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Aim: To describe the clinical spectrum of anomalies of a new type of Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome in 32 patients from a large inter‐related extended family in Qatar. Methods: Among the 32 patients (from 22 families), there were 6 affected pairs of siblings and 2 families with 3 affected siblings. The male to female ratio was 2:1, ages ranging from birth to 18 y (mean 7.4 y). Results: Anomalies included a variable degree of skin hyperextensibility, hypermobility of small and large joints, and tortuous systemic arteries. Peculiar facial features included epicanthic folds, flat saggy cheeks, elongated faces and micrognathia. The combination of an elongated aortic arch and tortuous brachiocephalic arteries was seen in 30 patients (93.8%), aneurysm of the ascending aorta in 3 patients (9.4%), bifid pulmonary artery in 27 patients (84.4%) and multiple severe peripheral stenosis of the right and/or left pulmonary artery in 7 patients (21.9%). A prominent aortic knuckle was observed on the chest roentgenograms of 30 patients (93.8%); inguinal hernia in 11 patients (34%), diaphragmatic hernia and/or hiatus hernia in 7 patients (21.9%); and laryngo‐tracheomalacia in 2 patients (6.3%). Generalized muscle hypotonia was found in 15 neonates (46.9%). Parental consanguinity involved in all the patients was traced to a common ancestor from a large Bedouin tribe in Qatar. These patients are at risk for potentially catastrophic arterial rupture. Linkage to the major loci involved in Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome and other connective tissue disorders, such as Cutis Laxa, Familial Aneurysm, and Osteogenesis imperfecta, was excluded by using specific DNA markers, confirming the uniqueness of this disorder. Conclusion: The study describes a large cohort of patients from the same closely related family, sharing peculiar dysmorphisim and consistent radiological and echocardiographic features different from known types of Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome. As known loci involved in Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome and other connective tissue disorders were excluded by specific DNA markers, this appears to be a new type of Ehlers‐Danlos syndrome or even a new syndrome.

The attitudes of health care professionals at medical centers in the State of Qatar toward HIV/AIDS patients and the relation of those attitudes to emotional intelligence (EI) were the focus of this study. Nine hundred seventy-nine health care professionals (nurses, physicians, and laboratory technicians) from 4 hospitals completed 2 self-report questionnaires, the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal and the KHWAR Hospitals’ Scale, and provided demographic data. The majority of health care professionals held mostly positive attitudes toward HIV/AIDS patients. Health care professionals with more years of work experience and more contact with HIV/AIDS patients held more favorable attitudes. The correlation between health care professionals’ attitudes and their EI was significant, but modest, .29. The discussion evaluates the findings in light of the available literature and stresses the need to address discriminatory practices and promote positive attitudes toward HIV/AIDS patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the pattern of marriage and tradition among Qatari psychiatric patients attending an outpatient psychiatry clinic in Doha, Qatar. The study also investigates the difference between consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages among patients in relation to five major psychiatric disorders.Methods: 412 Qatari patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, major depression, mixed anxiety and depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, and attended the outpatient psychiatry clinic at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in Doha, Qatar in the period between August 2011 and March 2012, were examined. Data was collected from participants' medical records and from a face to face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire.Results: 46.9% were consanguineous and 43.6 were non-consanguineous. The overall rates of consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages among participants were 47.1% and 52.9% respectively. No significant differences were observed between consanguineous and non-consanguineous marriages in relation to the five major psychiatric disorders. Conclusion:The overall trend of study result revels no significant differences between consanguineous and non-consanguineous participants' percentages in relation to the five major psychiatric disorders. First cousin marriages were found to be the most frequent in comparison to other types of relationships. One of the limitations of this study was that no DNA analysis was carried out.

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