Thyroid Dysfunction in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome in Sudan

Metabolic syndrome defined by the presence of hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemias.   This study is about thyroid dysfunction in Sudanese patients with metabolic syndrome. The study was conducted in two specialized centers in Khartoum, the first one is Jabir Abu Eliz Specialized Diabetes Centre and Quasbaa specialized Diabetes and Endocrine center, in the period from September to December 2019. The importance of such study is that both condition carry increased cardiovascular risks. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among patients with metabolic syndrome in Sudanese patients. It also aims at evaluation of metabolic syndrome components in relation to thyroid status. The patients with metabolic syndrome were randomly selected during their regular visits to the mentioned centers. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) depended on the IDF worldwide used criteria. Thyroid function tests were done in all patients. Patients’ history, clinical exam including BP, WC, BMI, record of FBS, HbA1c, were all recorded. Obtained data were then analyzed using SPSS software Version 16.  Thyroid dysfunction (TD) is a prevalent disorder detected in 38% of Sudanese patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS ).  Female are more frequently affected (68%) by metabolic syndrome and thyroid dysfunction than men. High TSH level is associated with increased BMI in euthyroid patients. TD is common in patients with metabolic syndrome. Females are by far more common to develop metabolic syndrome and thyroid dysfunction. Screening tests in such patients should be considered for early detection and management to ameliorate cardiovascular risk

The Egyptian Banking Reform: Unified Banking Laws

Banking reform is a fundamental branch of economic development that has frequently been used by policy-makers in attempts to stimulate the Egyptian economy. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has a major role in improving the performance of the Egyptian Banking sector. In order to achieve its goal, it has had to increase its strength by passing new banking laws in cooperation with the Egyptian government. These laws include reforms in the systems of banking management, eliminating bureaucracy, encouraging transparency, privatization of banks, modernizing the Egyptian payment system, inter-bank transactions, supervising the performance of banks, and achieving a higher degree of independence of the CBE. These new banking laws, in particular Law No. 88 of the year 2003, that have been introduced by the economic group are a step forward towards improving the performance of the Egyptian banking sector. Economic reform policies have become an integral part of nations’ economic development programs. Egypt, classified by the World Bank as a developing country, has suffered from deteriorating economic conditions over the past thirty years. Throughout Egypt’s economic downturns, it has witnessed a number of economic booms that have pushed the economy slightly forward. Banking reform is a fundamental branch of economic development that has been frequently used by policy-makers in attempts to stimulate the Egyptian economy. Since the beginning of the implementation of the open-door policies in Egypt, implemented by former Egyptian President Sadat, by which trade was liberalized and markets made open to free trade and competition, banking reform has been used extensively and has resulted in major improvements in the economy. The Unified Banking Law (Law No. 88 of the year 2003) consists of over 130 articles that set regulations that must be followed by banks operating in the country in order to improve the performance of the banking sector in Egypt. Since the introduction of the law by the new economic group, members of the economic and business sectors have discussed its pros and cons extensively in an attempt to discover the feasibility of the positive effects promised by the government. In addition, people have questioned whether this new law has given the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) its full independence or merely the appearance of autonomy on paper

Students’ perceptions and experiences about the combined inductive-deductive approach in intermediate grammar class

This research study investigates students’ perceptions and experiences about using the combined inductive-deductive approach in teaching English grammar in intermediate grammar class. The study employed a mixed methods design to answer the research questions. We used a questionnaire including four aspects according to ARCS Model to answer the first research question through examining the perceptions of 65 university students majoring English. Then five of 65 students were selected to be interviewed to explore their experiences on the combined inductive-deductive approach to answer the second research question. The results of the questionnaire and the interviews reveal that most students prefer the combined approach to teaching English grammar although they have positive perceptions towards the inductive or the deductive approach. The combined approach can provide students with better understanding of grammar and keep them involved and interactive in the learning process. Therefore, this current study suggests that further research should be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the combined approach in the process of teaching grammar and teachers’ perceptions towards such approach

Efficacy and Safety of Etanercept in Severely Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: 6-month, Open Label, Prospective, Observational Study from Iraq

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of etanercept in severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a sample of Iraqi patients. Patients and methods: An open labeled single group prospective observational study was conducted over 15 months on 190 Iraqi patients with RA diagnosed according to 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria. All the included patients were given etanercept at a dose of 50 mg by subcutaneous injection on weekly bases. Disease activity score at 28 joints (DAS28) and functional class of RA were measured at baseline and after 6months. Results: There was significant improvement in disease activity (DAS28) (p<0.001) with percent of change (-29.26%) and functional disability (P=0.001) with etanercept use over a period of 6 months. Elevated liver transaminase were 3.68%, leucopenia 3.15%, headache 2.11%, itching 2.11%,  serious chest infection 1.57%, leg abscess 0.52%,  injection site reactions 1.05%, breast cancer  0.52, and  drug induced psoriasis 0.52%. Conclusion: Etanercept was effective and relatively safe in treatment of RA patients among Iraqi patients. Keywords: Etanercept, Rheumatoid arthritis, Diseases activity score 28 (DAS28)

Histological study on the protective effect of endogenous stem-cell mobilization in Adriamycin-induced chronic nephropathy in rats

AbstractChronic kidney disease is a global health problem with increasing morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study was planned to test the protective effect of hematopoietic-stem-cell mobilization by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on Adriamycin (ADR)-induced chronic renal disease in rats. Thirty albino rats were equally divided into three groups: control, ADR group [rats received a single intravenous injection of ADR (5mg/kg)], and G-CSF group [rats received ADR by the same route and the same dose as the previous group, and then G-CSF (70μg/kg/d) 2 hours after ADR injection then daily for five consecutive days]. At the time of sacrifice (after 6 weeks), blood samples were taken to estimate the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. Kidney sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, toluidine blue, Masson's trichrome, periodic acid–Schiff stains, and immunohistochemical staining against CD34 and caspase-3. The G-CSF group exhibited protection against renal injury manifested by reducing blood urea nitrogen and serum-creatinine levels, improving histological architecture, and increasing the proliferative capacity of renal tubules

Bart Syndrome with Ear Malformation

N

Bladder scan vs urethral cathetarization for measurement of immediate post partum bladder volume

Introduction: Bladder scan is a well known non invasive and cost effective tool for the measurement of post void residual urine(PVR) however with some limitation. Literature on the efficacy of bladder scan on big uterus is limited and not promising. Study Objective: To determine the validity of bladder scan BV13000 in detection of bladder volume in immediate postpartum women. Methodology: A prospective cross sectional study conducted in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Pahang from 1st September to 30 November 2010, A total of 193 women who had undergone Caesarean section were recruited on postpartum day 1. Prior to removal of Foley’s catheter, their bladder volumes were first estimated by bladder scan BV13000. Immediately the bladder was then catheterized for the true bladder volume followed by 2D ultrasound bladder scanning to ensure that it was completely emptied. The data was analyzed using SPSS software version 18(SPSS Inc. Chigaco, Illinois). P value of less than 0.05 is considered as statistically significant. Resul : There were a total of 193 women recruited with the mean age of 28.84 years (SD 5.516) with mean BMI of 29.69( SD 5.69) kg/m2 and fundal height of 16cm (SD 2.382 ). The mean for time interval between bladder scan and catheterization was 3 min(range between 1-8 min). There is a linear relationship between the bladder scan-estimated and catheter bladder volumes (r2=082). The patient’s body weight also is significantly (p=0.01) correlated with the bladder scan-estimated volume with r2 of-0.25. The size of the uterus however does not correlate with the bladder-scan volume Conclusion : Bladder scan is comparable to urethral catheterization in the measurement of postpartum bladder volume

The Therapeutic Potential of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Cyclophosphamide-Induced Ovarian Dysfunction in Rats

Millions of young women are rendered sterile by chemotherapy-associated oocyte loss. Recently some studies linked stem-cell transplantations to a spontaneous and unexplained return of ovarian function in some women rendered prematurely menopausal by high-dose chemotherapy or irradiatio