1 Department of Experimental Pathology Immunology and Microbiology Faculty of 8 Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon 9 10 2 Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon 11 12 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, 13 Beirut, Lebanon 14 15 4 Department of Molecular Biology, Umea University, Building 6L, ...

Background: Violent patients constitute 10% of all psychiatric admissions. Treatment options and clinical practice interventions vary across the globe and no survey of practice in a Middle Eastern setting exists. Surveying treatments in Lebanon will show treatment interventions used in this part of the world and, most importantly, provide the treatment options that could potentially be used for...

INTRODUCTION The association between education and wealth, as fundamental determinants of health, and smoking is well-established. Yet, social inequalities have received little attention in the expanding field of tobacco research in the Arab region. In this study, we examine inequalities in cigarette smoking by education and wealth in four Arab countries. METHODS Utilizing the most recently a...

OBJECTIVE The prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Lebanon is unknown, as there are no available or reliable epidemiological studies to date. The circumstances of Middle East countries are different from those of Europe and North America in terms of differential diagnoses and disease management. The aim of the conference is to establish guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and man...

A total of 6,500 mosquitoes were identified during a two-year survey (1999-2001) in Lebanon, and these belonged to twelve species: Culex pipiens, Cx. laticinctus, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. hortensis, Cx. judaicus, Aedes aegypti, Ae. cretinus, Ochlerotatus caspius, Oc. geniculatus, Oc. pulchritarsis, Culiseta longiareolata and Anopheles claviger. Culex pipiens was the most predominant species in Lebano...

BACKGROUND Emerging from civil distress carries with it major challenges to reforming a health system. One such challenge is to ensure an adequate supply of competent human resources. The objective of this study was to assess the supply of physicians in Lebanon in 1998, with an assessment of their practice patterns and capacity building. METHODS Lists of members of physician's associations we...

Almonds (Prunus amygdalus) represent an important crop in most Mediterranean countries. A new and devastating disease of almond trees in Lebanon was recently reported, characterized by the development of severe witches'-brooms on which no flowers or fruits developed, and leading to tree death within a few years. A phytoplasma was detected in diseased trees by PCR amplification of rRNA operon se...

Ensuring the sustained immunization of displaced persons is a key objective in humanitarian emergencies. Typically, humanitarian actors measure coverage of single vaccines following an immunization campaign; few measure routine coverage of all vaccines. We undertook household surveys of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, outside of camps, using a mix of random and respondent-driven sampling...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to systematically review the medical literature for the prevalence of waterpipe tobacco use among the general and specific populations. METHODS We electronically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the ISI the Web of Science. We selected studies using a two-stage duplicate and independent screening process. We included cohort studies and cross sectional st...

The Syrian conflict has displaced over 1.2 million Syrians into Lebanon. As a result of displacement, some Syrian families are turning to child marriage as a coping mechanism. The prevalence of early marriage has reportedly increased and the average age of marriage decreased during the crisis. The aim of the project was to understand the underlying factors contributing to child marriage among S...