(Press-News.org) HONOLULU – New research suggests that a high number of Iraqi refugees are affected by brain and nervous system disorders, including those who are victims of torture and the disabled. The late-breaking research will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9 – 16, 2011, in Honolulu.
The United Nations estimates that there are several thousand Iraqi refugees living in the United States and the number is rising yearly.
"There are an estimated 40 million displaced refugees worldwide and the number of Iraqi refugees continues to grow due to conflicts in the Middle East," said Farrah Mateen, MD, with the Departments of Neurology and International Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our study presents the first results of a large national pilot project by the United Nations to monitor neurological disease in displaced people."
In Jordan in 2010, the United Nations (UN) reported that there were 36,953 registered Iraqi refugees and asylum seekers with 7,621 of those receiving health assistance.
For the study, researchers used a UN database in Jordan. A total of 1,295 refugees were reported to have a brain or nervous system disorder, or four percent of all registered Iraqi refugees. Of those, 10 percent were disabled.
The study found that five percent of refugees with brain or nervous system disorders reported a history of torture compared to 3.1 percent of those without a diagnosed brain or nervous system disorder. The most common diagnoses were epilepsy (30 percent), back pain (27 percent) and headache (nearly 12 percent).
Neurologists were involved in 14 percent, or 179, of these cases and health education was available to about 11 percent of refugees with brain disorders.
"Our study highlights the great need for neurological health services, health education regarding neurological disorders and long-term disease management for refugees from war-torn countries," said Mateen.
###
The study was supported by the 2010 American Academy of Neurology Foundation Practice Research Training Fellowship grant.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 22,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology and its upcoming Annual Meeting, visit http://www.aan.com.
Editor's Note:
Dr. Mateen will be available for media questions during a press conference at 4:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. HST, on Monday, April 11, 2011, in Room 325B of the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. Please contact Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, to receive conference call information for those reporters covering the press conference off-site.
Dr. Mateen is available for advance interviews as well. Please contact Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, to schedule an advance interview.
To access non-late-breaking abstracts to be presented at the 2011 AAN Annual Meeting, visit http://www.aan.com/go/am11/science. Late-breaking abstracts will not be posted online in advance of the meeting and are embargoed until the date and time of presentation at the AAN Annual Meeting in Honolulu or unless otherwise noted by the Academy's Media and Public Relations Department.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/AANChannel
TEXT: http://www.aan.com/press
TWEETS: http://www.twitter.com/AANPublic
Iraqi refugees at high risk of brain and nervous system disorders
2011-04-13
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study: Low intensity treadmill exercise is best to improve walking in Parkinson's
2011-04-13
HONOLULU – New evidence suggests that walking on a treadmill at a comfortable speed and for longer duration is the most effective exercise to improve mobility in people with Parkinson's disease. That's according to the first randomized trial comparing three types of exercise training in Parkinson's disease. The late-breaking research will be presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 9, 2011, in Honolulu.
"Difficulty walking is the greatest cause of disability in people with Parkinson's disease," said Lisa M. Shulman, MD, ...
Parkinson's exercise study results
2011-04-13
Honolulu, HI – April 12, 2011. Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center found that Parkinson's patients who walked on a treadmill at a comfortable speed for a longer duration (low-intensity exercise) improved their walking more than patients who walked for less time but at an increased speed and incline (high-intensity exercise). The investigators also found benefits for stretching and resistance exercises. The study results will be presented April 12 at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology ...
Urgent need to improve quality of outpatient care in public and private sector in poorer countries
2011-04-13
The overall poor quality of outpatient healthcare in both the formal private and public sector in low and middle income countries is worrying—especially given the increasing volume of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, which require relatively sophisticated, long-term outpatient medical care.
This conclusion, from a review by Paul Garner from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK and colleagues and published in this week's PLoS Medicine, stresses the pressing need for national governments to find and implement effective strategies ...
Corporate links of global health foundations may conflict with philanthropic interest
2011-04-13
Major philanthropic foundations in global health, which often influence and shape the international global health agenda, have links with food and pharmaceutical corporations that could constitute a conflict of interest to the foundations' philanthropic work, reveals a new analysis published in this week's PLoS Medicine.
Professor David Stuckler of Harvard University in Boston, USA, Dr. Sanjay Basu of University of California, San Francisco, and Professor Martin McKee of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in London United Kingdom, examined the five largest ...
Researchers discover the cause of irradiation-induced instability in materials surfaces
2011-04-13
Cambridge, Mass. – April 12, 2011 – A new discovery about the dynamic impact of individual energetic particles into a solid surface improves our ability to predict surface stability or instability of materials under irradiation over time.
The finding may lead to the design of improved structural materials for nuclear fission and fusion power plants, which must withstand constant irradiation over decades. It may also accelerate the advent of fusion power, which does not produce radioactivity.
Publishing in Nature Communications, Michael Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor ...
Maternal stress during pregnancy may affect child's obesity
2011-04-13
WASHINGTON – There is increasing evidence from human and animal studies that offspring of parents who were physically or psychologically stressed are at higher risk of developing obesity, and that these offspring may in turn "transmit" that increased risk to the next generation. Now research conducted at the University of Minnesota and Georgetown University suggests that a mother's nutritional or psychological stress during pregnancy and lactation may create a signature on her child's genes that put the child at increased risk for obesity later in life, especially if the ...
Moderate exercise improves brain blood flow in elderly women
2011-04-13
WASHINGTON – Research conducted at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas suggests that it's never too late for women to reap the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise. In a 3-month study of 16 women age 60 and older, brisk walking for 30-50 minutes three or four times per week improved blood flow through to the brain as much as 15%.
Rong Zhang, the lead researcher in the study, will discuss the team's findings in a presentation titled, "Aerobic exercise training increases brain perfusion in elderly women" at the ...
New compounds show promise against hepatitis C infection
2011-04-13
Approximately 270-300 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C, and about 1%-2% of the U.S. population is infected. This infectious disease can lead to scarring of the liver, cirrhosis, and eventually liver failure. A significant number of infected patients develop liver disease or cancer. The current standard treatment is interferon, which has only a 50% success rate. Compounding the 50% failure rate are severe side effects which lead many people to discontinue treatment.
Dr. Samuel Wheeler French Jr., MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory ...
'Apple a day' advice rooted in science
2011-04-13
Everyone has heard the old adage, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." We all know we should eat more fruit. But why apples? Do they contain specific benefits?
According to Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University, apples are truly a "miracle fruit" that convey benefits beyond fiber content. Animal studies have shown that apple pectin and polyphenols in apple improve lipid metabolism and lower the production of pro-inflammatory molecules. Arjmandi's most ...
Study: Omega-3 consumed during pregnancy curbs risk for postpartum depression symptoms
2011-04-13
Fish has long been considered in myriad cultures to be "brain food," but only recently has bona fide science begun to support this deep-rooted belief. Researchers now know that the omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish such as salmon and herring may play a critical role in both development and maintenance of the brain and nerves. Although sufficient amounts of these long-chain fats can be synthesized endogenously by most adults, experts recommend that pregnant women and infants get additional amounts of these compounds from their diets. This, combined with research suggesting ...