Dr Nagaendran Kandiah will be speaking about dementia and its unique presentation in Asia. "Dr Kandiah is no stranger to Sabah as he was formerly a medical officer in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) from 2000 to 2003 and is no stranger to Sabah," said the Conference Organising Chairman.Another interesting speaker will be Dr Noorhazlina from Tan Tock Seng Hospital Singapore (TTSH), who will dwell on advance care planning in the elderly and also the unique delirium room that was pioneered in the Hospital to treat delirium in the elderly.Dr Selestine said there will also be eminent local speakers from Malaysia and Sabah talking on various geriatric-related topics like atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm), stroke, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, pain management in the elderly and palliative care, among others. "We also have a APN (advanced practice nurse) Jennifer Li Yuan from TTSH Singapore, and a retired Matron Fu Choon Kee from Sarawak to speak about geriatric nursing," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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