Genetic disorders in Arabs as for OMIM

ABSTRACT

Arabs populations are genetically a heterogeneous group that resulted from the admixture between different populations throughout history. A search for genetic disorders described in Arab populations in the online version of M[c]K[u]sick's "Mendelian Inheritance in Man Catalogue of Human and Genetic Disorders" [OMIMTM] resulted in 374 entries. The data presented in this review emphasizes the role of non-Arab researchers in diagnosing genetic disease in Arab populations. This observation could be due to the fact reports presented by Arab researches are usually published in journals not recognized by OMIMTM. Thus, the number of genetic disorders in Arabs is expected to be more than 374. Reviews that covered the subject went rapidly out of date as new disorders were continuously described in Arabs. Establishing a regularly updated repository for genetic disorders diagnosed in Arabs is a necessity to unify, as much as possible, what has been carried out on the subject