Osteoarthritis knee hip quality of life questionnaire assessment in Egyptian primary knee osteoarthritis patients: Relation to clinical and radiographic parameters

Aim of the work: To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in primary knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients using the osteoarthritis knee hip quality of life (OAKHQoL) questionnaire and study its relation to clinical and radiographic parameters. Patients and methods: One hundred patients with primary KOA were studied. Knee radiography was evaluated using Kellgren Lawrence (K-L) score and the OAKHQoL questionnaire assessed. Results: The patients were 75 females and 25 males; F:M 3:1. Their mean age was 54.6 ± 10.4 years, disease duration 4.6 ± 2.7 years and body mass index (BMI) 28.6 ± 2.7. 17 patients were hypertensive and 26 diabetics. 84 patients presented with bilateral KOA disease, joint stiffness in 43%, knee deformities in 18% and K-L score grade 3 in 56%. Pain component was found to have the least normalized OAKHQoL questionnaire score (49.8 ± 15.4), while mental health domain scored the highest (60.1 ± 8.2). Female gender, older age, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, bilateral KOA disease and K-L grade 3 were associated with lower questionnaire domains. Regression analysis revealed that disease duration and bilateral disease were predictors for lower scores of all OAKHQoL domains, while knee joint stiffness for four domain. Hypertension, knee deformity and K-L classification were good predictors for lower scores of two subscales. Conclusion: Egyptian patients with primary KOA have relatively poor HRQoL; reflected mainly by pain component of the OAKHQoL questionnaire. Disease duration and bilaterality were predictors for lower scores of all questionnaire domains, knee stiffness for four subscales. Hypertension, knee deformity and K-L classification were good predictors for lower scores of two subscales. Keywords: Knee osteoarthritis, Health-related quality of life, OAKHQoL questionnaire, Clinical features, K-L scor

Effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on kidney of male albino rats with the potential ameliorative effect of alpha lipoic acid

 Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been widely used in various industrial and medical applications. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) plays a great role in the antioxidant defense system. This research was conducted to investigate the potential therapeutic effect of ALA on MWCNTs induced nephrotoxicity in rat. Forty albino rats were assigned into four equal groups: Group Ⅰ (Control) was treated with 1% tween-80 (0.25 mL/rat/IP) for 5 days, followed by distilled water (2 mL/kg/PO) for 10 days, group Ⅱ (ALA) was orally administered ALA suspension (200 mg/kg) for 10 days, group Ш (MWCNTs) was intraperitoneally injected with MWCNTs suspension at the concentration of 0.5 mg/kg daily for 5 days followed by (2 mL/kg per day) distilled water for 10 days, and group Ⅳ (MWCNTs+ALA) was treated with MWCNTs (0.5 mg/kg, once, IP) for 5 days followed by ALA (200 mg/kg, PO) for 10 days. At the end of experiment, the rats were euthanized. Blood and kidney samples were collected from all rats for biochemical, kidney for histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses. MWCNTs substantially increased blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and malondialdehyde. Meanwhile, they markedly reduced glutathione levels. Additionally, MWCNTs induced several histopathological alterations, including dilatation and congestion of most glomeruli, degenerative changes of renal tubules and prominent interstitial hemorrhage. A significant increase in area percentage of caspase 3 and COX 2 in MWCNTs exposed rats. On the other hand, ALA administration alleviated the adverse toxic effects induced by MWCNTs. Conclusion, ALA significantly ameliorate MWCNTs-induced nephrotoxicity through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic mechanisms

Chemistry and the Potential Antiviral, Anticancer, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Cardiotonic Steroids Derived from Toads

Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) were first documented by ancient Egyptians more than 3000 years ago. Cardiotonic steroids are a group of steroid hormones that circulate in the blood of amphibians and toads and can also be extracted from natural products such as plants, herbs, and marines. It is well known that cardiotonic steroids reveal effects against congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation; therefore, the term "cardiotonic" has been coined. Cardiotonic steroids are divided into two distinct groups: cardenolides (plant-derived) and bufadienolides (mainly of animal origin). Cardenolides have an unsaturated five-membered lactone ring attached to the steroid nucleus at position 17; bufadienolides have a doubly unsaturated six-membered lactone ring. Cancer is a leading cause of mortality in humans all over the world. In 2040, the global cancer load is expected to be 28.4 million cases, which would be a 47% increase from 2020. Moreover, viruses and inflammations also have a very nebative impact on human health and lead to mortality. In the current review, we focus on the chemistry, antiviral and anti-cancer activities of cardiotonic steroids from the naturally derived (toads) venom to combat these chronic devastating health problems. The databases of different research engines (Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and Sci-Finder) were screened using different combinations of the following terms: "cardiotonic steroids", "anti-inflammatory", "antiviral", "anticancer", "toad venom", "bufadienolides", and "poison chemical composition". Various cardiotonic steroids were isolated from diverse toad species and exhibited superior anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiviral activities in in vivo and in vitro models such as marinobufagenin, gammabufotalin, resibufogenin, and bufalin. These steroids are especially difficult to identify. However, several compounds and their bioactivities were identified by using different molecular and biotechnological techniques. Biotechnology is a new tool to fully or partially generate upscaled quantities of natural products, which are otherwise only available at trace amounts in organisms

Epidemiological characterization of viral etiological agents of the central nervous system infections among hospitalized patients in Egypt between 2016 and 2019

Abstract Viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) are common worldwide and result in considerable morbidity and mortality associated with neurologic illness. Until now, there have been no epidemiologic data regarding viruses causing aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, and CNS infections in Egypt. We investigated 1735 archived cerebrospinal fluid samples collected from Egyptian patients between 2016 and 2019 and performed molecular characterization for infection for12 different viruses: herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), human herpesviruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and HHV-7), human enteroviruses (HEVs), human parechovirus (HPeV), parvovirus B19 (B19V), adenovirus (AdV), and mumps virus (MuV). All included samples were negative for bacterial infection. Our results indicated a relatively high prevalence of viral infection, with HEVs being the most prevalent viruses, followed by HSV-1, EBV, and then HSV-2. The highest prevalence was among male patients, peaking during the summer. Data obtained from this study will contribute to improving the clinical management of viral infections of the CNS in Egypt

Comparison of SARS-Cov-2 omicron variant with the previously identified SARS-Cov-2 variants in Egypt, 2020–2022: insight into SARS-Cov-2 genome evolution and its impact on epidemiology, clinical picture, disease severity, and mortality

Abstract Background The o severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has killed millions of people and caused widespread concern around the world. Multiple genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified as the pandemic continues. Concerns have been raised about high transmissibility and lower vaccine efficacy against omicron. There is an urgent need to better describe how omicron will impact clinical presentation and vaccine efficacy. This study aims at comparing the epidemiologic, clinical, and genomic characteristics of the omicron variant prevalent during the fifth wave with those of other VOCs between May 2020 and April 2022. Methods Epidemiological data were obtained from the National Electronic Diseases Surveillance System. Secondary data analysis was performed on all confirmed COVID-19 patients. Descriptive data analysis was performed for demographics and patient outcome and the incidence of COVID-19 was calculated as the proportion of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed patients out of the total population of Egypt. Incidence and characteristics of the omicron cohort from January- April 2022, were compared to those confirmed from May 2020-December 2021. We performed the whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 on 1590 specimens using Illumina sequencing to describe the circulation of the virus lineages in Egypt. Results A total of 502,629 patients enrolled, including 60,665 (12.1%) reported in the fifth wave. The incidence rate of omicron was significantly lower than the mean of incidences in the previous subperiod (60.1 vs. 86.3/100,000 population, p < 0.001). Symptoms were reported less often in the omicron cohort than in patients with other variants, with omicron having a lower hospitalization rate and overall case fatality rate as well. The omicron cohort tended to stay fewer days at the hospital than did those with other variants. We analyzed sequences of 2433 (1590 in this study and 843 were obtained from GISAID platform) Egyptian SARS-CoV-2 full genomes. The first wave that occurred before the emergence of global variants of concern belonged to the B.1 clade. The second and third waves were associated with C.36. Waves 4 and 5 included B.1.617.2 and BA.1 clades, respectively. Conclusions The study indicated that Omicron-infected patients had milder symptoms and were less likely to be hospitalized; however, patients hospitalized with omicron had a more severe course and higher fatality rates than those hospitalized with other variants. Our findings demonstrate the importance of combining epidemiological data and genomic analysis to generate actionable information for public health decision-making