Vol 44 # 4 December 2012 - Kma.org.kw

349
KUWAIT MEDICAL JOURNAL
December 2012
Selected Abstracts of Articles Published
Elsewhere by Authors in Kuwait
Kuwait Medical Journal 2012, 44 (4): 349 - 352
Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis in Kuwait:
A Population-Based Case-Control Study
Hanan H Al-Afasy, Mohammed A Al-Obaidan, Yousef A Al-Ansari, Sarah A Al-Yatama, Mohammed S Al-Rukaibi,
Nourah I Makki, Anita Suresh, Saeed Akhtar
Department of Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabriya,
Kuwait. E-mail: saeed.akhtar@hsc.edu.kw
Neuroepidemiology 2013; 40:30-35 (DOI: 10.1159/000341240)
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressively disabling inflammatory autoimmune disorder of
the central nervous system. MS has a multifactorial etiology and is triggered by environmental factors
in individuals with complex genetic risk profiles. The epidemiology of MS changes with the spatial and
temporal distribution of these genetic and nongenetic risk factors. This population-based matched casecontrol
study aimed to determine the risk factors for MS in Kuwait. From May 2 to 9, 2010, we enrolled 101
confirmed MS cases using the list frame maintained by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of Kuwait. For
each case, two population controls individually matched for age (± 2 years), gender and nationality were
selected. Data on demographic, socioeconomic variables, potential genetic and environmental factors were
collected using a structured questionnaire. For a case, the questions were directed to the period that preceded
the recognition of the disease, while for each of the two matched controls, a date of ‘pseudodiagnosis’ of
MS was established, i.e. the date on which the control subject was of the same age as his/her matched case
was at MS diagnosis and accordingly questions were directed to the preceding period. The multivariable
conditional logistic regression model showed that compared with controls, the cases were significantly more
likely to have a family history of MS [matched odds ratio (OR) adj
= 6.7; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.5
- 18.0; p < 0.001] or have suffered from a head trauma in the past before MS diagnosis (matched OR adj
= 2.6;
95% CI: 1.2 - 5.5; p = 0.014). Furthermore, compared with controls, cases were significantly more likely to
have stayed in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion of 1990 (matched OR adj
= 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1 - 3.5; p = 0.022).
This study showed that a family history of MS, a history of head injury, and presence in Kuwait at the time of
the Iraqi invasion of 1990 were associated with a significantly increased MS risk. Future retrospective cohort
studies by using existing biological and epidemiological databases may provide a clue to MS etiology.
Rhizoremediation of Oil-Contaminated Sites: A Perspective on the Gulf
War Environmental Catastrophe on the State of Kuwait
Yateem A
Biotechnology Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, 13109, Safat, Kuwait. E-mail:
ayateem@kisr.edu.kw
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2012 Sep 23. DOI 10.1007/s11356-012-1182-8
The Gulf War brought about to the State of Kuwait some of the worst environmental pollution as a result of
oil spill. Since 1995, research programs have been initiated to avoid further damage to the Kuwaiti desert
and marine environment and to restore and rehabilitate the polluted land, water, and air ecosystems.
During the following 15 years, different bioremediation methods both on laboratory and small field scales
were tested and evaluated. The findings of these studies were implemented to establish a bio-park in
which ornamental shrubs and trees were grown in bioremediated soil. This review will focus on Kuwait’s
experience in rhizoremediation and its positive impacts on oil-contaminated sites.