The symposium, organized by the Jeddah Pediatric and Maternity Hospital, aims to focus on methods to reduce the spread of genetic diseases in Saudi society.

According to Dr. Sami Badawood, Director General of Jeddah Health Affairs, Several Saudi and international specialists will discuss metabolic [...]]]>

A two-day medical symposium entitled “The Latest in Genetic Diseases”‌ started here Tuesday.

The symposium, organized by the Jeddah Pediatric and Maternity Hospital, aims to focus on methods to reduce the spread of genetic diseases in Saudi society.

According to Dr. Sami Badawood, Director General of Jeddah Health Affairs, Several Saudi and international specialists will discuss metabolic disorders in Saudi society and will review the latest scientific methods in examining infants to find genetic diseases,‌ Badawood said. He added that the participants would look into the most modern medical ways to help avoid metabolic disorders.

The meeting will also discuss a number of modern scientific methods in treating genetic diseases and the diseases of newborn infants,‌ said Badawood in a press statement published today.

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This report analyzes the North American And European markets for Electronic Medical Record Systems in US$ Million. Annual forecasts are provided for the period 2006 through 2015. The report profiles 74 companies including many key [...]]]>

Research and Markets announced the addition of the “Electronic Medical Record Systems – Global Strategic Business Report” report to their offering.

This report analyzes the North American And European markets for Electronic Medical Record Systems in US$ Million. Annual forecasts are provided for the period 2006 through 2015. The report profiles 74 companies including many key and niche players such as Agfa-Gevaert Ltd., Ascribe plc, Cambio Healthcare Systems, Cambio Healthcare Systems, CompuGROUP HOLDING AG, Computer Programs and Systems, Inc., EBIT AET S.p.A., Eclipsys Corporation, Egton Medical Information Systems Limited, Epic Systems Corporation, GE Healthcare, Hewlett Packard Company, IBA Health (Europe) Ltd., IMS MAXIMS plc, Indra Sistemas SA, iSoft Group plc, McKesson Corporation, MDS Medical Software, MedPlus, Inc., Medical Information Technology, Inc., Medasys SA, Nexus AG, Noemalife SpA, Profdoc AB, QuadraMed Corporation, SAP (UK) Limited, Siemens Medical Solutions GSD GmbH, and System C Healthcare plc. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are mostly extracted from URL research and reported select online sources.

Please note: Reports are sold as single-site single-user licenses. The delivery time for hard copies is between 3-5 business days, as each hard copy is custom printed for the organization ordering it. Electronic versions require 24-48 hours as each copy is customized to the client with digital controls and custom watermarks.

Key Topics Covered:

I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & PRODUCT DEFINITIONS

II. A NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN MARKET REPORT 1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW 2. PRODUCT OVERVIEW 3. REGIONAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE 4. PRODUCT INNOVATIONS/INTRODUCTIONS 5. RECENT INDUSTRY ACTIVITY 6. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS

III. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Total Companies Profiled: 106 (including Divisions/Subsidiaries – 110)

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Dr. Ghellai, who is also Acting Chairman of the Department of Surgery, holds a diploma of the [...]]]>

Tawam Hospital, affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine, appointed Dr. Ali Ghellai Jr. as Chief of the General Surgery Division and Dr. Zuhair Shihab as Chief of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), in the Department of Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Ghellai, who is also Acting Chairman of the Department of Surgery, holds a diploma of the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He previously served as Chairman of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi, with additional responsibilities as Site Director for General Surgery Residency, Surgical Internship and the Gulf Medical Students Clerkship.

As a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University State, he received three awards as Best Student-Teacher and Best Resident-Teacher. He is an invited examiner in several medical schools and has presented more than 70 lectures and 20 surgical video presentations at high-level international meetings.

Dr Shihab, who takes over as Chief of PICU Division, has double German Board Certification, both in Pediatrics and Neonatology. He worked previously for several years at Mannheim University Hospital in Germany. Dr. Shihab has been working as Neonatologist and Consultant Pediatric Intensivist at Tawam Hospital for the last five years.

Dr. Shihab has also written highly acclaimed academic publications and is heavily involved in researching diseases in infants and medical education.

Gregory Schaffer, Chief Executive Officer of Tawam Hospital described the new appointments as an inspiration: “Both Dr Ghellai and Dr Shihab have tremendous reputations as men who are totally dedicated to their work. They are hugely experienced and have a passion for their respective fields. Ali Ghellai has an unrivalled range of knowledge and a thirst for even more and I know that is something which will influence all those who work alongside him. His enthusiasm is contagious.

“We have known Zuhair Shihab for a long time now. He’s an outstanding Pediatric Intensivist with great experience and his dedication and his leadership skills are second to none. Zuhair is an enormous asset to the organization and a good friend to his colleagues. We’re extremely privileged to have them both.”

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The 50 year old patient, Abdul Ameer (Quality Surveyor), suffered from [...]]]>

The first successful positive cross match (PXM)-desensitization living donor kidney transplantation was performed lately at Sheikh Khalifa Medical city (SKMC), managed by Cleveland Clinic, a SEHA healthsystem facility. Since the Multi-organ Transplantation program at SKMC commenced in February 2008, 21 kidney transplants have been performed.

The 50 year old patient, Abdul Ameer (Quality Surveyor), suffered from kidney failure for the last three years and had been on hemodialysis since then at SKMC in Abu Dhabi. He has lived in Abu Dhabi for the past 15 years. He has struggled with being on hemodialysis as there was no transplant program at the time his kidneys failed. His 36 year old wife stepped in and offered her kidney. She said, “He is my life partner, and I want to spend more time with him. I didn’t think twice and offered him my kidney.”They then visited their home country, India, to get the kidney transplant done.

However, when they did the matching tests, they found out that the husband had antibodies against his wife which meant that if his wife’s kidney had been transplanted, it would have been rejected right away. Thus, he was told that the operation could not be done in India and then he came back to Abu Dhabi.Months later, while he was on dialysis at SKMC, he was informed about the opening of the multi-organ transplantation program at SKMC and that he could be a good candidate for a kidney transplant. The required tests were done in June 2009 by a multidisciplinary team who also confirmed that he had antibodies against his wife but informed him that his wife was still an appropriate donor.

However, at SKMC, the transplant team had instituted specific and complex procedures that could remove the antibodies from the patient’s blood. Dr. Abrar Khan, Senior Consultant and Director, Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, stated that “We arranged a series of tests for them to make sure both were fit for transplantation and donation.

He visits the multi-organ transplantation clinic regularly for his monthly follow-up visits. He said, “We are very pleased with the service we were offered; and the professionalism and dedication of the transplant team at SKMC. I would like to thank first the leader of the UAE, H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, H.H. Sheikh Mohamad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for their leadership and generosity and the government of the UAE for the latest developments that we are all witnessing especially in the healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi.

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A safety monitoring board said it had seen serious and opportunistic infections in studies involving the drug and that some were fatal.

At the end of last year, Roche [...]]]>

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG and America’s Biogen Idec are suspending rheumatoid arthritis and lupus treatment Ocrelizumab after it caused deaths, marking the latest setback for Roche’s pipeline.

A safety monitoring board said it had seen serious and opportunistic infections in studies involving the drug and that some were fatal.

At the end of last year, Roche had said a late-stage trial of the experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug showed it significantly reduced the signs and symptoms of the painful joint disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation that leads to stiff, swollen and painful joints. It affects some 20 million people, according to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.

The drug is still being evaluated for relapsing multiple sclerosis and a Phase II study is on-going, Roche said.

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VISIOweb on Run Personal, the Technogym treadmill designed by Antonio Citterio, lets people dedicate more time to their health while twittering, contacting friends on Facebook and keeping up-to-date with all the latest news.

In addition [...]]]>

Technogym launched a treadmill incorporating the technology of VISIOweb, the first integrated display to offer Internet, TV and iPod connections during workouts.

VISIOweb on Run Personal, the Technogym treadmill designed by Antonio Citterio, lets people dedicate more time to their health while twittering, contacting friends on Facebook and keeping up-to-date with all the latest news.

In addition to Internet, the 19-inch VISIOweb screen also includes numerous other exclusive functions featured for the first time ever on a treadmill machine, such as:

• an iPod/iPhone connection for enjoying  iPod audio and video features directly on the screen
• a USB port for viewing/listening to multimedia plugs-in like films, mp3s, photos, videos, etc.
• an online Personal Trainer offering interactive exercise guidance
• games for training your mind while you train your body
• Plug&Train: the chance to save your favourite training exercises on a USB key and activate the machine automatically
• IPTV, the first interface that can receive a TV signal via the PC network

VISIOweb’s appealing design and “soft touch” materials, such as tempered glass and aluminium blend perfectly with the hi-tech, innovative design of Run Personal, the first ever treadmill to be designed by a major architect, a statement said.

The quality and functions are the result of the experience accumulated by Technogym over 25 years of training people from all over the world, including the athletes at the last four Olympic Games.

Run Personal is easy and interactive thanks to its integration with the Wellness System, the Technogym software, which enables users to activate equipment using a handy portable key that automatically uploads their own personal training programme, the statement added.

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The ‘Guidelines for the Treatment of Malaria (second edition)’ provides evidence-based and current recommendations for countries on malaria diagnosis and treatment, said a WHO official.

The main changes from the first edition [...]]]>

The World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines for the treatment of malaria, and the first ever guidance on procuring safe and efficacious anti-malarial medicines.

The ‘Guidelines for the Treatment of Malaria (second edition)’ provides evidence-based and current recommendations for countries on malaria diagnosis and treatment, said a WHO official.

The main changes from the first edition of the guidelines (published in 2006) are the emphasis on testing before treating and the addition of a new ACT to the list of recommended treatments.

‘WHO now recommends diagnostic testing in all cases of suspected malaria. Treatment based on clinical symptoms alone should be reserved for settings where diagnostic tests are not available,’ he added.

‘The tests can reliably demonstrate the presence or absence of malaria parasites in the blood and can be performed at all levels of the health system, including community settings,’ he explained.

According to him, the move towards universal diagnostic testing of malaria is a critical step forward in the fight against malaria as it will allow for the targeted use of ACTs for those who actually have malaria.

‘The aim is to reduce the emergence and spread of drug resistance and to help identify patients who have fever, but do not have malaria, so that alternative diagnoses can be made and appropriate treatment provided. Therefore, better management of malaria has a positive impact on management of other childhood illness and overall child survival.’

WHO said it is supporting malaria endemic countries to improve the quality of their diagnostic services using both microscopy and RDTs and urging the manufacturers of RDTs to continue improving the accuracy and quality of these critically important diagnostic tests.

In the guidelines, WHO emphasizes the importance of treating this deadliest form of the disease with artemisinin-based combination therapies. The health organisation has now added a fifth ACT – dihydroartemisinin plus piperaquine  – to the previous list of recommended medicines.

WHO in the new guidelines has recommended that oral artemisinin-based monotherapy should be removed from the market because their use will hasten the development of parasite resistance.

Countries need to ensure that patients are diagnosed properly and take the full dose of ACTs to prevent the development of drug resistance.

The first ever guidelines on ‘Good procurement practices for artemisinin-based antimalarial medicines’ are based on the newest stringent internationally agreed production and procurement quality standards.

This manual aims to improve the capacities of national and international procurement officers in the understanding of key quality elements and required documentation. The content is presented as a practical and concise 16-step practical checklist to guide the selection and procurement of safe and effective medicines meeting international quality standards, it said.

Poor-quality medicines affect the health and lives of patients, damage the credibility of health services and, by generating sub-therapeutic drug levels in malaria patients, help develop resistance to this important life-saving class of pharmaceuticals.

“These guidelines will help countries select and procure effective medicines of good quality and save lives by improving the way patients are diagnosed and treated,’ says Dr George Ki-Zerbo, Malaria Programme manager at the WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville.

Half of the world’s population is at risk from malaria. Each year almost 250 million cases occur, causing 860,000 deaths. Approximately 85 per cent of these deaths are among children, and most occur in Africa, he added.

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“The Kidney centre aims to secure world class healthcare services as in all the HMC hospitals. The Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center [...]]]>

The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Qtel yesterday launched the Fahad bin Jassim Kidney Center. The opening of the center comes as a fitting tribute to kick off a week-long World Kidney Day activities.

“The Kidney centre aims to secure world class healthcare services as in all the HMC hospitals. The Fahad Bin Jassim Kidney Center will provide the best possible service for patients in a relaxing, attractive environment, supported by advanced equipment and a highly-trained team of specialists,” said Dr Hanan Al Kuwari, Managing Director, HMC.

The centre will provide dialysis facilities for people suffering acute and chronic kidney disease who have to undergo the procedure up to three times a week. It is been designed to offer some of the most advanced treatment standards in the region, to provide comfort for those in need. The first floor of the new Kidney Centre will be made available for male patients, while the second will be dedicated for the treatment of females. Apart from the state-of-the-art dialysis stations, the centre has a number of educational and training facilities to instruct and prepare patients and their families before the dialysis phase and an outpatient service with huge capacity. A great deal of care has gone into the layout of the different treatment areas, so patients feel as comfortable as possible during the process

“With the increase of the population of Qatar, there is an increase in the diabetes and high blood pressure cases. HMC is looking 10 years ahead and planning for the future. If the increase of diabetes and hypertension goes in this scale, we also expect an increase in number of chronic kidney diseases,” sadi Dr Awad Rashid, head of Nephrology and Dialysis, HMC.

“Interestingly it’s not a dialysis center, which offers hemo-dialysis, peritoneal dialysis alone; we do all the works related to transplant and follow-up medication and treatments. With highly experienced and trained nephrologists, we will have a nephrology clinic. As with the transplant we have been doing it since 1987, so we have a transplant clinic also,” he said. The new facility has been named the “Fahad bin Jassim Kidney Center” to honour the memory of Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani, who made a major contribution to the development of Qatar and of Qtel “As Qtel continues to grow and develop, we look to share the benefits of our development with the people of Qatar, to provide them with the facilities and services they need to live happy and fulfilled lives. The kidney Centre will make a distinct contribution by helping to alleviate the suffering that people with kidney disease undergo every day,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman of the Qtel.

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