Sikkim’s Dr. Kotwal conferred with international awards in Washington



by Amalendu Kundu

11th International Congress of Behavioural Medicine in Washington DC - First Week of August 2010

GANGTOK, August 30: State medical advisor to Sikkim Chief Minister and senior medical practitioner, Dr. MR Kotwal has been conferred with two international awards by the 11th International Congress of Behavioural Medicine in Washington DC in the first week of August.

The presentation on Stress Reduction in Shavasan (Yogic relaxation in dead body position) during Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy by Dr. Kotwal and CZ Rinchen, Gastroenterology, Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital, Gangtok was among the 15 posters chosen by Awards Committee to vie to be among top three.

The International Society of Behavioural Medicine Awards Committee had identified 15 highly meritorious poster abstracts that were evaluated at the ICBM 2010 Poster Sessions for top three posters.

Dr. Kotwal has left for China today to deliver a key note address in the International Conference on Bud Chiari Syndrome and GERD in Zhengzhou and Beijing in September. He has also been involved in experimentations to know whether Chinese Taichie and Indian Yoga could be combined for research on stress.

Dr. Kotwal said stress is the greatest epidemic of 21st century which is the main cause for less happiness and poor quality of life of the modern world, as predicted by the WHO that by 2020 Depression and Mood Disorders are going to be number one disorder in the world. Presently this is a highly focused field for research worldwide, he added.