The Conference of the American
Academy of Neurology (AAN)—Interview with Arab Neurologists
On Friday April 18, 1997, a day before the end of the conference, I met with and interviewed Steven Ringel, the president of the American Academy of Nuerology. A four-day conference was held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. Originally, an Iraqi neurologist by the name of Jinan Al-Umaishi, who is currently living in Nebraska, told me about the conference. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend it and I lost the opportunity to interview her, my childhood friend, for the INEAS News. A few months later, Dr. Aziz Shaibany, another Iraqi neurologist from Texas, mentioned the conference to me and the fact that many Arab men and women neurologists would attend it. I thank him for his efforts in introducing me to several Arab men and women doctors from Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
In addition to several Arab and Muslim neurologists living in the US, the conference attracted 43 attandants from the Arab and Islamic world. With the exception of four individuals, all attendees were either Arabs or non-Arab Muslims mostly medical doctors from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Tunisia, Lebanon, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Qatar and Jordan. Some doctors presented papers and some participated in exhibits. I was able to interview four doctors from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt and Tunisia, in addition to three Arab doctors currently living in the US who are from Iraq,Tunisia and Lebanon.
In 1948, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) was established by four neurologists who felt that there should be an association for all neurologists, "for anyone who is interested in learning and growing," said Steven Ringel, Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado and president of AAN. Only one of the four founders, Frank Forster, is still alive. The main founder of the academy was A. B. Baker from the University of Mennesota. Its mission is to promote research, provide education and foster high-level clinical care. The Academy has other continuing educational formats such as publishing a book series known as Continuum. In addition, it publishes a scientific journal called Neurology and sponsors regional courses around the country and outside the US. The Academy's Education and Research Foundation awards grants for worthwhile projects and fellowships to talented people in research.
In the past 49 years, the academy has grown to almost fifteen thousand members. "I believe we are the largest neurological Association in the world," indicated Dr. Ringel. "The Academy's educational programs are of such high quality that people come to them from throughout the world. We have over 6,200 registrants here in this conference, about 30% of them are international from outside the US." According to Ringel, the foreign membership is the fastest growing one. To become a member of the Academy, the general dues vary from $90 to $250 annually.
As I roamed around the various halls and exhibits, I realized how highly competetive medicine is and how full of endless challenges. I admired the scientific environment and the highly talented men and women neurologists and decided not only to know more about the academy, but to interview as many Arab doctors as I could for our newsletter.
The first person I interviewed was Khamissa Bejaoui, Ph.D., from Tunisia. She was born on June 21, 1955 in Mateur, Tunisia. Her elementary and secondary schooling was completed in the capital, Tunis. In 1968, she attended the University of Science in Tunis, which follows the French system, and completed the equivalent of a Masters degree in biology. After graduation in 1972, she worked for three years as a teacher of science in high school. In 1981, she went to Paris to pursue a doctorate degree in physiology of movement. Her thesis concentrated on the function of muscles. Two years after graduation (in 1986), she returned to Tunisia to work in research. In three months of her research experience, she was given the opportunity to come to Boston for more research on Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly called "Lou Gehrig disease."
Specail Research at Mass. General Hospital (MGH) "I came with DNA from Tunisian families to work on a particular form of ALS," said Ms. Benjaoui. "The idea is to understand the disease in Tunisian families because it is somewhat different. In 1989, I came to Boston to work with Dr. Brown doing only research on genetics. We want to understand what is wrong with the people who have these kinds of diseases at the molecular level because we don't know how all of this works. We try to follow the disease when we know it runs in a family. First, we try to isolate the gene whose defect causes the disease. We do this by using markers to search for the localization of the gene. The idea is to try to find the marker that is always inherited with the disease. A marker is a little piece of DNA like, for instance, the color of the eyes." The second step, indicated Dr. Benjaoui, is to have that gene itself, to study it and to compare it with normal individuals. Once this information is obtained, one can go back and study the gene in the normal population and try to understand its function. Ms. Benjaoui worked on another project concentrating on a disease called Miyoshi Myopathy, which was first discovered by Prof. Miyoshi from Japan. This disease is common in Canada, Japan, Russia, Tunisia and the USA. Myopathy is a muscle disease inherited with recessive mode of inheritance. This kind of disease is common in Tunisia and other Islamic countries because often people marry their cousins. "I think in the Islamic countries, people have to be informed because it is a terrible disease," stated Dr. Benjaoui. "In Tunisia, when I was working on this disease, I had eight individuals affected with ALS within the same family. I think it is very important that people know about this disease so that it can be avoided." Miyoshi Myopathy was first described in 1986 in Japan. Usually in Myopathies, the weakness is located in proximal muscles, while in the case of Miyoshi Myopathy, the weakness is located in the distal muscle. In the cases of Tunisian and Japanese families, the fact that they marry cousins was the cause for the disease. Dr. Benjaoui said that she had published a paper about this neurological disease eight years ago. Another paper was to be published last May.Ms. Benjaoui comes from a family of six brothers and sisters; the oldest brother is a lawyer in Paris, second brother is an archaeologist in Tunisia, her older sister is a school teacher in Tunisia, her younger brother is a judge in Tunisia, and the youngest sister is biologist living in Paris.
Dr. Faisal Al-Hintati whom I met at the conference as well, recommended Dr. Khamissa Benjaoui to be part of the research team at the Mass. General Hospital. He was born in Safakis, Tunisia on June 4, 1954. His elementary and secondary schooling were completed in Safakis. In 1971, he attended the Medical University of Tunis and completed his degree six years later followed by two years of internship. Then he did three years of residency in Tunis and one year in Paris. Between 1983 and 1985, he did research at the Institute of Health Research—INSERM in Paris. In 1985, he returned to Tunis to work as an assistant professor, teaching, examining patients and doing clinical and academic work. "I came to Boston in 1989 for several months to do some research at the Massachusetts General Hospital," mentioned Dr. Al-Hintati, "and due to family matters and responsibilities in Tunisia, I recommended that Khamissa Benjaoui be part of the research team here in Boston when I returned to Tunisia. Because of a condition I made, that is to have the research done on Tunisian blood by only Tunisian scholars and doctors, Khamissa came to Boston with the blood of Tunisian patients. Also, the presence of Tunisian doctors here is very good for us because we will be kept up-to-date with what is new and with the technology." The exact subject of the research is muscular dystrophies in Tunisian families. It was discovered by the guru of neurological research, Dr. Bin Hamida, who was Mr. Al-Hintati's boss. "In addition to the Tunisian Muscular Dystrophy, we are also researching degenerative diseases of the nervous system." added Dr. Al-Hintati. He comes from a family of ten sisters and brothers. Three other members of the Hintati family are in medicine: One brother is practicing neurogenetics in Chicago, a younger brother is studying neurosurgery in Tunisia, and his younger sister is doing research in immunology. Mr. Al-Hintati's current position is chief of the Department of Neurology at the National Institute of Neurology.
Other Arab Doctors at the Conference Dr. Aziz Shaibany, who currently works in Texas, was born on January 14, 1959. He completed his elementary and middle schooling in Huwaider, Iraq. His three-year highschool was in Ba'qooba. Iraq follows the British system: six years of elementary, three years of junior high and three years of high school. In 1977, Dr. Shaibany attended the University of Mosul (North of Iraq), College of Medicine and graduated in 1983. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Medicine and Surgeory. Due to certain circumstances, he left for Syria to specialize in internal medicine and practiced for three years at the Tishreen Hospital. Later, he went to Malmo, Sweden, and did a year of externship (1989-1990), which means observing, not examining patients. Later in 1990, he began his residency in internal medicine in Pennsylvania at Johnstown Hospital. He then completed a three-year residency in neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston followed by a two-year neuromuscular fellowship. In 1995, he became a full- time faculty member at Baylor College. Currently, Dr. Shaibany he teaches and lectures all around the US and writes papers, abstracts and book chapters on neuromuscular disease. When I asked him about his future, he responded, "I will continue to do what I am doing. I love teaching as I always lecture medical students and residents and I like seeing patients." He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the Arab-American Medical Association, Houston Chapter. What Dr. Shaibany meant by continuing to do what he is doing was rather a modest statement, knowing that he lectures and examines patients in seven hospitals. He is one of two neuromuscular specialists in Houston. The other specialist is Dr. Harati from Iran. A neuromuscular specialist means a doctor who is an expert in electrophysiological and pathological evaluations.Mr. Shaibany follows closely the effects of the embargo against the people of Iraq, compiles medical information on the devastation facing the innocent people, particularly, children, of whom 4,500 are dying every month, according to UNICEF figures, and he gives lectures as well. Some members of his family, which is comprised of four brothers and three sisters, are still in Iraq.
Another graduate of and a practicing doctor at the Baylor College of Medicine is Hazem Machkhas. He was born on March 28, 1965 in Beirut, Lebanon. In three years, he completed his bachelor degree in biology at the American University of Beirut. After his graduation in 1986, he attended the College of Medicine and earned his general medical degree in 1990. He then came to the US to specialize in neurology at the Baylor College of Medicine. Currently, Dr. Machkhas is a faculty member at the same college and a fellow medical doctor at the Methodist Hospital and the VA Medical Center. At the conference, he presented a paper on "Pulse Interavenous Methylprednisolone (IVMP) in the Treatment of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). Mr. Machkhas's father and mother were both born in Aleppo, Syria and went to Lebanon in 1964. His only sister has a Masters degree in Economics.
Dr. Saeed Bohlega was one of eight attendants at the April conference who came from Saudi Arabia. During the 1940s and 1950s, there were no schools in Saudi Arabia, so Dr. Bohlega's mother and father went to Damascus, Syria where he was born on March 8, 1954. He spent his childhood there until the age of twelve. In 1967, during the six-day war with Israel, they had to return to Saudi Arabia, a country which shortly caught up with the rest of the Arab world and began to have good schools in the early 1970s. Dr. Bohlega attended medical school in Saudi Arabia. The program requires that one study biology and general sciences for two years and then get immersed in medical courses for five years. After his graduation in 1980, he did a one-year internship practicing under supervision in university and government hospitals. This was followed by a two-year residency at the King Faisal Hospital. He, then, practiced for six months at UCLA. In 1983, he went to Vancouver, Canada for six years to specialize in clinical neurology. He also did sub-specialty in neurophysiology, which means dealing with all the physiological aspects of the nervous system. In Saudi Arabia, as in most of the Arab World, schools from elementary through college are free for all. So, Mr. Bohlega attended medical school and earned his degree for free. He comes from a big family of four brothers and five sisters. One of his brothers, who died, was a physician and one of his sisters is an opthalmologist. He has a younger brother with a Masters in computer engineering and two sisters who are teachers at the high school level.
The 1967 war with Israel was not only mentioned by Dr. Bohlega, but by Dr. El- Ghanemy from Egypt as well. It was the year in which he attended medical school at Cairo University. When I inquired about his graduation year, he responded with a smile stating that it was in 1973, which was another war year for the Arabs with Israel. This was as if to tell me, he entered college with a war and graduated with another! Dr. Ahmed El-Ghanemy is professor of neurology in Cairo, Egypt. He was born on September 17, 1949 in Cairo. His elementary through high school were completed in Cairo. After he graduated from Cairo University, he did a one-year training at Cairo University. In 1974, he worked as a neurology resident at the Kasr ElAini Hospital for three years. Between 1978 and 1983, he worked as a teaching assistant at Cairo University's neurology department. Following that, he worked for one year at the Neurophysiology Unit doing EEG (Electroencephalography), ENG (Electromyography) and E.V. (Evoked Potentials). Dr. El-Ghanemy owns a private clinic in central Cairo. Since 1993, he has been a professor of general neurology at Cairo University. His last paper was published in the Journal of Seizure in September, 1996. It is entitled "Amino Acid Levels in Epileptic Patients—before and after Anti Epileptic Medication." Mr. El-Ghanemy, whose father is also a neurologis, comes from a family of four brothers and one sister. All of his brothers and sister are medical doctors. The sister is an assistant professor in neurophysiology. His younger brother is an assistant professor of gynecology, another brother is a lecturer of otorhinology (or ear and nose) and the youngest brother's specialty is opthalmology. Dr. El-Ghanemy is a member at the American Academy of Neurology and a general secretary of the Egyptian Society Against Epilepsy.
Abdallah Bwairat was another doctor attending the conference from Occupied Palestine. He was born on May 22, 1960 in Nazereth. His elementary through junior were at AL-Diar village, while his high school was completed in Nazereth. In 1980, he attended the University of Rome to study medicine. After graduation, he returned to Israel/Palestine to work in research for two years. "I then was able to get a scholarship from the State of Israel to study for an eight-month diploma in clinical neurology and neurosurgery at the National Hospital for Neurology in London. Afterwards, I returned to Israel to do research," indicated Dr. Bwairat. Currently, he is pursuing his Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology at Tel Aviv University. His family is comprised of six sisters and four brothers. Three of his sisters have finished high school and are studying at the college level. His youngest sister is in high school. The oldest brother completed only high school, a younger brother is an architect, and the youngest currently works in a TV station after completing high school. Dr. Bwairat was selected by the American Academy of Neurology for the Bruce Schoenberg award. At the conference, his gave a presentation on the "Prevelance of Dementia of Alzheimer Type in the Arab Population in Israel".
Among the Arab women neurologists who came from overseas were Dr. Saher El-Sayed Hashem (Egypt), Dr. Sonia Khan (Saudi Arabia) and Aysha J. Yaghmour (Saudi Arabia). If time permits, I would like to attend the conference again next year and report on the scientific accomplishments of Arab women neurologists.
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