‘Jordanian army doctor discovers new genetic disease’

AMMAN — Col. Mohammad Raqqad, a doctor with the Royal Medical Services, and his assistant nurse Samah Tawalbeh have discovered a new genetic disease to be named "Raqqad syndrome".

A Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army statement said the disease affects the neural, musculoskeletal and digestive systems and causes delay in growth. Both parents have to be carriers of the disease for a child to be infected.

Raqqad examined a sample from the Jordanian community suffering from delay in growth to conclude that the disease was transmitted to them from their parents, who are carriers but not affected by the syndrome.

After four years of research, which began in late 2010, the physician found that the syndrome is not registered in international medical records, the statement said.

Raqqad was quoted in the statement as saying that he had to cooperate with researchers from the US, France and Singapore as the diagnosis and laboratory tests required advanced technologies. 

The results indicated that the cause of the disease for the examined sample has never ever been mentioned in international medical records, he added.

Raqqad's research has been published in several international specialised medical periodicals so that scientists can embark on finding treatment for the syndrome and curb its spread around the world through pre-marriage tests, the statement said.