Tag Archives: Middle East

Blood on the lab bench

Posted on by
Reply

Scientists in Qatar have taken research into organ development one more step into the future by expanding the potential for creating personalized blood and heart tissue in the lab.

The scientists, under the lead of Arash Rafii Tabrizi at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, have postulated that endothelial cells, which line the walls of blood vessels, are a vehicle for organ development. “Different organs have different endothelial cells that express different and specific factors called angiocrine factors that lead to the development and function of the organ,” explains Tabrizi.

In order to test this, the scientists forced the expression of said transcription vectors in the lab. Twenty days later, the cells multiplied and differentiated into the building blocks of blood cells: hematopietic stem cells. These are the basis for cells such as red and white blood cells and platelets.

“If you have leukemia, for example, we would retrieve your endothelial cells and we could transform that into blood. It would be an unlimited personal source of blood for each individual,” says Tabrizi.

In addition to blood, the researchers paired endothelial cells with heart muscle cells to create more muscle cells, that beat together rhythmically, in a petri dish.

The scientists maintain, however, that it’s too early to make any sweeping assumptions about the reliability of results, not until the tests move into the animal and human trial phases.

Read more about what the scientists have termed a breakthrough discovery here.

 

Prescription drugs overused and abused in the Mideast

Posted on by
Reply

It turns out that, in the Middle East, getting access to prescription medications for serious ailments, in the absence of supervision, can sometimes be as easy as picking up an over-the-counter medicine for a headache or the common cold, or so claims a new review published in Pharmacology Research & Perspectives.

In theory, the regulations separating access to either brand of medication is there. In practice, the review cites a “massive problem” of self-medication misuse in the region, particularly with prescription medication, one that eventually leads to greater health risks among patients, including drug dependency and addiction.

Drugs that are used recklessly or sometimes abused by Middle Eastern patients include codeine containing products, topical anesthetics, topical corticosteroids, antimalarial, and antibiotics. According to the review, which looked at 72 papers published on the subject between 1990 and 2015, self-medication medicine misuse cannot always be exactly quantified in the region but it seems widespread.

Some of the statistics that the review highlights are quite jarring.

For instance, 73.9% of the Sudanese population have reportedly used antibiotics or antimalarials without a prescription. Equally alarming trends have been observed in Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt and the UAE, with drugs such as amoxicillin or ampicillin being dispensed freely. According to the review, most patients self-medicating on antibioitcs did not even follow through the full course of the medications and took them for less than three days.

Many of the patients follow the advice of relatives, or have a drug prescribed to them by a doctor over the phone. As well, some pharmacists play a role. “People tended to select medication based mainly on advice received from community pharmacists,” says one of the studies cited.

One study said that the majority of the 200 pharmacies under scrutiny in Syria had sold antibiotics without prescription, and in Saudi Arabia, only a single pharmacy had refused to release the medication without a doctor’s prescription.

As well as stacking prescription medications for future use, Middle Eastern patients often used them inappropriately; it’s not uncommon for many to pop antibiotics to treat illnesses unrelated to bacterial infections, for instance, or with incorrect dosages for inappropriate period of time, according to the review.

Ancient parasites hitched rides to the region using European travelers

Posted on by
Reply
The fossilized faeces were riddled with both roundworm and whipworm

The fossilized faeces in the ancient cesspool were riddled with both roundworm and whipworm{credit}Hui-Yuan Yeh{/credit}

Analyzing a 500-year-old latrine in the Christian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem, researchers found evidence of some species of intestinal parasites that seem to have been “imported” from medieval Europe.

Of the six species of parasitic eggs detected – including large quantities of roundworm and whipworm, both spread by faecal contamination of food and thought to be endemic to the region at the time – two had been normally very common in northern Europe, but almost absent in the Middle East.

“The analysis of this fifteenth century latrine in Jerusalem provides a vivid glimpse of the infectious diseases suffered by the people who used it,” reads the study.

The parasites in question are Entamoeba histolytica and fish tapeworm, explains the research published in the International Journal of Paleopathology. The researchers believe long distance travelers had taken these parasites with them as they journeyed to Jerusalem.

The fish tapeworm was prevalent in Europe and often eaten raw, smoked or pickled – which doesn’t kill the parasite. But, as per Arabic texts of the time, in inland cities such as Jerusalem, fish was either not commonly eaten, or was thoroughly cooked before being consumed. The cooking kills the parasite and prevents its spread.

The researchers found pieces of Italian pottery in the same cesspool, which – they believe – point to strong trading or religious links between Europe and Jerusalem during the late 1400s, according to the official press release with details of the study. Based on that, the researchers hypothesise that the latrine was either a town house owned by local merchants who traveled to Europe, contacting the parasite while there, or a hostel where European merchants or pilgrims stayed.

“While we can only suggest reasons as to why people made these journeys between northern Europe and Jerusalem’s Christian quarter, it does seem they brought with them unsuspecting hitchhikers in their intestines,” Piers Mitchell, biological anthropologist and author of the study, says.

The researchers also found quantities of Taenia parasite eggs, indicating pork or beef tapeworm. The Mamluk Period (1250-1516 AD) was Islamic but pigs would have still been consumed in the Christian quarter.

Though its effects varied, “a heavy load of these parasites in children, however, can lead to malnutrition, reduced intelligence and stunted growth. Dysentery may cause diarrhea and abdominal cramps for a week or two and then settle, or it may cause death from dehydration and septicaemia,” says Mitchell.

“This research highlights how we can use preserved parasite eggs in ancient toilets to spot past migrations and the spread of ancient diseases. Jerusalem’s importance to Christians in medieval Europe made it a key destination for both pilgrimage and trade. We can see these travellers took unexpected guests along with them.”

2013: Nature Middle East’s Special Editions

Posted on by
Reply

For Nature Middle East, 2013 has been an exciting year — with wider coverage of the latest in science and research from across the region, and the beta-launch of our monthly special editions earlier in the year, and regularly starting October.

Our specials section decided to go nuclear, in its experimental edition in April 2013, highlighting the four major players in the region on the this front. We explored the potential and ambitions of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in nuclear energy development. The overarching question was: What kind of progress these countries can generate as they muddle through complex politics and logistics?

Our debut in October produced multiple features and news pieces on one of the most feared diseases of the century: cancer, whose incidence is expected to increase in the Middle East more than any other part of the world. From cancer screening in Algeria, which sadly occurs too late for many patients, to a prevalence of advanced breast cancer in Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Sudan, and the presence of a uniquely vicious type of the malignant disease in the Arab world, our cancer special balanced statistics from the ground with eye-opening lab findings in this area.

In November, the spotlight has shone on stem cell research in the region — one that experienced a head-start when Muslim scholars green-lighted basic research using embryonic stem cells. Promising research, such as that carried out by a team of scientists in Egypt using stem cells to find a cure for diabetes, is juxtaposed against opinions by experts from the field on regional policies, and how to move forward, logistical problems and financing shortages notwithstanding.

Finally, in December, Nature Middle East decided to get closure by talking about the elephant in the room: the rising prevalence rate of the HIV and AIDS in the region, which remains to be one of the most pressing issues thus far considering how little information we have regarding its spread.

You can’t talk about HIV without tackling stigma, which, as it turns out, is a solid force in the region; thwarting proper assessment of the incidence of the virus in 10 countries, affecting the reach of treatment (and in turn its effectiveness), and putting up proverbial walls between risk groups and health workers trying to help.

It’s a mixed bag. Worrying trends persist in some countries; for example around 80% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the region are not aware they’re carriers of the virus. While in others, there’s a measure of progress, with countries like Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Tunisia, adopting a hard reduction approach to curb the virus.