Recent advances in molecular genetics of the Maghreb and the Middle East populations: The first Middle East Genetics Association of America (MEGA) conference

✍ Scribed by Fathallah, Dahmani M.; Dellagi, Koussay; Qumsiyeh, Mazin B.; Teebi, Ahmad S.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 3 KB
• Volume: 78
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0148-7299
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19980616)78:1<90::aid-ajmg18>3.0.co;2-j

✦ Synopsis

The conference, which was cosponsored by The Pasteur Institute of Tunis was held recently at the Hammamet Resort in Tunisia from December 16-19, 1997. Topics discussed included gene mapping, gene expression and regulation, the molecular etiology of disease with emphasis on immunogenetic and infectious diseases, clinical genetics, clinical and molecular cytogenetics, fetal medicine, and preimplantation diagnosis.

A. Teebi (McGill University, Montreal Quebec, Canada), in his opening lecture, provided an overview of the genetic and malformation syndromes among the population of the Maghreb and the Arabs in general. He pointed to the overall high frequency of autosomal recessive disorders and new syndromes and emphasized the genetic diversity of these populations characteristically having high rates of inbreeding with visible genetic isolates together with large family size.

M. Ben Hamida (Institute of Neurology, Tunis, Tunisia) discussed the clinical molecular genetic aspects of neurological disorders in the Maghreb with emphasis on the autosomal recessive variants.

C. Kozma (Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.) discussed the psychosocial impact of genetic discoveries world-wide with special reference to populations in the area.

S. Deeb (University of Washington, Seattle, Washington), through his presentation on the genetics of familial hyperlipidemia, discussed how the approach involving the refinement of complex phenotypes can lead to identification of component traits and how the use of large families can be very helpful.