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From
the Editor
..........................................................................................................................
Abdul Abyad,
MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Chief Editor)
Address correspondence
to:
Abdul Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor)
Abyad Medical Center & Middle East Longevity
Institute
Azmi Street, Abdo Center, 2nd Floor
PO BOX 618, Tripoli LEBANON
Tel & Fax: 961 6 443684/5/6
Email: aabyad@cyberia.net.lb
Web: www.amc-lb.com
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This
is the last issue for this year. The year has
witnessed a great success for the journal with
the vigilant effort of the editorial office,
the editorial board, the production team and
of course the authors and readers. Our statistics
showed a high level of readership and the number
of papers submitted has increased tremendously
not only in number but in quality as well. The
journal is now also indexed in the EMRO regional
index and we look forward to higher milestones
in the future.
Dr Tawfik Khoja
is our MEJFM Middle East Doctor of the Year
for 2002. He is one of the leaders of Family
Medicine in the Middle East
He has contributed greatly to the development
of the specialty in Sauda Arabia , the Gulf
region and the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Dr Khoja's efforts and help are felt everywhere.
He always supports efforts to improve the health
care sector in the region. He is a leader and
a humble man who is there for anybody who needs
help or a push. Without his effort and encouragement
a lot of academic ventures would not have happened
in the region.
Dr Tawfik is on the editorial board of a large
number of journals and he is the authors of
a large number of papers and books in English
and Arabic.
The publisher, editor and staff of the MEJFM
congratulate Dr Khoja on this well deserved
award.
In this issue, a cross
sectional survey from Saudi Arabia described
patterns and factors associated with smoking
cessation attempts and their outcome in 1505
adolescents in Tabuk city. Of the 520 smokers
who attempted quitting 321 (61.4%) were classified
as quitters. Discriminant analysis showed that
continuing smokers smoke more cigarettes daily
and have more smoking friends. The authors concluded
that cigarette smoking is prevalent among adolescents
in Tabuk, where the majority of smokers attempted
to quit and failure is associated with intensity,
smoking contacts and positive attitudes towards
smoking. These factors need to be considered
in anti-smoking activities.
A primary health care
center based study attempt at estimating the
prevalence of metabolic syndrome among healthy
Kuwaiti adults attending two primary health
care centers in Kuwait. The study revealed that
18% of the sample met the criteria of metabolic
syndrome. The authors concluded that the prevalence
of metabolic syndrome is high among healthy
adults attending primary health care centers
in Kuwait.
A study from the Orthopedic
Department; Royal Jordanian Medical Services
Amman-Jordan looked at the effectiveness and
patient's tolerance of local infiltration anesthesia
in carpal tunnel release surgery. Of the treated
patients only (25%) of patients reported mild
tolerable pain due to tourniquet and 3 patients
at the site of surgery, but with no supplemental
anesthesia used. No complication of the anesthesia
or the surgery was encountered. The author concluded
that local infiltration anesthesia is a safe,
rapid and well accepted and is tolerated by
patients in carpal tunnel release surgery.
A study from Iran looked
at the importance of Glucose monitoring for
effective therapy of diabetes in office medical
practice. The authors stressed that Blood glucose
monitoring is critical to achieving glycaemic
goals and standards of care. In a case report
from Turkey on a patient presenting with hypoglycemia
after 300 IU NPH insulin was administered intra-articularly
to her left knee in order to eliminate her gonoarthrosis
symptoms. Iatrogenic hypoglycemia causes recurrent
morbidity in most people with type 1 diabetes
and in many with type 2 diabetes, and it can
sometimes be fatal. The authors stressed that
the determination of hypoglycemia etiology may
sometimes be difficult. It is very important
to obtain the patient's history in detail.
Dr Sadrossadat S.J. and
DadKhah A examined the behavioral changes of
children with Down syndrome through functional
training (cognitive tasks and motor tasks).
The training materials constituted of two types
namely cognitive- task and motor- task. The
subjects are also to be classified according
to their mental level.
Dr Maha from Qatar University
discussed eloquently the human genome project
and its impact on medicine and society. The
author raised some important questions: Will
genomic information lead to new opportunities
for preventing diseases or will it provide new
mechanisms for excluding people from insurance
or employment? Will genomics make any real difference
to the practice of medicine?
The silent epidemic of
Counterfeit Medicines was discussed by Dr Bahjat
S. He stressed that counterfeit medicines range
from products containing no active ingredients
to those containing highly toxic substances.
They can harm patients by failing to treat serious
conditions; can provoke drug resistance and
in some cases kill. The latest estimates elaborated
by WHO, show that more than 30% of medicines
in some areas in Latin America, South East Asia,
and Sub-Saharan Africa are counterfeit.
A paper from Jordan evaluated
the effectiveness of intra-vaginal Misoprostol
tablets (Cytotec) for termination of missed
abortion. A total of 50 women with gestational
age between 12-28 weeks were included. Based
on the results the author concluded that the
usage of Misoprostol intra-vaginally at a dose
of 400 micrograms every 4 hours appears to be
a safe, effective practical, method for the
termination of missed abortion.
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