Speakers who took part in the symposium.
DOHA: The ninth Qatar Neurology Symposium drew a large audience of neurologists and neurosurgeons from Qatar and abroad.
It was organised by the Neurology Department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) recently.
Dr Omar Zaghmout, Assistant Executive Director, Medical Education Department, inaugurated the conference on behalf of Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Deputy Chief of Medical, Academic and Research Affairs, and Director of the department.
Dr Hassan Al Hail, Senior Consultant of Neurology and Co-chairman of the symposium, said it addressed three major topics: epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
“Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects 0.5 percent of the population in any society. An estimated six million people across the world have epilepsy. The disorder is treated by medications, surgery, and other treatment methodologies.”
Intravenous admixtures or anaesthesia can be a treatment option for persistent epileptic seizures taking into consideration that a seizure that lasts more than 30 minutes can be a life-threatening condition as it may lead to brain injury and other organ failures.
If a seizure persists for more than five minutes, an ambulance should be called and the patient must be put on a ventilator to stop convulsions and protect the brain and other organs. Patients should stop medications without consulting their physicians to avoid possible sudden seizures, he added.
Surgery may be the best option for patients with focal epileptic seizures that persist despite other treatments, he said. Candidate surgery patients would preferably be those with focal seizures originating in the right hemisphere of the brain far from vital function cells that can be affected or impaired as a result of surgery.
Al Hail said some epileptic disorders are common among children and 45-60 percent of these attributed to congenital cerebral cortex malformation can be treated by surgery.
He said, “Multiple sclerosis, the causes of which are not clear, is a disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (Myelin) are damaged.
Symptoms include loss of sensitivity or changes in sensation, difficulty in moving, visual problems, difficulties with coordination and balance, and in acute cases, the disease may be characterised by physical impairment.”
Patients are usually treated with cortisone-based and other medications. If the treatment plans are adhered to, patients can lead a normal life, and the disease cannot keep them from having children.
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