LETTERS
The Ambassadors Magazine received many letters and emails regarding the controversy of King Akhenaton's alleged pathology (Editorial - January 2002). The question raised regarding the possibility of diagnosing Marfan Syndrome in both King Akhenaton and President Lincoln challenged many specialists to portray their views. Among them, two international Egyptologists, Prof. Zahi Hawaas (Egypt) and Prof. Bob Brier (USA). Please place your comments on the Discussion Forum after reading this section.
Delighted to read the interesting EDITORIAL article in The
Ambassadors.
I don't think our positions are as far apart as you think. If I understand your position, you are saying that you can't make a positive diagnosis of Marfan just from long fingers or ancient artistic depictions of people. What is needed is something more substantial, more objective, such as DNA testing, or perhaps in the absence of this, an echocardiogram, etc. I agree completely with this position.
I don't think Akhenaten "had Marfan Syndrome." My position is that it is possible that he had it. The reason I suggest the hypothesis is indeed the arachnodactyly, the elongated facial features, etc., but there is more to it than that. I also consider facts that his family seems to die young, etc. Given all these data, all I am saying is that it is a possibility that Akhenaten had Marfan Syndrome.
To put my position succinctly, if Akhenaten walked into my office, I would send him for an echocardiogram or genetic testing. Wouldn't you?
Prof. Bob Brier, PhD
Long Island University, USA
Mummy123@aol.com
There is no doubt that a definitive diagnosis of a famous world figure could do for Marfan syndrome what Roosevelt did for polio. However, we can take heart that, due to the work of the various Marfan organizations around the world and the researchers and clinicians who care for people with the disorder, Marfan syndrome is becoming better known on a grand scale and more affected people are able to take advantage of the many medical advances of the 20th century that have helped this community so much.
Priscilla Ciccariello
Chair Emeritus, National Marfan Foundation
President, International Federation of Marfan Syndrome Organizations
Unfortunately, without the proper measurements and knowing whether there was any heart findings or eye findings, it is very difficult to give an opinion regarding King Akhenaton's possible diagnosis of Marfan syndrome. I hope the information we
provided you regarding the diagnostic criteria for Marfan syndrome will be
beneficial in pursuing your quest for a diagnosis. I will defer the question of his diagnosis to my colleagues at the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC).Michelle M. Moore, MS
Chairperson of Connective Tissue Disorder Special Interest Group (NSGC)
Genetic Counselor
Memorial Hospital
Maternal Fetal Medicine
Colorado, USA
michelle.moore@memhospcs.org
We are preparing a conference entitled "Celebrities with Marfan Syndrome" in Cairo, Egypt. All scientists interested in participating in such a conference,
please contact me ASAP.Prof. Samia A.Temtamy, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins)
National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
stemtamy@intouch.com
Our Specialist Registrar, Dr Paul Brennan and our cardiologist colleague, Keith Morris, have been active, both clinically (producing guidelines for Marfan Syndrome management) and in developing the molecular genetic approach for this disorder. I am looking for medical data about Mary, Queen of Scots. She certainly was tall. I will keep working on this to get her data regarding the allegation that she suffered from Marfan Syndrome like King Akhenaton and President Lincoln.Prof. Sandy Raeburn MD, PhD, FRCP(E)
Head of Medical Genetics department
Nottingham University, UK
I enjoyed reading the editorial article about the possibility that both King Akhenaton and President Lincoln suffer from Marfan Symdrome?!
As I learned from my Prof. Samia Temtamy, the international syndromologist, that there are many cases of arachnodactyly without Marfan Syndrome, or may be a case of homocystinuria. There is no need to use King Akhenaton as a symbol of the National Marfan Association till a precise molecular diagnosis is done!!
Dr. Hanan I. Elbastawisy, M.D.
Researcher of Medical Genetics,
Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Egypt
hbastawisy@hotmail.com
Regarding the question raised in the Editorial of The Ambassadors Magazine on King Akhenaton's alleged pathology and possibility of Marfan Syndrome, it is extremely difficult to put together a strong case when using scant data from the past. In some cases, one comes upon contrary data and views too, which are bound to make you wonder and require a reassessment of the case.
Prof. Carl Abbott, MD, FRCP, FACP
Dalhousie University, Canada
Carl.Abbott@cdha.nshealth.ca
I'm writing on behalf of the National Marfan Foundation (US). We read your article about "President Lincoln's Disease" and responded on your discussion forum. We're just curious to find out more about your on-line publication. Can you tell us about it?
Eileen Masciale
NMF Communications
ejmpr@optonline.net
I read the last issue of the Ambassadors and I must congratulate the editorial board for this outstanding work. With regards to the Editorial article, I agree with Prof. McKusick, that molecular studies are needed to confirm or deny the presence of Marfan Syndrome in President Lincoln. Regarding King Akhenaton, the absence of his mummy makes the matter more difficult to confirm.
Prof. Ahmad Teebi, MD, FRCPE
Head, Section of Clinical Genetics and Dysmorphology
Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics
The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada
ateebi@sickkids.ca
The last issue of The Ambassadors was very interesting and challenging for me and my family. The study of the maladies of celebrities and ancient populations was very educational.
Prof. Abdelmoneim M. Abdelaal, MD, FRCP(Edin)
Head of Dermatology & Andrology Department
Al-Azhar Medical College, Cairo, Egypt.
alaaabdelaal@hotmail.com
I saw the last issue and it is really great. I am enjoying my work with Ancient Egyptian excavations in Upper Egypt. Working in the Cairo Museum is enjoyable too. Reading about King Akhenaton and King Tut in The Ambassadors Magazine is stimulating.
Abeer Helmi
Cairo Museum, Egypt
abeerhelmi@hotmail.com
The claim that Akhenaton suffered from Marfan Syndrome is totally unfounded.
I have finished writing my 9th book, "Egyptian Rhythm: The Heavenly Melodies", about music, dance, singing, etc in Ancient Egypt. My 10th book, "Egyptian Sufism: The Hidden Treasure", regarding Sufism and philosophy in the Ancient Egyptian civilization, and how it was extended through modern-day Sufi practices is on the way.Eng. Moustafa Gadalla
Director, Tehuti Research Foundation
http://www.egypt-tehuti.org
mailto:info@egypt-tehuti.org
Amb. Moto with wife Mrs. Noriko, daughter Chieko and son Yasunori
The presence of the Honorable Japanese Princess on the front-page of The Ambassadors Magazine pleased me and all my family. Half of my blood comes from the old-Japan imperial noble family and my grave (tomb) is in the same temple in Kyoto where the past emperors and their family members in the past 100 years are my neighbors in the heaven.
Amb. Moto Nishimura
Vice Dean of Rotary Peace Ambassadors
Osaka, Japan
kooringal-moto@clubaa.com
Somebody sent me the link to the very interesting Ambassadors magazine article entitled "A Yemeni Pioneer Horsewoman" about Naseela Ahmed Mansour Al-Awlaki which appeared in the last issue. I am interested in getting in touch with her. I work with the Long Riders' Guild, which is the world's first international association of equestrian travelers. To qualify for membership a person has to have ridden a thousand miles on one single equestrian journey. We have more than 130 members from 25 countries!
Ayeesha Khan (a.k.a. Basha O'Reilly)
The Long Riders' Guild
www.thelongridersguild.com
webmaster@thelongridersguild.com
WOW !! I think THE AMBASSADORS MAGAZINE is great!
Excellent job.
My question, is it a family business?
Dhimas Wisnu Mahendra
Indonesia
kiddy_raida@yahoo.com
Great issue overall!
Hala El-Banna
PhD candidate, Cairo University
Egypt
dalou@excite.com
After reading your review on Dr. Wayman R. Spence's book, I am trying to find out about using one of his pictures in a website used solely by my students. How can I reach him for copyright information?
Dr. Greg Taylor, Ph.D.
drgt1@mchsi.com
I would like to congratulate the Ambassadors Magazine staff for the great and excellent efforts done on the last issue.
Mohamed Younes
President Interunits Inc.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
younesm@sprint.ca
I enjoyed reading Prof. Carl Abbott's book entitled "Mozart in Medicine" published by the Dalhousie University History of Medicine Society which was reviewed in the last issue of The Ambassadors Magazine. It has raised a lot of interest among my family and friends .
Eunice Ai-Teen Tan
Singapore
The features section of the Ambassadors magazine was interesting. It was nice to read about Mozart, Charles Dickens and King Tut.
Dr. Said Nasr, MD
Consultant Pediatric Neurology
Cairo, Egypt
saidnasr@link.net
I am an optometrist from Iran. I have 13 years of experience in my own field with 5 years of experience in LASIK surgery in Zomorrod clinic & Noor eye center. I've been co-operating with Dr.Mehdi Modarres, one of the best vitreoretinal surgeons in Iran. Also I have so experience in contact lens fitting for 10 years. Now, I am planning to move to U.A.E. to continue my job. I was wondering if there can be any opportunity for me to cooperate with any center
If you can help me with that regard, contact me via email.
Homayon.Ghyabi
Optometrist
Islamic Republic of Iran
HOM_GH@yahoo.com
UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION of GREATER BOSTON (UNA-GB) announces a One-Day Conference "Realizing the Vision: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria" - Prerequisites for Successful Implementation which was held on Thursday, May 2, 2002 at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
The conference explored ways to help assure the Global Fund’s effectiveness in reducing the spread of these three most devastating infectious diseases. AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria cause nearly six million deaths a year throughout the world.
UNA-GB
Global Fund
www.globalfundatm.org
www.unagb.org
unagb@gis.net
I am contacting you on behalf of The Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith, and Ethics, which is seeking genetic counselors to participate in a nationwide group telephone discussion that will explore the nature and extent of the pastoral counselor's role in genetic counseling.
This research discussion is being moderated by Dr. George Balch and funded by the Ethical, Legal, and Scientific Implications (ELSI) branch of the Human Genome Project. Its purpose is to gather information that will inform healthcare organizations, clinical professionals, and religious educators about the current and potential roles of pastoral counselors, and ways in which institutional and professional practices can respond to the religious issues raised in connection with genetic testing and therapies.
The article that prompted the research project can be found on the www.parkridgecenter.org website under "pastoral counseling."
Cynthia Hagen
Project Coordinator
Blarry House Research
cynhagen@pacbell.net
"BioDigital 2002", the BioDigital International Trade Fair and Conference for Biotechnology, Bioinformatics and Microarrays will be held on October 9th - 11th 2002 in Freiburg, Germany.
The main focus lies on: Systems Biology, Protein Microarray, DNA Chips, Bioinformatics. The connection of trade fair and top-class conference of the BioDigital 2002 offers an interesting panel for science and business decision makers in Microarray technology and Bioinformatics.
The Keynote speakers are Dr. Samir Hanash, President of the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) University of Michigan, USA and Dr. Thomas Joos, Head of Biochemistry Department, National & Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tuebingen, Germany,"
IBC Life Sciences
Germany
www.biodigital.de
Applications are being accepted for the 2002 summer session of the 43rd SHORT COURSE IN MEDICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MAMMALIAN GENETICS, held annually since 1960, at The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine. This year's course will run from July 15 - July 26, 2002.
Most aspects of murine, human and medical genetics are covered including genomics, proteomics, mouse models, cytogenetics, biochemical and molecular genetics, developmental genetics, population genetics, linkage analysis, analysis of complex traits, and basics of clinical genetics. Special emphasis in this year's course is on genome diversity, cardiovascular development and disease, and neurogenetics. The schedule can be viewed on the Short Course website: http://www.jax.org/courses/documents/shortcourse02schedule.htm
The organizers of the course are Victor McKusick, David Valle (for JHU), Jurgen Naggert, and Patsy Nishina (for TJL).
Tyra Young
Course Coordinator
Jackson Laboratory
Maine, USA
tay@jax.org
Practical Ministry Innovations (PMI) is a biweekly electronic news broadcast published by the Aristotle Institute. It's written by ministry leaders from around the nation and contains articles and insights on issues affecting the church, ministries and non-profit organizations.
The Aristotle Institute is working on a project to develop new ministry tools for pastors, churches, church groups and their ministries.
Practical Ministry Innovations
http://www.affinitycommerce.com/Aristotle/upload/content/
aristotle@randbad.com
As seen on NBC, CBS, CNN, and even Oprah! The health discovery of ultimate human growth hormone actually reverses aging while burning fat, without dieting or exercise! This proven discovery has even been reported on by the New England Journal of Medicine. Will we forget aging and dieting forever?
Ultimate HGH
ultimatehgh@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.bulkemailsite.com/ultimatehgh
CONSULTATIONS
I'm a first year student in psychology in Canada. My father, his brother and 2 of his sisters all have Alport Syndrome. There are a total of 9 children in the family (3 boys-2 sick, 6 girls-2 sick). All the sick males have daughters and none of the sick females have children. At first we assumed it was the "classic", more common type. But the more we know, it's starting to look like the recessive type.
Are there ways to know for sure? Could you, with a lot more information, give us an idea? Do you do consultations?Anonymous
Personal consultation
I m a patient in Pakistan aged 19 and I have skin disease for about 4 years. I consulted a lot of dermatologists. Every time I take dosage, it works for only a few days and then comes back again. I have a lot of acnes, pimples and freckles on my body, but mostly the acnes present on my face and on my back. Due to this disease I'm unable to attend parties and due to my back acnes I even can't sleep. Please tell me some medicine and if you say I can come to USA for treatment and I have sufficient funds. If you can help, I can send you the pictures of my disease.
Anonymous
Personal consultation
CONDOLENCES
Condolences to Ms. Hala El-Banna and her family for the death of Prof. Zoheira Abdeen MD, FRCP (London). She founded many hospitals, schools, retirement homes, orphanages, and the first rheumatology rehabilitation center in Egypt. She was head of the pediatrics department at Cairo University and professor of social studies and humanities at University of Virginia, USA.
Ambassadors Staff
This section of the magazine is dedicated to responses, letters, and queries arising from previous issues. All back issues of the magazine are available in the ARCHIVES section and you can do a site search HERE.
To send your comments, email at mail@ambassadors.net.
