About neurogastroenterology and motility
The term neurogastroenterology and motility refers to the study of the sensory, motor and regulatory functions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This subspeciality of gastroenterology encompasses the commonest GI disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia (FD) and non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP), as well as those associated with characteristic motility patterns such as achalasia, gastroparesis and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. An expanded appreciation of the pathophysiology has meant that the student of this young exciting field has to have the cerebral capacity to understand bi-directional communication between the ephemeral emotion and molecular messenger-RNA.
About ANMA
In September 2007 at the 21st International Symposium on Neurogastroenterology and Motility held in Korea, Drs. Young-Tae Bak, Uday Chand Ghoshal, Kok-Ann Gwee and Sutep Gonlachanvit sowed the seeds for the formation of an Asian association as a platform to highlight the tremendous amount of research interests and talent in this region. At the inaugural meeting of the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association (ANMA) held in Kobe, Japan, on 15th October 2007, 18 experts from 8 countries came together to exchange data and ideas that would provide a fertile soil for the birth of ANMA on 21st March 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The first generation executive team is organized: Dr. Young-Tae Bak (Korea) as President, Dr. Uday C. Ghoshal (India) as Secretary General, Dr. Sutep Gonlachanvit (Thailand) as Treasurer and Dr. Kok Ann Gwee (Singapore) as Chair of Scientific Affairs will work for 3 years. Steering Committee is organized with 10 members from Asian countries.
The aims of ANMA are (a) to pursue a standardized care of patients suffering from gastrointestinal motility disorders and functional gastrointestinal diseases in Asia, (b) to promote research on these diseases in Asia, (c) to exchange knowledge in these diseases through regular conferences and meetings, and (d) to encourage and advance the knowledge in gastrointestinal motility and functional gastrointestinal diseases in Asia in all possible ways.
ANMA is now working to develop multi-centre research activities and to develop consensus among our experts on the management of various functional gastrointestinal disorders. Regular scientific meetings will be organised biennially to provide adequate opportunity for our young investigators to present their work and to learn from our own experts. The first scientific congress, ANMA 2009, is scheduled on 2nd-4th April 2009 in Seoul, Korea.
