KUWAIT: Ministry of Health (MOH) undersecretary Dr Mustafa Redha yesterday suspended the medical committee operating at the general medical council until further notice. Redha also instructed medical committees in various hospitals to double check sick leave recommendations made by the general medical council and related complaints. Earlier, Health Minister Sheikh Dr Bassel Al-Sabah had issued immediate instructions to Redha to form a special committee to investigate a letter trending on social media about the medical council's performance and alleged violations the council's committee might have committed.

In another health issue, a Kuwaiti medical team discovered a new genetic mutation that had been causing renal thrombosis, and their research results were approved for publishing in the British scientific journal Nature. Kuwait University genomics professor and researcher at Dasman Diabetes Center Dr Hamad Mohammed Yaseen said the discovered genetic mutations vary in molecular nature, adding that the new discovery was made using next-generation sequencing platforms that help determine genes responsible for certain diseases, particularity renal thrombosis.

Manager of Dasman Center's research center and research team member Prof Rashid Al-Mulla stressed that the study results are of great significance in genetic diagnosis of diseases, pointing out that some genetically complicated diseases such as renal thrombosis and diabetes require the use of high-tech methods to decode the genetic sequence. He added that the study used the latest technologies and was conducted as part of Dasman Center's new strategy under the supervision of the institute's manager Dr Qais Al-Dowairi.

Notably, the research team includes doctors from Dasman Center, KU, Mubarak and Jahra hospitals, US' Mayo Clinic and London University College. The project was jointly funded by KFAS, Dasman Center, KU and Mayo Clinic.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi