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Arabs suffer from high rate of gene disorders
 [Al Arabiya Latest] Despite the fact that it is widely practiced across the Middle East, marrying within the family might not be such a good idea, according to a new report published on Tuesday.Marrying your first cousin isn't significantly different genetically from marrying your sister.  The report by the Dubai-based Center for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) said Arabs have one of the highest rates of genetic disorders mostly related to consanguinity, or marriages between close relatives.Also explains why so many Arabs are downright funny looking... The genetic research institute found that around 63 percent of the genetic conditions found in Arabs, who often practice marriage between relatives, were related to consanguinity and warned the numbers were likely to rise as more research is conducted and more disorders discovered.  Things like buck teeth, hemophilia, various skin disorders, and of course some pretty interesting mental conditions, many of them involving the ability to believe five impossible things before breakfast. Bonking your head on the ground five times a day makes it even worse.In the United Arab Emirates, a country with the fifth highest rate of inter-family marriages, there are currently over 250 types of genetic diseases, the second-highest after neighboring Oman. "Prevalence of genetic diseases is very high in the UAE compared to the rest of the world, so it is a major concern. It also puts a lot of burden on the government financially. We need to prepare strategies with a special focus on genetics," Dr. Ghazi Omar Tadmouri, Assistant Director of CAGS, said in a statement. CAGS has so far completed studies in the UAE, Oman and Bahrain and plans to continue extensive research throughout the Arab world. Posted by: Fred 2009-09-23 |
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