Treatment challenges across borders

Watch case study highlights from the MS Medical Grand Rounds meeting ‘Treatment challenges across borders’, in partnership with the Middle East North Africa Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (MENACTRIMS).

In this interactive meeting Professor Bassem Yamout, Dr Mona Alkhawajah, Professor Gavin Giovannoni, Professor Jiwon Oh and Professor Magd Zakaria discuss four real-word patient case studies covering a diverse range of topics, including optimising treatment decision-making through clinical prognostic factors, the impact of regional vs Western phenotypes on disease course and the importance of holistic MS management.

‘Treatment challenges across borders’ - Highlights from the MS Medical Grand Rounds Pre-MENACTRIMS symposium

Watch the highlights from the MS Medical Grand Rounds Pre-MENACTRIMS symposium, titled ‘Treatment challenges across borders’, which took place in Cairo, Egypt. The expert panel each presented a real-world patient case study and shared valuable insights on a diverse range of topics. Please see the videos below to gain further insight into each of our MS expert’s patient case study presentations.

Main symposia information:

In partnership with the 7th MENACTRIMS Congress, this MS Medical Grand Rounds meeting, ‘Treatment challenges across borders’, took place in Cairo, Egypt. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Bassem Yamout (UAE) who was joined by a panel of MS experts including Dr Mona Alkhawajah (Saudi Arabia), Prof. Gavin Giovannoni (UK), Prof. Jiwon Oh (Canada) and Prof. Magd Zakaria (Egypt). These experts each shared a patient case study and engaged in discussions on a range of topics including the use of clinical prognostic factors to optimise treatment decision-making, the impact of regional vs Western phenotypes on disease management and the importance of holistic MS management.

Meet the Experts

Bassem Yamout

Professor Bassem Yamout is currently Professor of Neurology at the American University of Beirut and Director of the Neurology Institute at Harley Street Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi. He is currently Head of Clinical Research at the Multiple Sclerosis Center, President of MENACTRIMS (Middle East North Africa Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis), member of the MSIF (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation) Scientific Advisory Board, and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. Prof. Yamout is one of the leading experts on MS in the Middle East with recent research on epidemiology of the disease and quality of life for people living with MS in the region.

Magd Zakaria

Professor Magd Zakaria studied at the Medical School of Ain Shams University, Cairo, where he graduated with Honours in 1980. Prof. Zakaria completed his residency at the Neuropsychiatric Department of Ain Shams University where he obtained his Master’s Degree in Neuropsychiatry. He became Professor of Neurology at the Medical School of Ain Shams University in 1999. He was later appointed Head of the Neurology Department at the Ain Shams Specialized University Hospital in 1990. Currently, he is the Head of the Multiple Sclerosis Unit at the Ain Shams University Hospital.

Mona Alkhawajah

Dr Mona Alkhawajah is currently a Consultant Neurologist at the Neurosciences Department of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh (KFSHRC-R). She is also the Program Director of the Neurology Residency Training Program at KFSHRC-R and an Assistant Professor at Al Faisal University. Dr Alkhawajah received her Medical Degree from King Saud University, Riyadh. She then pursued her residency training in Neurology at KFSHRC-R. After obtaining her Saudi Board in Neurology, she completed her Fellowship in Neuroimmunology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, followed by a shorter fellowship in Neuromuscular Diseases at Vancouver General Hospital.

Jiwon Oh

Professor Jiwon Oh is a staff neurologist, scientist, and Medical Director of the Barlo MS Program at St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto. She specialises in the care of people living with MS. Her research focuses on developing advanced MRI techniques in the spinal cord and brain. She leads the MRI research program at St. Michael’s Hospital, and is the principal investigator on numerous studies, including the Canadian Prospective Cohort Study to Understand Progression in MS (CanProCo). She is also the Secretary and an Executive Committee member of the North American Imaging in MS Cooperative (NAIMS), representing a multi-national collaborative MRI research endeavour in MS.

Gavin Giovannoni

Professor Gavin Giovannoni is an academic neurologist based in the Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London. His current research is focused on the Epstein Barr virus as a possible cause of multiple sclerosis, MS-related neurodegeneration, biomarker discovery & validation, and MS clinical outcomes. He has been involved in the development and validation of several innovations to communicate complex information to people with MS and their families. Prof. Giovannoni has a vision of the future where patients and healthcare professionals will meet in a hybrid world that is transformed by technology.