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In a new scientific achievement reflecting Ain Shams University’s growing international presence in medical research, the University participated as part of an international research team in a major study on traumatic brain injury (TBI), the findings of which were published in Nature Medicine, one of the world’s leading scientific and medical journals.

The participation of Ain Shams University’s medical team was under the patronage of Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen, President of Ain Shams University; Prof. Amany Osama Kamel, Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Research; Prof. Ali El-Anwar, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Board of University Hospitals; Prof. Tarek Youssef, Executive Director of the University Hospitals; and Prof. Tarek Lotfy Salem, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery.

The participating medical team is led by Prof. Walid Abdel Ghany, Professor of Neurosurgery at the Faculty of Medicine and a member of the study’s Advisory Board, alongside Dr. Ahmed Kamel Pasha, Lecturer of Neurosurgery, and a group of physicians and researchers.

It is worth noting that the principal investigator of this major research project is Prof. Ahmed Raslan, a former Lecturer of Neurosurgery at Ain Shams University and currently Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University in the United States.

The study included 29 countries, 100 hospitals, and 2,165 patients between 2019 and 2022, making it one of the largest international prospective multicenter studies examining patterns and outcomes of traumatic brain injury. Participating medical and academic institutions included 16 Egyptian hospitals and university medical centers.

The study was conducted under the umbrella of the Global Neuro Foundation, bringing together more than 2,100 researchers from 77 countries, reflecting the scale of international collaboration in studying one of the world’s leading causes of death and disability.

Ain Shams University’s participation forms part of this international collaboration. Results relating to the University were published in 2021 in Frontiers in Neurosurgery through the Department of Neurosurgery, underscoring the University’s scientific and clinical excellence and its role in international multicenter medical research.

Findings Highlight the Importance of Pre-Hospital Care

The study revealed clear differences in the patterns and causes of traumatic brain injury across countries according to levels of development and healthcare resources. Road traffic accidents accounted for 57.2% of head injuries in the group of countries to which Egypt belongs, while falls were the leading cause in highly developed countries, accounting for up to 66%.

The findings also showed a substantial difference in the average age of patients. The average was 32 years in the group of countries to which Egypt belongs, compared with 63 years in countries with very high levels of development, highlighting the greater social and economic burden of injuries affecting young people of working age.

One of the study’s most significant findings was that 41.7% of patients in the group of countries to which Egypt belongs arrived at hospitals by private vehicles rather than ambulances. This figure rose to 69.3% in less developed countries and fell to 13% in countries with very high levels of development.

These findings highlight the importance of strengthening emergency medical and ambulance services, accelerating emergency response, and reducing the time required to transport injured patients to specialized care centers. The chances of survival and recovery do not begin only upon arrival at the hospital; they are influenced from the moment the injury occurs by the mechanism of injury, speed of response, mode of transportation, and time taken to reach appropriate medical care.

The study emphasizes the need to address traumatic brain injury as an integrated public health issue encompassing accident prevention, enhanced road safety, improved ambulance and emergency services, and the further development of diagnostic, surgical, intensive care, and rehabilitation services.

Ain Shams University’s participation in this major international study reflects the ability of its medical and research professionals to play an active role in global scientific projects, contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge, and strengthen the scientific evidence addressing major health challenges. This contributes to efforts to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce mortality and disability resulting from traumatic brain injury, while reinforcing the University’s standing as an influential academic and medical institution on the international stage.