Biomedical subjects
M Izzat
Publications and source records attributed to M Izzat.
Sickle cell anaemia in Jordan and its clinical patterns.
Homozygous sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which haemoglobin A is replaced by haemoglobin S. The disease exhibits a wide spectrum of clinical behaviour which has been well described in neighbouring countries. In Jordan, however, the disease has never been characterized. We used reviews of patients' notes and clinic interviews at Princess Badi'a Teaching Hospital, Irbid, Jordan to describe the clinical presentation of the disease in our area. The total number of patients was 41 (28 boys and 13 girls) and the median age was 9 years (range 1.5-21). The median age at presentation was 2.5 years (range 0.5-11). The commonest presenting feature was pallor (62%). An unusual feature of the disease in this series is the presence of a palpable spleen in 44% of patients older than 8 years. Associated G6PD deficiency was present in 29% of boys. Different clinical patterns of SCA were observed. Haemoglobin F is unlikely to be an explanation for this variability since it has not been shown to correlate with a number of severity indices of the disease such as the frequency of blood transfusions, hospitalizations and painful crises. Although the disease haplotype is not known in Jordan, our geographical location between Asia and Africa may suggest the presence of more than one haplotype and consequently different clinical patterns.
Isolated bilateral paralysis of the soft palate in an adult.
A case of bilateral paralysis of the soft palate occurring in a 42-year-old patient is presented. Idiopathic paralysis of the soft palate as an isolated clinical entity was first described by Edin et al. 1976. Since then 22 similar cases have been reported, all in children and all unilateral. A search of the English language literature has not revealed a case of bilateral palatal palsy in an adult.