Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology

Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) is a federation of organisations of rheumatology. It was established in Sydney in 1963 and the first congress was held in 1968 in Mumbai^[1] at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

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 from Bangladesh.

Affiliated National Organisations

Australian Rheumatology Association
Bangladesh Rheumatology Society
Chinese Rheumatology Association
Indian Rheumatology Association
Japan College of Rheumatology
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.^[2] 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 Dubai, U.A.E.
2018 APLAR CONGRESS Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2019 APLAR CONGRESS Brisbane, Australia
2020 APLAR CONGRESS Kyoto, Japan
2021 APLAR CONGRESS Virtual & Kyoto, Japan
2022 APLAR CONGRESS Hong Kong
2023 APLAR CONGRESS Chang Mai, Thailand
2024 APLAR CONGRESS Singapore

Journal

The league publishes its APLAR Journal of Rheumatology in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, a peer-reviewed medical journal.

References

^ "About APLAR". Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR). Retrieved 18 June 2022.
^ Pispati, P. (September 2015). "Nostalgia: Extravaganza of APLAR Congresses Down Memory Lane: Annotations from a personal diary". International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases (Special Article). 18 (Suppl 1): 1–3. doi:10.1111/1756-185X.12774. PMID 26331707. S2CID 26696495.

External links

[1] "About APLAR". Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR). Retrieved 18 June 2022.

[2] Pispati, P. (September 2015). "Nostalgia: Extravaganza of APLAR Congresses Down Memory Lane: Annotations from a personal diary". International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases (Special Article). 18 (Suppl 1): 1–3. doi:10.1111/1756-185X.12774. PMID 26331707. S2CID 26696495.

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