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Exclusive Interview |
November 19, 2006
Defining code of Arab genomics
By Debasree
S., Contributing Editor
(Dubai Health & News) For generations, inherited
genetic disorders have been a major health concern in the Middle East,
yet awareness campaigns, screening and detection programs have largely
been lacking, says Dr. Mahmoud Taleb Al Ali, Director of the recently
established Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) in Dubai, and
Consultant Genetist and Head of the Genetics Centre at the Al Wasl
Hospital.
Several social and cultural trends have contributed to a high prevalence
of inherited genetic disorders in the Middle East. Consanguineous
marriages and women continuing to bear children until their menopause
have increased the population's predisposition to inherited disorders
like thalassemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydogenase deficiency.
"At the CAGS, we work in tandem to bridge this gap, pioneer
research into problem areas and spearhead awareness campaigns that will
help curb the incidence of such disorders in successive
generations," says Dr. Mahmoud in an exclusive interview with Dubai
Health & News sister online publication ArabMedicare.com.
Established under the aegis of the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Award for Medical Sciences in 2004, the CAGS, is the largest and most
concerted effort by the government, to define and characterize genetic
disorders among Arabs and suggest future strategies for positive
intervention.
"While the pattern of genetic distortion has remained the same in
Arab population, there has been no central platform for sharing of
experiences and case studies. The CAGS is aimed at providing fresh
medical insights into the pan-Arab genetic disorders through the
collaboration of research efforts among all the Arab countries,"
said Dr. Mahmoud who has been recently honored by the International
Hospital Federation as one of the pioneers in his field.
The compilation of the CAGS Catalogue of Transmission Genetics in Arabs
(CTGA), a comprehensive database on the incidence of inherited disorders
in the Arab population has been a step forward in the right direction.
The successful compilation of the database (now available in PDF format)
has sounded a clarion call to the international scientific community to
initiate multidisciplinary research -and has the potential to eventually
realize the dream of an ambitious Arab Human Genome Project.
"The CTGA is the first comprehensive database on Arab genetic
disorders and includes a complete profile of each of the diseases,
including the rate of incidence, the doctor credited with diagnosing the
disease, features etc," says Dr. Mahmoud. All clinicians, genetists,
researchers and academicians in the Middle East have been invited to
contribute the findings of their research to the CTGA database. "It
is a massive community effort and we are looking at the database growing
exponentially and providing a valuable tool for research for the entire
international medical fraternity."
So far, the CTGA database has revealed more than 1,050 abnormal
Mendelian characters (leading to genetic disorders) that are specific to
the Arab region including the UAE. These originate mostly from Arabs in
the Maghreb area (Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria) as well as Lebanon and
Saudi Arabia. The study has also confirmed that a majority of the
genetic diseases in Arabs result from single gene alterations whereas
complex genetic diseases account for less than 1 per cent genetic
abnormalities. "This proves that if proper screening and diagnostic
facilities are in place, the occurrence of such disorders could be
prevented in the future," explains Dr. Mahmoud.
In the UAE alone, research has shown that the rate of consanguineous
marriages increased from 39 per cent to 50.5 per cent in a single
generation (1997). Consequentially, a high frequency in genetic
disorders and congenital anomalies have been found to be the leading
cause of infant mortality accounting for 40.3 per cent of all infant
deaths in the country.
One of the significant milestones achieved by the CAGS in recent times,
has been the broadening of the base of reported genetic orders in the
UAE. "When we started off, we had just 16 disorders to study, now
250 disorders (specific to the UAE) have already been identified
including thalassemia, sickle cell anemia and glucose-6-phosphate
dehydogenase deficiency which have been found to be most common. Another
area of study has included the overwhelming number of recessively
inherited genetic disorders have gone largely undetected in the
past."
The CAGS has ambitious plans for the future and is currently cooperating
with the Human Genome Organisation in the field of SNP mapping of the
Arab race. This done, the CAGS would have contributed effectively to the
unlocking of the code to genetic disorders in the Middle East and
treaded a new path on bioinformatics.
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Dr. Mahmoud Taleb Al Ali, Director for the
Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) in Dubai, and Consultant Genetist
and Head of the Genetics Centre at the Al Wasl Hospital.
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Largest
government initiative in Dubai to identify genetic disorders among
Arabs.
