The prevalence of anxiety and depression among end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis in Saudi Arabia

Depression commonly overlaps with uremic symptoms, but anxiety is less commonly studied among renal patients. The symptoms of medical illness, along with the psychological and social stresses that often accompany a debilitating chronic disease, are thought to produce deleterious psychological consequences. We sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of anxiety and depression among Saudi dialysis patients in Makkah. A cross-sectional study of anxiety and depression among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in Makkah was conducted in November 2011. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to screen for anxiety and depression. Participants’ demographic data, possible stressors and past psychiatric history were obtained. All participants were Saudi ESRD patients on maintenance hemodialysis. According to HADS, 57 (21.1%) patients were probable cases of anxiety and 63 (23.3%) were probable cases of depression. Only 32 (11.3%) were diagnosed with depression or anxiety before ESRD onset. Age was a significant predictor of anxiety and depression diagnoses. Major family problems (p?=?0.001) were also a significant predictor of anxiety. Anxiety and depressive symptoms are prevalent among ESRD patients in Makkah, and anxiety can be predicted by family factors. Early detection, management and family support might improve clinical outcomes.     

Treatment of Older Patients with High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS): The Emerging Role of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (Allo HSCT)

MDS are myeloid clonal hematologic disorders that are most commonly diagnosed in the seventh decade of life. Several treatment options are currently available. However, allo HSCT remains the only curative therapy. Unfortunately, despite the higher incidence of MDS in the older population, less than 10 % of patients undergoing allo HSCT for MDS are > 65 years old. In this paper we discuss the various treatment options in older patients with high-risk MDS with particular emphasis on the role of allo HSCT in older MDS patients.     

Serologic prevalence of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale infections in broilers and broiler breeder chickens in Kermanshah Province,west of Iran

The presence of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) in poultry farms in several parts of Iran has been confirmed over the last few years. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of ORT antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in broiler and broiler breeder chickens in western parts of Iran. In a one-year period, from April 2009 to February 2010, a total of 435 blood samples were collected from 30 commercial chicken flocks (24 broiler flocks and six broiler breeder flocks) located in Kermanshah Province, west of Iran. None of the broilers and broiler breeders have been vaccinated against ORT prior to sampling. The province was divided into four geographical areas: southwest, southeast, northwest, and northeast. Flocks in each area, specifically the birds in each flock, were randomly sampled. The presence of antibodies against ORT in each serum sample was tested twice by ELISA using a commercial kit. The results revealed that 50.1 % broiler and 70.5 % broiler breeder chickens were serologically positive for ORT. Out of 347 serum samples obtained from broiler chickens, 174 (50.1 %) were positive for ORT antibodies, which represented 18 (75.0 %) of 24 examined broiler flocks. A higher rate of seropositivity (71.4 % of samples and 83.3 % of broiler flocks) was observed in the northwest. Out of 88 samples obtained from broiler breeder chickens, 62 (70.5 %) were positive for ORT antibodies, which belonged to six (100 %) of the examined broiler breeder flocks. Detection of anti-ORT antibodies among broiler breeders was significantly higher than that of broilers.     

Phenotypic analysis of bone marrow lymphocytes from children with acute thrombocytopenic purpura

Hematogones are benign immature B cells that commonly populate the bone marrow of children. Their presence has been noted to interfere with the flow-cytometric analysis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), because their immunophenotype is similar to B-precursor cell lymphoblasts. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is a clinical condition characterized by increased platelet destruction due to sensitization of platelets by autoantibodies. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and clinical impact of bone marrow hematogones in cases of acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) among children. This was done by immunophenotyping of bone marrow lymphocytes of ITP cases and controls and follow up of cases. This study was done on 25 cases of ITP, 12 females and 13 males, their age ranged from 2 to 13 years. A control group was included in the study, 15 cases of apparently healthy children with matching age and sex taken from among bone marrow donors. Cases and controls were subjected to bone marrow lymphocyte immunophenotyping with flow-cytometry to verify the presence of hematogones. A statistically significant increase in the percentage of hematogones was demonstrated in their bone marrows. An increased percentage of CD10+ lymphocytes was demonstrated; with a mean of 18+/-15.2%, CD19+ with a mean of 27+/-16.3% and CD34+ with a mean of 3.7+/-3.2%. No correlation was found between the percentage of hematogones and peripheral platelet count or bone marrow lymphocytic count. In conclusion, there is an increase in the bone marrow hematogones in ITP cases in comparison to normal controls. This could be the sequence of an immunological response to the cause which determined the disease, or the regeneration of the stem cell compartment following transient damage.     

Toll-like receptors and their ligands control mesenchymal stem cell functions.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are widespread in adult organisms and may be involved in tissue maintenance and repair as well as in the regulation of hematopoiesis and immunologic responses. Thus, it is important to discover the factors controlling MSC renewal and differentiation. Here we report that adult MSCs express functional Toll-like receptors (TLRs), confirmed by the responses of MSCs to TLR ligands. Pam3Cys, a prototypic TLR-2 ligand, augmented interleukin-6 secretion by MSC, induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) translocation, reduced MSC basal motility, and increased MSC proliferation. The hallmark of MSC function is the capacity to differentiate into several mesodermal lineages. We show herein that Pam3Cys inhibited MSC differentiation into osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic cells while sparing their immunosuppressive effect. Our study therefore shows that a TLR ligand can antagonize MSC differentiation triggered by exogenous mediators and consequently maintains the cells in an undifferentiated and proliferating state in vitro. Moreover, MSCs derived from myeloid factor 88 (MyD88)-deficient mice lacked the capacity to differentiate effectively into osteogenic and chondrogenic cells. It appears that TLRs and their ligands can serve as regulators of MSC proliferation and differentiation and might affect the maintenance of MSC multipotency.     

A comparative study on the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes using hybridized 1T/2H, 1T/3R and 2H MoS2 nano-sheets

MoS₂ is a very attractive material and has been well studied for potential applications in various areas. However, due to the wide variety of factors affecting the molecular and electronic structure of MoS₂, several contradictory reports about the adsorptive and photocatalytic properties of such materials have been published. In most of these reports, the effect of the actual phase of the materials on the properties was neglected. Here, different phases of MoS₂ nanosheets (1T/2H, 1T/3R and 2H) have been obtained using the hydrothermal method with different Mo : S molar ratios and different autoclave filling ratios. The obtained materials have been thoroughly characterized using Raman, UV-vis, powder XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS measurements in order to accurately identify the existing phases in each material. A comparative study of the photocatalytic organic dye degradation efficiency under white light irradiation has been conducted using methyl orange to correlate the different activity of each material to the respective phase composition. The results indicate a much higher performance of the 1T/2H phase compared to the 2H and 3R phases. Detailed computational studies of the different phases revealed the emergence of mid-gap states upon introducing 1T sites into the 2H lattice. This leads to the improvement of the photocatalytic activity of 1T/2H compared to the other prepared materials.

MoS₂ is a very attractive material and has been well studied for potential applications in various areas.