Factors Affecting Weight Reduction after Intragastric Balloon Insertion: A Retrospective Study

Background and Objectives: Intragastric balloon (IGB) is a safe option for obesity management. However, studies determining the factors influencing the procedure’s outcomes are scarce. Therefore, our goal was to determine the factors affecting weight reduction after IGB insertion. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 126 obese patients who underwent IGB treatment using the ORBERA® Intragastric Balloon System. Patients’ records were retrieved; and demographic data, initial body mass index (BMI), complications, compliance with both diet and exercise programs, and percentage of excess weight reduction were recorded. Results: The study included 108 female (85.7%) and 18 male (14.3%) patients. The mean age was 31.7 ± 8.1 years. The percentage of excess weight loss (EWL) was 55.8 ± 35.7%. The mean weight loss was 13.01 ± 7.51 kg. A significant association was found between EWL and age, initial weight, initial body mass index, and the number of pregnancies. No major complications were observed. However, the balloon had to be removed early in two patients (1.59%) due to its rupture and in two other patients (1.59%) due to severe gastritis. Conclusions: IGB therapy is a safe and effective option for obesity management, associated with low rates of complications. The EWL after IGB insertion is significantly higher among older patients, those with a relatively low initial body mass index, those with a longer duration of IGB insertion, and female patients with less parity. Larger prospective studies are needed to support our results

Laparoscopic management of symptomatic urachus remnants in adults: A retrospective study

Aim: To report our experience in the laparoscopic management of symptomatic urachal remnants (URs) in adults. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study included all patients who underwent laparoscopic excision of URs during the period January 2015–January 2020. The following data were retrieved from the files of the patients: demographic data, clinical presentations, intra-operative findings, the procedure performed, operative details, intraoperative or post-operative complications and follow-up period mentioned in the files for those patients. Results: The study included 10 patients (four males and six females) with a mean age of 27.8 ± 11.0 years. URs were discovered preoperatively in all patients except one patient who was diagnosed intraoperatively. URs were associated with other pathologies in four patients (40%) that required two simultaneous surgical procedures. Eight patients (80%) presented with simple umbilical discharge and were diagnosed easily by ultrasonography. All patients were managed successfully with laparoscopic excision and umbilical sparing technique. Excision of the dome of the bladder was done on the selective approach to one patient. No patients showed early post-operative complications. Only one patient had stitch sinus 6 months postoperatively due to a concomitant hernia repair rather than due to the excision of the URs. Conclusions: Laparoscopic excision of symptomatic urachus is a feasible procedure even when the excision of the bladder is required. It could be performed successfully with other pathologies. It is associated with a low incidence of complications. Laparoscopy allows good visualisation and complete excision that leads to almost no recurrence rate

Nephrotic syndrome co-existing with type 1 diabetes in a 12-year-old boy: Case report and literature review

Occurrence of early nephrotic syndrome in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients is extremely rare. Herein, we report the case of a 12-year-old boy who presented to our pediatric nephrology clinic with generalized edema. He had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus at age 9 and had been treated with regular insulin. Examinations revealed normal kidney function, hypoalbuminemia, proteinuria (4+), hyperlipidemia, and low protein-to-creatinine ratio. The patient was diagnosed with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and was empirically administered prednisolone for 12 weeks. Subsequently, prednisolone was tapered over 10–12 weeks. The patient showed good response to treatment. In conclusion, co-existence of nephrotic syndrome and type 1 diabetes mellitus may suggest an immunological basis; therefore, further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between these two conditions

Factors Affecting Weight Reduction after Intragastric Balloon Insertion: A Retrospective Study

Background and Objectives: Intragastric balloon (IGB) is a safe option for obesity management. However, studies determining the factors influencing the procedure’s outcomes are scarce. Therefore, our goal was to determine the factors affecting weight reduction after IGB insertion. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 126 obese patients who underwent IGB treatment using the ORBERA® Intragastric Balloon System. Patients’ records were retrieved; and demographic data, initial body mass index (BMI), complications, compliance with both diet and exercise programs, and percentage of excess weight reduction were recorded. Results: The study included 108 female (85.7%) and 18 male (14.3%) patients. The mean age was 31.7 ± 8.1 years. The percentage of excess weight loss (EWL) was 55.8 ± 35.7%. The mean weight loss was 13.01 ± 7.51 kg. A significant association was found between EWL and age, initial weight, initial body mass index, and the number of pregnancies. No major complications were observed. However, the balloon had to be removed early in two patients (1.59%) due to its rupture and in two other patients (1.59%) due to severe gastritis. Conclusions: IGB therapy is a safe and effective option for obesity management, associated with low rates of complications. The EWL after IGB insertion is significantly higher among older patients, those with a relatively low initial body mass index, those with a longer duration of IGB insertion, and female patients with less parity. Larger prospective studies are needed to support our results

Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles from Rhizophora apiculata and Studies on Their Wound Healing, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Cytotoxic Activity

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have recently gained interest in the medical field because of their biological features. The present study aimed at screening Rhizophora apiculata secondary metabolites, quantifying their flavonoids and total phenolics content, green synthesis and characterization of R. apiculata silver nanoparticles. In addition, an assessment of in vitro cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and wound healing activity of R. apiculata and its synthesized AgNPs was carried out. The powdered plant material (leaves) was subjected to Soxhlet extraction to obtain R. apiculata aqueous extract. The R. apiculata extract was used as a reducing agent in synthesizing AgNPs from silver nitrate. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis, SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, particle size analyzer and zeta potential. Further aqueous leaf extract of R. apiculata and AgNPs was subjected for in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing and cytotoxic activity against A375 (Skin cancer), A549 (Lung cancer), and KB-3-1 (Oral cancer) cell lines. All experiments were repeated three times (n = 3), and the results were given as the mean ± SEM. The flavonoids and total phenolics content in R. apiculata extract were 44.18 ± 0.086 mg/g of quercetin and 53.24 ± 0.028 mg/g of gallic acid, respectively. SEM analysis revealed R. apiculata AgNPs with diameters ranging from 35 to 100 nm. XRD confirmed that the synthesized silver nanoparticles were crystalline in nature. The cytotoxicity cell viability assay revealed that the AgNPs were less toxic (IC50 105.5 µg/mL) compared to the R. apiculata extract (IC50 47.47 µg/mL) against the non-cancerous fibroblast L929 cell line. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxicity tests revealed that AgNPs had significantly more activity than the plant extract. The AgNPs inhibited protein denaturation by a mean percentage of 71.65%, which was equivalent to the standard anti-inflammatory medication diclofenac (94.24%). The AgNPs showed considerable cytotoxic effect, and the percentage of cell viability against skin cancer, lung cancer, and oral cancer cell lines was 31.84%, 56.09% and 22.59%, respectively. R. apiculata AgNPs demonstrated stronger cell migration and percentage of wound closure (82.79%) compared to the plant extract (75.23%). The overall results revealed that R. apiculata AgNPs exhibited potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and cytotoxic properties. In future, R. apiculata should be further explored to unmask its therapeutic potential and the mechanistic pathways of AgNPs should be studied in detail in in vivo animal models