First National Congress on Osteoarthritis (OACON 2017) was organized at Hotel Clarks Avadh, Lucknow on 23rd and 24th September 2017 under the chairmanship of Prof Siddharth Das & Prof G.K.Singh. The Organizing Secretary was Dr. Pooja Dhaon & Scientific Chairman was Prof R.N. Srivastava. It was the first Conference on Osteoarthritis in India even though Osteoarthritis is the common estarthritis, even more common than Diabetes, Blood Pressure, and Heart Disease. It is also a common cause of disability and recently the Government of India has stated that it is the 4th most common cause of disability in India and has a major economic burden on the Society. The conference was organized under the aegis of Society for Osteoarthritis Research (SOAR), which is a charitable registered society working in the field of osteoarthritis. The society has about 100 members which include Rheumatologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Physicians, and Basic Scientists from all over India.
The conference was inaugurated by the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Dr Dinesh Sharma along with presence of Prof J. V Singh (Principal, Hind Institute of Medical Sciences) and Prof Vinita Das(Dean, Faculty of Medicine, King George’s Medical University).
The conference covered topics like the Burden of Disease, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Medical and Surgical management. Newer Research in areas of Stem Cell Therapy, new and old molecules for treatment, life style management for prevention was also discussed by renowned National and International speakers. Prof David Felson, Prof Joel Bloc, Prof Tuhina Neogi and Dr Katy.Y.Y.Leung, all four eminent International names in the field of Osteoarthritis participated in the conference. Prof. David Felson and Prof Joel Bloc were awarded the Rheumatology Foundation Oration award for their work on osteoarthritis. Dr. Tuhina Neogi gave an overview of Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) , which is an International society working for osteoarthritis. She also spoke about the mechanism of pain in the disease and presented data on the application of DMARDs and bisphosphonates in osteoarthritis. Dr Katy spoke on the role and association of uric acid crystals and how drugs like colchichine used in crystal arthritis can be used in Osteoarthritis. Prof. Rajeshwari from Chennai spoke on role of corticosteroids in Osteoarthritis. Dr. Ved Chaturvedi spoke on efficacy of various intra articular therapies in osteoarthritis. Dr. Tripti Khanna, a senior scientist from ICMR gave overview on the burden of osteoarthritis in India and the need for more research Proposals in this field from all over India. Dr. Arvind Chopra of Centre from Rheumatic diseases Pune presented his data of the COPCORD study. Faculty from IIT Delhi and Kanpur like Dr. Saurabh Ghosh, Dr Amitabh Bandhopadhyay and Dr Katti spoke about the cartilage regeneration techniques. Prof Siddharth Das and Dr. Himanshu Bansal spoke on the role of stem cell in cartilage regeneration and repair. Dr. Sanjai Rastogi, Prof Anand Swar up and Prof. B. K Dhaon spoke about the surgical aspects in management of Osteoarthritis. Prof Ramnath Mishra, Prof Able Lawrence from Department of Clinical Immunology SGPGI Lucknow and DrMahendranath and Dr. Dharmanand, senior Rheumatologists from Bengaluru were also present during the conference.
The conference was attended by about 150 delegates from all parts of India. It was the first conference on Osteoarthritis and Dr. Arvind Chopra has taken responsibility to organize the next conference at Pune i.e. OACON2018. Overall the conference was an academic feast for those interested in the field of Osteoarthritis.
