The first international conference on Geriology, Geriatric Medicine and Rehabilitation titled ‘Healthy Ageing in the Changing World 2012’ will be held on September 29, at the JN Tata Auditorium in Bengaluru.

The one-day event organized by BioGenesis Health Cluster, the Euro-Indian Health Cluster and Federation of Asian Biotech Association (FABA) will have leading doctors, scientists, advocates and legal experts from India and abroad to attend the event.

Ageing is inevitable and unavoidable. The current and projected growth of older people is widely acknowledged as an issue that will have significant health, economic and policy implications at a global level. The conference will deliberate on the issues and a broad range of clinical topics including the latest information on diagnoses and management and treatment for common problems of the ageing population.

The current life expectancy in India is 65 years which is 10 years lower than the western world estimated at 75 years. Right now, the geriatric population is pegged at 7.7 per cent of the Indian population. By 2016, India will report the highest geriatric population in the world after China with 60 million people under this category. The geriatric age diagnosis is complicated and despite the availability of drugs, many a time treatment is ineffective because the progress is slow particularly in the treating dementia. This is where the conference would help to provide advice and knowledge on making ageing process as harmless as possible. It would also help to distinguish between changes directly connected with normal ageing and changes induced by diseases, including their untypical manifestation, said Dr VP Rao, convenor, BioGenesis Health Cluster and Scientific Advisory Council, iBRAIN LifeSciences plc UK & India.

Karnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj unveiled the conference brochure on Healthy Ageing in The Changing World 2012. The key objective of the event is to integrate the knowledge of the specialists on ageing associated diseases with the knowledge of geriatrics regarding the course of age related diseases and the treatment to make elderly have a better quality life. It would be a forum for doctors, scientists and people related to medical field to brainstorm on various facets of old age related problems.

The conference would also discuss the contribution of biotechnology to Gerontology. Biotechnology is revolutionizing the ageing experience by offering earlier diagnoses, new treatments such as regenerative and genetic interventions and ultimately disease prevention.

The Conference will be inaugurated by M N Venkatachalaiah, former chief justice of India in the presence of Dr Satishchandra, Prof of Neurology, director and vice chancellor, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru and Dr B S Bajaj, Secretary General, FABA and chairman, AIBA- SC, Hyderabad.