Prof. Derek Fisher: "We see what the brain looks like with which drug!"

Üsküdar University hosted the 6th International Symposium with the participation of 60 international researchers from 12 different countries. The BaCI (Basic Clinical and Multimodal Imaging) Conference discussed recent developments in neuroscience, genetics and medicine. Emphasizing that new neuroimaging technologies will shorten the time until early treatment, Prof. Derek Fisher from Canada Saint Vincent University, who is also the President of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ECNS), stated that they can see how the brain looks with which drug or how the drug reverses some situations with brain mapping methods. Prof. Pinhas Dannon, who participated in the conference as a speaker, stated that new technologies will give more success to physicians and less pain to the patient.

Prof. Derek Fisher, who is well-known for his studies in the field of cognitive and clinical neuroscience from the University of Saint Vincent in Canada, stated in his speech at the conference that he mainly conducts research on psychosis in the brain and examines how the brain changes in the context of schizophrenia and psychosis.

Prof. Fisher: "The treatments we are giving now are a kind of prediction or methods that worked in the past."

Referring to biomarkers and schizophrenia, Prof. Fisher said that "There are many things we can do with new neuroimaging technologies. The area where we can do a good job will use technologies to classify groups of patients. The treatments we are giving now are a kind of predictive work, or methods that worked in the past. However, it is not personal. Thus, it will be to make maximum use of imaging technologies to identify specific changes in the brains of individuals who may respond better or worse to certain treatments. This will shorten the time it takes for sick individuals to receive truly effective early treatment."

Prof. Dr. Fisher: "We can see how the brain looks with which drug"

Referring to how the development of neuroimaging technologies can be used to create a personalized treatment plan, Prof. Fisher said that "There are great studies where QEEG (brain mapping) has been demonstrated; therefore, we also know that some drugs, for example, produce certain key EEG patterns. We can see what the brain looks like with which drug, or how the drug reverses some situations. This is a clue as to which drug or drugs will be more effective to start."

Pointing out the importance of finding the most effective treatment for patients and bringing them together with this treatment earlier, Prof. Fisher stated that "This will positively affect the quality of life of patients."

Prof. Fisher also touched on the effectiveness of neuroimaging methods in schizophrenia and said that "Multimodal imaging is very important. By combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and EEG, I think we can make an early differential diagnosis when there is uncertainty about whether we are looking at schizophrenia or whether it is bipolar or emotional disorder. When a person suffers from a chronic illness, it will also be important to use it to monitor the progression of the disease. We also have some markers that we actually need to prove for this.".

Prof. Dr. Pinhas Dannon: The more success it will give us, the less pain it will be for the patient"

Another speaker at the conference, Prof. Pinhas Dannon, who is Director of Psychiatry at the Herzog Medical Center in Israel, made remarks on how technological developments will contribute to the treatment of patients in the future and stated that "Treating a psychiatric patient today is a very difficult task because you do not know what's going on inside the patient's brain, and you are trying to treat the symptoms instead of treating the same person. This is where imaging techniques will help us in the future. It will give us more success and less pain for patients." Pointing out how advances in neuroimaging technologies can be used to create personalized treatment plans, Prof. Pinhas Dannon said that "You are different from me, and I am different from you. Everyone is different and we have different ways of thinking. We have different genetic profiles. Knowledge and techniques have the potential to illustrate these differences. That way, we can focus not only on their problems, but also on their well-being.".

Prof. Dannon: "We can develop the medicine of the future together"

On how to make the medicine of the future, Prof. Dannon said, "We have to be integrated, and we have to work together. We have to build something together. In this way, we can develop the medicine of the future.".

Prof. Dannon also touched upon the effect of neuroimaging technologies on medical education and continued as follows:

"Medical education is developing faster than we could have ever imagined. Let's put it this way, when I was a sophomore in medical school, I saw a computer for the first time. When you buy a high-tech machine today, you can throw it away after 6 months because there is a better version of the same machine. There is even a better version of the same abilities. In the field of technology, the whole future is in our hands."

60 international researchers from 12 different countries participated

In the conference held at Üsküdar University NP Health Campus between 03-07 September 2023, 60 international researchers from 12 different countries discussed the latest developments in the fields of neuroscience, genetics and medicine.

Within the scope of the program, Prof. Monte Buchsbaum, who is considered the pioneer of neuroimaging technologies, was also presented with an honorary doctorate by President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan.

All information about the Basic Clinical and Multimodal Imaging (BaCl) Congress can be found on https://baci-conference2023.com/.

 

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)