Population and molecular genetic update: the second Middle East Genetics Association of America (MEGA) conference

✍ Scribed by Teebi, Ahmad S.; Shawky, Rabah M.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 3 KB
• Volume: 92
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0148-7299
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(20000605)92:4<293::aid-ajmg14>3.0.co;2-f

✦ Synopsis

Topics discussed included clinical genetics and dysmorphology, molecular genetics and molecular cytogenetics, metabolic genetics, cancer genetics, prenatal diagnosis and perinatal medicine, neurogenetics and genetics of other system-related disorders.

In his opening lecture, A.S. Teebi (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada) reviewed the pattern of genetic disorders among the Arabs. He pointed to their genetic diversity as seen from the mutation pattern of several genes such as CF, PAH, and FMF as well as from the remarkable variation in the frequencies of other disorders between Arab countries and even within the population sectors of the same country.

C. Kozma (Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.) discussed the ethical, legal, and social issues related to recent genetic advances in conjunction with the Human Genome Project with special reference to the Arab world. R.M. Shawky (Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt) reviewed the prevalent genetic disorders and malformations among the Egyptians and pointed out that they account for about 25% of pediatric admissions to their university hospitals.

M. Mahran (Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt) discussed the dilemma of infections during pregnancy with emphasis on congenital toxoplasmosis.

A. Al-Aqeel (Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), through her presentation on the prenatal diagnosis and treatment of prevalent metabolic disorders in Saudi Arabia, discussed the special importance of early prenatal diagnosis (<16 weeks) in a population with specific religious views such as the Muslim Saudi Arabian population.