The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : “Find solutions to all avoidable blindness”

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Thursday, Oct 02, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

“Find solutions to all avoidable blindness”

Special Correspondent

Develop effective medicines at affordable cost: Kalam

— Photo: S. James.

FACILITY: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President, inaugurating Dr. G. Venkataswamy Eye Research Institute in the city on Wednesday.

MADURAI: Medical research should be oriented towards finding solutions to unique problems faced in India and developing effective medicines at affordable cost, said the former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam after inaugurating the Dr. G. Venkataswamy Eye Research Institute here on Wednesday.

Calling upon all those involved in a wide spectrum of medical field in the Aravind Eye Care System (AECS) to come together to find solutions to all forms of avoidable blindness, Mr. Kalam wanted the institute to focus on finding the unique index for body mass among Indians. Research should also be undertaken to find out the index-specific gene that caused diabetic retinopathy among those with diabetes.

He pointed out that diabetic people in Orissa did not develop diabetic retinopathy.

Was this due to the habit of consuming fresh water fish, he wondered and wanted medical researchers to find out the link.

He said there was a need to develop a medicine for fungal infection of the cornea and a cost-effective medicine for glaucoma.

Research should also focus on predicting the predisposition of a child in the womb to eye diseases.

Mr. Kalam said though the AECS had been winning several awards the greatest award would be getting “light from darkness” for millions of people across the globe. The institute, he said, was the most fitting tribute to Dr. Venkataswamy, who had created a brand in eye care delivery from south Tamil Nadu, on his 90th birthday. The research institute would create a global brand in research and accelerate the movement towards eradication of needless blindness.

M. Natarajan, Principal Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister, said the AECS was able to perform over 2 lakh cataract surgeries per year through effective strategies that transcended the barriers of poverty and ignorance. He was confident that the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which was doing collaborative research with AECS, would be in a position to come out with a bionic eye in the next 10 years. Wallace J. Lee Alward, Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Iowa, expressed the hope that Aravind would enjoy the same level of success in research as it had in treatment and manufacturing (lens and drugs). Pararajasekaram, former World Health Organisation consultant from Sri Lanka, recalled how Dr. Venkataswamy’s work embodied Gandhian principles.

P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman, AECS, recalled the various stages of the mission of eliminating needless blindness in society. VR. Muthukaruppan, Director, Research, outlined the scope for the Rs 29 crore facility in various areas of ophthalmic research.

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