Epidemiological studies on cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ad- Dawadimi District, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Ad-Dawadimi region of Saudi Arabia.Methods: Data from the patients included in this retrospective study were collected from the Leishmaniasis Control Center of Ad-Dawadimi District of Saudi Arabia. A total of 370 patients with CL were recorded from January 2009 to December 2013. The data focused on details of sociodemographics, i.e., age, gender, date of diagnosis, residence and close family members with CL.Results: Out of 370 patients with verified lesions, 280 (75.6 %) were males with a mean age of 18.26 ± 13.41 years, while 90 (24.3 %) were females with a mean age of 19.25 ± 16.10 years. The highest proportion (18.3 %) occurred in the 15 - 20 years age group. Annual distribution of CL showed that the highest rate was in 2010 with 168 cases while the lowest rate was in 2012 with 42 cases. There were no significant differences in the mean ages of the CL cases with respect to gender.Conclusion: Most of the reported cases had with single facial lesions. Although all age groups are affected by CL, a majority of the cases are aged 15 to 30 years.Keywords: Cutaneous leishmania, Epidemiology, Facial lesion, Age-relate

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) and the Role of Advanced Hemodynamic Monitoring

This study aimed at exploring the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) as a multi-modality, evidence-based approach to improving the quality of patient care after major surgery and to investigate the effectiveness of the implementation of the ERAS on the outcome measures. Therefore, the problem of this study lies in exploring the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) upon the role of advanced hemodynamic monitoring through examining a sample of (220) patients in two Jordanian hospitals (Jordan Hospital and the Specialty Hospital) undergoing major surgery. The study concluded that the patients had witnessed progressive outcome measures in the Improved Post-operative Morbidity Score (POMS), and the Reduced Length of Stay in Hospital, and the Reduced episodes of harm and surgical complications

Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks and Blood Samples Collected from Camels in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia

Background and Objective: Domestic animals, including camels, in Saudi Arabia suffer from various diseases, among which tick-borne infections are important because they reduce the productivity of these animals. However, knowledge of tick-borne pathogens in camels in Saudi Arabia is very limited, so the aims of this study were to quantify the abundance and distribution of tick species infesting camels from different districts of Riyadh province and use molecular tools to detect tick-borne pathogens in both the ticks and blood samples. Materials and Methods: A total of 218 ticks were collected from 116 camels from the 5 districts of Riyadh. The ticks and camel blood samples were analyzed for Borrelia, Babesia and Theileria pathogens using conventional and real-time PCR. Results: The results showed that five different tick species were identified. Majority of the ticks were Hyalomma dromedarii (70.6%), which were collected from camels in all 5 districts. This was followed by Hyalomma impeltatum species (25.2%), which was again found in all the districts. The other species found were Hyalomma anatolicum, Haemaphysalis sp. and Rhipicephalus turanicus. The only one H. dromedarii tick was positive for Theileria sp. DNA. Although the sample size and the area of tick collection were limited, the data suggest that the prevalence of pathogens in the Riyadh province, Saudi Arabia is relatively low. Conclusion: The study provides useful preliminary data to inform future full-scale country-wide surveys

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes among Youths in Jordan: Incidence and Trends for the period (2011-2016)

This study aimed at analyzing the incidence of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes among youths in Jordan for the period (2011-2016), the researchers adopted the survey methodology for the period of five years from the records of the medical centers (public and private) in Jordan. Also investigated the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in diagnosis and treatments. Results showed significant upward trend in the incidence of type 1 diabetes was observed overall with considerable variation across demographic subgroups of age, sex. And also showed among youths who were 10 to 19 years of age, unadjusted models revealed significant increases in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with increases observed across all age and sex

Awareness and Regulatory Measures in Caffeine Addiction: Medical Statistical Review

This study aimed at analyzing the degree of awareness and regulatory measures in the caffeine addiction within a medical statistical survey in Jordan, by attempting to answer the study two questions: What are the level of awareness and regulatory measures in caffeine addiction for positive psychological effects (alertness, attention and concentration)?, and: What are the level of awareness and regulatory measures in caffeine addiction for negative psychological effects (anxiety, depression and irritable)? The results of the study showed that there will be a statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) of the awareness of caffeine addiction for both positive psychological effects (alertness, attention and concentration) and negative psychological effects (anxiety, depression and irritable) in Jordan. The researchers recommended to educate university students about the importance of controlling their caffeine intakes, and encourage university students to exploit the medical information provided by the medical studies about the risks of high doses of caffeine intakes

In Silico Analysis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) in Human β-Globin Gene

Single amino acid substitutions in the globin chain are the most common forms of genetic variations that produce hemoglobinopathies- the most widespread inherited disorders worldwide. Several hemoglobinopathies result from homozygosity or compound heterozygosity to beta-globin (HBB) gene mutations, such as that producing sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS), HbC, HbD and HbE. Several of these mutations are deleterious and result in moderate to severe hemolytic anemia, with associated complications, requiring lifelong care and management. Even though many hemoglobinopathies result from single amino acid changes producing similar structural abnormalities, there are functional differences in the generated variants. Using in silico methods, we examined the genetic variations that can alter the expression and function of the HBB gene. Using a sequence homology-based Sorting Intolerant from Tolerant (SIFT) server we have searched for the SNPs, which showed that 200 (80%) non-synonymous polymorphism were found to be deleterious. The structure-based method via PolyPhen server indicated that 135 (40%) non-synonymous polymorphism may modify protein function and structure. The Pupa Suite software showed that the SNPs will have a phenotypic consequence on the structure and function of the altered protein. Structure analysis was performed on the key mutations that occur in the native protein coded by the HBB gene that causes hemoglobinopathies such as: HbC (E→K), HbD (E→Q), HbE (E→K) and HbS (E→V). Atomic Non-Local Environment Assessment (ANOLEA), Yet Another Scientific Artificial Reality Application (YASARA), CHARMM-GUI webserver for macromolecular dynamics and mechanics, and Normal Mode Analysis, Deformation and Refinement (NOMAD-Ref) of Gromacs server were used to perform molecular dynamics simulations and energy minimization calculations on β-Chain residue of the HBB gene before and after mutation. Furthermore, in the native and altered protein models, amino acid residues were determined and secondary structures were observed for solvent accessibility to confirm the protein stability. The functional study in this investigation may be a good model for additional future studies

Viral RNA Metagenomics of Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Dromedary Camels in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia

Arthropod-borne infections are a medical and economic threat to humans and livestock. Over the last three decades, several unprecedented viral outbreaks have been recorded in the Western part of the Arabian Peninsula. However, little is known about the circulation and diversity of arthropod-borne viruses in this region. To prepare for new outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, it is important to detect which viruses circulate in each vector population. In this study, we used a metagenomics approach to characterize the RNA virome of ticks infesting dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries) in Makkah province, Saudi Arabia. Two hundred ticks of species Hyalomma dromedarii (n = 196) and Hyalomma impeltatum (n = 4) were collected from the Alkhurma district in Jeddah and Al-Taif city. Virome analysis showed the presence of several tick-specific viruses and tick-borne viruses associated with severe illness in humans. Some were identified for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula. The human disease-associated viruses detected included Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever virus and Tamdy virus (family Nairoviridae), Guertu virus (family Phenuiviridae), and a novel coltivirus that shares similarities with Tarumizu virus, Tai forest reovirus and Kundal virus (family Reoviridae). Furthermore, Alkhurma hemorrhagic virus (Flaviviridae) was detected in two tick pools by specific qPCR. In addition, tick-specific viruses in families Phenuiviridae (phleboviruses), Iflaviridae, Chuviridae, Totiviridae and Flaviviridae (Pestivirus) were detected. The presence of human pathogenetic viruses warrants further efforts in tick surveillance, xenosurveillence, vector control, and sero-epidemiological investigations in human and animal populations to predict, contain and mitigate future outbreaks in the region

Viral RNA Metagenomics of Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Dromedary Camels in Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia

Arthropod-borne infections are a medical and economic threat to humans and livestock. Over the last three decades, several unprecedented viral outbreaks have been recorded in the Western part of the Arabian Peninsula. However, little is known about the circulation and diversity of arthropod-borne viruses in this region. To prepare for new outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, it is important to detect which viruses circulate in each vector population. In this study, we used a metagenomics approach to characterize the RNA virome of ticks infesting dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries) in Makkah province, Saudi Arabia. Two hundred ticks of species Hyalomma dromedarii (n = 196) and Hyalomma impeltatum (n = 4) were collected from the Alkhurma district in Jeddah and Al-Taif city. Virome analysis showed the presence of several tick-specific viruses and tick-borne viruses associated with severe illness in humans. Some were identified for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula. The human disease-associated viruses detected included Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic fever virus and Tamdy virus (family Nairoviridae), Guertu virus (family Phenuiviridae), and a novel coltivirus that shares similarities with Tarumizu virus, Tai forest reovirus and Kundal virus (family Reoviridae). Furthermore, Alkhurma hemorrhagic virus (Flaviviridae) was detected in two tick pools by specific qPCR. In addition, tick-specific viruses in families Phenuiviridae (phleboviruses), Iflaviridae, Chuviridae, Totiviridae and Flaviviridae (Pestivirus) were detected. The presence of human pathogenetic viruses warrants further efforts in tick surveillance, xenosurveillence, vector control, and sero-epidemiological investigations in human and animal populations to predict, contain and mitigate future outbreaks in the region

Management of Major Trauma and the Role of Interventional Radiology

This study aimed at exploring the management of major trauma and analyzing the role of interventional radiology for major trauma patients. As there are no prospective randomized controlled trials of interventional radiology in major trauma. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the evidence supporting the use of interventional radiological techniques in the management of major trauma. The study concluded that interventional radiology has become an essential part of the modern trauma unit. Roles in pelvic haemorrhage and aortic injury are now well established and have contributed to improving patient survival and reducing long-term morbidity