Established and Suspected Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk in Pre-Menopausal Lebanese Women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is known to be caused by both environmental and non-environmental factors and the contribution of these factors seems to vary among different populations. Major nutritional biomarkers of CVD in 290 Lebanese pre-menopausal women were assessed. Diabetes, folate, and vitamin B₁₂ deficiencies were rare (below 0.5%) among the subjects. Abnormalities in lipid profile were more common, in which 16.7% of subjects had low HDL-cholesterol. Vitamin B₆ deficiency was also present at 14.5%. Low levels of HDL (established biomarker) and vitamin B₆ (suspected biomarker) seem to be the major nutritional abnormalities in Lebanese females of childbearing age.     

Climacteric women at work: What lurks behind poor occupational quality of life?

ABSTRACT

Physical and psychological changes during menopausal transition may affect various aspects of everyday functioning including women's work ability and work productivity. Presence of menopausal symptoms has been well-acknowledged to negatively affect quality of life (QOL). However, data on factors associated with occupational QOL among women at this period of life are lacking. The authors' purpose in this study was to evaluate factors affecting occupational QOL in a sample of employed mid-life women who are experiencing menopause. The authors performed a cross-sectional study among 335 employed women aged 40 to 65 years from Serbia. Socio-demographic questionnaire, Utian's Quality of Life Scale, and Beck's Depression Inventory were used in data collection. Women's average monthly household income and educational level were positively correlated, while having uterine prolapse was negatively associated with occupational QOL. Significant regression models assessing impact of gynecological illnesses and menopause-specific symptoms on occupational QOL (direct value and categories—below vs. above mean) showed that having insomnia, uterine prolapse, and genital inflammations may differentiate “good” from “poor” occupational QOL. Uterine prolapse, genital inflammation, and insomnia were associated with worse occupational QOL among working women in menopausal transition.     

Primary tuberculous cerebellar abscess: case report

Tuberculous cerebellar abscess is a rare manifestation of central nervous system tuberculosis. An 8-year-old boy is described who presented with acute hydrocephalus and right hemiparesis owing to a cerebellar abscess.     

Prediction of eye and skin color in diverse populations using seven SNPs

An essential component in identifying human remains is the documentation of the decedent's visible characteristics, such as eye, hair and skin color. However, if a decedent is decomposed or only skeletal remains are found, this critical, visibly identifying information is lost. It would be beneficial to use genetic information to reveal these visible characteristics. In this study, seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), located in and nearby genes known for their important role in pigmentation, were validated on 554 samples, donated from non-related individuals of various populations. Six SNPs were used in predicting the eye color of an individual, and all seven were used to describe the skin coloration. The outcome revealed that these markers can be applied to all populations with very low error rates. However, the call-rate to determine the skin coloration varied between populations, demonstrating its complexity. Overall, these results prove the importance of these seven SNPs for potential forensic tests.     

Assessment of memory in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND/AIM. The diagnosis of emotional and cognitive dysfunction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is often not noticed, regardless of their importance and frequency. The aim of this research was to assess memory function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis with respect to its emotional manifestation, pain intensity, the duration and degree of disease activity, and functional and anatomical stages of the disease. METHODS. The study involved 60 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 30 healthy subjects of both sexes, aged up to 55, who were examined and tested in the Special Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Novi Sad. Depression was diagnosed by using the Beck's scale for depression (Beck Depression Inventory--BDI), anxiety by using the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory--State and Traite; we evaluated the cognitive status (by the Wechsler scale-based memory -WBsp), the functional status (Health Assesment Questionnaire, HAQ) and disease activity by analyzing the index of disease activity (DAS 28). RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were registered in 38 (63.33%) patients, and anxiety symptoms in 22 (36.67%) patients. The average values of the memory coefficient were significantly lower in the group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: High frequency of emotional dysfunction and damaged memory abilities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis requires in time diagnosis and adequate treatment.     

Survey of computed tomography technique and radiation dose in Sudanese hospitals

The purpose of this study was to survey technique and radiation absorbed dose in CT examinations of adult in Sudan and to compare the results with the reference dose levels. Questionnaire forms were completed in nine hospitals and a sample of 445 CT examinations in patients. Information on patient, procedure, scanner, and technique for common CT examinations were collected. For each facility, the radiation absorbed dose was measured on CT dose phantom measuring 16 cm (head) and 32 cm (body) in diameter and was used to calculate the normalized CT air kerma index. Volume CT air kerma index (CVOL), CT air kerma-length product (PKL,CT) values were calculated using the measured normalized CT air kerma index and questionnaire information. The effective dose, E estimates was determined by using PKL,CT measurements and appropriate normalized coefficients. Assuming the sample to offer a fair representative picture of CT practice patterns in Sudan, the mean CVOL and PKL,CT values were comparable or below the reference doses: 65 mGy and 758 mGy cm, respectively at head CT; 11.5 mGy and 327 mGy cm, respectively at chest CT; 11.6 mGy and 437 mGy cm, respectively at abdominal CT; and 11.0 mGy and 264 mGy cm, respectively at pelvis CT. Estimated effective doses were 1.6, 4.6, 6.6 and 4.0 mSv, respectively. The study offered a first national dose survey and provided a mean for quality control and optimization of CT practice within the country.