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PubMed2002

Vaccine development: the biological weapon imperative.

The biological warfare capabilities of state and non-state actors continue to grow worldwide, both in sophistication and breadth. More than a dozen nations, including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria and North Korea, are either actively pursuing or possess biological weapons for use against their enemies. There is also a heightened awareness of the use of such agents by terrorist groups, a possibly deleterious side-effect of an increased awareness by the general public. This paper looks at the growing threat of the use of biological agents by both national programmes and non-state actors, the possible agents which might be considered for use, and the potential role that vaccine development may have in protecting both military and civilian populations against biological weapons attacks in the future.

Biological Warfare↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Morphological characteristics of head hairs and hairs from other parts of the body in the population of Asia].

The paper describes specific morphological features of hairs from the head, beard, chest, axilla, pubis of the native population of Syria, India, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Nepal, Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq and some residents of the Eastern Europe (Russians, Belorussians, Ukrainians). The hairs were studied macroscopically and microscopically (light microscopy). Digital data on hair thickness and number of lines of cuticula pattern were analysed using methods of variance statistics. Original information on some macro- and microscopic characteristics of hair has been obtained for citizens of the above countries.

Asia, Western↗
PubMed1998

The role of Galen in the development and progress of medical sciences.

Early Roman medicine was a mixture of religion and witchcraft, but as time went by, it became more influenced by the Greek medical sciences, which were more developed. The most famous Greek physician during the Roman period was Galen (129-200 AD). In the 4th century A. D. The Byzantine physicians of the Emperor Julian, made the Galenic writings available to ordinary practitioners, and so Greek medicine spread throughout Syria and was carried by the Nestorians into Persia, where it became available to the Islamic World.

Arab World↗
PubMed2003

Commodities consumed in Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries compared with Australia in 1960s and 1990s.

Consumption figures for 15 major commodities (cereals, wheat, rice, maize, potato, pulses, olive oil, other vegetable oils, vegetables, fruits, wine, meats, animal fats, milk + products, and fish + seafood) were collected from FAO Food Balance Sheets during the 1960s (1961-1969) and late 1990s (1995-1999). For some nutritionists the "model Mediterranean diet" is the Italian or Greek diet of the 1960s, for others the concept of Mediterranean countries is more general. Analysis shows: (1) In the 1960s, Australia consumed more meat, milk, animal fat than Italy or Greece and less cereals, wheat, pulses, olive oil, vegetables, fruits and wine. (2) In the 1960s, Australia's olive oil, vegetables, fruits and wine consumption were within the range for all 18 Mediterranean countries (i.e. Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco). (3) In the 1990s, food consumptions have evolved; Australia's wine and milk consumption is now similar to Italy and Greece; consumption of wheat, olive oil, vegetables, fruits and fish are lower; consumption of potato, pulses, other vegetable oils and meat are higher than Italy or Greece. (4) Australia's consumption of the 15 commodities is within the range of all Mediterranean countries in the late 1990s, except wheat consumption was lower.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Luke, evangelist and physician].

Luke, author of the Third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles was also a physician. As he was born in Antioch he was probably Greek. He travelled with the Apostle Paul. He was born in Antioch he as probably Greek. He travelled with the Aspostle Paul. He was the only gospel writer to have been accurate in his medical analysis, for example to locate a paralysis with precision and use Hippocratic tradition terms. He might have been chosen as the patron saint by the medical corporation at the end of the Middle Ages. From the fifteenth century, the University doctors' first day had been the eighteenth of October, that is St Luke's Day. On their seals, several French medical colleges had an invocation to Saint Luke (with a winged bull at his feet as a symbol) and to the Virgin Mary. Medical corporations and painters' guilds had chapels dedicated to Luke at the end of the fourteenth century. In the sixteenth century, Painting Academies were to be called "Saint Luke's" Apart from being famous as a doctor, Luke is known as Virgin Mary's painter. In his gospel he was speaking about her in detail and with tenderness. In Syria and in Rome some paintings were attributed to him. In some fifteenth century engravings, Luke was depicted as a writer of the Gospel or a painter, and sometimes he was dressed as a physician. Nowadays some medical centres are named after him and some French doctors celebrate the eighteenth of October.

France↗
PubMed2003

Familial Mediterranean fever mutation frequencies and carrier rates among a mixed Arabic population.

OBJECTIVE: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autoinflammatory periodic disorder characterized by febrile and painful attacks due to inflammation involving the serosal membranes. The gene implicated in this disorder, MEFV, has been cloned and mutations in its coding regions have been identified. We aimed at identifying the frequency of MEFV mutations and carrier frequency in a mixed Arabic population. METHODS: We identified 29 probands from 29 unrelated sibships segregating the disorder and representing the affected individual cohort. We screened 200 anonymous deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples, representing a healthy adult cohort, for the mutations found to be common in the affected individual cohort. We also, screened anonymous DNA samples from 4 Arabic countries, namely, Egypt (231), Syria (225), Iraq (176) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (107) thus enlarging our healthy adult cohort. The study was carried out between 1999 and 2002 at Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid and the University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. RESULTS: Out of the 58 alleles of the 29 probands, only 31 mutations were identified and M694V and V726A are the most common. The mutation E148Q was the most common among the healthy adult cohort, but was not present in affected individuals. The collective mutant allele frequency "q" was 0.101. The expected carrier rate was 18.1% (one in 5.5) while the observed carrier rate was 18.4% (one in 5.4). CONCLUSION: E148Q has reduced penetrance and thus, a proportion of the individuals genetically affected with FMF remain asymptomatic. M694I and M680I are more prevalent in the affected individuals cohort, which points to their higher penetrance. The overall carrier rate is one in 5, but the selective heterozygote advantage could not be demonstrated in this study due to the relatively small sample size.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Genotype-dependent variation in the transpiration efficiency of plants and photosynthetic activity of flag leaves in spring barley under varied nutrition.

In the study, spring barley genotypes of various origin and breeding history were found to show a broad genetic variation in the vegetative and generative measures of the whole-plant transpiration efficiency (TE), photosynthesis (A) and transpiration (E) rates of flag leaves, leaf efficiency of gas exchange (A/E) and stress tolerance (T) when grown till maturity in soil-pots under high and reduced NPK supplies. Broad-sense heritabilities for the characteristics ranged from 0.61 to 0.87. Significant genotype-nutrition interactions were noticed, constituting 19-23% of the total variance in TE measures. The results suggest that at least some 'exotic' accessions from Ethiopia, Syria, Morocco and/or Tibet may serve as attractive genetic sources of novel variations in TE, T and A for the breeding of barleys of improved adaptation to less favourable fertilisation.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2003

Epidemiology of prostate cancer in United Arab Emirates.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the magnitude of prostate cancer in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). DESIGN: A descriptive retrospective study. SETTING: Tawam and Al-Ain Teaching Hospitals, Al-Ain Medical District, UAE. SUBJECTS: Analysis based on patient admissions into the main referral teaching hospital, categorizing age, nationality groups and type of cancer. All prostate cancer patients, diagnosed and treated at Tawam and Al-Ain Hospitals during the period from 1982 to 2000, are included in the study and consisted of 84 subjects. RESULTS: The study series consisted of 84 patients with the ages ranging from 38 to 81 years with a median age of 56 years and a mean and standard deviation of 56.5 +/- 12.5 years. The study revealed that majority of the patients (n = 33, 39.2%) were diagnosed between 51 to 60 years of age. The majority of our patients were UAE nationals (44.0%), followed by patients from neighboring countries i.e. Oman, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Egypt (40.5%). The initial pathological diagnosis was confirmed mainly by Trucut Needle Biopsy in the majority of patients (n = 48, 57%), TURP (n = 15, 18%), Open Prostatectomy (n = 4, 5%) and others i.e. lymph node, bone marrow, and pleural biopsies and high PSA (n = 17, 20%). The majority of our patients (77.7%) presented with an advanced disease and received hormonal treatment while 16.6% received radical radiotherapy and 5.5% had radical prostatectomy. According to our analysis the annual incidence of prostate cancer is 4.5/100,000 male population. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of prostatic carcinoma in the UAE, like other Arabian Gulf and Asian countries, is very low compared to Western Countries despite the high intake of calories and consumption of animal fat. However, genetics and environmental factors believed to be involved in the complex etiology of prostate cancer in UAE are not clear yet, and awaiting investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Subcutaneous dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria repens.

Human dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria repens D. repens is a common zoonosis in the Mediterranean countries and parts of South Asia. During the last decade, it has been reported from countries previously considered non-endemic. This is likely due to the increased awareness regarding Dirofilaria infection. In some such cases however, dirofilariasis correlated with the travel of the patient to the endemic areas. We present the case of a Saudi male who had D. repens infection in the subcutaneous tissues of the forearm. The patient had traveled to Iraq, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in the last 2 years. However, the known Dirofilaria endemic countries were not visited. Any prior occurrence of the human dirofilariasis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not documented. Lack of epidemiological studies or incidence reports in the Arabian region precludes any factual evaluation of Dirofilaria prevalence, which requires increased awareness amongst health workers regarding its potential occurrence in the native population.

Abscess↗
PubMed2005

Effect of hormone replacement therapy on hemostatic variables in post-menopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been increasingly promoted over the last 40 years to improve quality of life, and to reduce the risks of osteoporotic fractures and coronary heart disease (CHD). Recent randomized controlled clinical trials reported that HRT usage is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and venous thrombosis. We conducted this study to evaluate the mean levels of some hemostatic parameters among groups that differ in estrogen levels and age. METHODS: We studied 150 healthy women in an observational comparative study, divided into 3 groups. Forty women were post-menopausal using HRT for a period of 6 months to 17 years. Fifty-five women were post-menopausal and were not using HRT. Fifty-five women were younger pre-menopausal women with an age range of 20-54 years. The HRT group women were recruited from gynecologist private clinics while the other 2 groups were recruited in a random way from the society in Damascus, Syria between August 2002 and January 2003. We determined estradiol, fibrinogen, antithrombin III (AT III) and protein C in all women. RESULTS: When compared with post-menopausal non-users group, current HRT users had higher mean levels of estradiol, but lower mean levels of AT III and protein C, and similar mean levels of fibrinogen. When compared with pre-menopausal group, current users had similar mean levels of estradiol, AT III and protein C, but higher mean levels of fibrinogen. However, post-menopausal non-users women had higher mean levels of fibrinogen and lower mean levels of AT III and protein C when compared with pre-menopausal women. CONCLUSION: Hormone replacement therapy treatment did not change fibrinogen mean levels, but it caused a decrease in AT III and protein C mean levels.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Implementation of asthma guidelines in health centres of several developing countries.

SETTING: Nine selected out-patient clinics caring for asthma patients in Algeria, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Syria, Turkey and Vietnam. DESIGN: Prospective enrolment of consecutive patients considered by the practitioner to have asthma with evaluation of adherence of the practitioner with recommended standard case management, including proportion of patients confirmed to have asthma, proportion in whom severity was correctly graded and proportion in whom treatment with inhaled corticosteroids corresponded to severity grade. RESULTS: Of 499 consecutive patients, 456 (91%) were enrolled and evaluated. The diagnosis was confirmed in 263 (58%). Agreement between the practitioner and the guidelines in assigning grade of severity was moderate overall (kappa = 0.42). It was higher for assignment of grade using symptoms (K = 0.51), but poor for assignment of grade using peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate (kappa = 0.29), with practitioners tending to underestimate the severity. Agreement between the practitioners' assessment of severity and treatment with inhaled corticosteroids was poor (kappa = 0.18), with underutilisation of inhaled corticosteroids. CONCLUSIONS: Practitioners caring for asthma patients in this study tended to underutilise the PEF rate in assessing their patients and underutilised treatment of patients with inhaled corticosteroids.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk of tuberculosis infection in Edirne primary schools and a review of its epidemiological indices.

The study population was defined as all first and fifth grade pupils from 17 primary schools located within Edirne Municipality. Of these 3188 pupils, aged 6-14 years, 569 had not received the BCG vaccine, and were tested for Tb with strengths of 1.3 or 5 TU PPD, and the reactions were evaluated. The annual risk of infection (AIR), a relatively new indice in Tb epidemiology, was determined in the different subgroups in which age, school grade and sex were taken into consideration. The results of each subgroup were compared with each other and with those reported in foreign countries. Global AIR was found to be 1.54 percent, a relatively very high value when compared with those reported in Syria and Egypt. The relative risk ratio was recorded as 22.4 percent in the Netherlands. Another rate parameter which is almost as important as AIR is the annual variation in AIR. In Turkey this rate has been varying annually by an average of 5% for over the past 21 years. These figures may be the result only of normal socioeconomic development rather than the effect of campaigns waged in the fight against Tb. We are convinced that under the conditions prevailing in Turkey, widespread, early vaccination with BCG is the best way to control Tb.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Morphological anomalies in ticks (Acari: Ixodida) collected from natural environment].

Among the ticks with morphological anomalies were: Argas persicus--fed female with atrophia of the third right leg together with the coxa from the chicken in the hen house (Mfakar Alsrki--Syria); Hyalomma marginatum--partly fed female with complete absence of the fourth right leg, was found on a sheep (Mfakar Alsrki); Ixodes ricinus--partly fed female with asymmetry of the body from the roe-deer (Popielno, province Suwałki); I. I. ricinus--partly fed female with anomaly in shape of the dorsal disk, was found probably on a cattle in province Kraków.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Imbalance of distribution of physicians in the Arab world].

The Arab world, as a whole, now has 8.5 medical doctors per 10,000 population. This average covers a great diversity of national situations; for example 0.6 doctors per 10,000 population in Somalia, and 17.5 doctors per 10,000 population in Qatar. From the viewpoint of medical staffing, the Arab countries can be grouped into four categories: (i) Countries with low medical density: their national staff is scarce, they do not have a long academic tradition, and they have to rely on foreign physicians (Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia, Mauritania). (ii) Countries with acceptable medical density: they have strengthened their medical training system during the last decades, their production of medical graduates is now fairly high, and there is seemingly a threat of oversupply (Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq). (iii) Countries with relatively high medical density: their medical staffing is below that of developed countries, but their economic possibilities are reduced, which leads to an oversupply; these countries are exporters of medical manpower (Egypt, Jordan). (iv) Countries that import medical manpower although their own medical density is quite high: their medical training is recent or non-existent and their health system relies to a great extent on foreign doctors (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Kuwait). They are all oil producers. In brief, a shortage and an oversupply of medical doctors coexist in the Arab world, and concerted action is required.

Africa, Northern↗
PubMed1989

The origin of the golden hamster as a laboratory animal.

The introduction of the golden hamster as a laboratory animal was initiated by Prof. Saul Adler F.R.S., who sought a laboratory animal susceptible to infection with Leishmania. His friend and colleague Prof. Israel Aharoni succeeded in collecting a family of hamsters in Syria, with the aid of a hunter by the name of Georgius. The animals were brought to Jerusalem and were bred by Mr. Haim Ben-Menahem, Director of the Hebrew University Animal House. All the hamsters in the laboratory are the descendants of this family.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1987

New spiroplasmas from insects and flowers: isolation, ecology, and host association.

Eight spiroplasma strains from insects and one from spring flowers failed to react with antisera specific for any of the 11 described spiroplasma groups, with sera directed against spiroplasma Group I subgroups, or with sera directed against two unnumbered groups previously reported to occur in tabanid flies. Strains, all from Maryland, were isolated from the hemolymph of the spotted cucumber beetle Diabrotica undecimpunctata and the lampyrid beetle Ellychnia corrusca, and the guts of the cantharid beetles Cantharis bilineatus and C. carolinus. Other strains were obtained from a tabanid fly, Tabanus gladiator and from the firefly Photuris pennsylvanica in Maryland and from the mosquito Culex tritaeniorhynchus in Taiwan. An isolate from pooled Cicadulina bipunctella leafhoppers in Syria apparently represented a unique group. A single isolate from spring flowers in Oklahoma also appeared to be unrelated to existing groups or subgroups. One-way deformation tests using sera prepared against known beetle and tabanid spiroplasmas showed each of the above strains to be unique. Although these results strongly indicate that the nine strains studied are representatives of unique new spiroplasma groups, the formal designation of new groups awaits fulfillment of recently proposed criteria.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The Lebanese allele at the low density lipoprotein receptor locus. Nonsense mutation produces truncated receptor that is retained in endoplasmic reticulum.

We here describe a mutant low density lipoprotein receptor gene that produces a shortened receptor protein lacking three domains: the region of clustered O-linked carbohydrates, the membrane-spanning region, and the cytoplasmic tail. The defect is attributable to a single nucleotide substitution that creates a premature termination codon at amino acid 660, eliminating 180 residues from the mature protein. The truncated protein retains only two domains: a complete ligand-binding region (residues 1-292) and a partial epidermal growth factor precursor homology region (residues 293-659). The termination codon occurs in the middle of a cysteine-rich sequence that is part of the epidermal growth factor precursor homology domain. The mutant protein is present in markedly reduced amounts and may be translated at a reduced rate. After synthesis, most of the receptor remains within the cell for several hours with its N-linked carbohydrate in an unprocessed endoglycosidase H-sensitive form. This finding suggests that the shortened receptor leaves the endoplasmic reticulum at an abnormally slow rate, which is likely attributable to abnormal folding of the truncated protein. The mutation creates a new restriction site for the enzyme HinfI, thus permitting diagnosis by Southern blotting of genomic DNA. Two copies of this mutant gene were present in each of four unrelated Arab patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (three from Lebanon and one from Syria). We believe that this mutation, hereafter referred to as the "Lebanese allele," is responsible for the extraordinarily high incidence of familial hypercholesterolemia in Lebanon.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Problems of education and training in gastroenterology in the Middle East and Africa.

Gastrointestinal diseases are prevalent throughout the Middle East and Africa, causing high morbidity and mortality. The available data point to a morbidity of 20% in Zimbabwe and 18% in Egypt, and to a mortality of 26.6%, 17.9%, and 7.9% in Egypt, Mauretania, and Syria, respectively. However, most if not all the countries in our area of interest lack valid medical statistics. Gastroenterology is a neglected speciality in our region. Community-based curricula have only been tried in Egypt and Sudan universities. In Egypt, which tops the list, the number of gastroenterologists serving the community is 1/500,000, compared with 1/400,000 in Turkey and 1/100,000 in Denmark. Lack of funding is of considerable importance, as are low salaries, shortage of and insufficient service of equipment, and inability to attend international meetings. Gastroenterology is not represented at departmental levels in hospitals. There is a lack of team spirit among the medical profession, at the expense of much duplication of equipment. In most African countries training programs and gastrointestinal societies are lacking. The needs for the future: establishment of national programs for education and training in gastroenterology; creation of departments of gastroenterology and of membership/fellowship/university degrees; establishment of community-based curricula and promotionally based training; creation and reviving of societies of gastroenterology; and organization of activities, team work, and economic support of training programs.

Africa↗