AGU doctor develops treatment for ankylosing spondylitis

Manama : A graduate of the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), Neurosurgery Consultant Dr Ahmed Abdul Hadi Al Jishi, has implanted 50 devices for paralytic patients in a series of successful operations to reduce muscular spasms.

Dr Al Jishi, who graduated from AGU’s College of Medicine and Medical Sciences in 2003, attracted the attention of foreign and Arab media after  he successfullly developed a treatment for a Canadian patient. The patient suffered from paralysis due to a spinal cord injury, in addition to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) disease, a form of arthritis, which prevented proper surgical intervention. Al Jishi implanted a device comprised of an electronic pump under the patient’s skin to deliver the drug Baclofen to nerve cells through a tube connecting to spinal fluid, to alleviate muscular spasms.

Dr Al Jishi said: “The device mechanism works efficiently following the implantation of an electronic pump under the skin to deliver the required drug to nerve cells. This reduces muscle spasms and allows the doctor control of the drug dosage. The Canadian patient, who was a quadriplegic suffering from a spinal cord injury and AS disease, received treatment at the Hamilton Heath Sciences Centre, Canada, significantly altering his life. He has now become able to perform simple daily tasks more independently, not to mention being rid of the chronic pain that was caused by his muscle spasms.”

This achievement is a qualitative precedent, due to the scant number of surgeons who perform this procedure in the world, especially in desperate cases. Al Jishi, explained: “Although the drug Baclofen is ingested orally, high doses are required to reach the nervous system, which leads to several side effects. The current device delivers the drug to the nervous system directly, in lesser doses and with negligible side effects, allowing the doctor control of the dosage as necessary.