SERUM ZINC LEVELS IN SUDANESE PATIENTS WITH ACUTE LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA

Background: Zinc acts as growth protector for neoplastic cells and its deficiency was contributed to carcinogenesis. However, the determinations of serum zinc in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) prediction and prognosis requires more investigations. Objective: To evaluate and compare serum zinc in ALL patients and healthy controls and to correlate the serum zinc levels with hematological prognostic markers. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in Khartoum state-Sudan during the period from December 2013 to September 2014, it involved a case group of ALL patients (N=100) matched for age and gender with a control group (N=100). Serum copper and zinc levels and full blood count were investigated. Results: The ALL patients showed lower levels of Zn 0.73 ± 0.18 mg/dl compared to controls 1.01 ± 0.25 mg/dl [P = 0.003]. The serum Zn levels were inversely correlated with total white cell (-0.804, P < 0.0001) and blast counts (-0.935, P < 0.0001). Conclusion: These findings ALL associated with lower serum zinc levels and higher serum copper levels. The determination of serum zinc and copper could be used as ALL prognostic markers. KEYWORDS: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Zinc; Carcinogenesis

SERUM ZINC LEVELS IN SUDANESE PATIENTS WITH ACUTE LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA

Background: Zinc acts as growth protector for neoplastic cells and its deficiency was contributed to carcinogenesis. However, the determinations of serum zinc in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) prediction and prognosis requires more investigations. Objective: To evaluate and compare serum zinc in ALL patients and healthy controls and to correlate the serum zinc levels with hematological prognostic markers. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in Khartoum state-Sudan during the period from December 2013 to September 2014, it involved a case group of ALL patients (N=100) matched for age and gender with a control group (N=100). Serum copper and zinc levels and full blood count were investigated. Results: The ALL patients showed lower levels of Zn 0.73 ± 0.18 mg/dl compared to controls 1.01 ± 0.25 mg/dl [P = 0.003]. The serum Zn levels were inversely correlated with total white cell (-0.804, P < 0.0001) and blast counts (-0.935, P < 0.0001). Conclusion: These findings ALL associated with lower serum zinc levels and higher serum copper levels. The determination of serum zinc and copper could be used as ALL prognostic markers. KEYWORDS: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Zinc; Carcinogenesis

Using (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations in serum to monitor the response of azole therapy in patients with eumycetoma caused by Madurella mycetomatis

Introduction: (1,3)-β-D-glucan is a panfungal biomarker secreted by many fungi, including Madurella mycetomatis, the main causative agent of eumycetoma. Previously we demonstrated that (1,3)-β-D-glucan was present in serum of patients with eumycetoma. However, the use of (1,3)-β-D-glucan to monitor treatment responses in patients with eumycetoma has not been evaluated. Materials and Methods: In this study, we measured (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations in serum with the WAKO (1,3)-β-D-glucan assay in 104 patients with eumycetoma treated with either 400 mg itraconazole daily, or 200 mg or 300 mg fosravuconazole weekly. Serial serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations were measured at seven different timepoints. Any correlation between initial and final (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations and clinical outcome was evaluated. Results: The concentration of (1,3)-β-D-glucan was obtained in a total of 654 serum samples. Before treatment, the average (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentration was 22.86 pg/mL. During the first 6 months of treatment, this concentration remained stable. (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations significantly dropped after surgery to 8.56 pg/mL. After treatment was stopped, there was clinical evidence of recurrence in 18 patients. Seven of these 18 patients had a (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentration above the 5.5 pg/mL cut-off value for positivity, while in the remaining 11 patients, (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations were below the cut-off value. This resulted in a sensitivity of 38.9% and specificity of 75.0%. A correlation between lesion size and (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentration was noted. Conclusion: Although in general (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations can be measured in the serum of patients with eumycetoma during treatment, a sharp decrease in β-glucan concentration was only noted after surgery and not during or after antimicrobial treatment. (1,3)-β-D-glucan concentrations were not predictive for recurrence and seem to have no value in determining treatment response to azoles in patients with eumycetoma.</p

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and microbiome profile of patients in a referral gastrointestinal diseases centre in the Sudan

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) causes Johne’s disease in animals with zoonotic potential; it has been linked to many chronic diseases in humans, especially gastrointestinal diseases (GID). MAP has been extensively studied in Europe and America, but little reports were published from Africa. Sudan is a unique country with close contact between humans and livestock. Despite such interaction, the one health concept is neglected in dealing with cases of humans with GID. In this study, patients admitted to the reference GID hospital in the Sudan over a period of 8 months were screened for presence of MAP in their faeces or colonic biopsies. A total of 86 patients were recruited for this study, but only 67 were screened for MAP, as 19 did not provide the necessary samples for analysis. Both real-time PCR and culture were used to detect MAP in the collected samples and the microbial diversity in patients´ faecal samples was investigated using 16S rDNA nanopore sequencing. In total, 27 (40.3%) patients were MAP positive: they were 15 males and 12 females, of ages between 21 and 80 years. Logistic regression analysis revealed no statistical significance for all tested variables in MAP positive patients (occupation, gender, contact with animal, milk consumption, chronic disease, etc.). A unique microbiome profile of MAP-positive patients in comparison to MAP-negative was found. These findings suggest that a considerable proportion of the population could be MAP infected or carriers. Therefore, increase awareness at community level is urgently needed to decrease the risk of MAP at human/animal interface. This study represents the first report of MAP in humans in the Sudan; nevertheless, a better view of the situation of MAP in humans in the country requires a larger study including patients with other conditions.Additional co-authors: Ahmad Amanzada, Kamal H. Eltom , ElSagad Eltaye

Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma and help-seeking attitudes: a multinational population-based study from 16 Arab countries and 10,036 individuals

BackgroundThere is evidence that culture deeply affects beliefs about mental illnesses\u27 causes, treatment, and help-seeking. We aimed to explore and compare knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking, causal attributions, and help-seeking recommendations for mental illnesses across various Arab countries and investigate factors related to attitudes toward help-seeking.MethodsWe carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries among participants from the general public.ResultsMore than one in four individuals exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness (26.5%), had poor knowledge (31.7%), and hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking (28.0%). ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F = 194.8, p \u3c .001), knowledge (F = 88.7, p \u3c .001), and help-seeking attitudes (F = 32.4, p \u3c .001). Three multivariate regression analysis models were performed for overall sample, as well as Palestinian and Sudanese samples that displayed the lowest and highest ATSPPH-SF scores, respectively. In the overall sample, being female, older, having higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mental illness, and endorsing biomedical and psychosocial causations were associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes; whereas having a family psychiatric history and endorsing religious/supernatural causations were associated with more negative help-seeking attitudes. The same results have been found in the Palestinian sample, while only stigma dimensions helped predict help-seeking attitudes in Sudanese participants.ConclusionInterventions aiming at improving help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and promoting early access to care need to be culturally tailored, and congruent with public beliefs about mental illnesses and their causations

Case report: An unusual case of mucosal leishmaniasis with cutaneous dissemination in Sudan and its epidemiological significance

Sudan is endemic for visceral, cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis. The latter is the least common of the three forms of leishmaniasis. It is caused by L. donovani, the same parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the country. Most of the cases were reported from VL endemic areas, the majority in adults. The disease may be primary in the oral and or the upper respiratory mucosa or may follow or accompany visceral leishmaniasis. This paper is a report of a case of mucosal leishmaniasis of the nose and lips. It is unusual in several aspects: the disease was acquired in a village where no cases of VL or mucosal leishmaniasis were recorded within living memory, before an outbreak in 1981 during which the patient was infected; the patient was infected at the age of five years and the disease remained active for 22 years causing physical deformity and psychological trauma to the patient. Sudanese Journal of Dermatology Vol. 3(2) 2005: 88-9