UM, Foundation Ink MOU To Set Up Centre For Parkinson's Disease

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Universiti Malaya (UM) and the Dato Tan Chin Nam Foundation (DTCNF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at facilitating and promoting cooperation for the establishment of a dedicated centre for Parkinson's Disease and related disorders. UM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin said with the multi-storey centre worth US$1.15 million (RM5 million) - a donation from the foundation - UM would soon have a dedicated Parkinson's Centre. "This centre will be Malaysia's first Parkinson's Centre, which will also be the first in Southeast Asia, and will be operational by next year. "It will provide multi-disciplinary care under one roof to patients with Parkinson's Disease and related disorders," he told reporters after the signing ceremony here Wednesday. The MoU was inked by Dr Mohd Amin, Dean of Medicine Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Consultant Neurologist and Profesor of Medicine Prof Dr Lim Shen Yeng, DTCNF Life President Tan Chin Nam, Director of DTCNF Tan Lei Cheng and Chief Investment Officer of Goldis Berhad Colin Ng here Wednesday. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Kuala Lumpur Mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz. Dr Mohd Amin said about 200,000 of the 1.2 million Parkinson's Disease patients nationwide sought treatment at the UM Medical Centre here. On the selection of UM to operate the centre, he said this was because it had many specialists in neurology and was the oldest medical centre in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Lei Cheng said the MoU signing ceremony was the culmination of two years of work on a vital project. "The idea of Parkinson's research centre was first mooted by Dr Lim and his team to my father (Tan Chin Nam), about two years ago. "We hope this donation initiative will encourage further clinical research into new medical therapies and innovative treatment to enhance lifestyle," she said. -- BERNAMA