Hong Kong Spinal Cord Injury Fund

Events

Training Program on Spinal Cord Injury Research Methods & ChinaSCINet Investigator Meeting #4
Venue: W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, New Jersey USA
Organizer: W.M. Keck Center
Date: 2-14 August, 2006

ChinaSCINet Investigator Meeing #3
Venue: Guangdong International Hotel
Co-organizer: The Second Affiliated Hospital,
Sun Yat-sen University
Date: 18-19 February, 2006

ChinaSCINet Investigator Meeing #2
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine Building
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 18 December, 2005

Continuation of the Beijing meeting, with active participation of the16 network hospitals and members of the HKU-SCI Fund. The meeting aims to strengthen the achievements in 2005 and to formulate proposal for 2006.

The First International Spinal Cord Injury Treatments and Trials (ISCITT) Symposium
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine Building
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 17-20 December, 2005

The First International Spinal Cord Injury Treatments and Trials (ISCITT) Symposium was held, under the auspices of the HKU Spinal Cord Injury Fund (HKU-SCI Fund), at The University of Hong Kong, from December 17 to 20, 2005. The Symposium was attended by 300 leading spinal cord injury (SCI) clinicians and scientists around the world. During the opening ceremony, Dr. Liao Xinbo , the Deputy Director General of Department of Health of Guangdong Province, kindly delivered a welcome address to the participants of the Symposium. The ceremony was officiated by Dr. Liao Xinbo; Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Tam; Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine Professor SK Lam, Co-chairman of the Symposium Professor Wise Young and Professor KF So.

The Symposium is the first of its kind in the region and marked the beginning of a new era in spinal cord injury research. It brought together China and global clinicians and scientists to establish a firm platform for future collaboration in SCI research. In particular, some of the research has never been published before.

Following the Symposium, a Gala Dinner was held at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine on 19 December 2005. The dinner was successful with overwhelming responses. With participation from over 250 patrons and guests, it resulted in a benefit to the Fund of HK$2.1millions.

Please visit the symposium website for more information: www.iscitt.org

ChinaSCINet Investigator Meeing #1
Beijing North Garden Hotel
Co-organizer: Beijing Army General Hospital
Date: 15-16 October, 2005

The Meeting was jointly organised by the HKU-SCI Fund and the Beijing Army General Hospital. Over 45 scientists and researchers, including 25 investigators from 16 network hospitals, ChinaSCINet Advisory Board members and invited speakers attended the Meeting.

The first Investigator Meeting was held not only to discuss the first observational study but also provided a platform for the investigators in the ChinaSCINet to discuss a number of important issues, such as future plans and directions; network coordination; clinical trial agreement; regulatory requirements; research ethics; outcome measures and possible trials treatment for upcoming studies; etc. Participants in the ChinaSCINet were very active in sharing their views and opinions.

Training Course on Spinal Cord Injury Model, Therapy Methods, and Outcome Measures
Department of Anatomy
Faculty of Medicine Building
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 10- 13 July, 2005

The course provided an opportunity for doctors in the ChinaSCINet to learn how to carry out spinal cord injury experiments in the laboratory. Participants learnt on a standardised rat spinal cord injury model and were able to carry out experiments in their hospitals to test and develop new therapies for regnerating and restoring function in spinal cord injury. The course was conducted by speakers from the Rutgers State University of New Jersey, namely: Professor Wise Young, Mr. Hock Gain Ng, Mrs. Bor Tom Ng, Mr. Pui Tom and Mr. Kai Liu.

School Talk
Ma Tau Chung Government School (Hung Hom Bay)
5 Oi King Street
Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon
Date: 19 March, 2005

The HKU Spinal Cord Injury Fund and the Federation of Parent Teachers Association (Kowloon City) arranged the first school talk to promote public awareness of spinal cord injuries in Hong Kong on the 19th March, 2005.

Several Committees Members and Mrs. Suzanne Poon, Chair of the HKU-SCI Fund Fundraising Committee arrived at Ma Tau Chung Government School to deliver the talk, a first spinal cord public awareness campaign. The talk which began at 4:00 pm and lasted for approximately two hours included a series of short presentations on the normal structure of the central nervous system, what a spinal cord is and the basis of hope for spinal cord injuries and stem cell research.

Training Programme on Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 16 March, 2005

The training programme on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) continued the success of the previous two-days training course, Neurological Assessment of Spinal Cord Dysfunction. There are 30 more delegates from various units in either the Queen Mary Hospital or the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, in addition to those 32 delegates in the previous course.

This programme was organized by Clinical Trials Centre (CTC), Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, and it aims at introducing Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Training Programme to participants and delegates. Throughout the training programme, they learnt about the essential elements of GCP and how they apply to the conduct of quality clinical trials. The programme was conducted utilising both video and oral presentations and an interactive PowerPoint presentation method developed by the Centre. In addition, individual presentations by the Director of the CTC and several members of staff from the Centre allowed them to share experiences in clinical trials with all of the delegates.

Training Course on Neurological Assessment of Spinal Cord Dysfunction
MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre
7 Sha Wan Drive
Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Date: 14- 15 March, 2005

The training course on Neurological Assessment of Spinal Cord Dysfunction culminated successfully with the participation of 32 delegates coming from 14 different hospitals throughout China. It is a two day training course held at the MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Hong Kong, organised by the Department of Orthopaedics.

The aim of the course was to provide training in the examination of the spinal cord for orthopaedic surgeons and other delegates, using a standard neurological examination method for spinal cord injuries, termed the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) examination method, and also the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). In addition, a review of the documentation that would be used to record data when examining patients was also was also presented and discussed. This was followed by a series of short presentations and videos on various associated topics. Many of the delegates also participated in a number of practical sessions on how to examine spinal cord injured patients using ASIA, under the guidance of experienced medical doctors and physical therapists. Later a forum session was held to enable all the delegates to share their experiences and also to exchange ideas.

The list of speakers at the training course on Neurological Assessment of Spinal Cord Dysfunction included Ms. Ruby Ho, Senior Occupational Therapist, MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre; Prof. Johan Karlberg, Director, of the Clinical Trials Centre, The University of Hong Kong; Dr. Ralph J. Marino, Clinical Director, Regional Spinal Cord Injury Centre of the Delaware Valley, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. In addition, we were very honoured to have Prof. Paul Tam, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Professor, Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, and Prof. Wise Young, Chairman, Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences Rutgers State University of New Jersey, to give opening speeches.

China SCI Network Meeting #2
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 14 March, 2005

Promotion of the China Spinal Cord Injury Network in Beijing
Beijing
Date: 12 March, 2005

On 12th March 2005 several members of the Advisory Board and Fundraising Committees met with Hon. Mr. Deng Pufang, the Chairman of China Disabled Person's Federation, and Ms. Sang Lan, an athletic gold medal winner from China. The aim of the visit was to promote the Network, to present its forthcoming works, future plans and development. Later, members of the Advisory Board and Fundraising Committee also had a private meeting with Professor Huang Jiefu, Vice Minister of Ministry of Health, of the People's Republic of China, and presented him with an introduction of the Network and the HKU - Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Fund as well as details of their recent growth.

Press Conference
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 16 September, 2004

Press Release

Spinal Cord Injury in China and Hong Kong & Establishment of HKU - SCI Fund Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to physical difficulties of different levels to the patients, e.g. loss of motion and sensation, bladder and bowel dysfunction etc.. In the US, about 10,000 cases were found annually. According to information provided by the Department of Health, 452 patients with this injury were recorded in Hong Kong in 2000.

SCI has long been considered to be irreversible. For much of human history, doctors have told patients and families with SCI that they should not hope for therapies that will restore function. In the past decade, this has changed. Many animal studies have shown that the spinal cord can regenerate. Dozens of therapies have now been reported to improve recovery in animals and some are being tried in humans. However, few of these treatments have been tested in clinical trial.

Professor Keith Dip-kei Luk, Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, HKU explained that spinal cord impairment is commonly caused by traumatic injuries such as industrial or car accidents, violence or sports injuries. Spinal cord injury can lead to various clinical problems including physical, psychological and socio-economical problems to the patients. Professor Luk said: "The objectives of conventional management of spinal cord injury are to maximize the residual functions and minimize disabilities. However, regeneration of the spinal cord is not considered possible. Yet, recent advancement on the clinical trials in animals indicates that regenerative therapies grant the potential for spinal cord to regenerate after injuries."

Professor Kwok-fai So, Head of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, HKU introduced a number of ground-breaking researches aimed to regenerate the spinal cord, these include: (i) reduce cell death by therapy with methylprednisolone and replace death cells with Olfactory Ensheathing Cells (OEC) transplantation or stem cells transplantation; (ii) enhancing regeneration ability of axotomised neurons and rebuild myelination by Schwann's cell transplantation and (iv) reduce glial scar and remove inhibitor molecules by changing the local chemical environment.

As clinical trials in spinal cord injury have not proceeded to the human trial stage, Professor Johan Petter Einar Karlberg, Director of the Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine, HKU introduced the exciting opportunity that how clinical trial in the field could be carried out in the near future as well as standardization of all related procedures.

Cooperating with Faculty of Medicine, HKU, Professor Wise Young from the Rutgers University said China is taking the leadership in bringing spinal cord injury therapies to clinical trial by establishing the China Spinal Cord Injury Network (China SCI Network). China SCI Network will accelerate development and availability of therapies that improve function in people with spinal cord injury all over the world. The Network will initially have six nodes: Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shangahi, Xi'an, and Zhengzhou. All the centers would have investigators committed to developing spinal cord injury therapies.

A "HKU-SCI Fund" will be established to support the works of China SCI Network and Faculty of Medicine, HKU. Donation can be made by for instance cheques and sent to "HKU - SCI Fund". Mailing Address: HKU Foundation Secretariat Enquiries: 852-2857-8584

The Faculty of Medicine, HKU and the China SCI Network plan to host the first Annual International Symposium on Spinal Cord Injury Clinical trials and Therapies in Hong Kong, tentatively scheduled in October 2005. This symposium will showcase the achievements of clinical trials in China. Over 1,000 clinicians and scientists, families with SCI patients, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, foundations and government agencies will be invited to join.

China SCI Network Meeting #1
Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
The University of Hong Kong
Date: 13-15 September, 2004