In a pioneering step towards promoting children's health, the Faculty of Medicine Cairo University A team of experts at the Children’s University Hospital (Abu Rish Japan) has developed an innovative technique known as "Aortic Strain by Tissue Speckle Tracking". This new technique aims at early detection of atherosclerosis, noting the hospital’s recent distinguished research career.
Teams of experts
The research team consists of a distinguished group of researchers, including Dr. Fatima Al-Zahra, Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. Iman Shafiq, a specialist in rheumatology in children, in addition to Dr. Rana Issam Qasim and Dr. Antoine Fakhry Abdel-Masih, and other distinguished doctors. They have previously worked on research that led to the development of new ultrasound technologies, making them ideally placed to create the technology.
A paradigm shift in diagnosis
The new technique is a paradigm shift in the possibility of early diagnosis of arterial diseases, where ultrasonic molecular tracking methods, which were developed mainly to measure heart function, were used to ensure the measurement of the elasticity of the aorta and detect its stiffness before the traditional signs of the disease appear.
Relationship between inflammation and heart disease
One important finding the team made was a close relationship between low-grade inflammation and the development of atherosclerosis. The new technique has been applied to chronic inflammatory conditions such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and the results showed that inflammation indicators coincide with the level of flexibility of the aorta, reinforcing the importance of this measure in early detection of the disease.
The way forward
The team members noted the great potential of this technique in diagnosing other chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, stressing the importance of treating chronic inflammation in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases in the future.
In his comment, Dr. Hossam Salah, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Board of Directors of University Hospitals, thanked all members participating in this study, praising the efforts made in the service of children’s health. He stressed the importance of supporting scientific research and young talents to continue medical innovation in Egypt and strengthen its position in this field at the global level.
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