Egyptian actor dies at 51 after years with multiple sclerosis

Dubai: Egyptian actor Amr Mohamed Ali, known for roles in television and film from childhood, died on Monday after years of living with multiple sclerosis, an illness that severely affected his mobility and eventually forced him away from acting.

Ashraf Zaki, the head of Egypt’s Actors’ Syndicate, confirmed the death, saying Ali had suffered complications from multiple sclerosis, or MS, that had significantly affected his health and movement in recent years. Egyptian media reported his age as about 50.

Ali’s health had deteriorated sharply in the days before his death. His brother, Ahmed, told the Egyptian newspaper Al Watan that the actor had become unable to stand or move without assistance and had stopped eating and drinking as his condition worsened.

His death brings to a close a career that began when he was a child in the mid-1980s and included appearances in a succession of Egyptian films and television dramas.

Ali began acting at an early age and became familiar to Egyptian audiences through productions including Mister Karate, Rayya and Sakina, Hawa wal Tuffaha and Hikayat Magnouna.

He also appeared in Eish Ayamak, alongside the late Egyptian actor Nour El Sherif, and was particularly remembered for playing Shaqshaq in the television drama Arabesque, opposite the late Salah El Saadany.

His final acting work was the television series Hadaeq Al Shaytan in 2006. His worsening health then kept him away from the screen for years.

Ali later spoke publicly about the profound effect MS had had on his life, saying the disease caused problems with his movement, balance and vision. After roughly 17 years away from the public eye, he returned to interviews and expressed hopes that his health might improve enough for him to act again.

The Actors’ Syndicate later supported him, including by granting him membership and an exceptional pension as his illness continued.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological condition affecting the central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord.

In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibres. Damage to that coating disrupts the transmission of electrical signals between the brain and the rest of the body and can produce a wide range of neurological symptoms.

The effects vary considerably from one person to another, depending in part on where damage occurs in the nervous system.

Symptoms can include numbness or tingling, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, problems with balance and co-ordination, blurred or double vision, dizziness, severe fatigue and difficulties with memory or concentration. Some people can also experience bladder or bowel problems and changes in mood.

Mobility can become increasingly difficult for some patients, particularly when muscle weakness, stiffness, balance problems or other neurological symptoms become severe.

There is currently no cure for MS, but treatment has advanced considerably and can help many patients manage the disease.

Treatment may be used to speed recovery from attacks, reduce the frequency of relapses, slow the progression of the disease and manage individual symptoms. Disease-modifying therapies can play an important role for some forms of MS, while physiotherapy and rehabilitation can help patients dealing with mobility and other physical difficulties.

The course of the disease can differ substantially between patients: some experience relatively mild symptoms for long periods, while others develop progressively greater disability.