ABSTRACT | PDF

LETTER TO EDITOR

47th CEZIPS, Kaziranga

Sir,

How were unexplained medical symptoms comprehended before 20th century? How were they discerned by society? How were these symptoms branded? Well, some were understood as God’s wrath and others were named agnosias. With the advent of brain imaging techniques and relentless curiosity, the former found a place in psychiatric nosology and the later were reappropriated as cortical brain lesions.

Who was the next big unexplained one who had been pushing us all for a similar deliberate discussion since the advent of psychiatry? They were ever present and recognised in the time and space, but were acknowledged only when they made their way and sneaked under the umbrella of psychiatric disorders. They pervaded the entire gamut of psychiatric nosology and made themselves stronger and more evolved and rubbed shoulders with major psychiatric disorders from neurodevelopmental to neurocognitive to neurodegenerative disorders. Yes, we are talking about somatic/psychosomatic symptoms and related disorders. These faintly understood somatic symptoms, have proudly embossed themselves in a continuum from an independent diagnosis to part of major psychiatric disorders and have made us wise by unearthing mysterious hysteria, conversion, functional symptoms, medically unexplained symptoms, somatization, and revealing somatic symptoms and related disorders. The advancement in precision diagnostics have enhanced our understanding but demands constant catch up to the latest bit for conversion to effective clinical practice and improved clinician and clientele satisfaction.

To disseminate the conceptual and practical considerations of psychosomatic and related disorders, its changing paradigms, the nosological changes, the progress heretofore, challenges, and the future directions; a need for continuing medical education (CME) was felt. The challenges faced by veterans, contemporaries, budding psychiatrists, general medical practitioners, and the postgraduate trainees were recognised, and psychosomatic medicine was conceptualised and conceived as a topic for the 47th Annual Conference of East Zone of Indian Psychiatric Society (CEZIPS 2022) at Kaziranga scheduled from 10 November to 12 November 2022.

The programme started in world heritage site of Kaziranga with cultural fervour. The scientific programme was made such that the academic ocean was churned by eminent speakers from all over India and there was rain of elixir of eternal knowledge. The history, psychodynamics, evolving concepts of psychosomatic disorders, illness behaviour of general population as well among the industrial population was discussed, argued, and nitty-gritties of consultation-liaison psychiatry and psychotropic use in such cases were discussed. Pain was conferred upon with due status of more than a mere symptom and approach to alleviation of pain was discussed in various symposium and invited lectures. The neuropsychiatric aspects of autoimmune disorders, neuroinflammation, psychoneuroimmunology, and gut microbiota were discussed, and an impetus for translational studies in these areas was encouraged. A buoyant workshop on research was designed for postgraduates and importance of various aspects from research question to publication were highlighted. A range of symposia from contemporary psychosocial issues like suicide; sex as a profession; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and health professionals; and gender influence on psychosomatics or vice-versa to various management issues cum recent advances in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were deliberated upon. The conference concluded with a stupendous quiz for postgraduates and during which the faculty members also, kind of relived their trainee days.

The gut as well as the brain were indeed nourished well by the CME and, in the serenity of Kaziranga, the mind and the body got intricated more conscientiously!

Rachit Sharma

Department of Psychiatry, Base Hospital, Tezpur, District - Sonitpur, Assam, India

Correspondence: Dr. Rachit Sharma, Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, Base Hospital, Tezpur, District - Sonitpur, Assam-784001, India. srachit1985@gmail.com

Received: 16 November 2022

Revised: 13 July 2023

Accepted: 16 July 2023

Epub: 25 October 2023

Source of support: Nil. Declaration of interest: None.

Sharma R. 47th CEZIPS, Kaziranga. Open J Psychiatry Allied Sci. 2023 Oct 25. Epub ahead of print.