Ciguatera is a complex clinical syndrome, caused by a marine biotoxin, which can affect nearly every system of the human body. The clinical syndrome has characteristic elements in its acute, chronic and recurring forms. The incidence of ciguatera is on the rise, and misdiagnosis is not uncommon. Appropriate identification, management and treatment of ciguatera is dependent on understanding the pathophysiology of the illness, determining the correct form of the illness, and applying the appropriate treatment modalities to that form. More research is necessary to clinically manage ciguatera and the clinical dilemmas it presents.
OBJECTIVES:
1) To understand the clinical syndromes of Ciguatera.
2) To understand the latest treatments of Ciguatera.
Presenter:
Neal A. Palafox, MD, MPH
Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
John A. Burns School of Medicine
University of Hawaii, Manoa
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
11:00am
Pacific Ocean Science & Technology Building, 723
Refreshments will be served after the seminar in POST 121
The Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine (PRCMB) is a newly established center at the University of Hawaii dedicated to trans-disciplinary research designed to gain new knowledge about the profound impacts of the ocean on human health. The Center is funded by the National Science Foundation (OCE04-32479) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P50ES012740).
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