Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Mahin Khatami
National Cancer Institute, USA
Keynote: Accidental Discoveries on Systematic Studies of Tumorigenesis and Angiogenesis: Perspectives for Prevention and Therapy of Antigen (Virus)-Causing Cancers.
Time : 9:30-10:15
Biography:
Mahin Khatami received her PhD in Molecular Biology from Univ. PA (1980). She was a research faculty at Univ. PA, involved in cell biology of diabetes complications and ocular inflammatory diseases. In 1998, at NCI/NIH extension of her discoveries and efforts to promote role of inflammation in cancer research met with serious opposition. Currently, topic of inflammation in cancer research and therapy is the focus of numerous funded projects. She authored over 100 articles, book chapters and proceedings. She has lectured internationally; was President/VP- GWIS; member of scientific and editorial organizations. In 2012, she edited 2 books on inflammatory diseases, aging, cancer and therapies.
Abstract:
Factors responsible for extremely slow progress in cancer research and failed therapies include absence of systematic studies on multistep tumorigenesis and ongoing controversies and misunderstanding on the roles that inflammation play in carcinogenesis and angiogenesis. In 1980’s our experimental models of acute and chronic ocular inflammatory diseases resulted in tumorigenesis and angiogenesis. Recent analyses of original data became ‘accidental’ discoveries on systematic identification of time-course kinetics of interaction and synergies between host immune cells (e.g., mast, goblet and B cells) and recruiting cells (e.g., eosinophils, macrophages) during acute, intermediate and chronic phases of inflammatory responses and induction of hyperplasia of conjunctival-associated lymphoid tissues. Results are the first systematic studies on sequential alterations of immunity toward tissue growth. Acute inflammation was defined as balance between two biologically opposing arms (Yin-Yang) of immune and non-immune (e.g., vasculature, neurodegenerative and metabolic) responses. Chronic inflammation or loss of balance in Yin and Yang of immunity was hypothesized as common link in genesis of all age-associated chronic diseases or cancer. Future efforts to promote immunity should include systematic understanding of host-pathogen interactions in susceptible tissues. Outcomes are expected to hold real promises in understanding how cancer cells become threat to body and how translate cancer biology into cost-effective drug designs and clinical trials.
Keynote Forum
Amr Mohamed
Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
Keynote: Drug resistant tuberculosis, are we aware enough?
Biography:
Amr Mohamed Abdel Fattah Mohamed has completed his PhD at the age of 35 years from University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA at 2004. He worked as\r\nassociate professor of molecular diagnostics of infectious diseases at School of veterinary medicine, Assiut University, Egypt. Currently he is a full time professor\r\nof Laboratory Medicine at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. He is the director of Molecular Diagnostic Research Laboratory at the Central Laboratories of\r\nCollage of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University. He has published more than 20 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of many reputed Journals
Abstract:
Tuberculosis (TB), the second highest cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide, is a major global health problem.Infection with strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), the causative agent of TB, is responsible for approximately 1.4 million deaths annually. TB remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world with major challenges facing the global effort for controlling the disease. One of the major challenges is the worldwide emergence of drug resistant strains of MTB. The greatest challenge that still facing TB-patient is that the organisms, through selection of mycobacterial mutants that result from spontaneous chromosomal alterations, become resistant to one or more of the\r\nstandard anti-TB drugs. The efforts for TB control and treatment were critically hindered by the emergence of multidrugresistance.Multidrug-resistance (MDR) is defined as the resistance of the bacillary strains to at least isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP), the two key first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Nevertheless, MDR-TB is not incurable, a fluoroquinolone [e.g. levofloxacin (Lfx), moxifloxacin (Mfx), ofloxacin (Ofx)], if used properly alongside other second-line injectable drugs [e.g. capreomycin (Cm), amikacin (Am) or kanamycin (Km)] could cure the majority of MDR-TB patients; with a low risk of relapse in long-term follow up. However, the challenge became even worse by the recent emergence of the extensively drugresistant (XDR) bacillary strains. The term XDR-TB used to describe a severe form of disease,which is a case of MDR-TB with additional bacillary resistance to any of the fluoroquinolone and at least one of three second-line injectable drugs: Cm, Km and Am. Recently, the WHO estimated 650.000 cases (including 150,000 deaths) of MDR-TB with an estimated XDR-TB rate of 9% in 2010. The emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), due to clinical, biological, or social factors, is now estimated to account for half a million new cases each year. The treatment of MDR-TB requires prolonged and expensive chemotherapy using second-line drugs of heightened toxicity. WHO have recently reported the highest global levels of drug\r\nresistance ever documented with 3.6% of new TB patients and 20% of previously treated cases having MDR-TB. With regard to XDR-TB, WHO in its 2011 report estimated 650.000 cases (including 150,000 deaths) of MDR-TB with an estimated XDR-TB\r\nrate of 9% in 2010. More recently, The WHO report of 2013 revealed that 92 countries had reported XDR-TB globally by the end of 2012. In conclusion, the worldwide emergence of MDR or XDR strains of MTBC pose a serious challenge for global TB control and make successful treatment difficult or even impossible. The aim of the current talk is to through the light on\r\nthe most recent WHO figures and to discuss the current methods and tools for diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis and to elaborate the recommended preventive measurements for successful control of the global drug resistant tuberculosis.