Accessibility to biologics and its impact on disease activity and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Kuwait

Clinical Rheumatology - Biologics are indicated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in case of persistent high disease activity despite conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs) or...     

Mitochondrial DNA control region variation in a Kuwaiti population sample

Mitochondrial control region (16024-576) sequences were generated from 381 Kuwaiti samples. Previously, these samples were typed with the AmpF?STR(?) Identifiler(?) kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, California). Automated high throughput lab processing combined with a redundant sequencing strategy and multiple reviews of the raw electropherograms ensure the high quality of these sequences and their utility as reference population data for Kuwait.     

High prevalence of celiac disease among Saudi children with type 1 diabetes: a prospective cross-sectional study

Background

Hepatitis C decreases health related quality of life (HRQL) which is further diminished by antiviral therapy. HRQL improves after successful treatment. This trial explores the course of and factors associated with HRQL in patients given individualized or standard treatment based on early treatment response (Ditto-study).

Methods

The Short Form (SF)-36 Health Survey was administered at baseline (n = 192) and 24 weeks after the end of therapy (n = 128).

Results

At baseline HRQL was influenced by age, participating center, severity of liver disease and income. Exploring the course of HRQL (scores at follow up minus baseline), only the dimension general health increased. In this dimension patients with a relapse or sustained response differed from non-responders. Men and women differed in the dimension bodily pain. Treatment schedule did not influence the course of HRQL.

Conclusions

Main determinants of HRQL were severity of liver disease, age, gender, participating center and response to treatment. Our results do not exclude a more profound negative impact of individualized treatment compared to standard, possibly caused by higher doses and extended treatment duration in the individualized group. Antiviral therapy might have a more intense and more prolonged negative impact on females.     

Bone Mineral Density in Premenopausal Arab Women With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

IntroductionThis study compares an ethnically uniform group of premenopausal type 2 diabetic (T2DM) Arab women with a matched control group of nondiabetic subjects, in terms of their bone mineral density (BMD) and anthropometric measurements.MethodsThe study included 252 premenopausal Arab women. Their age ranged from 26 to 50 yr with a mean ± SD of 43.65 ± 8.97 yr. One hundred and twenty-two women were T2DM patients and 130 women were nondiabetic controls. The controls matched the subjects in gender, age, and body mass index (BMI). BMD was measured at total lumbar spine (L1–L4) and total left hip, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA; HOLOGIC, QRS SERIES, Europe, Belgium). Difference in BMD and its relationship to the anthropometric measurements in T2DM and control groups were assessed.ResultsSignificant difference was found between T2DM patients and nondiabetic patients in their mean hip BMD (0.92 ± 0.16 vs. 0.87 ± 0.14, p < 0.05) and spine BMD (0.93 ± 0.15 vs. 0.88 ± 0.14, p < 0.01). No significant difference was found in age, height, weight, and BMI (p > 0.05). The increase in hip BMD in T2DM patients normalized and the increase in spine BMD persisted after controlling for the confounding effect of age and anthropometric measurements.ConclusionPremenopausal Arab women with T2DM have higher BMD at the spine than women without T2DM. The underlying mechanism causing this increase does not seem to be related to ethnicity, gender, hormonal status, or anthropometric measurements.     

Does surgical delay for radical prostatectomy affect biochemical recurrence? A retrospective analysis from a Canadian cohort

Aim

We sought to explore the impact of surgical wait time (SWT) to robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) on biochemical recurrence (BCR).

Method

Retrospective review of a prospectively collected database between 2006 and 2015 was conducted on all RARP cases. SWT was defined as period from prostate biopsy to surgery. Primary outcome was the impact on BCR, which was defined as two consecutive PSA ≥ 0.2 ng/dl, or salvage external beam radiation therapy and/or salvage androgen deprivation therapy. Patients were stratified according to D’Amico risk categories. Univariable analysis (UVA) and multivariable analyses (MVA) with a Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to evaluate the effect of SWT and other predictive factors on BCR, in each D’Amico risk group and on the overall collective sample.

Results

Patients eligible for analysis were 619. Mean SWT was 153, 169, 150, and 125 days, for overall, low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis on the overall cohort did not show a significant relation between SWT and BCR. On subgroup analysis of D’Amico risk group, SWT was positively correlated to BCR for high-risk group (p = 0.001). On threshold analysis, cut-off was found to be 90 days. SWT did not significantly affect BCR on UVA and MVA in the low- and intermediate-risk groups.

Conclusion

Increased delay to surgery could affect the BCR, as there was a positive association in high-risk group. Further studies with longer follow-up are necessary to assess the impact of wait time on BCR, cancer specific survival and overall survival.

     

STR data for the AmpFlSTR Identifiler loci in Kuwaiti population

Allele frequencies for 15 STR loci included in AmpFlSTR((R)) Identifiler((R)) kit were ascertained in a sample population of 502 unrelated Kuwaiti individuals. Allele frequencies were compared with 6 Caucasian populations using an exact test. This showed that the Kuwaiti population was very similar to the neighboring Iraqi and Saudi populations. As the geographical distance between the populations increased, as expected, more differences were observed. Relevant forensic parameters were also determined.