Fragile X group in the country of Georgia.
Dr. Nazi (pronounced “Nah-zee”) Tabatadze is a medical doctor from the country of Georgia on the crossroads of Europe and Asia. In 2019, Dr. Tabatadze and her colleagues ─ a small team of doctors ─ established the first local Fragile X laboratory in Georgia.
The lab conducted a pilot study and tested 250 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities; the study yielded 11 positive results for Fragile X. After concluding the study, Dr. Tabatadze contacted Robby Miller, director of clinic and international relations for NFXF, and informed him about their project and their future aims regarding Fragile X-related conditions in Georgia.
At the time, Robby was helping to organize a Fragile X conference in Belgrade, Serbia, that would be co-sponsored by the NFXF. After talking with Dr. Tabatadze he sent information about the NFXF Fragile X Clinical & Research Consortium (FXCRC) and invited her to attend the Fragile X conference in Belgrade.
Dr. Tabatadze gladly accepted the invitation and found the conference to be an amazing opportunity to meet other professionals working in the Fragile X world. Seeing the Fragile X clinic in Belgrade also inspired Dr. Tabatadze and her team to set up their own Fragile X clinic in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and she was eager to return home and begin organizing her initiative.
Showing the map of the worldwide attendees of the 17th NFXF International Fragile X Conference
Dr. Tabatadze and her team took the first steps to establish their clinic: they arranged several meetings with different Fragile X families and informed and updated them about clinical trials in Fragile X syndrome across the world. Dr. Tabatadze and her team also created a local registry of Georgian patients, and they designed a Fragile X Facebook page to make information available in Georgian. Shortly after attending the online 17th NFXF International Fragile X Conference, Georgia celebrated its very first Fragile X Awareness Day on July 22, 2020.
Dr. Tabatadze continues to be focused on ensuring her patients receive the best possible care, based on the consensus and evidence-based documents provided by the NFXF, and have the opportunity to connect to Fragile X researchers so they can consider participating in upcoming clinical studies, strengthening the international Fragile X community.
author
Isabel Grant-Funck
Isabel served as an intern at the National Fragile X Foundation for the summer of 2020. She is a student at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Public Health Studies with minors in Spanish and Marketing. She has a special place in her heart for individuals with special needs.