Biomedical subjects

Adnan Awada

Publications and source records attributed to Adnan Awada.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Neurological disorders and travel.

Travel is associated with a number of neurological disorders that can be divided into two categories: (1) Neurological infections including encephalitides, neurotuberculosis, neurobrucellosis, cysticercosis and trichinosis. Some of these disorders can be prevented by vaccinations, such as Japanese B encephalitis and rabies, some by the use of insect repellents and some by avoiding raw milk products and undercooked meat. (2) Non-infective neurological disorders, such as acute mountain sickness and high altitude cerebral oedema, problems occurring during air travel such as syncope, seizures, strokes, nerve compression, barotrauma and vertigo, motion sickness and foodborne neurotoxic disorders such as ciguatera, shellfish poisoning and intoxication by cassava. This group of diseases and disorders could be prevented if the traveller knows about them, applies simple physiological rules, takes some specific medications and knows how to avoid intoxications in certain geographical areas. Meningococcal meningitis, malaria and jet lag syndrome are extensively discussed in other articles of this issue. The discussion in this paper will be limited to the other disorders.

Aerospace Medicine↗

PubMed2003

Molecular analysis of the spinal muscular atrophy and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein genes in Saudi patients with spinal muscular atrophy.

OBJECTIVE: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common, often fatal, autosomal recessive disease leading to progressive muscle wasting and paralysis as a result of degeneration of anterior horn cells of the spinal cord. The prevalence of SMA cases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is much higher than the European and North American population. Deletions or mutations in 2 genes, telomeric form of the survival motor neuron (SMN1) and the neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP), are known to be associated with SMA. The aim of this study is to examine the deletions or interruptions of the SMN1 and NAIP genes in Saudi patients. METHODS: The study included 121 Saudi SMA patients [type I (60 patients); type II (26 patients); and type III (35 patients)]. The deletions or interruptions of the SMN1 and NAIP genes were detected by using polymerase chain reaction. The study was carried out at the King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, KSA between 2000 and 2002. RESULTS: The homozygous deletions of exons 7 and 8 of the SMN1 gene were found in 94% and 87% of the patients. Exon 5 of the NAIP gene was deleted in 70%, but its deletion was more frequent in SMA type I (93%) as compared to type II (54%) and type III (43%). Seven patients with SMA diagnosis did not show any of the above homozygous deletions. All 230 control subjects had at least one copy of both SMN1 and NAIP genes, as expected. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that the deletion rate (94%) of the SMN1 gene in Saudi SMA patients is similar, irrespective of types, compared with patients of other ethnic groups. We also show that the incidence of NAIP deletion is higher in the more severe SMA cases and the dual deletion of the SMN1 and NAIP genes are more common in Saudi SMA type I patients compared with patients of other ethnic groups.

Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein↗

PubMed2003

Bilateral simultaneous hip fractures secondary to an epileptic seizure.

A 30-year-old man sustained bilateral simultaneous displaced subcapital fractures of neck of femur during an epileptic tonic-clonic seizure. After admission to the hospital approximately 18 hours later, internal fixation of the fractures with dynamic hip screw was undertaken. Post operatively, he was managed by early motion and weight bearing on the second day. Despite the severity of the fractures and delayed surgery, satisfactory union of the fractures was noted at 6 months when bone densitometry was normal. At 3 years follow up, there was no sign of avascular necrosis of the femoral heads.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Stroke in Saudi Arabia.

In this review, the authors summarize 10 years of work on stroke in Saudi Arabia that has led to more than 25 publications. The incidence and prevalence of strokes were low when compared to those reported from Western countries, but this was mainly due to the younger age of the population. The overall distribution of stroke types was not different from that reported in other communities, with the exception of the low incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, the relatively high frequency of strokes in the young and strokes related to small artery disease, i.e. lacunar infarcts and cerebral hemorrhage, and the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus as a risk factor were quite distinctive. On the other hand, extracranial large artery disease was quite rare. Undetected and untreated hypertension and a low frequency of cigarette smoking in the stroke-prone age group could be one explanation of these findings.

Humans↗

PubMed2002

Deletion mutations in the dystrophin gene of Saudi patients with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy.

OBJECTIVE: The deletion in the dystrophin gene has been reported for many ethnic groups, but until now the mutations in this gene have not been thoroughly investigated in Saudi patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). We examined the deletion pattern in the dystrophin gene of the Saudi patients applying multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The aim of this study is to describe the outcome of our initial effort to identify mutations in the dystrophin gene in a representative group of Saudi patients with DMD and BMD. METHODS: Genomic deoxyribose nucleic acid was isolated from 41 patients with DMD and BMD (27 patients confirmed by muscle biopsy and 14 patients with clinical suspicion), 3 patients with limb girdle muscular dystrophy, 12 male relatives of the patients, and 5 healthy Saudi volunteers. A total of 25 exons around the deletion prone regions (hot spots) of the dystrophin gene were amplified. The study was carried out at the King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2002. RESULTS: The deletion of one or more exons was found in 21 of 27 DMD and BMD patients confirmed by muscle biopsy. The deletion in the gene was detected in 5 of 14 patients with DMD diagnosis, but not confirmed by dystrophin staining of muscle biopsy. No deletion in the dystrophin gene was detected in control Saudi volunteers, the limb girdle dystrophy patients, and the relatives of patients, as expected. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that intragenic dystrophin gene deletions occur with the same frequency in Saudi patients compared with other ethnic groups. The PCR-based deletion analysis provides a reasonable first step in the diagnostic care of Saudi patients who may be afflicted with DMD and BMD.

Arabs↗