In a symposium with Norwegian doctors’ participation: The University of Science and Technology reviews neglected diseases research.
Report: Ghada Ahmed Othman
The University of Science and Technology, in cooperation with the Norwegian University of Bergen, organized a symposium on (Medical Professions Research) where doctors of various specialties participated, and was attended by a group of researchers from the two universities. Professor Anne-Christine Johansen of the University of Bergen’s School of Dentistry said that early diagnosis of oral cancer leads to a high response to treatment by up to 90%. She also explained the different methods of diagnosis and how to use it with the patient to reach treatment and early avoidance of the disease, at the same time, she warned of the dangers of smoking and using tobacco, noting that this increases the risk of oral cancer.
Stem Cells:
For her part, Dr. Cecilia Jerdy, from Dentistry at the Norwegian University of Bergen, dealt with the use of stem cells to treat a number of types of cancers, specifically cosmetic treatment, she highlighted in her research some diseases that can be treated with this type of cells, showing a successful surgery for a boy who was treated for some pain in his foot using these cells and he recovered quickly, noting that the use of stem cells has proven to be very effective in treatment and reassuring.
Neglected Disease Research Center:
Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at UST, Professor Sami Khaled, in his paper, dealt with the how of discovering treatment and the channels through which it is identified, and said that this may take a period of thirteen years in order to discover one treatment for it, explaining that most of the medicines and treatments currently used are from natural herbs such as (Winka) plant in addition to the kermuda, as the latter treats diabetes. He said that 50% of medicines in China come from plants, pointing to the importance of innovation when discovering medicine through research, indicating that neglected diseases that poor countries suffer from do not find the necessary attention from the West and hence, it does not find treatment or financial support. Therefore, at the University of Science and Technology they established a research laboratory in the year 2012 with focus on neglected diseases and that fungi and mycetoma are neglected diseases. He indicated that they were able to publish results of these research in international journals such as the American Society of Microbiology and the British Journal of Chemical Therapies.
In addition, researcher Sherine Abdel Ghaffar from the College of Pharmacy, Research Department, said that they have developed effective compounds for the treatment of mycetoma. For her part, Dr. Sulafa Ahmed dealt with the use of some Sudanese plants with coriander fish and found that they are useful in treating some diseases such as epilepsy and the experiment has proven effective.
Adult teeth and quality of life
In two separate papers presented by doctors from the College of Dentistry, one of which was presented by the Dean of the College of Dentistry at UST, Dr. Maysoon Ahmed Abdel-Qader, in where she dealt with the relationship of oral and dental health for elderly with the quality of life in Khartoum State, while Dr. Michela Abbas from the Orthodontics Department at the Dental Hospital presented research about the lip cleft which dealt with how to achieve the quality of life for patients with the disease and the extent of the effect of cleft lip and seriousness of delaying its treatment on the quality of life in general.
Autism gene:
Doctors from UST Faculty of Medical Laboratories participated by research they presented in the symposium, where Dr. Zainab Ahmed Abdel Hamid addressed the danger of yellowing of the teeth in some patients and said that its source is bacterial and that it causes some diseases and may lead to intensive care due to the concentration of this type of bacteria in its diet on the calcium present in the teeth.
Dr. Osama Muhammad Khair, Department of Molecular Biology, presented a study he had conducted on the genetic causes of children with autism and found that 10% of them carry the gene that causes this disease out of twenty-nine other genes that make up this disease. He added that they recommended the necessity for using molecular biology in diagnosing hereditary diseases. While the director of the research center at the university, Professor Ahmed Bolad, presented research on the treatment of orthodontic patients using lasers, after applying a specific ointment, in addition to the possibility of using lasers in the treatment of chronic gingivitis diseases. At the end of the symposium, the university administration presented certificates of appreciation to researchers, handed over by the Vice President of the University, Professor Abdel Raouf Al-Otaibi, in the Knowledge Hall at the Engineering Complex in Al-Shanqeeti.