Problematic Smartphone Use: Prevalence and Associated Factors Among Health Sciences Students in Saudi Arabia

Journal of Prevention - Excessive smartphone use leads to several physical and psychological disorders, particularly among young adults. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the...     

BEAUTY and the breast: is adjuvant chemotherapy the right time for a beauty boost? Lessons learned from a large randomized controlled trial

Quality of Life Research - Beauty care (BTC) is offered at many cancer hospitals having a great uptake among patients. Nevertheless, its benefits in the Quality of life (QoL) of cancer survivors...     

Lack of association between single polymorphic variants of the mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase 3, and 4L (MT-ND3 and MT-ND4L) and male infertility

Male infertility is a multifactorial condition associated with different genetic abnormalities in at least 15%–30% of cases. The purpose of this study was to identify suspected correlations between infertility and polymorphisms in mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunits 3 and 4L (MT-ND3 and MT-ND4L) in subfertile male spermatozoa. Sanger sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA target genes was performed on 68 subfertile and 44 fertile males. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MT-ND3 (rs2853826, rs28435660, rs193302927, rs28358278, rs41467651, rs3899188, rs28358277 and rs28673954) and seven SNPs in MT-ND4L (rs28358280, rs28358281, rs28358279, rs2853487, rs2853488, rs193302933 and rs28532881) were detected and genotyped. The genotypes and allele frequencies of the study population have shown a lack of statistically significant association between MT-ND3 and MT-ND4L SNPs and male infertility. However, no statistically significant association was found between the asthenozoospermia, oligozoospermia, teratozoospermia, asthenoteratozoospermia, oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and oligoteratozoospermia subgroups of subfertile males. However, rs28358278 genotype of the MT-ND3 gene was reported in the subfertile group but not in the fertile group, which implies a possible role of this SNP in male infertility. In conclusion, the investigated polymorphic variants in the MT-ND3 and MT-ND4L genes did not show any significant association with the occurrence of male infertility. Further studies are required to evaluate these findings. Moreover, the subfertile individuals who exhibit a polymorphism at rs28358278 require further monitoring and evaluation.     

Left atrial appendage perforation with Watchman device implantation: Strategies for surgical repair

Percutaneous occlusion of the left atrial appendage is increasingly being used as an alternative for stroke prevention in patients with non‐valvular atrial fibrillation at high risk of complications from long term anticoagulation. We describe a case of left atrial appendage perforation during Watchman device implantation requiring emergency repair of the left atrium using sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass. Technical considerations for surgical decision making are discussed; in hemodynamically unstable patients as well as those at high risk for embolization.     

In Vitro Impact of Pro-Senescent Endothelial Microvesicles on Isolated Pancreatic Rat Islets Function

BackgroundIschemia-driven islet isolation procedure is one of the limiting causes of pancreatic islet transplantation. Ischemia-reperfusion process is associated with endothelium dysfunction and the release of pro-senescent microvesicles. We investigated whether pro-senescent endothelial microvesicles prompt islet senescence and dysfunction in vitro.Material and methodsPancreatic islets were isolated from male young rats. Replicative endothelial senescence was induced by serial passaging of primary porcine coronary artery endothelial cells, and microvesicles were isolated either from young passage 1 (P1) or senescent passage 3 (P3) endothelial cells. Islet viability was assessed by fluorescence microscopy, apoptosis by flow cytometry, and Western blot. Function was assessed by insulin secretion and islet senescence markers p53, p21, and p16 by Western blot. Microvesicles were stained by the PKH26 lipid fluorescent probe and their islet integration assessed by microscopy and flow cytometry.ResultsRegardless of the passage, half microvesicles were integrated in target islets after 24 hours incubation. Insulin secretion significantly decreased after treatment by senescent microvesicles (P3: 1.7 ± 0.2 vs untreated islet: 2.7 ± 0.2, P < .05) without altering the islet viability (89.47% ± 1.69 vs 93.15% ± 0.97) and with no significant apoptosis. Senescent microvesicles significantly doubled the expression of p53, p21, and p16 (P < .05), whereas young microvesicles had no significant effect.ConclusionPro-senescent endothelial microvesicles specifically accelerate the senescence of islets and alter their function. These data suggest that islet isolation contributes to endothelial driven islet senescence.     

Vitreoretinal toxicity of basic fibroblast growth factor

Basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) is one of the multifunctional growth factors with important therapeutic potential in the field of ophthalmology. It is also implicated in pathogenesis of vitreoretinal proliferative diseases. In the present study, we evaluated its vitreoretinal toxicity by means of clinical observation, electroretinography (ERG), and histopathology after injection of different doses of b-FGF into the vitreous of rabbit eyes. Doses of b-FGF up to 2 g per eye caused no toxicity; however, injection of 4 g or more resulted in sight-threatening vitreoretinal proliferative changes. This information is important for studies aimed at evaluating the therapeutic potential of b-FGF in retinal diseases.Despite some degree of vitreous organization and opacification, retinal folds, and small areas of traction retinal detachment, the amplitudes of ERGs were normal or even increased (hyperpolarization) in eyes which received 8 g of b-FGF.     

Cancer Patterns in the Middle East Special Report from the Middle East Cancer Society

To update its cancer statistics, the newly established Middle East Cancer Society examined the cancer frequency patterns in Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The results revealed differing overall patterns. For men the highest frequencies were found for lymphoma, bladder cancer and cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx in Egypt, and for lung cancer, leukaemia and lymphoma in Gaza. For women, breast cancer had the highest frequency in both areas, followed by cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx in Egypt, and leukaemia and lymphoma in Gaza. The distribution of cancer occurrence by organ system also varied. In the light of the different ethnicities, lifestyles, socioeconomic levels and carcinogenic exposure among the countries of the Middle East, this kind of comparison can provide the background for more sophisticated approaches for discerning risk factors in cancer. We believe that further cooperation among participating countries will overcome the present limitations in data collection, registration and access.     

Modeling the cost of management options for stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors: a decision tree analysis.

PURPOSE: Patients with clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs) have been managed with surveillance, chemotherapy, or retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (RPLND) with similar survival outcomes. Cost factors influencing the choice of therapy were evaluated using computer-based decision analysis. METHODS: A detailed model was developed that integrates projected costs for more than 60 possible treatment outcomes. It incorporates primary, adjuvant, and salvage chemotherapy, primary and post-chemotherapy RPLND, and both laparoscopic and open surgical approaches. Starting values and probabilities were derived from a comprehensive meta-analysis of the last 25 years of testes cancer literature. Hypothesis testing was performed using sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: The model predicts a cost premium for both primary chemotherapy (18.7%) and RPLND (51.7%) compared with surveillance. If laparoscopic RPLND was practiced, the cost premium for primary surgery (29.1%) approached that of chemotherapy (26.4%). Open RPLND was 1.25x as costly as laparoscopic RPLND, primarily because of longer hospitalization. The choice of open RPLND yielded a 6.9% cost premium for a surveillance program in this model. For such a program, primary chemotherapy became cost advantageous when the probability of recurrence during surveillance was more than 46%. CONCLUSION: This model allows a variety of treatment cost hypotheses to be tested. Primary RPLND is never cost advantageous over surveillance or primary chemotherapy. Surgical costs can significantly increase the overall cost of a surveillance program. In stage I patients with high-risk tumor characteristics, primary chemotherapy may have a cost advantage over surveillance.