Association of smoking type, status, number times of smoking and their effect on infected people by COVID-19

Background: Smoking has a significant role in weakening the pulmonary immune system function. Infection with infectious agents can cause more serious outcomes in the pulmonary system among people who smoke than those who do not. Objective: To show the relationship between smoking and the progression of the infectious COVID-19. Patients and Methods: A questionnaire the following data was gathered from both sexes using a Google form: age, smoking status, smoking habits, blood type, and medical conditions. Results: Results: Statistical analysis indicated that there are highly significant differences between males and females, and older patients included in the study who are infected and non-infected with COVID-19 (P < 0.01), and there are significant differences among blood groups (P < 0.05). In regard to smoking status, there are highly significant differences in the disease severity between the never-smoking group compared to current smokers (P≤0.01, P≤0.05), respectively. This differences increase with the number of times of smoking, and there is no significant difference between types of smoking between infected and non-infected groups with COVID-19. Statistical analysis indicated that there are highly significant differences in the disease severity in the male and female groups who have not smoked compared to former smokers (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Recent studies have reported the real role of the virus in the health status of smokers. However, this study showed no strong relationship between the virus and smokers

Contraception use among Muslim women in Alexandria, Egypt: a descriptive pilot study

Background: This pilot study aimed to create a questionnaire survey directed to understand knowledge gaps related to contraception among Muslim women in Alexandria, Egypt, so potential interventions could be designed to enable more informed decision-making. The project was a mixed-method, cross-sectional study using a questionnaire survey.Methods: Participants were randomly selected at outpatient clinics at Alexandria university hospitals in September and October 2020. The inclusion criteria were to be an 18 year old or older woman and able to give consent. The recruitment goal for this pilot study was 100 participants. The consented participants were interviewed about demographics, socio-structural and contraception use. The questionnaire was tested using a focus group of 11 women. The study data was collected using KoBoToolbox and exported to the SPSS software for descriptive analysis. The primary outcome was to validate the survey questionnaire and the secondary outcome to assess knowledge regarding contraception methods and emergency contraception.Results: The age of study participants ranged from 18-60 with a mean of 34 years. Almost all participants had previously heard of various contraceptive methods and 75% used them before. The majority did not know about emergency contraception. Most respondents had a favorable attitude toward family planning, and their primary sources of information were family and friends.Conclusions: Preliminary findings show that most women knew about contraception methods, though few of them heard of emergency contraception. Because of the patriarchal nature of Egyptian society, family planning education should target the whole population

CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE WORSENS ISCHEMIC STROKE SEVERITY AND NEUROLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES IN MICE

53rd ERA-EDTA Congress, Vienna, AUSTRIA, MAY 21-24, 2016International audienc

CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE WORSENS ISCHEMIC STROKE SIZE AND ALTERS NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN MICE

International audienc

The Impact of Uremic Toxins on Cerebrovascular and Cognitive Disorders

Individuals at all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a higher risk of developing cognitive disorders and dementia. Stroke is also highly prevalent in this population and is associated with a higher risk of neurological deterioration, in-hospital mortality, and poor functional outcomes. Evidence from in vitro studies and in vivo animal experiments suggests that accumulation of uremic toxins may contribute to the pathogenesis of stroke and amplify vascular damage, leading to cognitive disorders and dementia. This review summarizes current evidence on the mechanisms by which uremic toxins may favour the occurrence of cerebrovascular diseases and neurological complications in CKD

Functional outcome and mortality prediction after decompressive craniectomy in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction

Abstract Background Although it is well known that performing decompressive craniectomy (DC) in cases of swollen middle cerebral artery infarction (SMCAI) improves patient outcomes, limited evidence presently exists on the likelihood of mortality and achieving functional outcome following DC. The aim of the present study was to identify the predictors of early in-hospital mortality and functional status six months after performing DC in a cohort of patients with SMCAI. Material and methods All patients that had suffered SMCAI and underwent DC were included in the study sample and their demographic information, along with clinical and radiological findings, and risk factors were recorded for further analyses, which were conducted using the commercial software STATA. Modified Rankin Scale score (mRS) served as an outcome measure at 6-month follow-up. Results DC was performed on 50 patients with SMCAI (72% of whom had left hemisphere infractions) aged 45.2 ± 10.2 years (range 24–67 years), 32 (64%) of whom were female and 18 (36%) were male. While the initial median Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was 8 (range 4–13), clinical deterioration mostly occurred within the first five days, whereby DC was performed within 9 ± 7.2 h (range 2–36 h). Following surgery, 16 (32%) patients died while in hospital, whereas the remaining 34 were discharged after 135 days on average, and attended the 6-month follow-up, when the median mRS score of 3 (range 2–6) was recorded for this subsample. Conclusions Younger age, higher GCS score, presence of isochoric pupils, history of prior treatment (e.g., embolectomy or tissue plasminogen activator), and shorter interval between clinical deterioration and surgery are associated with a lower likelihood of mortality and a greater odd of a favorable functional outcome

Cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with ischemic stroke severity in female mice with chronic kidney disease

Abstract Ischemic stroke is highly prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and has been associated with a higher risk of neurological deterioration and in-hospital mortality. To date, little is known about the processes by which CKD worsens ischemic stroke. This work aimed to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanism associated with ischemic stroke severity in an in vivo model of CKD. CKD was induced through right kidney cortical electrocautery in 8-week-old female C57BL/6 J mice followed by left total nephrectomy. Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) was performed 6 weeks after left nephrectomy. Twenty-four hours after tMCAO, the infarct volumes were significantly wider in CKD than in SHAM mice. CKD mice displayed decreased neuroscore, impaired ability to remain on rotarod device, weaker muscular strength and decreased prehensile score. Apoptosis, neuronal loss, glial cells recruitment and microglia/macrophages M1 signature genes CD32, CD86, IL-1β, IL-6, MCP1 and iNOS were significantly increased within ischemic lesions of CKD mice. This effect was associated with decreased AMP kinase phosphorylation and increased activation of the NFΚB pathway. Pharmacological targeting of AMP kinase activity, which is known to block microglia/macrophages M1 polarization, appears promising to improve stroke recovery in CKD

Metformin alleviates stroke severity in female mice with chronic kidney disease through AMPK activation and subsequent decrease of microglia/macrophages M1 polarization

56th Congress of the European-Renal-Association (ERA)-European-Dialysis-and-Transplant-Association (EDTA) - Burden, Access and Disparities in Kidney Disease, Budapest, HUNGARY, JUN 13-16, 2019International audienc