International Journal Of Rheumatic Diseases
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Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) is a federation of organisations of
rheumatology Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...
. It was established in Sydney in 1963 and the first congress was held in 1968 in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
at the
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Saracenic Revival style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has histor ...
.


History

In 1961, the ILAR, International League of Associations of Rheumatology, authorised two Australian rheumatologists to initiate a regional league for Asia Pacific and the organisation, then called SEAPAL was founded in 1963 with four member nations, namely Australia, India, New Zealand and Japan with Dr S Nelson of Australia as the founder President. Over the years the organisation has grown to 27 members including China and Taiwan.


Organisation

APLAR is a confederation of individual Rheumatology Associations that represent different countries of the Asia-Pacific. The office bearers are nominated and elected by the individual member states. The executive consists of the President, Secretary General, Vice President, Treasurer, Deputy Secretary General, immediate past President, President Elect besides the Editor of the association journal (Int J of Rheum Dis). In addition there are subcommittees and special interest groups. The first President of then SEAPAL was Dr S Nelson from Australia while the current President of APLAR is Dr
Syed Atiqul Haq Syed Atiqul Haq is a Bangladeshi physician & academic. He is the current president of Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology for 2018–2020 tenure. He is the founding chairman of department of Rheumatology in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib ...
from Bangladesh.


Affiliated National Organisations

*
Australian Rheumatology Association The Australian Rheumatology Association is an association of rheumatologists in Australia. It is a specialty society of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a member of the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology Asia Paci ...
*Bangladesh Rheumatology Society *Chinese Rheumatology Association *
Indian Rheumatology Association The Indian Rheumatology Association (IRA)is a professional organization of rheumatologists and related professionals in India. Its annual meetings called IRACON and are generally held in Fall during November or early December. Besides the national ...
*
Japan College of Rheumatology Japan College of Rheumatology (JCR) is an association of physicians, scientists and academic scholars for studying and promoting the understanding and treatment of Rheumatic diseases in Japan. It organises an annual meeting and publishes the acade ...
*Malaysian Society of Rheumatology *New Zealand Rheumatology Association *Pakistan Rheumatology Society *Sri Lanka Association of Rheumatology and Medical Rehabilitation *Taiwan Rheumatology Association *Tajikistan Rheumatology Society


Activities

APLAR is actively involved in promoting and nurturing national rheumatology societies in countries where rheumatologists are scarce. It has fostered COPCORD projects in several member countries in association with WHO and ILAR. APLAR has special interest groups in different rheumatic diseases and research areas. The most important activity of APLAR is the Annual Congress that is held in different Asian cities every year.


Congresses

The first SEAPAL Congress was held in 1968 at Mumbai, then Bombay which were held every four years until 2000 when the APLAR Congress became biennial until 2010 before switching to an annual rhythm. List of SEAPAL/APLAR Congresses * 1968 SEAPAL CONGRESS Mumbai, India * 1972 SEAPAL CONGRESS Kyoto, Japan * 1976 SEAPAL CONGRESS Singapore * 1980 SEAPAL CONGRESS Manila, Philippines * 1984 SEAPAL CONGRESS Bangkok, Thailand * 1988 SEAPAL CONGRESS Tokyo, Japan * 1990 APLAR Symposium Seoul, South Korea * 1992 APLAR CONGRESS Bali, Indonesia * 1994 APLAR Symposium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia * 1996 APLAR CONGRESS Melbourne, Australia * 1998 APLAR Symposium Manila, Philippines * 2000 APLAR CONGRESS Beijing, China (9th) * 2002 APLAR CONGRESS Bangkok, Thailand * 2004 APLAR CONGRESS Jeju Island, South Korea * 2006 APLAR CONGRESS Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia * 2008 APLAR CONGRESS Yokohama, Japan * 2010 APLAR CONGRESS Hong Kong * 2011 APLAR Symposium Taipei, Taiwan * 2012 APLAR CONGRESS Amman, Dead Sea, Jordan * 2013 APLAR Symposium Bali, Indonesia * 2014 APLAR CONGRESS Cebu, Philippines * 2015 APLAR CONGRESS Chennai, India * 2016 APLAR CONGRESS Shanghai, China * 2017 APLAR CONGRESS Taiwan


Journal

The league publishes its ''APLAR Journal of Rheumatology'' in the ''International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases'', a
peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
medical journal A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cover many medical specialties are sometimes called general medical journals. History The first ...
.


References


External links

*
Special Commemorative issue of APLAR Journal of Rheumatology Volume 6, No 2

APLAR Perspectives special collection
in
Nature Reviews Rheumatology ''Nature Reviews Rheumatology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Nature Portfolio. It was established in 2005 as ''Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology'' and obtained its current title in 2009. The journal covers all asp ...
{{authority control Rheumatology organizations