Abstract: Background: Diabetic patients are at increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. Interplay of several concomitant factors in diabetic patients may facilitate the occurrence of arrhythmia. Inflammation has been shown to play a direct role in the initiation, maintenance and recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in all patients. However, few studies have evaluated the association between diabetes mellitus and cardiac rhythm disorders. We tried to detect the association between inflammation and cardiac electrical instability. Methods: Ninety diabetic patients with structurally normal hearts were enrolled in the study and followed up for one year. In every three-months visit, we assessed cardiac rhythm, P wave dispersion, hs-CRP level and random blood sugar.Results: One third of the original cohort succeeded to complete the follow up schedule. Arrhythmia developed at a time during the follow up period in about one third of patients. There was positive correlation between hs-CRP and P wave dispersion and rhythm disturbances (r 0.4-0.8 and p 0.05). Conclusion: We concluded that diabetic patients are in high risk for cardiac arrhythmias. P wave dispersion and hs-CRP are interrelated and they proved to be strong predictors for cardiac electrical instability and hence arrhythmia production.

Background: Acne vulgaris is a very common disease in adolescence and adulthood. Acne has negative social, psychological and physical impact on patients. There are many modalities for treating acne vulgaris. Aim of the work: This work aims to evaluate the efficacy of intense pulse light (IPL) in treatment of facial acne vulgaris in comparison with medical treatment. Materials and Methods: Twenty three patients were included in this work. They were selected from acne patients attended the department of Dermatology and Androlgy, Qena university Hospital, South Valley university from June 2009 to January 2010. Patients were divided into two groups, 1st (12 patients) treated with IPL and 2nd (11 patients) treated with medical treatment.

Background Breast cancer is the first cancer among females in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accounting for 27.4% of all newly diagnosed female cancers in 2010. There are several risk factors affecting the incidence of breast cancer where some factors influence the risk more than the others. Aim We aimed to identify the different risk factors related to breast cancer among females participating in the breast-screening program in Riyadh, KSA. Methods Based on data from phase-I of the breast-screening program, a case–control study was conducted on women living in Riyadh, KSA. A sample of 349 women (58 cases and 290 controls) was recruited to examine the different breast cancer correlates. Multivariate regression model was built to investigate the most important risk factors. Results The mean age of cases was 48.5 ± 7.1 years. Age at marriage, number of pregnancy, age at menopause, oral contraceptive pills, breast feeding and family history of breast cancer in first-degree relative were identified as the most important correlates among the studied cohort. Conclusions The findings of the current work suggested that age at marriage, age at menopause ⩾50 years and 1st degree family history of breast cancer were risk factors for breast cancer, while, age at menopause 50 years, number of pregnancies and practicing breast feeding were protective factors against breast cancer. There was no effect of body mass index or physical inactivity. Further studies are needed to explore the hereditary, familial and genetic background risk factors in Saudi population. Abbreviations BC, breast cancer; ACS, American Cancer Society; ASR, age specific ratio; NCCN, national comprehensive cancer network; HRT, hormone replacement therapy; NCI, National Cancer Institute; BMI, body mass index

The present work was a randomized comparative study of two injectable progestogen-only contraceptives. The first group (200 subjects) received 150 mg of depotmedroxyprogesterone acetate (Depoprovera) every 84 +/- 7 days and the second (200 subjects) received 200 mg of norethisterone enanthate (Noristerat) every 56 +/- 7 days. Acceptors of injectable contraceptives in Assiut, Egypt, were mainly women looking for fertility termination. Menstrual disruption was the main side effect among both treatment groups. Amenorrhoea was the commonest menstrual complaint and was the main reason for discontinuation in both groups. Only one pregnancy occurred during NET-EN use; two more pregnancies occurred, one in each of the two groups but there were indications that conception preceded the first injection. Menstrual irregularities were generally more frequent with DMPA users. However, DMPA had better one-year continuation rates than NET-EN (68.8 +/- 3.5 and 57.1 +/- 3.6 per 100 women, respectively).

The present work was a randomized comparative study of two injectable progestogen-only contraceptives. The first group (200 subjects) received 150 mg of depotmedroxyprogesterone acetate (Depoprovera) every 84 +/- 7 days and the second (200 subjects) received 200 mg of norethisterone enanthate (Noristerat) every 56 +/- 7 days. Acceptors of injectable contraceptives in Assiut, Egypt, were mainly women looking for fertility termination. Menstrual disruption was the main side effect among both treatment groups. Amenorrhoea was the commonest menstrual complaint and was the main reason for discontinuation in both groups. Only one pregnancy occurred during NET-EN use; two more pregnancies occurred, one in each of the two groups but there were indications that conception preceded the first injection. Menstrual irregularities were generally more frequent with DMPA users. However, DMPA had better one-year continuation rates than NET-EN (68.8 +/- 3.5 and 57.1 +/- 3.6 per 100 women, respectively).

The present work was a randomized comparative study of two injectable progestogen-only contraceptives. The first group (200 subjects) received 150 mg of depotmedroxyprogesterone acetate (Depoprovera) every 84 +/- 7 days and the second (200 subjects) received 200 mg of norethisterone enanthate (Noristerat) every 56 +/- 7 days. Acceptors of injectable contraceptives in Assiut, Egypt, were mainly women looking for fertility termination. Menstrual disruption was the main side effect among both treatment groups. Amenorrhoea was the commonest menstrual complaint and was the main reason for discontinuation in both groups. Only one pregnancy occurred during NET-EN use; two more pregnancies occurred, one in each of the two groups but there were indications that conception preceded the first injection. Menstrual irregularities were generally more frequent with DMPA users. However, DMPA had better one-year continuation rates than NET-EN (68.8 +/- 3.5 and 57.1 +/- 3.6 per 100 women, respectively).

AIM: To study the frequency of vitamin D deficiency in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to evaluate the role of vitamin D supplementation in improving antiviral therapy. METHODS: Sixty-six children aged from 7-14 years (mean±SD, 11.17±2.293) diagnosed with HCV infection were matched to 28 healthy controls. Serum levels of 25 (OH) D3, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and plasma level of parathormone were measured. Quantitative PCR for HCV was performed Bone density was determined by