Frequency and Distribution of Fok1rs 2228570 of Vitamin D Receptor Gene among Healthy Sudanese Population

Background: Vitamin D plays a role in critical cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell development, and division. The Fok1 polymorphism in the VRD gene is T/C resulting in larger vitamin D receptor protein with lesser expression activity. Fok1 polymorphism is thought to be linked to many diseases including diabetes mellitus, cancers, and rheumatoid arthritis. The snipe also provides effective and sensitive diagnostic and predictive tools and affected by differences in ethnicity and individuals' life style. This study reports on the frequency and distribution of Fok1 SNP among healthy Sudanese transplantation donors. Method: This cross sectional study was conduct in National Cancer Institute University of Gezira, Sudan. One hundred and forty six healthy Sudanese transplantation donors were enrolled in this study. Two ml of venous blood was collected from each participant and stored at -20 till DNA extraction. Qaigen kit was used for DNA extraction. VDR Fok1 was genotyped by CTPP-PCR with proper primers designing and PCR condition. Data was collected by structured questionnaire and analyzed by SNP Stats online tool and medical calculator. Results: According to study results theFok1 polymorphism distributed among Sudanese with percentage of 49.9% (TT + CT), frequency of SNP variants was 69.8% regarding C allele and 30.2% for T allele, while the three genotypes was 10.2% for TT, 39.7% for TC and 50.1% for CC genotype. Conclusion: The frequency of Fok1 VDR SNP was high among healthy Sudanese transplantation donors, this necessitate the conduction of wide area survey among other healthy Sudanese population. This intern will help in investigating the nature of the relation of this SNP with other different diseases. Keywords: Vitamin D, Fok1rs. 2225870, VDR SNP, Sudanes

Association of Body Mass Index with Serum Vitamin D and PSA Levels among Sudanese Prostate Cancer Patients

Background: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the United States. Obesity has been consistently associated with lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the serum vitamin D and PSA levels in Sudanese Obese and Non-Obese prostate cancer (PCa) attending the National Cancer Institute. Patients and Methods: Eighty six prostate cancer patients were included in this study, they were identified by clinical examination, histopathology and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The mean age of them was 71.78 ± 8.04 years. Serum Vitamin D and PSA were measured by Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassay reactions using (Cobase411, serial No: 0868-16, manufactured by Hitachi high technologies corporation, Tokyo-Japan) the Elecsys reagents kit (Roche – Germany) Results: The means of serum vitamin D levels of among  obese was 35.5 ± 15.4 ng/dL and 38.4 ± 16.2 ng/dL  among non-obese group with non-significant differences(P=0.505). No significant association was observed between PSA levels and obese and non-obese (P=0.351). Vitamin D levels non-significantly negative correlated with BMI (r = -0.031, P = 0.778) and PSA (r = -0.062, P = 0.569), but there was insignificantly Positive correlated between PSA and vitamin D level (r = 0.151, P = 0.164). Conclusion: insignificant differences between vitamin D and serum PSA with BMI, Oral supplementation is recommended for individuals with low level of vitamin D. Keywords: Prostate cancer, Body mass index, Vitamin D, PSA, Sudanese

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among migrant workers in Qatar

Limited data exist on viral hepatitis among migrant populations. This study investigated the prevalence of current hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and lifetime hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Qatar's migrant craft and manual workers (CMWs), constituting 60% of the country's population. Sera collected during a nationwide COVID-19 population-based cross-sectional survey on CMWs between July 26 and September 9, 2020, underwent testing for HBsAg and HCV antibodies. Reactive samples underwent confirmatory testing, and logistic regression analyses were employed to explore associations with HBV and HCV infections. Among 2528 specimens tested for HBV infection, 15 were reactive, with 8 subsequently confirmed positive. Three samples lacked sufficient sera for confirmatory testing but were included in the analysis through multiple imputations. Prevalence of current HBV infection was 0.4% (95% CI 0.2-0.7%). Educational attainment and occupation were significantly associated with current HBV infection. For HCV infection, out of 2607 specimens tested, 46 were reactive, and 23 were subsequently confirmed positive. Prevalence of lifetime HCV infection was 0.8% (95% CI 0.5-1.2%). Egyptians exhibited the highest prevalence at 6.5% (95% CI 3.1-13.1%), followed by Pakistanis at 3.1% (95% CI 1.1-8.0%). Nationality, geographic location, and occupation were significantly associated with lifetime HCV infection. HBV infection is relatively low among CMWs, while HCV infection falls within the intermediate range, both compared to global and regional levels

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses among migrant workers in Qatar.

Limited data exist on viral hepatitis among migrant populations. This study investigated the prevalence of current hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and lifetime hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Qatar's migrant craft and manual workers (CMWs), constituting 60% of the country's population. Sera collected during a nationwide COVID-19 population-based cross-sectional survey on CMWs between July 26 and September 9, 2020, underwent testing for HBsAg and HCV antibodies. Reactive samples underwent confirmatory testing, and logistic regression analyses were employed to explore associations with HBV and HCV infections. Among 2528 specimens tested for HBV infection, 15 were reactive, with 8 subsequently confirmed positive. Three samples lacked sufficient sera for confirmatory testing but were included in the analysis through multiple imputations. Prevalence of current HBV infection was 0.4% (95% CI 0.2-0.7%). Educational attainment and occupation were significantly associated with current HBV infection. For HCV infection, out of 2607 specimens tested, 46 were reactive, and 23 were subsequently confirmed positive. Prevalence of lifetime HCV infection was 0.8% (95% CI 0.5-1.2%). Egyptians exhibited the highest prevalence at 6.5% (95% CI 3.1-13.1%), followed by Pakistanis at 3.1% (95% CI 1.1-8.0%). Nationality, geographic location, and occupation were significantly associated with lifetime HCV infection. HBV infection is relatively low among CMWs, while HCV infection falls within the intermediate range, both compared to global and regional levels.This work was supported by the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) [grant number 12S-0216-190094] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation), and the Undergraduate Research Experience Program UREP30-041-3-014 from Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council. The authors are also grateful for support from the Biomedical Research Program and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Biomathematics Research Core, both at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, as well as for support provided by the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation. HHA acknowledges the support of Qatar University internal grant QUCG-CAS-23/24-114. The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the article. Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. All kits (except Abia HCV Ab) employed in this project were provided at no cost as in-kind support for GKN Lab