Stroke incidence in Qatar 'extremely worrying'

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is focusing on treating stroke, epilepsy and brain tumour due to the growing number of cases in Qatar, neurosurgery chairman Dr Ghanim al-Sulaiti has said.“Stroke is the second leading cause of death globally and its incidence in Qatar is extremely worrying,” he noted, stressing that stroke patients in Qatar are almost 20 years younger than in the US or the UK. Dr al-Sulaiti was speaking on the sidelines of the first annual Qatar Neuroscience Conference, which opened on Thursday in Doha. While between 3% and 4% of Qatar’s population have epilepsy, Dr al-Sulaiti said the country also has highest incidence of brain cancer in the GCC region. Hamad Hospital now handles about 1,100 to 1,200 stroke cases and many epilepsy cases annually.Out of 15,000 neurology cases recorded by HMC, he said they conducted more than 800 brain surgeries last year, including those who were involved in road traffic accidents.International guest speakers from 15 countries have joined local experts to present a series of lectures, case studies, presentations and workshops at the three-day event.Around 500 participants are attending the conference, which will see discussions on certain types of neuro-diseases, particularly epilepsy, brain tumours and stroke. The event is organised by HMC’s Neuroscience Institute as part of the Academic Health System programme.“The main objective is to increase co-operation between neurology, neurosurgery and neuro-radiology,” Dr al-Sulaiti said. “The second thing which is very important is updates on new innovations, new treatment, and new investigation and diagnosis.”The conference also provides close collaboration between international and local experts to provide a suitable learning environment for neuroscientists working in Qatar, according to HMC’s senior consultant and Radiography Scientific Committee chairman Dr Ahmed Own.“We are thrilled to be able to provide our clinicians with the chance to collaborate and learn from leading experts in the fields of neuro-radiology, neurology and neurosurgery, which is a first for HMC,” he said in a statement.Dr Own noted that each of the neuro-specialties held separate events earlier but the Neurosciences Institute helped in coming up with a combined conference platform.“A joint neuroscience conference makes sense from a collaborative point of view, and also makes sense from an economic point of view,” he said.