Fatal suicide cases in Port Said city,Egypt

In the present study, a retrospective evaluation of suicide cases in the city of Port Said from 1998 to 2004 is done. The demographic data of the cases were evaluated. There were 80 cases of suicide 54 of them (67.5%) involved males. Age distribution showed a predominance in the age range 20–30 years. Methods of suicide included rodenticides intake in 25% of cases, drowning in 18.75%, burns in 16.25%, firearm injuries in 13.75%, jumping from height in 10%, drug intake in 8.75% and hanging in 7.5%. A medico-legal autopsy had been carried out for all cases. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of rodenticides control as well as necessity of performing a psychological autopsy.     

Serum hepcidin levels in Helicobacter pylori-infected children with iron-deficiency anemia: a case–control study

Recently, hepcidin, an antimicrobial-like peptide hormone, has evolved as the master regulator of systemic iron homeostasis. Hepcidin integrates signals from diverse physiological inputs, forming a key connection between iron trafficking and response to infection. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether Helicobacter pylori infection modulates serum hepcidin level and response to oral iron therapy in children with iron-deficiency anemia. This was a case–control study including 60 children with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA; 30 H. pylori infected and 30 H. pylori noninfected) and 30 healthy children with comparable age and gender as the control group. Iron parameters including serum iron, ferritin, transferrin, total iron binding capacity, and transferrin saturation and serum hepcidin levels were assessed initially and after 3 months of oral iron therapy for IDA. Compared to the control group, serum hepcidin was significantly lower in H. pylori-noninfected children with IDA (P?<?0.01) and significantly higher in H. pylori-infected children with IDA (P?<?0.01). Hepcidin increased significantly in noninfected children with IDA after 3 months of oral iron therapy (P?<?0.01). On the other hand, H. pylori-infected children showed nonsignificant change in hepcidin level after oral iron therapy (P?>?0.05). Although hepcidin showed significant positive correlations with serum ferritin, hemoglobin (Hb), iron, and transferrin saturation in noninfected children with IDA (P?<?0.01), it showed significant negative correlations with serum ferritin, Hb, iron, and transferrin saturation in H. pylori-infected children with IDA (P?<?0.05). H. pylori infection upregulates serum hepcidin levels and was associated with diminished response to oral iron therapy in children with iron-deficiency anemia.     

Interventional Radiology Strategies in the Treatment of Pseudomyxoma Peritonei

Purpose To describe percutaneous maneuvers to treat the unusual entity symptomatic pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP).Methods Four patients with PMP were treated by interventional radiology techniques that included large catheters (20–30 Fr) alone (n = 3), multiple catheters (n = 4), and dextran sulfate as a catalytic agent through smaller catheters (n = 1). The causes of the PMP were tumors in the ovary (2 patients), appendix (1 patient), and colon (1 patient). Each patient previously had undergone at least two operations to remove the PMP, and all patients had symptomatic recurrence. An in vitro analysis of catalytic agents also was performed.Results All four patients improved symptomatically. Follow-up CT scans demonstrated marked reduction of PMP material in all cases. One patient underwent another interventional radiology session 5 months after the first; the other three patients had no recurrence of symptoms. One patient had reversible hypotension 2 hr after the procedure. The amount of material removed varied from 3 to 6 L.Conclusion These interventional radiology techniques were effective and safe for PMP and suggest options for this difficult medical and surgical problem.     

Green-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles,anti-Alzheimer potential and the metabolic profiling of Sabal blackburniana grown in Egypt supported by molecular modelling

Nowadays, the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles, particularly from plants, has been gaining interest. In the present work, the methanolic extracts of leaves, fruits, and the pollen grains of Sabal blackburniana were used for the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles, which were early detected by the formation of precipitate and further confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and zeta potential (ZP) studies. TEM analysis has shown different shapes, predominantly irregular small spherical narrow particles included in hexagonal structures with size ranging from 2.23 to 49.56 nm. The XRD pattern confirmed that all synthesized ZnO nanoparticles have wurtzite hexagonal structure with crystalline nature. The average particle crystallite sizes were 47.21, 47.67 and 47.8 nm. The UV-visible spectra showed λ_max in the range of 354–368 nm, which indicated the presence of ZnO nanoparticles. The FT-IR analysis identifies the characteristic functional groups present on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles. The ZP determination demonstrated that all representative selected synthesized ZnONPs exhibited acceptable ZP values of −30.8 to −45.9 mV, which indicated their good stability. In addition, the anti-Alzheimer potential of the selected extracts and ZnONPs was evaluated by assessing acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in vitro according to the improved Ellman method. The results indicated that the selected extracts have acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity, and highlighted the promising inhibitory potential of green-synthesized ZnONPs using pollen grains, fruits and leaves extracts; they exhibited a potent inhibitory effect with IC₅₀ values 63.78 ± 1.04651, 81.985 ± 3.075 and 117.95 ± 6.858 ng ml⁻¹ respectively in comparison to donepezil as standard (IC₅₀ = 50.7 ± 5.769 ng ml⁻¹). Dereplication analysis of the selected extracts was performed using LC-MS; metabolic profiling revealed the presence of 41 compounds belonging to various chemical classes: flavonoids, steroidal saponins, terpenoids, alkaloids, lignans, sterols and fatty acids. Docking these dereplicated metabolites against the human AChE showed that the non-glycosylated flavonoid class of compounds was able to achieve interesting binding modes inside the AChE active site; they are suggested to be associated with the observed anti-AChE activity of Sabal extracts. This study is the first report to shed light on the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of green-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles of S. blackburniana metabolites.

Schematic diagram representing the current study.     

Cytochrome 4Z1 Expression Is Correlated with Poor Prognosis in Patients with Cervical Cancer

Background: cervical cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women worldwide and its management remains challenging and complex. As Cytochrome4Z1 (CYP4Z1) is overexpressed in many tumours, its expression in cervical cancer is unknown. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate CYP4Z1 expression in cervical cancers. Methods: CYP4Z1 expression was immunohistochemically assessed in 100 cases of cervical cancers along with ten normal cervix tissues, and the enzyme’s relationship to several clinicopathological features and survival was explored. Results: CYP4Z1 was strongly expressed in 55% of cervical cancer patients. Normal cervix samples were negative for CYP4Z1 expression. Importantly, this expression was significantly found in patients with the late stage of the disease, lymph node metastasis, and high tumour invasion (p < 0.05). Interestingly, CYP4Z1 expression was significantly correlated with shorter survival times of cervical cancer patients. Univariate analysis showed that CYP4Z1 expression, tumour stage, lymph node metastasis, and tumour invasion were significantly correlated with patient survival (p < 0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that only CYP4Z1 expression and tumour stage were significantly correlated with patient survival (p < 0.05). Conclusions: CYP4Z1 expression is associated with cervical cancer patients’ survival and may serve as an independent predictor of poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients.     

Expression of p53 protein in liver and sera of patients with liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma associated with chronic HCV infection

Objectives

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major aetiological agent of chronic hepatitis and it leads to the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The significances of p53 protein and anti-p53 antibodies levels in HCV genotype IV infected patients with different liver pathology were evaluated.

Design and methods

Immunostaining and western blot based on monospecific anti-p53 antibody were used for the identification of p53 protein in liver tissues and serum samples. The serum levels of p53 protein and anti-p53 IgG antibodies were evaluated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results

Mild and diffuse p53 cytoplasmic immunostaining was found in liver tissues of patients with liver fibrosis [F1-F3] and liver cirrhosis [F4] in comparison with strong and diffuse p53 cytoplasmic immunostaining in patients with HCC. The target p53 protein was identified in sera of patients with liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis and HCC at 53-kDa. The detection rate of serum p53 protein increases significantly (p < 0.05) with the progression of the liver pathology. However, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was only shown between serum p53 protein level of HCC patients and those of other liver pathology. In contrast, anti-p53 IgG antibodies positive rates showed only a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in HCC in comparison with liver cirrhosis.

Conclusions

The serum and cytoplasmic p53 protein expressions were more pronounced in patients with HCC more than liver cirrhosis, and in liver cirrhosis more than liver fibrosis. These results suggest that HCV genotype IV and p53 protein levels may have a role in the development of HCC among Egyptian patients.     

NBAS Variants Are Associated with Quantitative and Qualitative NK and B Cell Deficiency

Purpose

Biallelic pathogenic NBAS variants manifest as a multisystem disorder with heterogeneous clinical phenotypes such as recurrent acute liver failure, growth retardation, and susceptibility to infections. This study explores how NBAS-associated disease affects cells of the innate and adaptive immune system.

Methods

Clinical and laboratory parameters were combined with functional multi-parametric immunophenotyping methods in fifteen NBAS-deficient patients to discover possible alterations in their immune system.

Results

Our study revealed reduced absolute numbers of mature CD56^dim natural killer (NK) cells. Notably, the residual NK cell population in NBAS-deficient patients exerted a lower potential for activation and degranulation in response to K562 target cells, suggesting an NK cell–intrinsic role for NBAS in the release of cytotoxic granules. NBAS-deficient NK cell activation and degranulation was normalized upon pre-activation by IL-2 in vitro, suggesting that functional impairment was reversible. In addition, we observed a reduced number of naïve B cells in the peripheral blood associated with hypogammaglobulinemia.

Conclusion

In summary, we demonstrate that pathogenic biallelic variants in NBAS are associated with dysfunctional NK cells as well as impaired adaptive humoral immunity.