Safety and efficacy of eye drops from umbilical cord blood platelet lysate to treat resistant corneal ulcer

Background: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a novel treatment of resistant corneal ulcers owing to the unique anti-inflammatory molecules and growth factors it contains. Platelet lysates are a potential future alternative. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of human UCB platelet lysate in treating resistant corneal ulcers. Methods: This was prospective, non-comparative, interventional case series involving 40 eyes of patients aged 6 – 65 years with persistent corneal ulcers from the Mansoura Ophthalmic Center and Mansoura Research Center for Cord Stem Cells. Patients were classified according to the cause of persistent corneal ulcer into four groups: group I, including 14 eyes with dry eye disease; group II, including six eyes post-keratoplasty; group III, including four eyes with corneal chemical burn; and group IV, including 16 eyes with persistent corneal ulcer from other causes. All participants underwent detailed ophthalmic examinations, and baseline and final best-corrected distance visual acuity (BCDVA) were recorded. Eye drops were prepared from UCB platelet lysate and administered to all patients along with detailed meticulous instructions for the method of use. Clinical progression of wound healing was continuously observed. The treatment response was identified as complete healing, improvement, or treatment failure. Results: BCDVA improved significantly in all studied groups (all P < 0.05). In group I, complete healing, improvement, and treatment failure occurred in 71%, 29%, and 0% of cases. In group II, complete healing, improvement, and treatment failure occurred in 67%, 33%, and 0% of cases. In group III, complete healing, improvement, and treatment failure occurred in 50%, 50%, and 0% of cases. In group IV, complete healing, improvement, and treatment failure occurred in 63%, 12%, and 25% of cases. No adverse events associated with the treatment were observed or subjectively self-reports in the study period. Conclusions: Eye drops from UCB platelet lysate were a novel therapeutic blood component with unique growth factors and anti-inflammatory compounds that could be an effective and safe treatment option in managing persistent corneal ulcers of different causes. A future randomized clinical trial with a large sample size and a longer follow-up is required to confirm these preliminary outcomes

Using the pictorial space in Khalid Al- Jader's

   عني هذا البحث بدراسة (توظيف الفضاء التصويري في رسوم خالد الجادر) وهو يقع في اربعة فصول، خصص الفصل الاول لبيان مشكلة البحث، وأهميته، والحاجة اليه، وهدفه، وتحديد اهم المصطلحات الواردة فيه، يعد الفضاء ذلك المتسع المتنوع من مادية الفضاء وعندما نقول مادية الفضاء لا نلغي اللامادية، والفضاء هو اساس علاقات بكل فاعلياته وان التشابه في الاشكال الداخلة لا يعني شيئاً الا بالتنظيم الشكلي وبهذه الحالة يكون الناتج ليس (تشابه الاجزاء الا حاله ابتدائية) ان مكعبات متشابهة ومتقاربة لا يعني انها مترابطة، ومن هنا فقد نشأت مشكلة البحث الحالي من خلال الاجابة عن التساؤل الآتي : - كيف عالجه خالد الجادر الفضاء التصويري ؟ ويهدف البحث الحالي الى تعرف (كيفية توظيف الفضاء التصويري في رسوم خالد الجادر) والحدود الزمنية الممتدة من (1950 - 1988 ) .     أما الفصل الثاني الاطار النظري والدراسات السابقة فتضمن مبحثين، المبحث الاول: جذور البنية، وقسم المبحث الاول الى محورين، المحور الاول: مدخل تاريخي، تناول الفضاء في وادي الرافدين، والفضاء في الفن الاسلامي، والمحور الثاني: مفهوم الفضاء في الفلسفة، اما المبحث الثاني: تناول حياة الفنان خالد الجادر - اسلوبه - واعماله .     وتضمن الفصل الثالث اجراءات البحث، تتعلق بمجتمع البحث وعينة البحث واداة البحث ومنهج البحث ومن ثم تحليل العينات البالغ عددها (5) عينات . أما الفصل الرابع فعني بنتائج البحث واستنتاجاته، وقد لخصت الباحثة الى مجموعة من النتائج اعتمد الفنان في التزامه وميله لتسطيح الاشكال والتخفيف من الدخول باتجاه العمق . وأن الالوان في رسوم خالد الجادر، نراها هادئة احيانا وغاضبة في مساحات اخرى من اللوحة .     وقد توصلت الباحثة الى جملة من الاستنتاجات منها : 1- شكل نتاج وادي الرافدين في معالجة الفضاء احد مرتكزات الفنان خالد الجادر . 2- ارتكز الفنان خالد الجادر على تسطيح الاشكال في اعماله حيث كان تعامله تعامل الفنان العربي المسلم الذي ابتعد عن التجسيم وعالج الفضاء بشكل مسطح .The first chapter deals with the problem of research, its importance, the need for it, its purpose, and the definition of the most important terms in it. The space is that varied space of physical space and when we say material Space is not an abstraction, and space is the basis of relations of all its functions, and the similarity in the incoming forms does not mean anything except by formal organization. In this case, the output is not (similar to the parts except the initial case) that similar and convergent cubes do not mean that they are interrelated. By answering p The following question arises: How did Khaled Al-Jader handle the photographic space? The current research aims at identifying (how to use the photographic space in Khaled Al-Jader drawings) and the time limits from (1950-1988). The second chapter deals with the theoretical framework and the previous studies. The first topic: the roots of the structure, and the first section of the research into two axes, the first axis: a historical approach, dealing with space in Mesopotamia, space in Islamic art, and the second axis: the concept of space in philosophy; : The life of the artist Khaled Jader style and work. The third chapter includes the research procedures related to the research community, the research sample, the research tool and the research method, and then the analysis of the samples (5) samples. The fourth chapter deals with the results of the research and its conclusions, and summarized the researcher to a set of results. The artist adopted in his commitment and tendency to flatten the shapes and ease the entry into the depth. And the colors in the drawings Khalid Aljader, we see sometimes quiet and angry in other areas of the painting.     The researcher reached a number of conclusions, including: 1-The shape of the product of Mesopotamia in the treatment of space one of the pillars of the artist Khalid Al - Jader. 2- The artist Khalid Al-Jader was based on flattening the shapes in his works, where he dealt with the Arab Muslim artist, who avoided stereotyping and treated space flatly

Exhaled breath condensate nitric oxide end products and pH in controlled asthma

AbstractObjectivesAsthma imposes a growing burden on the society in terms of morbidity, quality of life, and healthcare costs. It has the highest morbidity amongst inflammatory lung diseases and its prevalence continues to increase over the world. Inquiry into recent day or nighttime symptoms alone underestimates the burden of asthma and may lead to inadequate treatment of asthma. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen ion concentration (pH) levels in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in cases of controlled bronchial asthma.Patients and methodsThe present study was conducted on 49 controlled asthmatic patients and 12 control subjects. All patients were subjected to thorough history taking, complete clinical examination and plain postero-anterior chest X-ray. All asthmatics and control subjects were subjected to routine laboratory investigations, spirometric study, EBC collection, processing and analysis for its content of both nitric oxide end products: nitrite and nitrate (NOx) and pH.ResultsAll asthmatics represented Group IT which was further divided into Group Ia: 34 patients on regular inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy and Group Ib: 15 patients on no regular therapy. The control subjects represented Group II. The forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and forced expiratory flow during the middle portion of a forced expiration (FEF 25–75%) were significantly lower in asthmatics than control subjects. The EBC-NOx mean±SD in μmol/L in Group IT (5.99±1.63), in Group Ia (5.27±1.26) and in Group Ib (7.63±1.15) were significantly higher than in Group II (3.66±0.67) with, respectively (p=0.000), (p=0.000) and (p=0.000); and was significantly higher in Group Ib than Group Ia (p=0.000). The EBC-pH mean±SD in Group IT (7.32±0.27), in Group Ia (7.35±0.25) and in Group Ib (7.27±0.3) were significantly lower than in Group II (7.82±0.09) with, respectively (p=0.000), (p=0.000) and (p=0.000); with no significant difference between Group Ia and Group Ib. The EBC-NOx was significantly directly correlated to eosinophils count (p=0.017) and neutrophils count (p=0.002); and inversely correlated to FEV1 (p=0.016), FEV1/FVC (p=0.001), PEFR (p=0.030) and EBC-pH (p=0.003). The EBC-pH was significantly inversely correlated to eosinophils count (p=0.017) and neutrophils count (p=0.036); and directly correlated to FVC (p=0.004), FEV1 (p=0.004) and PEFR (p=0.000).ConclusionEBC-NOx is significantly higher and EBC-pH is significantly lower in asthmatic patients than in control subjects. Asthmatics receiving ICS have a lower EBC-NOx level than those not. EBC-NOx and EBC-pH were significantly correlated and both of them showed significant correlations with spirometric parameters of airway obstruction

Similar and Additive Effects of Ovariectomy and Diabetes on Insulin Resistance and Lipid Metabolism

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is among the leading causes of death in postmenopausal women. The disruption of ovarian function may contribute to the incidence of T2DM. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ovariectomy and T2DM on glucose and lipid homeostasis, perilipin levels in adipose tissues, as a lipolytic regulator, and levels of certain adipokines. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were used as a model for postmenopausal women. The study was performed on sham, OVX, sham diabetic, and OVX diabetic female rats. The results indicated that ovariectomy alters adipose tissue metabolism through reducing perilipin content in white adipose tissue (WAT); however it has no effect on perilipin level in brown adipose tissue (BAT). OVX diabetic females suffer from serious metabolic disturbances, suggested by exacerbation of insulin resistance in terms of disrupted lipid profile, higher HOMA-IR, hyperinsulinemia, higher leptin, and lower adiponectin concentrations. These metabolic derangements may underlie the predisposition for cardiovascular disease in women after menopause. Therefore, for efficient treatment, the menopausal status of diabetic female should be addressed, and the order of events is of great importance because ovariectomy following development of diabetes has more serious complications compared to development of diabetes as result of menopause

Infant acute myocarditis mimicking acute myocardial infarction

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and progression. In clinical practice, although there are many methods of diagnosis of acute myocarditis, the diagnosis remains an embarrassing dilemma for clinicians. The authors report the case of 9-month-old infant who was brought to the Pediatric Emergency Department with sudden onset dyspnea. Examination disclosed heart failure and resuscitation was undertaken. The electrocardiogram showed an ST segment elevation in the anterolateral leads with a mirror image. Cardiac enzyme tests revealed a significant elevation of troponin and creatine phosphokinase levels. A diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction was made, and heparin therapy was prescribed. The infant died on the third day after admission with cardiogenic shock. The autopsy showed dilatation of the ventricles and massive edema of the lungs. Histological examinations of myocardium samples revealed the presence of a marked lymphocytic infiltrate dissociating myocardiocytes. Death was attributed to acute myocarditis. The authors call attention to the difficulties of differential diagnosis between acute myocarditis and acute myocardial infarction especially in children, and to the important therapeutic implications of a correct diagnosi

The anti-obesity potential of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles against high-fat diet-induced obesity in rats: possible involvement of mitochondrial biogenesis in the adipose tissues

Obesity is a pandemic disease that is rapidly growing into a serious health problem and has economic impact on healthcare systems. This bleak image has elicited creative responses, and nanotechnology is a promising approach in obesity treatment. This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) on a high-fat-diet rat model of obesity and compared their effect to a traditional anti-obesity drug (orlistat). Methods: The obese rats were treated daily with orlistat and/or SPIONs once per week for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for biochemical assays. Then, the animals were sacrificed to obtain white adipose tissues (WAT) and brown adipose tissues (BAT) for assessment of the expression of thermogenic genes and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN). Results: For the first time, we reported promising ameliorating effects of SPIONs treatments against weight gain, hyperglycemia, adiponectin, leptin, and dyslipidemia in obese rats. At the molecular level, surprisingly, SPIONs treatments markedly corrected the disturbed expression and protein content of inflammatory markers and parameters controlling mitochondrial biogenesis and functions in BAT and WAT. Conclusions: SPIONs have a powerful anti-obesity effect by acting as an inducer of WAT browning and activator of BAT functions

Effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on glucose homeostasis on type 2 diabetes experimental model

[Aims]: Evaluation of the anti-diabetic effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) on Type 2 diabetic rats and compared their effect to metformin treatment.[Main methods]: Diabetic rats were treated with different doses of nanoparticles one time per week for 4 weeks. Fasting blood glucose level was determined for studied groups during the experimental period (30 days). At the end of the experiment, oral glucose tolerance test was carried out, serum samples were collected for biochemical assays. Then animals were sacrificed to obtain tissues for assessment of glucose transporters, insulin receptors and insulin signaling proteins.[Key finding]: SPIONs treatment normalized fasting blood glucose and lowering insulin level in diabetic rats compared to untreated diabetic rats. SPIONs significantly ameliorate the glucose sensing and the active components of insulin signaling pathway. The anti-diabetic effects of SPIONs may be mediated through its effect on (i) hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha content, which induced by SPIONs treatment in a dose-dependent manner, (ii) adipocytokines as SPIONs treated diabetic rats showed significantly higher levels of adiponectin and lower retinol binding protein 4 compared to untreated diabetic rats, (iii) lipid profile as SPIONs treatment significantly corrected the lipid profile in a dose-dependent manner and to a similar extent as metformin or even better.[Significance]: To our knowledge, this is the first study that explores the anti-diabetic effects of SPIONs on diabetic model.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Grant PGC2018-095795-B-I00) and by the European Union's Horizon 2020 FET Open Programme (Grant no. 801305).Peer reviewe

A panel of circulating non-coding RNAs in the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy in Egyptian patients with breast cancer

Background: Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have recently been identified to have a pivotal role in many diseases, including breast cancer (BC). This study aims to investigate the relative quantification of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19, microRNA (miR) 675-5p, 675-3p, and miR-let 7 in breast cancer patients. Methods: The study was performed on three groups: Group 1: 30 non-intervened BC female patients about to undergo breast surgery; group 2: 30 postoperative female BC patients about to receive adjuvant anthracycline chemotherapy; and group 3: 30 apparently healthy female volunteers as the control group. Plasma samples were drawn before and after the intervention in groups 1 and 2, with a single sample drawn from group 3. The relative quantification levels were compared with healthy control subjects and were related with the clinicopathological statuses of these patients. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in H19, miR-675-5p, miR-675-3p, and miR-let 7 in the non-intervened BC patients when compared to the control group. Surgery resulted in a significant reduction in all four ncRNAs under investigation. Chemotherapy brought about a significant increase in the level of miR-let 7, with no significant effect on the remaining parameters measured. The assay discriminated normal from BC where a receiver operating characteristic for the area under the curve (ROCAUC) of miR-675-3p showed the maximal AUC of 1.000. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were also 100% when CA 15-3 and H19 were combined. Conclusion: The results strongly indicate that the panel of ncRNAs in this study can all potentially act as novel biomarkers whether alone or combined in the diagnosis of BC

A rare complication of chronic subdural hematoma evacuation: brain stem hemorrhage: Case report

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH), which commonly affects the elderly, is one of the most frequent, but also benign neurosurgical pathologies. Burr hole drainage is the standard surgical modality for evacuation of a CSDH. This technique is known to be safe, with low morbidity and mortality rates. However, postoperative complications have occasionally been reported. We report the case of a 70-year-old man who presented a fatal brain stem hemorrhage after burr-hole drainage for unilateral chronic subdural hematoma. Asymmetrical and rapid decompression were thought to be leading to vascular disruption or sudden increase in cerebral blood flow, was probably responsible for the secondary brain stem bleeding. Therefore, a slow rate of evacuation of chronic subdural hematomas, as well as rigorous postoperative reanimation, are recommended in order to prevent serious complications

Techniques, Clinical Applications and Limitations of 3D Reconstruction in CT of the Abdomen

Enhanced z-axis coverage with thin overlapping slices in breath-hold acquisitions with multidetector CT (MDCT) has considerably enhanced the quality of multiplanar 3D reconstruction. This pictorial essay describes the improvements in 3D reconstruction and technical aspects of 3D reconstruction and rendering techniques available for abdominal imaging. Clinical applications of 3D imaging in abdomen including liver, pancreaticobiliary system, urinary and gastrointestinal tracts and imaging before and after transplantation are discussed. In addition, this article briefly discusses the disadvantages of thin-slice acquisitions including increasing numbers of transverse images, which must be reviewed by the radiologist