Pregnant women’s use and attitude toward herbal,vitamin, and mineral supplements in an academic tertiary care center,Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background

Herbal medicine has been widely utilized by pregnant women despite the limited available evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of that practice. The current available studies, from different countries, estimated that the use of herbal medicine during pregnancy range from 7% up to 96%. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, attitude, source of information, and reasoning behind the use of herbal medicine among pregnant women in Saudia Arabia.

Influence of urbanization of the western coast of the United Arab Emirates on trace metal content in muscle and liver of wild Red-spot emperor (Lethrinus lentjan).

We hypothesized that increased ambient concentrations of metals, as a consequence of escalating urbanization and industrialization of the Gulf region will respond in increased contamination of edible fish species. In this study, we report concentrations of chromium, manganese, cobalt, copper, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead in meat and liver of wild Red-spot emperor (Lethrinus lentjan) from three sampling points at the UAE coast. Analysis was performed by the ICP-MS/microwave digestion. Our study has shown that meat and liver metal content was significantly higher in areas with higher industrial activity, although metal values did not exceed permitted levels of fish for human consumption.     

RASER: a new ultrafast magnetic resonance imaging method.

A new MRI method is described to acquire a T(2)-weighted image from a single slice in a single shot. The technique is based on rapid acquisition by sequential excitation and refocusing (RASER). RASER avoids relaxation-related blurring because the magnetization is sequentially refocused in a manner that effectively creates a series of spin echoes with a constant echo time. RASER uses the quadratic phase produced by a frequency-swept chirp pulse to time-encode one dimension of the image. In another implementation the pulse can be used to excite multiple slices with phase-encoding and frequency-encoding in the other two dimensions. The RASER imaging sequence is presented along with single-shot and multislice images, and is compared to conventional spin-echo and echo-planar imaging sequences. A theoretical and empirical analysis of the spatial resolution is presented, and factors in choosing the spatial resolution for different applications are discussed. RASER produces high-quality single-shot images that are expected to be advantageous for a wide range of applications.     

Children with psychiatric disorders: the A1 Ain Community Psychiatric Survey.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of child psychiatric morbidity in the community is unknown in most developing countries, including those in the Arab region. METHOD: An epidemiologic study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and to determine the sociodemographic correlates in a sample of children in the community, aged 6 to 18 years, in A1 Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). RESULTS: We obtained a prevalence rate of 22.2% for overall morbidity, as classified in the DSM-1V, and 14.3% for those with significant dysfunction, with the most common diagnosis being mood disorders. Female sex, large family size, chronic life difficulties, family history of psychiatric disorder, and alcohol-related problems in a family member were significantly associated with DSM-IV diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence and symptomatology in this Middle East community are similar to those in Western studies, none of these children had received professional help, suggesting serious deficiencies in mental health care services in the country.     

Validation of the Mayo Adhesive Probability score as a predictor of adherent perinephric fat and outcomes in open partial nephrectomy

BackgroundAdherent perinephric fat (APF) contributes to surgical complexity and can be associated with adverse perioperative outcomes for partial nephrectomy (PN). The Mayo Adhesive Probability (MAP) score accurately predicts the presence of APF during robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). Our primary aim is to validate MAP score as a predictor of APF in open partial nephrectomy (OPNx).MethodsWe reviewed 105 consecutive OPNx (100 patients) performed by a single surgeon with intraoperative determination of APF. We evaluated the ability of the MAP score to discriminate between those with APF and those without APF by estimating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCC). The association of perioperative outcomes with APF was evaluated as well.ResultsForty-three patients [49%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 39–59%] had intraoperative identification of APF. The MAP score had excellent ability to predict APF in OPNx (AUROCC, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.74–0.92). APF was observed in 6% of patients with a MAP score of 0-1, 27% with score 2, 52% with score 3, 75% with score 4, and 90% with score 5. The presence of APF was associated with longer operative times (P=0.004) and higher estimated blood loss (EBL) (P=0.003). Although not statistically significant, our study did suggest that APF may be associated with postoperative complications and prolonged length of stay (LOS) (>3 days).ConclusionsMAP score accurately predicts the presence of APF in patients undergoing OPNx. APF is associated with longer operative time and higher blood loss in OPNx.     

Attenuation of Aluminum Chloride-Induced Neuroinflammation and Caspase Activation Through the AKT/GSK-3β Pathway by Hesperidin in Wistar Rats

Hesperidin, a flavanoglycone abundantly present in citrus fruits, is reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties. Previous reports from our laboratory indicated the neuroprotective effect of hesperidin against aluminum chloride (AlCl₃)-induced memory loss, acetylcholine esterase hyperactivity, oxidative stress, and enhanced expression of amyloid β protein biosynthesis-related markers. However, their role on AlCl₃-induced inflammation, caspase activation, Tau pathology, altered Akt/GSK 3β signaling pathway, and Aβ clearance marker has not yet been fully elucidated. Intraperitonial injection of AlCl₃ (100 mg/kg body weight) for 60 days significantly elevated the expressions of insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK 5), and phosphoTau (pTau); inflammatory markers such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1), NF-kB, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS); and apoptotic markers including cytosolic cytochrome c (cyto c), caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9, and lowered expressions of mitochondrial cyto c, phospho-Akt (pAkt) and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3β (pGSK-3β) in the hippocampus and cortex. Co-administration of hesperidin to AlCl₃ rats for 60 days significantly ameliorated the aluminum-induced pathological changes. The behavioral studies also supported the above findings. Our results imply that treatment with hesperidin might be a potent option for treating the symptoms of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease by targeting its most prominent hallmarks.     

Whole genome SNP genotyping in a family segregating developmental dysplasia of the hip detected runs of homozygosity on chromosomes 15q13.3 and 19p13.2

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is one of the most prevalent developmental orthopedic diseases worldwide. DDH is a spectrum of anatomical abnormalities of the hip joint and is characterized by premature arthritis in later life. Sporadic cases have been reported more frequently; however, some studies have reported families segregating DDH. Studies have suggested that the genetic factors play a significant role in the development of DDH. In order to detect genetic defect underlying DDH, we performed Sanger sequencing of all DDH associated genes, whole genome SNP genotyping and exome sequencing in a Saudi family with four individuals having DDH. Sanger sequencing of all known genes did not identify any pathogenic variant. Genotype data analysis using HomozygosityMapper identified shared homozygous regions on chromosome 15q13.3 and chromosome 19p13.2 flanked by rs17228178‐rs1534200 and rs466123‐rs2112461, respectively. These data were also analyzed by cnvpartition software for identification of DDH associated copy number variations (CNV). A shared copy number gain of approximately 15 kb on chr6p21.32 (chr6:33 053 906–33 069 893) was discovered in all affected individuals. Partial gain of this region has also been found in unaffected sibling of this family. Exome data did not reveal any candidate sequence variant. Whole genome sequencing is required to identify deep intronic variants in the shared homozygous regions. Identification of genetic variants involved in pathogenesis of DDH may open up interesting perspectives into the function of the gene(s) in hip joint development.     

Hypopituitarism and antiphospholipid syndrome

Endocrine disorders seen in antiphospholipid syndrome are rare. To date, these disorders have generally involved Addison's disease. Recently reports have appeared of a few cases of primary or secondary hypopituitarism associated with primary antiphospholipid syndrome. We report the case of a young female patient who presented neuroendocrine symptoms during the postpartum period associated with an antiphospholipid syndrome. Hormone assessment showed complete anterior hypopituitarism and antiphospholipid antibodies were positive. We discuss the clinical, biological and radiological features observed in our patient and compare results with cases reported in the literature. This case illustrates the importance of screening for antiphospholipid syndrome in the etiological work-up of hypopituitarism associated with a history of recurrent thrombosis.     

The safety and efficacy of systemic versus catheter-based therapies: application of a prognostic model by a pulmonary embolism response team

Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis - The decision by pulmonary embolism response teams (PERTs) to utilize anticoagulation (AC) with or without systemic thrombolysis (ST) or catheter-directed...