Levels of Salivary IFN-gamma, TNF-Alfa, and TNF Receptor-2 As Prognostic Markers in (Erosive) Oral Lichen Planus

To explore the feasibility of detecting salivary levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and sTNFR-2 from erosive oral lichen planus (ELP) patients for clinical application, 20 ELP patients were enrolled in the study as were 20 age-sex-matched controls. From all subjects, saliva level of the tested biomarkers was determined by ELISA. Salivary profiles were assessed in ELP patients by ELISA after being treated with prednisone. A significantly higher level of IFN-γ (P ≤ .01), TNF-α (P ≤ .0001), and sTNFR-2 (P ≤ .01) was detected in ELP patients before treatment than in controls. Following treatment, the salivary levels of IFN-γ (P ≤ .01), TNF-α (P ≤ .05), and sTNFR-2 (P ≤ .01) decreased significantly when compared to their pretreatment levels. This study demonstrated that salivary IFN-γ, TNF-α, and sTNFR-2 can be detectable in ELP patients and decreased significantly after treatment with prednisone, which may reveal the possibility of using these disease-related biomarkers in diagnosis and monitoring

Synthesis and Evaluation of Some New Thiazoles as Antioxidant Additives for Egyptian Lubricating Oils

4-(2-Aminothiazol-4-yl)-phenol (1) reacted with 2-(4-methoxy-benzylidene)-malononitrile or 1,3-diphenyl-1H- pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde to afford enaminonitrile, pyrazolo derivatives 2 and 3, respectively. On the other hand, methylation of 1 afforded the acetyl derivative 4 which reacted with phenyl isothiocyanate, diazonium salt, acetic anhydride, cyclic anhydride, ethyl acetoacetate, benzaldehyde or phosphorous oxychloride to afford compounds 5-9, 11 and 12, respectively. Moreover, the compound 12 reacted with ethyl cyanoacetate to afford compound 13. A one-pot reaction of compound 1 with ethyl acetoacetate and benzaldehyde afforded compound 10. The synthesized compounds were evaluated as antioxidant additives for lube oil. Key words: Key words: Aminothiazole; Condensation; Antioxidant Additive

Fibromyalgia in Rheumatoid Patients, Depression and Cognitive Dysfunction

Aim of the work: To correlate relation between depression, cognitive dysfunction and fibromyalgia (FM) in rheumatoid patients. Patients and methods: The study was done on 60 patients, in 2 groups, Group A: Active, and Group B inactive patients. 9 were FM and 51 patients without FM Depression was diagnosed based on PHQ 9 depression scale test Cognitive function was assessed by MOCA test. Results: Mean scale of depression in FM 16.78 ± 6.38 while in patients free of FM are 12.27 ± 5.39 with statistically significant p value. Mean scale of cognitive dysfunction in patient with FM was 23.33 ± 3.87 while in patients without are 22.9 ± 4.51 without statistically significant p value. Conclusions: There is statistically significant correlation between depression and fibromyalgia and no statistically significant correlation between cognitive function and fibromyalgia

IL-17 and IL-11 GCF Levels in Aggressive and Chronic Periodontitis Patients: Relation to PCR Bacterial Detection

Objectives. This study evaluated IL-17 and IL-11 in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of generalized chronic periodontitis (GCP) and generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP) patients in relation to periodontopathic bacteria. Subjects and Methods. GCF samples were collected from 65 subjects including 25 CP, 25 GAgP, and 15 controls (C) and analyzed for IL-17 and IL-11 by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Molecular detection of bacteria in the dental plaque was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Results. The total amount of IL-17 was significantly higher in GAgP group than in GCP and C groups (P<0.001). The IL-11 concentration was significantly higher in C and GCP groups than GAgP group (P<0.001). The IL-11/IL-17 ratio was significantly higher in the C group than in GCP and GAgP groups (P<0.05). Moreover, GAgP group showed lower ratios of IL-11/IL-17 when compared to GCP group. The high positivity of P. gingivalis in the dental plaque was associated with significantly increased GCF levels of IL-17 in GCP and GAgP patients. Conclusions. The increased IL-17 level in GCF of GAgP suggests a potential role in the aetiopathogenesis. Meanwhile, the decreased ratio of IL-11/IL-17 might reflect an imbalance between the proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in different periodontal diseases

Predictors of stress among a sample of Egyptian healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous effect on people’s mental health. Healthcare workers were on the front lines in response to this crisis; therefore, they were among the most affected by the pandemic. The study aims to assess the stress perceived by healthcare workers and possible factors contributing to it, hoping that more efforts will be exerted to support the well-being of healthcare workers during public health emergencies. A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted. Data were collected from 118 healthcare professionals working with COVID-19 patients during the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Most of the respondents (75.2%) scored much higher stress levels than average, and 19.5% had slightly higher levels of stress. Most respondents were afraid of infecting their family and close ones (77.1 %), and about half of the respondents were afraid of getting infected (47.5%). Regression analysis revealed that the only significant independent variable predicting developing higher stress levels among the participants was assigning them to tasks outside their specialty. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare workers are at high risk of developing mental health problems during public health emergencies. Their well-being is essential for the quality of services they provide. More efforts are needed to ensure the well-being of healthcare workers and to prepare them for such emergencies. Preparing healthcare workers before redeployment through training and providing PPEs will help to reduce the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their physical and mental health

Triangular fibrocartilage and ligamentous injury of the wrist joint: Does MR arthrography improve diagnosis over standard MRI?

Objective: To detect the added value of magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) over MRI in different triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) and intrinsic wrist ligament lesions. Patients and methods: MRI and MRA were achieved in 57 patients presented with wrist pain. Another symptompless Ten control individuals with negative MRI and MRA findings were included. Images were assessed for the presence of TFCC, scapholunate ligament (SCL) and lunotriquetral ligament (LTL) lesions. Imaging findings were compared with arthroscopic findings in all cases. Results: Out of fifty-seven patients, 38 males (66.6%) and 19 females (33.3%) (age range 19–61 years (mean = 34.3 years) were included in the study, The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI and MRA for TFCC peripheral tears were 79.16%, 100%, 85.29% and 91.66%, 100%, and 94.11% respectively, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI and MRA for TFCC central tears were 60%, 100%, 80% and 90%, 100%, and 95% respectively. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI and MRA for SCL partial tears were 63.15%, 100%, 75.86% and 94.73%, 100% and 96.55%, respectively. For LTL partial tears, the values were 20%, 100%, 73.33% and 80%, 100%, and 93.33% respectively. Conclusion: MR arthrography is highly accurate for the evaluation of TFCC and ligamentous injury of the wrist joint

Association of MiRNA-146a, MiRNA-499, IRAK1 and PADI4 Polymorphisms with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Egyptian Population

Background/Aims: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease affecting up to 1% of the population worldwide. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether miRNA-146a rs2910164, miRNA-499 rs3746444, IRAK1 rs3027898 and PADI4 rs1748033 polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to RA in Egyptians and whether they influence disease severity and activity. Methods: The study was performed on 104 unrelated RA patients and 112 healthy subjects. RA patients were further subdivided into active and inactive RA groups. Polymorphisms were genotyped by using real-time polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Results: Significant differences in the frequency of miRNA-146a rs2910164, miRNA-499 rs3746444, IRAK1 rs3027898 and PADI4 rs1748033 alleles and genotypes were observed between RA patients and controls. Only CA and AA genotypes of IRAK1 rs3027898 shows a significant difference between active and inactive subgroups. MiRNA-146a rs2910164 and IRAK1 rs3027898 polymorphisms were a risk factor for predisposition to RA in codominant and dominant tested inheritance models, while, the miRNA-499 rs3746444 and PADI4 rs1748033 polymorphisms were a risk factor in codominant and recessive one. CG and GG genotypes of miRNA-146a rs2910164 were associated with positive erosions. CA genotype of IRAK1 rs3027898 was associated with low disease activity and negative erosions, while, the AA genotype was associated with high disease activity. CC genotype of PADI4 rs1748033 was associated with negative rheumatoid factor. Conclusion: The 4 studied SNPs were likely to play an important role in the susceptibility to RA and can influence disease severity and activity in Egyptian population

Association of MALAT1 and PVT1 Variants, Expression Profiles and Target miRNA-101 and miRNA-186 with Colorectal Cancer: Correlation with Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

The influence of PVT1 and MALAT1 variants on colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility and their impact on PVT1/miRNA-186/epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and MALAT1/miRNA-101/EMT axes in CRC are unknown. We investigated the influence of PVT1 rs13255292 and MALAT1 rs3200401 on the risk of CRC and adenomatous polyps (AP), their impact on the long noncoding RNAs PVT1 and MALAT1 expression and their target miRNA-186, miRNA-101/E-cadherin pathways, along with their potential as early CRC biomarkers. Overall, 280 individuals were recruited: 140 patients with CRC, 40 patients with AP, and 100 healthy volunteers. Genotyping and serum expression profiles were assessed using qPCR. The EMT biomarker, E-cadherin, was measured by ELISA. rs3200401 was associated with increased CRC risk, whereas rs13255292 was protective. Serum PVT1 and MALAT1 were upregulated in CRC and AP patients versus healthy controls, whereas, miRNA-186, miRNA-101 and E-cadherin were downregulated in CRC versus non-CRC groups. MALAT1 showed superior diagnostic potential for CRC and predicted CRC risk among non-CRC groups in the multivariate logistic analysis. PVT1, MALAT1, miRNA-186 and miRNA-101 levels were correlated with E-cadherin, tumor stage, lymph node and distant metastasis. E-cadherin was lost in metastatic vs. non-metastatic CRC. rs3200401CC genotype carriers showed higher E-cadherin levels than CC + CT carriers. rs3200401 was correlated with lymph node status. For the first time, rs13255292 and rs3200401 are potential genetic CRC predisposition markers, with rs3200401 possibly impacting the EMT process. Serum PVT1, MALAT1, miRNA-186 and miRNA-101 are novel non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers that could improve the clinical outcome of CRC