King’s College Hospital London in Dubai launched, a two-day medical conference at the Address Hotel Dubai Mall today. His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority inaugurated the conference, which unveiled the first of its kind vaccine for the treatment of leukaemia, amongst other pioneering works of world-leading experts.
His Excellency Al Qutami commended King’s College Hospital London’s efforts for bringing frontrunning expertise to the people of the emirate, and highlighted DHA’s strategy to guide and support reputed private healthcare providers, such as King’s, in building sustainable healthcare public-private partnership models in Dubai.
His excellency also explained that the Authority is implementing a clear policy to promote the promising investment opportunities in the health sector in Dubai, and thus attract more hospitals, international health centers, and more expertise and medical competencies in various fields. He also highlighted that the authority will be introducing a set of smart systems to promote the development of the private health sectors in Dubai.
H.E. Ahmed H. Al Tayer, Chairman of King’s College Hospital London in the UAE, welcomed eight distinguished world-class professors, who revealed the latest ground-breaking medical advancements in their field.
Ghulam Mufti, Professor of Haematological Oncology, at King’s College Hospital London in the UK, presented the latest advancement in the treatment of blood cancers (two of the most debilitating blood cancers – B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and high-grade B-cell lymphoma) through CAR-T cell therapy, a cellular therapy which acts like a vaccine. In the treatment of leukaemia, cellular therapy aims to improve the immune system’s ability to seek out and fight leukaemia cells, for those patients who unfortunately relapse. To create this vaccine, immune cells (T cells) from a patient’s blood are manipulated within the laboratory and made to adopt genes that effectively recognise and destroy the cancer cells.
This therapy, which is approved for use on the NHS in England, was the world’s first study of its type to treat patients with leukaemia, who relapsed after cancer treatment or stem cell transplant, differently. Patients in the UAE in the near future will be able to access this therapy through King’s clinical pathway*. Mr Christian Schuhmacher, Chief Executive Officer of King’s College Hospital London in the UAE, said: “Bringing pioneering medical advancements, such as this, truly brings to life our long-standing commitment to the UAE, and its people.”
The two-day event aims to present the latest evidence in the management and treatment of other common medical problems in the UAE, notably in cardiovascular disease, chronic liver disease, including liver transplant, the endoscopic and surgical management of diabetes and metabolic disease, genetics, pain management, weight management, women’s health, as well as antimicrobial stewardship.
Other ground-breaking medical advancements unveiled also include various techniques, developed by the world-renowned fetal medicine pioneer, Kypros Nicolaides, Professor of Fetal Medicine, at King’s College Hospital London in the UK. These techniques are designed to diagnose complications of the fetus and treat an unborn child in the womb. Some of these innovative techniques include inserting a little balloon through the throat of a fetus with a congenital opening in the diaphragm, allowing for normal lung development, or predicting whether a mother will develop pre-eclampsia – a condition developed in pregnancy characterised by high blood pressure, which can be fatal for both the mother and her child, and preventing it.
Dr. Gowri Ramanathan, Chief Medical Officer at King’s College Hospital London in Dubai, who is also Conference Chair, said: “Thanks to our seamless integration with our mother hospital, King’s in London, and our London Faculty Programme, we are able to provide UAE patients with an unmatched care pathway. They can access world-class experts from not just King’s in London, but also all the specialists from other leading hospitals and clinical research centres in the UK that are part of King’s Health Partners network.”
Kings’ medical conference, which is free of cost to students, will continue on March 22nd with CME accredited plenary lectures and talks, presentations by renowned speakers from the UK and the UAE, interactive sessions and case study discussions in chronic liver disease, antimicrobial stewardship and genetics. To register, healthcare professionals or students may visit www.kingscollege.menaconference.com.
