Muscular dystrophy, Kuwait 1st in region

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 15: The head of the Genetic Diseases Center at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Laila Bastaki, said Kuwait ranks first among the Arab countries and second in the world, after the United States of America, in gene therapy for hereditary muscular dystrophy in children, reports Al-Jarida daily. Bastaki said, in a press statement, preparations are in full swing, to include this disease in the program of genetic scanning diseases for newborns soon, saying currently there are 22 such cases. She explained that 13 children received the new treatment in Kuwait and stated 900 cases of neuromuscular dystrophy have been diagnosed in the country since 2005.

Meanwhile, Dr. Bastaki disclosed 265 healthy babies were born so far following the launch of the pre-implantation embryo screening program in 2018 by the Genetic Diseases Center in cooperation with the Fertility Unit at the Maternity Hospital. She pointed to the continuation of the activities of the Eighth Kuwait International Conference on Genetic Diseases, with wide participation from specialists, pointing out that the conference, which concluded Wednesday, included a presentation of the latest scientific findings in the fields of examination and treatment.

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