1.Conceptualizing a Personalized Care Pathway for Parkinson’s Disease Using Wearable Sensors in Muslim Patients: The Ramadan Regime
Vinod METTA ; Huzaifa IBRAHIM ; Haidar DAFSARI ; Rajinder K. DHAMIJA ; Hani T. S. BENAMER ; Tom LONEY ; Mishal Abu AL-MELH ; Hasna HUSSAIN ; Afsal NALAREKTTIL ; Guy CHUNG-FAYE ; Gloria TANJUNG ; Bushra ALBLOOSHI ; Shaikha ALMAZROUEI ; Bassam DARWISH ; Mohamed Al MHEIRI ; Mohamed ELMAHDY ; Rukmini MRIDULA ; Sai Sampath KUMAR ; Vinay GOYAL ; Karolina POPŁAWSKA-DOMASZEWICZ ; Cristian Falup PECURARIU ; Prashanth KUKLE ; Jacob CHACKO ; Rupam BORGOHAIN ; Kallol Ray CHAUDHURI
Journal of Movement Disorders 2026;19(1):39-48
Objective:
Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects approximately 2% of individuals over the age of 60. With more than two billion Muslims observing Ramadan, individuals with PD encounter specific challenges, such as deteriorating motor skills, sleep disturbances, and an increased risk of falls during fasting.
Methods:
Our study focused on 75 patients with idiopathic PD divided into two groups: the Ramadan Regime group, which consisted of 50 patients whose medication was adjusted to twice daily at Suhoor and Iftar, and the Nontreatment group, which included 25 patients who abstained from medication for religious reasons. Both groups were instructed to wear a Parkinson’s KinetiGraph (PKG) wrist device.
Results:
The study findings revealed that motor function worsened in the Nontreatment group (p<0.001) but improved in the Ramadan Regime group (p=0.007). Daytime sleepiness also significantly increased in the Nontreatment group (p<0.001).
Conclusion
Overall, the findings suggest that the Ramadan regime significantly enhances patient health and quality of life.
2.Intact and Perforated Pulmonary Hydatid Cyst: A Comparative Study from Damascus, Syria
Mohammad ALMESS ; Basel AHMAD ; Bassam DARWISH
The Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2020;53(6):387-391
Background:
Hydatidosis is a major health problem around the world, especially in the Mediterranean region. Cysts can break open or develop secondary bacterial infections, alter ing the clinical presentation.
Methods:
Patients who underwent hydatid cyst surgery at Al-Mouassat University Hospital in Damascus, Syria between January 2006 and December 2017 were evaluated. Cases involving isolated hepatic cysts were excluded. The patients were divided into those with perforated hydatid cysts (group 1) and those with intact hydatid cysts (group 2).
Results:
This study included 224 cases: 113 in group 1 (50.4%) and 111 in group 2 (49.6%).The median chest tube duration, hospitalization time, and postoperative complication rate were higher in group 1 than in group 2 (p=0.003, p=0.002, and p=0.006, respectively). In both groups, the most common symptom was cough (present in 178 patients in total [79.5%]), while chest pain (121 patients [54%]) and dyspnea (113 patients [50.4%]) were also common. Cough, hemoptysis, fever, and expectoration of cystic contents were significantly more frequent in group 1 than in group 2 (p<0.001).
Conclusion
The early discovery and treatment of intact pulmonary hydatid cysts reduced the hospitalization time, chest tube duration, and postoperative complication rate.Relative to intact cysts, perforated cysts are more complex and are associated with more expensive and time-consuming surgical treatment.

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