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The future of neurosurgery is here
The BrainSuite is considered the most advanced integrated neurosurgical
operating room available. It is the dream of many neurosurgeons to be able to
work with it and there are only a few of them in operation around the world.
Indicative of this region’s progress and its move towards world-class standards
in medicine, one of the BrainSuites is located at the Neuro Spinal Hospital in
Dubai and another is currently being installed at King Fahd Medical City in
Riyadh. Find out what is so special about this futuristic OR on page 26.
Although AIDS has a low prevalence in the region, the number of cases reported
is on the rise and experts believe an epidemic is still possible. On page 24 we
publish an important interview with Oussama Tawil, UNAIDS director for the MENA
region.
There is a considerable amount of research going on about HPV or human
papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus that is a major cause of cervical
cancer. Two of this issue’s stories stem from recent research. Firstly, testing
for HPV has been shown to be much more sensitive than the commonly used pap
smear in detecting cervical cancer. And two – it seems researchers are very
close to developing a vaccine for the virus, which may have far reaching
repercussions on the prevention of cervical cancer, a major cause of mortality
in women(see page 48).
After receiving several requests we have decided to bite the bullet and start a
doctor’s forum, a page (or pages depending on demand) for readers of the
magazine to share information with one another. The Doctor’s Surgery on the last
page of this magazine is a forum for you, the reader, to let others know your
news, views, humour and anything else you think needs mentioning. We look
forward to your participation. This will be your page, so please feel free to
reach otheres through it. For details see page 72.
Brian Wilkie
wilkiexp@emirates.net.ae |
(May-Jun 2006)
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