Hisham Morsi

A review of cyberbullying legislation in Qatar: Considerations for policy makers and educators.

Cyberbullying is a worldwide problem affecting mental health, education, safety and general well-being for individuals across the globe. Despite the widespread availability of the Internet, research into prevalence rates of cyberbullying in Qatar is lacking and legislating for the crime has been slow to develop. Recently there have been some positive initiatives in the country such as a Cybercrime Prevention Law, the development of a National ICT Strategy, and a website detailing safe practice guidelines for Internet usage. However, the implementation and usage of these initiatives are still limited and there is a lack of awareness of cyberbullying in Qatar. As a result, the risk factors and consequences among school-aged children are unknown. The current paper presents an evaluation of the legislative and public policy solutions to cyberbullying available in Qatar, and outlines the critical challenges that could potentially face educators in shaping best practice guidelines for the future.

Bullying and Cyberbullying: Their Legal Status and Use in Psychological Assessment

Bullying and cyberbullying have severe psychological and legal consequences for those involved. However, it is unclear how or even if previous experience of bullying and cyberbullying is considered in mental health assessments. Furthermore, the relevance and effectiveness of current legal solutions has been debated extensively, resulting in a desire for a specific legislation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychological and legal components of bullying and cyberbullying. This is a qualitative research that includes interviews with five practitioner psychologists and four lawyers in the United Kingdom (UK). Thematic analysis revealed three main themes. One theme is related to the definition, characteristics, and impact of bullying and cyberbullying and the need for more discussion among the psychological and legal professions. Another theme is related to current professional procedures and the inclusion of questions about bullying and cyberbullying in psychological risk assessments. The third theme emphasised the importance of intervention through education. Two key messages were highlighted by the lawyers: ample yet problematic legislation exists, and knowledge will ensure legal success. The study recommends the necessity of performing revisions in the clinical psychological practices and assessments, and the legal policies regarding bullying and cyberbullying. In addition to improving legal success, this will reduce bullying prevalence rates, psychological distress, and psychopathology that can be comorbid or emerge as a result of this behaviour.

Is Adherence to Imatinib Mesylate Treatment Among Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Associated with Better Clinical Outcomes in Qatar

Background Despite the revolutionary success of introducing tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as imatinib mesylate (IM), for treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a substantial proportion of patients’ treatments fail. Aim This study investigates the correlation between patient adherence and failure of TKIs’ treatment in a follow-up study. Methods This is a follow-up study of a new cohort of CML patients. Adherence to IM is assessed using the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS 6 TrackCap, AARDEX Ltd). The 9-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, medication possession ratio (MPR) calculation, and the electronic medical records are used for identifying potential factors that influence adherence. Clinical outcomes are assessed according to the European LeukemiaNet 2013 guidelines via reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction measurement of the level of BCR-ABL1 transcripts in peripheral blood. Response is classified at the hematological, cytogenetic, and molecular levels into optimal, suboptimal, or failure. Results A total of 36 CML patients (5 citizens and 31 noncitizen residents) consented to participate in the study. The overall mean MEMS score was 89. Of the 36 patients, 22 (61%) were classified as adherent (mean: 95) and 14 (39%) were classified as nonadherent (mean: 80.2). Adherent patients were significantly more likely to obtain optimal response (95%) compared to the nonadherent group (14.3%; P < 0.0001). The rate of poor adherence was as high as 39% using MEMS, which correlates with 37% treatment failure rate. The survey results show that 97% of patients increased the IM dose by themselves when they felt unwell and 31% of them took the missing IM dose when they remembered. Other factors known to influence adherence show that half of patients developed one or more side effects, 65% of patients experienced lack of funds, 13% of patients declared unavailability of the drug in the NCCCR pharmacy, and 72% of patients believed that IM would cure the disease. The MPR results reveal that 16% of patients had poor access to treatment through the hospital pharmacy. Discussion and Conclusion This is the first prospective study to evaluate CML patients’ adherence and response to IM in Qatar. The high rate of treatment failure observed in Qatar is explained by poor adherence. An economic factor (unaffordable drug prices) is one of the main causes of nonadherence and efforts should be made locally to improve access to medication for cancer diseases. Other risk factors associated with poor adherence could be improved by close monitoring and dose adjustment. Monitoring risk factors for poor adherence and patient education that include direct communication between the health-care teams, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and patients are essential components for maximizing the benefits of TKI therapy and could rectify this problem. The preliminary results show that patients’ response to treatment may be directly linked to patients’ adherence to treatment. However, further in-depth and specific analysis may be necessary in a larger cohort.

Studying the Impact of Presence of Alpha Acid Glycoprotein and Protein Glycoprotein in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients Treated with Imatinib Mesylate in the State of Qatar

Despite the efficacy of imatinib mesylate (IM) in treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), there is a high degree of resistance. Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein may reduce drug efficacy through its ability to interact with IM and blocks it from reaching its target, while protein glycoprotein (PGP) may reduce the intracellular concentration of the drug via an active pump mechanism. We thus investigated the correlation between AGP and PGP levels and the resistance/response to treatment. A total of 26 CML patients were investigated for AGP and PGP levels at diagnosis and during treatment. There was no significant difference or correlation between AGP levels and the different groups of patients. There was also no significant difference in the fluorescence intensities of PGP levels among the different patient groups. The resistance observed in our CML patient population could not be correlated with AGP and PGP levels. There was no significant pattern of AGP and PGP expression, irrespective of the response or resistance to treatment.

BCR-ABL Kinase Point Mutations don't Correlate with the Resistance of Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia (CML) to Imatinib Mesylate (IM); A Study on CML Patient Population in Qatar

Abstract Background: More than 45% of CML patients in Qatar resist the first line of treatment; Internationally, certain ABL mutations are the most common cause of IM resistance Objectives: To screen for BCR-ABL kinase mutations in CML patients treated in Qatar and to study if point mutations can be correlated with resistance to treatment. Methods: Peripheral Blood (PB) and Bone Marrow (BM) samples were collected from 25 patients; total RNA was extracted and cDNA was produced via RT-PCR with special precautions to avoid amplification of wild type ABL and cover the whole ABL kinase domain. Results: Over a period of three years, 39 PB and 30 BM samples from 25 patients receiving IM were studied for ABL mutations prior to treatment and at time of resistance. For all 25 patients we noticed three nucleotide changes at A1258G, A1426G and A1739G of ABL (GenBank accession no. M14752). However, when we compared these changes with major SNP databases (NCBI, ENSEMBL), these changes were described by others as ancest...