Quality of life among epileptic patients in Qassim Region,KSA

Objectives:To explore the influence of epilepsy on quality of life (QoL) among people with epilepsy in Saudi Arabia, and its association with sociodemographic and clinical characteristic aspects in the Qassim region.Methods:A cross-sectional multi-centered study done in the Qassim region from June 2018 to May 2019. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to 216 participants who attended the neurology clinic. We used a validated Arabic version of the QoL in Epilepsy (QOLIE-31) to measure the QoL.Results:The mean of the overall QOLIE-31 score was 64.23 ± 17.8. we found that employment status had a significant influence on the overall score (p<0.001) and all other QOL domains (rho ranged from -.136 for energy fatigue to -.193 for social function) Patients with focal seizures were significantly higher in emotional wellbeing (rho=-.159), seizure worry (rho=-.226), cognitive function (rho=-.166) and overall score (p=0.010) than patients with the generalized type. Monotherapy patients have higher scores in total (p<0.001) and all subscales except seizure worry and emotional wellbeing than those on polytherapy.Conclusion:Employment status, type of seizure, and AED number are the most important factors affecting Saudi patient’s QoL.

Many studies in multiple countries have tested quality of life (QoL) in epilepsy, and have highlighted areas of common concern. It has been shown that among Arabian people, epileptic patients are generally more susceptible to having higher levels of anxiety and depression.1 In Kenya, researchers have compared QoL between persons with epilepsy (PWE) and healthy people who have the same environment, social relationship, and living circumstances. These authors found that low education level, unemployment rate, unskilled employment, and low income were higher in PWE compared to their non-epileptic accompanying people.2 Despite the high prevalence rate in Saudi Arabia (6.54 per 1000),3 there has been limited research about the impact of QoL in epileptic patients. To better identify the factors that influence Saudi epilepsy patients, here we explore the influence of epilepsy on QoL among Saudi epileptic patients.     

Genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders in 103 Jordanian families

We recruited 103 families from Jordan with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) and patterns of inheritance mostly suggestive of autosomal recessive inheritance. In each family, we investigated at least one affected individual using exome sequencing and an in-house diagnostic variant interpretation pipeline including a search for copy number variation. This approach led us to identify the likely molecular defect in established disease genes in 37 families. We could identify 25 pathogenic nonsense and 11 missense variants as well as 3 pathogenic copy number variants and 1 repeat expansion. Notably, 11 of the disease-causal variants occurred de novo. In addition, we prioritized a homozygous frameshift variant in PUS3 in two sisters with intellectual disability. To our knowledge, PUS3 has been postulated only recently as a candidate disease gene for intellectual disability in a single family with three affected siblings. Our findings provide additional evidence to establish loss of PUS3 function as a cause of intellectual disability.     

Analyzing the Effects of Heat Treatment on SMAW Duplex Stainless Steel Weld Overlays

Duplex stainless steel (DSS) has a reasonably high resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking for offshore and marine applications. However, DSS weld overlay has not been successfully demonstrated due to some inherent problems in achieving pitting and crevice corrosion resistance. In this research work, isothermal heat treatments (350, 650 and 1050 °C) with and different cooling rates have been performed DMR249 Grade A by using shield metal arc welding (SMAW) with an E2209 electrode. Micrographs have shown two phase microstructures of the DSS weld metal, the amounts of austenite phase increased with increment of post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) temperatures. The dilution has maintained consistent values except solution annealing that has shown the disappearance of the heat affected zone in micrographs. The weld metal hardness values increased with PWHT temperatures and remained low at solid solution annealing temperatures. The major alloying elements (C, Mo, Cr, Ni, N, and Fe) were analyzed, as these elements can contribute to intermetallic phases. The results showed that C and Cr content slightly increased with PWHT except for solid solution annealing, Mo showed consistently low content due to dilution effects. Ni maintained higher content, although the heat-treated samples showed slight fluctuations. Nitrogen produced consistent values, as recommended to prevent critical involvement in nitride precipitation.     

The Impact of Wearing a Face Mask during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Temporomandibular Joint: A Radiological and Questionnaire Assessment

Aim  Several health problems have been reported to be triggered or facilitated by prolonged mask usage during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While wearing a face mask, people tend to push their jaws forward and downward in a repetitive manner to hold their masks in the right position; these jaw motions may induce temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). In this study, we aimed to investigate these repetitive jaw movements while wearing face masks and their effects on TMD. Patients and Methods  Patients who applied with TMD signs between June 2020 and May 2021 were evaluated prospectively. A survey using a questionnaire was conducted to define patients with TMD that caused only by mask-related repetitive jaw movements. Demographic data (age and gender), mean duration of daily mask usage, mask type, and magnetic resonance imaging results were recorded. Results  Prolonged daily mask usage (≥8 hours/day) was significantly higher in patients with mask-related habits (group a) with a rate of 40.4% ( p ≈ 0.001). Also, in this group, the disc displacement with reduction rate (54.6%) was higher compared with other groups ( p ≈ 0.010). On the contrary, patients with no underlying risk factor (group c) showed an unexpected high osteoarthritis rate ( p ≈ 0.029). Conclusions  In this study, we demonstrate that correcting the position of a face mask by repetitive jaw movements can increase the occurrence of TMD. Informing individuals wearing face masks about the risk of TMD and the importance of choosing the appropriate mask size according to the face shape are important issues to be addressed in the near future.     

Giant multilocular prostatic cystadenoma in a young man: A case report from Jordan

Giant Multilocular Prostatic Cystadenoma (GMPC) is one of the rare benign tumors of the prostate. This report presents a case of a young man who has been recently diagnosed with GMPC. Our report highlights the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment, considering the overlapping symptoms with other common urinary conditions.     

Optimal force magnitude loaded to orthodontic microimplants: A finite element analysis

Objective:To find an optimal force that can be loaded onto an orthodontic microimplant to fulfill the biomechanical demands of orthodontic treatment without diminishing the stability of the microimplant.Materials and Methods:Using the finite element analysis method, 3-D computer-aided design models of a microimplant and four cylindrical bone pieces (incorporating cortical bone thicknesses of 0.5, 1.2, 2.0, and 3.0 mm) into which the microimplant was inserted were used. Various force magnitudes of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 N were then horizontally and separately applied to the microimplant head as inserted into the different bone assemblies. For each bone/force assembly tested, peak stresses developed at areas of intimate contact with the microimplant along the force direction were then calculated using regression analysis and compared with a threshold value at which pathologic bone resorption might develop.Results:The resulting peak stresses showed that bone pieces with thicker cortical bone tolerated higher force magnitudes better than did thinner ones. For cortical bone thicknesses of 0.5, 1.2, 2.0, and 3.0 mm, the maximum force magnitudes that could be applied safely were 3.75, 4.1, 4.3, and 4.45 N, respectively.Conclusions: For the purpose of diminishing orthodontic microimplant failure, an optimal force that can be safely loaded onto a microimplant should not exceed a value of around 3.75–4.5 N.     

Laser-Induced Fluorescence Thermometry of Heating in Water from Short Bursts of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound

Free field experimental measurements of the temperature rise of water in the focal region of a 2 MHz high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer were performed. The transducer was operated in pulse-mode with millisecond bursts, at acoustic intensities of 5 to 18.5 kW/cm² at the focus, resulting in non-linear wave propagation and shock wave formation. Pulsed, planar, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) was used as a fast rise-time, non-intrusive, temperature measurement method of the water present in the focal region. LIF thermometry is based on calibrating the temperature-dependent fluorescence intensity signal emitted by a passive dye dissolved in water when excited by a pulse of laser light. The laser beam was formed into a thin light sheet to illuminate a planar area in the HIFU focal region. The laser light sheet was oriented transverse to the acoustic axis. Cross-sectional, instantaneous temperature field measurements within the HIFU focal volume showed that the water temperature increased steadily with increasing HIFU drive voltage. Heating rates of 4000–7000°C/s were measured within the first millisecond of the HIFU burst. Increasing the length of the burst initially resulted in an increase in the water temperature within the HIFU focal spot (up to ∼3 ms), after which it steadied or slightly dropped. Acoustic streaming was measured and shown to be consistent with the reduction in heating with increased burst length due to convective cooling. LIF thermometry may thus be a viable non-invasive method for the characterization of HIFU transducers at high power intensities.