JEDDAH: The Saudi researcher and scholarship student, Muhammad Abdul Lateef Saleem Al-Thubaiti, has made an unprecedented scientific accomplishment, discovering the genetic fingerprint for a fatal hereditary disease related to anesthesiology, Malignant Hyperthermia and won a prize presented annually by the European Society of Anesthesiology and Malignant Hyperthermia. Al-Thubaiti was sent by King Fahd Security College to study at the College of Medicine at Leeds University in Britain to obtain his doctorate degree in genetic fingerprinting and molecular medicine. He participated in the Society's annual meeting held recently in Holland, where he won the prize for the best research in Europe and a cash award, becoming the first researcher from outside Europe to win this award. “I was nominated by the College of Medicine in Leeds University, where I am studying, to participate in the conference and compete for the prize after making this discovery,” Al-Thubaiti said. “I competed against researchers from different parts of the world, but by the grace of Almighty Allah I won the prestigious international prize.” Al-Thubaiti said it was hard to find words to express his feelings. “My happiness is indescribable,” he said. “This opportunity to achieve success to be registered in the name of my nation at an international forum has been my dream for a long time.” Al-Thubaiti's success led the most prestigious universities in the world, including Harvard University in the USA, to enquire about his accomplishment, benefit from it and develop it after registering this discovery in an international gene bank. “I have been invited by the College of Medicine at Harvard University to conduct further research at their expense after my discovery of the gene responsible for malignant hyperthermia, high body temperatures in people given anesthesia,” he said. “It is a medical problem that affects many patients and the genetic reasons behind this were not known. This discovery will lead me to develop a new and important genetic test in cooperation with Harvard University so there will be a quick diagnosis for patients who undergo anesthesia in hospitals. This will open the way for the world to use the genetic treatment in the near future to find an effective treatment for this disease and other diseases related to the role of this gene in different diseases.” Malignant hyperthermia, which is inherited, causes a swift rise in body temperature and severe muscle contractions if the person who has it is given general anesthesia; it can cause deterioration of muscle tissue, weakness in the muscles, kidney failure and death. Al-Thubaiti has won a number of prizes in the field of his medical research and presented the results of his research in several conferences. Specialist researchers have lauded his work and the preliminary results were published in a British medical journal. The final results will be published in a prestigious international journal after completion of the practical research, in cooperation with the College of Medicine at Harvard University.
