Message from President of PACTALS

On behalf of the Pan-Asian Consortium for the Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS) and the local convenors, Professor Dr Nortina Shahrizaila and A/Professor Rabani Remli, it is my great pleasure to invite you to attend the PACTALS 2023 meeting, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sep 14-16, 2023.

While Asia represents more than half of the world population, making it host to the largest cohort of ALS patients, knowledge of the disease and critical differences between and within Asian populations remain limited. To achieve treatment development and drive novel research initiatives across the region, our Asia-Pacific working group of clinicians and researchers established PACTALS in 2014. The PACTALS meeting has been held biannually since 2016. After the meeting held in Seoul in 2018 and Nagoya in 2021, this meeting will be the 3rd PACTALS meeting. The well-organized Nagoya meeting was successful despite being held as a Virtual Meeting. I believe the PACTALS meeting in Kuala Lumpur will be a great event to meet each other and share our academic results on ALS.

With our consortium's further growth, it is time to explore and improve our knowledge of ALS in the Asia-Pacific region. As such, the Scientific Committee of PACTALS has worked to assemble an outstanding faculty in ALS from around the world, together with clinicians and researchers from across the Asian region.

We look forward to welcoming you and generating new knowledge and understanding about ALS. I appreciate all members of the organizing committee of PACTALS 2023 and all attending PACTALS members for joining this meeting.

Message from President-Elect of PACTALS

The Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (PACTALS) was established in December 2014 as a research consortium for ALS in the Asian-Pacific region. Since then, the PACTALS members have been eagerly working on promoting research collaborations in the region. The PACTALS meeting has been held annually as the satellite meeting of other neurology congress.

Following the success of the PACTALS 2018 meeting in Seoul (President: Prof. Seung H. Kim), which was the first stand-alone meeting, the PACTALS 2020 meeting was scheduled to be held in Nagoya, Japan in September 2020. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemics, it had to be postponed, and subsequently held as PACTALS 2021 on the web. Thanks to the web-based format, we had more than 1100 participants registered for the event. This helped to expand the PACTALS community.

PACTALS 2023 will be the third meeting to be held as stand-alone. The local convenors are Professor Nortina Shahrizaila and A/Professor Rabani Remli from Malaysia, and the meeting will be held on September 14–16, 2023, in Kuala Lumpur. The meeting is a gathering of researchers, physicians, health professionals, students, and members of ALS patient groups in Asia, Oceania, and other regions.

In the Asian region, the genetic background is different from that in Europe and the United States. Differences in the composition of the causative genes of hereditary ALS and the differences in the genetic background that influences the phenotype of ALS are observed. In addition, the social and medical environment surrounding ALS patients is not the same as Europe and the United States, and it is important to consider the ALS characteristics and the status of medical care in the Asian region on an individual basis.

In recent years, a very active therapeutic development and several clinical trials have been conducted for ALS in the Asia-Oceania region. In addition, many advanced research and development activities, such as iPS cell drug discovery, stem cell therapy, robotic rehabilitation, and nucleic acid drug development have been conducted. Furthermore, various clinical studies and efforts have become impressively active, such as multidisciplinary care teams, research to clarify the clinical and genetic background of ALS patients, improvement of local medical care, and efforts by patient associations.

We believe PACTALS 2023 will be a unique and important opportunity to discuss these issues comprehensively and exchange information. Moreover, this meeting, which will be held on site for the first time in many years of the COVID19 pandemic, will be a chance to meet and discuss with old friends and co-researchers in person. We hope many of you will attend PACTALS 2023 and we envision a great success.

Message from Founding President of PACTALS

On behalf of the the Pan-Asian Consortium for the Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS), along with Professor Nortina Shahrizaila, A/Professor Rabani Remli and their scientific program committee, it is a great pleasure to welcome you to this year’s PACTALS International symposium which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

While the Asian region incorporates the largest cohort of ALS patients worldwide, knowledge of the disease remains relatively limited. Differences in phenotypes and underlying genotypic changes may appear relatively unique within Asian populations. With this in mind, our Asia-Pacific working group of patients, clinicians and neuroscience researchers now known as PACTALS, was established in 2014, and continues to grow in strength.

Following our successful meetings in Korea and Japan, with record numbers of registrants, the 2023 symposium in Malaysia represents a key initiative to promote discovery and improved therapies for ALS, as well as raising disease awareness.

Message from Congress Convenors

Dear Colleagues,

The Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromuscular Section (CNNS) of the Malaysian Society of Neurosciences (MSN) is pleased to host the forthcoming 3rd International Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 14-16th September 2023.

The Congress is organised with remarkable support from key opinion leaders in ALS from the region. We are also fortunate to receive support from the International Alliance of ALS/MND Organisations and our local patient advocacy group, MND Malaysia.

PACTALS 2023 aims to provide attendees with the latest in scientific and clinical knowledge in ALS as well as increase disease awareness and collaborative network amongst the regional community. Our programme will include plenary talks, workshops and scientific symposiums, featuring international and regional speakers.

We are confident that PACTALS 2023, set against the backdrop of our vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur, will provide delegates with a rewarding and memorable experience.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kuala Lumpur in 2023.