Recent Articles

The effect of alcohol consumption on overall cancer incidence is not clear. The aim of the paper is to estimate the impact of alcohol consumption on risk distribution of the 20 most common cancer types among men and women in the Western world. A meta-analysis of relative risks for the 20 most common cancer types potentially associated with alcohol consumption in the Western world was conducted based on the most recent cancer specific meta-analyses. Cancer risks were compared between men and women applying a sigmoidal dose response model. Drinking 2.5-14.9 g alcohol/day was associated with a small decrease in overall cancer incidence: 0.977 for men and 0.974 for women; followed by a small increase in the 15-29.9 g/day category: 1.029 for men and 1.077 for women. Further increases were observed in the 30-60 g/day category indicating a 5 and 10% increase in overall cancer risk for men and women, respectively. Women appeared to be more sensitive: the alcohol consumption level to acquire overall risk increase is 22 g/day for women and 46 g/day for men.

A 14 day broiler chickens feeding trial was conducted to determine bio-availability and relative biological values (RBV) of phosphorus in raw and acidulated local rock phosphates (RPs) as potential replacements for imported and more expensive di-calcium phosphate (DCP). Treatments included Raw, Sulphuric acid and Phosphoric acid acidulated Sinda and Chilembwe RPs. Bio-availability was assessed based on feed intake, body weight gains, feed conversion ratios, phosphorus retention and mineralization of tibia bones and blood serum. RBVs were calculated on the same parameters using DCP as a reference standard. Phosphorus contents in local RPs were significantly (P ≥ 0.05) lower than in DCP, but acidulating RPs with Phosphoric acid significantly increased phosphorus, but reduced calcium contents. Other minerals were comparable with what was in DCP. Acidulating RPs significantly (P ≥ 0.05) increased body weight gains and feed conversion ratios, but not feed intake. Phosphorus retentions, weights and ash contents of tibia bones were significantly (P ≥ 0.05) lower in chickens fed diets based on raw than that of those fed diets based on acidulated RPs and DCP; an indication that acidulating the RPs improved phosphorus bio-availability in broiler chickens. There were however; no statistical differences (P ≥ 0.05) among treatments in calcium and phosphorus contents in both tibia bones and blood serum.

Synthetic marijuana compounds are more potent than ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC) and are known to produce a wide variety of clinical symptoms including cardiac toxicity, seizures, and death. Erratic driving by a 45 y/o male was witnessed in the fall of 2017 and roadside evaluation of the driver by the responding law enforcement officer concluded that the driver was intoxicated. Comprehensive analysis of the cigarettes by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detected the synthetic cannabinoid 5-fluoro-ADB (5F-ADB or 5F-MDMB-PINACA). Validated forensic liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods were used to detect the 5-fluoro ADB metabolite 7 (26.37 ng/mL) in the driver’s blood sample. No other drugs were detected. This case report is one of the first to conclusively show that designer synthetic cannabinoids, commonly referred to as “K2” and “Spice”, can significantly impair driving at relatively low concentrations.

MicroscopyStevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) is a disease continuum of potentially life threatening, severe allergic drug reactions which result in cellular apoptosis in the skin, mucous membranes, and ocular surface. The exact pathophysiologic mechanisms leading to this apoptosis is unclear but genetic predisposition and abnormal immune regulations play a role.

Adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) are frequent and although most of them are asymptomatic and benign, some do need treatment. The AIs follow-up has to be as sharp as to avoid missing pathology and to avoid harm and anxiety induced by the follow-up itself. It is, thus, a delicate medical condition for endocrinologists worldwide.

Leisure time physical activity has a broad spectrum of health benefits. The objective of this study was to provide evidence and to support the association between physical activity and body weight. We used data from a probability sample of 8,128 individuals residing in Montreal (Canada). Multinomial multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association between physical activity and body weight. Results showed no statistical association between physical activity and underweight. However, physical activity was associated with overweight, namely individuals doing less physical activity were significantly more likely to be overweight (OR=1.42; 95%CI=1.18- 1.69) than those performing intense physical activity. Additionally, the association between physical activity and obesity showed a negative incremental relationship, i.e. individuals reporting moderate physical activity were 29% more likely to be obese (OR=1.29; 95%CI=1.07- 1.55), and those reporting low physical activity were 123% more likely to be obese (OR=2.23; 95%CI=1.80-2.76) compared to intense physical activity status. Leisure time physical activity and overweight/obesity were significantly associated after accounting for several socioeconomic, lifestyle and health-related correlates. Due to the broader positive impact of physical activity on the health status of the individual, we advise health authorities to facilitate the propagation of healthy lifestyle in the community by adopting a health-creation policy in addition to the conventional disease-prevention strategy

Irrational antibiotic use has led society to antibiotic resistance, a serious health problem worldwide. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of antibiotics self-medication among university medical students in Tripoli city.

Chronic urticaria is a common condition but its etiology can sometimes be serious. A variety of causes has been reported to induce urticaria, like food, infections, drugs or environmental factors. Although an association between chronic urticarial and malignancy has been occasionally reported, such association remains controversial because it’s difficult to demonstrate it’s not just coincidental. However, various cancers have been described in connection with this skin pathology such as thyroid, pulmonary or renal carcinoma. In all of these cases, treatment of the tumor led to prompt resolution of the urticarial lesions, thus suggesting a pathogenetic relationship between the two. We report the case of a man treated for several months without success for chronic urticaria whose treatment of the recurrence of his prostate cancer has removed the skin lesions.

Solitary bone plasmacytomas account for approximately 5% of plasma cell malignancies. These lesions are recognized as pre-malignant, if untreated, at least 50% will progress to multiple myeloma within 5 years of diagnosis. We present a case of a 54 year old male patient whom presented to our unit complaining of progressive axial backache complicated by acute onset paraplegia of 8 hours duration. Neurological examination revealed an incomplete L1 sensory level and no motor function of his lower limbs which had power 0/5 in all dermatomes (Frankel B).

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic, disabling hypokinetic movement disorder with a broad spectrum of symptomatology including motor and non-motor complaints. Since non-motor symptoms of the disease such as musculoskeletal pain including shoulder pain is often underestimated, and is prone to occur during the course of the disease, as well as the prodromal phase of PD, it is important to keep in mind that shoulder pain may be a foot step of an evolving PD, and may need further investigation in terms of PD.

Isolated extrapontine myelinolysis is an uncommon form of osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) in paediatric age group. We describe a child with primary adrenocortical insufficiency manifesting as cyclical vomiting syndrome, which in turn has complicated in the form of extrapontine myelinolysis manifesting as reversible acute parkinsonism.

A sixty-year-old woman with no remarkable systemic disease came to our clinic due to blurred vision of right eye for one month. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.2 in the right eye, while intraocular pressure, anterior segment, and optic disc of right eye were all normal. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was arranged, which showed VMT in right eye.

Nonspecific chronic vulvovaginites (NCVV) are a frequent clinical sign of immune deficiency, especially in young girls. The established problems with the functioning of various parts of the immune system (IS) in this pathology dictate the need to include immunomodulatory therapy into the complex. The developed program of combined immunotherapy for immunocompromised girls allows reducing the severity and duration of exacerbation of NCVV, their frequency against the background of a significant reduction in ARVI incidence. Positive clinical effects were observed with underlying restoration in IS functioning. A protective effect was obtained (observation in a catamnesis for 1 year): the duration of a clinically safe period increased from 6 to 11-11.5 months per year.

Bioavailability in different formulations of desvenlafaxine100 mg prolonged-release tablets was compared in two bioequivalence studies, one under fasting conditions and the other after a standard breakfast. Both studies were a single dose, randomized, open-label, two-period crossover, with Brazilian male and female healthy subjects. Blood samples were taken during 48 h and plasmatic concentrations were determined using a validated UPLC-MS/MS method.

Schistosomiasis is one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world. Spinal Cord Schistosomiasis (SCS) usually presents acutely or subacutely and classified into three clinical forms: medullary, myelo-radicular and conus-cauda equina syndrome. Despite the fact that Kuwait is not an endemic country for Schistosomiasis, many expats residing in this country are from endemic areas. We report a case of a 29 years old Egyptian male with conus-cauda equine syndrome with classic radiological findings and good response to treatment.

The discovery of antibiotics was one of the greatest achievements of medical science. The introduction of these drugs into medical practice has saved and continues to save millions of lives. At the same time, every year it becomes more and more obvious that antibiotics are not a universal remedy for inflammatory diseases, and their long-term use entails the emergence of new problems

The de-extinction of the dinosaur is a dubious possibility but its consideration brings forth some issues that are at least worthy of scientific discussion. In this review, we discuss two distinct issues that have implications for a de-extinct species such as a dinosaur: the ability, or lack thereof, to safely sedate a rare and potentially fractious animal capable of harming the veterinary staff tasked with its care; and, disease risks associated with a species that has been extinct for millions of years. To identify potential sedatives, comparative pharmacology will be needed to uncover the links between receptor pharmacology and the desired clinical outcomes of activating established alpha-2 adrenergic, opioid, and benzodiazepine receptors. Specific to disease control, it will be necessary to understand the unique susceptibility of the new species to current diseases as well as predicting their reservoir capacity for potential human and veterinary pandemic diseases. While the topics presented herein are not exhaustive, this review highlights some of the foremost research that should be conducted in order to serve the unique veterinary needs of a de-extinct species using the dinosaur as a paradigm. Addressing these issues should be considered if an intact dinosaur genome becomes available, regardless of the feasibility of dinosaur resurrection.

Sickle cell disease is a prevalent and severe monogenic disorder resulting from a homozygous missense mutation in the β-globin gene that leads to polymerization of hemoglobin S. Clinical manifestations of the disease can be critical with considerable morbidity and mortality. One treatment option for the disease is bone marrow transplantation. However this method is restricted to the patients with an appropriately matched donor. Gene therapy by either gene insertion or gene editing, utilizing patient’s own cell is a primary therapeutic option to cure sickle cell disease. However, very less clinical trials have been performed with genetic therapy for treating Sickle cell disease (SCD). Since a couple of decades significant progress has been made in the area of gene therapy for treating monogenic hemoglobin disorders. Numerous therapies are currently in clinical trial stages or in preclinical stages. The safety and efficacy of gene therapy has been greatly improved with the initial use of γ-retrovirus vectors, followed by next-generation lentivirus vectors, and latest gene editing techniques. Although the clinical interpretation of gene therapy has been successful, it involves some limitations including complex cellular abnormalities, inadequate transgene expression, and challenges in achieving effective and persistent inhibition of polymerization of hemoglobin S. This review intends to discuss gene therapy strategies specific to Sickle cell disease, present state of the field, and current status of the gene therapy clinical trials.

Statement of the Problem: Euthanasia is a desire to ease the suffering of the patient suffering from pain due to terminal illness and incurable. On the one hand, opponents of euthanasia argue that the value of the sanctity of life is a supreme value, which is also anchored in the basic law in Israel.

Over the years, all parts of a commercial refrigerator, such as the compressor, heat exchangers, refrigerant, and packaging, have been improved considerably due to the extensive research and development efforts carried out by academia and industry.