Bringing together an outstanding panel of local and international speakers and neurology professionals presenting the latest updates in the field of neurological sciences, the sixth Qatar Neurology Symposium opened at HMC yesterday.
The speakers will provide expert lectures in the field of epilepsy, headache and movement disorders including the diagnosis and management of these disorders.
“After stroke, epilepsy and migraine are some of the major neurological cases we have at HMC,” said Dr Hassan Al Hail, Consultant, Neurology Department, Hamad General Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.
“Our clinics receive 20 to30 patients per week and 90 percent of them can be managed with drugs. Some 10 percent of the patients will either have brain lesion or be drug- resistant and these cases are send abroad for surgery. At present HMC does not conduct surgeries as it needs a highly qualified team and facilities for doing cognitive tests and brain mapping,” he told The Peninsula.
Most of the patients sent to specialised centers abroad have come back seizure-free; some of them have been seizure-free now for more than two years and others for more than six years now.
“Epileptic patients who are drug-resistant only need surgery. We have more than 15 types of drugs for epilepsy which reduce the frequency of seizures. Among our patients at the HMC, only about 10 percent are resistant to drugs and are in need of surgery. Most of the patients at the epilepsy clinic are labourers; this can be caused due to head injuries, car accidents, stroke, and also in some chronic disease like diabetes and hypertension. There are also few cases of hereditary epilepsy which cannot be treated,” he said.
HMC Neurology Department is involved in some of the latest international research in neurology, including a study that aims to develop a sophisticated intensive care unit (ICU) electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring system. The system will allow real-time detection of nonconvulsive seizures or nonconvulsive status epilepticus — improving diagnosis and helping ensure timely, appropriate medical treatment for high-risk ICU patients.
Funded through the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and conducted in collaboration with WCMC-Q, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Zurich, and Infinite Biomedical Technology (IBT), the research study also aims to fill the gap in epidemiological data regarding nonconvulsive seizures and nonconvulsive status epilepticus in the ICUs of Gulf countries.
“We now have more video EEG machines to check seizure. Also we hope to have a more powerful MRI scanner with a higher resolution that can help in precise diagnosis,” he said. Apart from epilepsy, migraine is a common disorder reported with majority of the patients being females between the ages 20 to 35.
“Anti-migraine drugs are used to manage the issue. IT has been seen to reduce during pregnancy and post menopausal periods and is worsened by use of oral contraceptives, air pollution, some specific types of food,” he said.
Other diseases include Multiple Sclerosis –an auto immune desease which is mainly seen in women aged 20 to 27.
With two to three cases diagnosed each month, some 160 cases are reported here. The Parkinson’s disease is also seen in young people here with 20 to 30 cases reported yet.
The annual neurology symposium has become extremely popular among neurology specialists in the Gulf countries, as healthcare professionals increase focus on research that will improve the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses prevalent in the region.
“The organising and scientific advisory committee has prepared a very exciting programme and anticipates that there will be interesting, in-depth discussions following the presentations,” said the chairman of the symposium Dr Boulenouar Mesraoua, senior consultant neurologist at Hamad General Hospital.
Dr Mesraoua further revealed that the Neurology Department has submitted several research proposals to the QNRF this year including research on peculiar treatment of epilepsy in patients in Qatar, migraine and comorbidity in Qatari patients, and antiepileptic drugs and their idiosyncratic reactions.
By Huda NV
The Peninsula