Background

Vitiligo is an acquired, common, autoimmune, pigmentary defect of the skin. Vitamin D (VitD) plays a physiological role in photo-induced melanogenesis in the skin. It was found that VitD levels decline in autoimmune illnesses. Recently, there has been growing interest in the role of vitamin D3 in the pathogenesis of vitiligo and its change after treatment. The chemokine CXCL10 was found to be raised in the serum of patients with vitiligo. Few studies have evaluated its relation to the severity of the disease.

Aims

To establish a link between both serum VitD and serum CXCL10 and vitiligo, besides evaluating their possible relation to disease severity.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, first appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Since then, a variety of strains of the virus were spread throughout the world, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March 2020. Additionally, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause a variety of symptoms, ranging from fatigue and fever to severe respiratory and cardiovascular complications. This study evaluated the role of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), troponin-I and D-dimer as biomarkers for death prediction in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The study included 90 patients with COVID-19 diagnosed with PCR-RNA testing. They were divided into survivors and non-survivors. Also, 20 apparently healthy individuals age and sex matched were included as a control group. Plasma BNP and serum troponin-I were measured by enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA) technique. D-dimer was measured by a turbidimetric technique. Patients with COVID-19 had significantly elevated levels of serum Troponin-I and plasma BNP in comparison to controls (p< 0.0001, for both). D-dimer, troponin–I and BNP levels were significantly higher in the non-survivors group when compared to the survivors group. Troponin-1 can predict COVID-19 severity with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 55.1%, 66.7%, and 57.8%, respectively at a cutoff value of 0.075 (ng/ml); and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve of 0.670 (95% CI: 0.551–0.790, p= 0.018). BNP can predict COVID-19 severity with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 98.6%, 71.4%, 92.2%, respectively at a cutoff value of …

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is linked to high mortality, mainly when discovered in its advanced stages. Several studies have pointed to the role of epigenetic factors in CRC and other cancers. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the initiation, progression, metastasis, and modulation of the response to chemotherapeutic modalities of CRC as vital contributors to epigenetic mechanisms. Colon cancer-associated transcript-1 (CCAT1) is one of the lncRNAs that have been dysregulated in serum samples, providing a non-invasive route for diagnosing CRC patients. This study aimed to determine the role of CCAT1 expression as diagnostic and prognostic markers. We tested the associations of CCAT1 expression with serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9). The study included three groups: 41 patients with colorectal cancer, 39 patients with precancerous benign colorectal diseases, and 20 normal control individuals. CEA and CA 19-9 were measured by an immunoassay automated system. The expression level of CCAT1 was assessed by a real-time polymerase chain reaction. There was a statistically significant elevation of serum CEA levels in patients with CRC compared to patients with precancerous benign colorectal diseases. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in serum CA 19-9 levels between all groups (p= 0.102). Interestingly, CCAT1 expression was significantly upregulated in the blood of CRC patients compared to the precancerous benign colorectal diseases group (p= 0.009) and the control group (p< 0.001). Also, expression of CCAT1 was significantly elevated …

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of Amniotic Membrane graft in the treatment of chronic venous leg ulcers.

Research Design and Methods: Prospective, randomized, non-blinded study. Eligible patients were randomized to one of 2 groups: Group I:(Control group) included 11 chronic leg ulcers, in which ulcers were treated with conventional moist wound dressings and multilayer compressive bandages. Group II:(Amniotic Membrane group) included 14 leg ulcers. Amniotic membrane was placed in contact with ulcer and held in place with secondary dressing and multilayer compressive bandages. all patients were evaluated for healing rate and change in ulcer size.

Results: Healing rate showed significant difference between group I and group II (p= 0.001). Group II (AM) patients demonstrated near complete healing of 14 ulcers in 14-60 days with mean of 33.3±14.7, healing rate range was 0.064-2.22 and mean of 0.896±0.646 cm2/day with 94% reduction in ulcer size. Taken AM grafts were seen in 28.6%(n= 4) of group II. Reduction in ulcer size in taken AM graft was 94.7%, while 93% in non-taken AM graft.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that using AM in treat leg ulcers not responding to conventional multilayer compression in patients with non-option chronic venous insufficiency.

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) is a common pathogen associated with hospital acquired infections. The presence of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance genes are known risk factors for the infection by this bacterial species. Methods: The aims of the present study were to i) investigate the coexistence of capsular genes of K. pneumoniae (rmpA and wcaG) with integron genes in clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from hospital acquired infections and to ii) correlate the presence of these genes with extended spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBLs) and carbapenem-resistant phenotypes. The study included K. pneumoniae isolates from 100 patients with hospital acquired sepsis from ICUs. The isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility tests by the disc diffusion method, identification of extended spectrum beta-lactamase detection (ESBLs) and …

Alopecia areata is a chronic relapsing autoimmune inflammatory hair disorder with no novel therapy. The objectives of this study are to compare the efficacy of topical calcipotriol vs narrow band ultraviolet B phototherapy (NB-UVB) in the treatment of alopecia areata and its correlation with serum vitamin D₃ levels. A randomized-controlled trial has been conducted on 60 patients with scalp alopecia areata randomized into four groups; topical calcipotriol, NB-UVB, both and placebo. All patients were evaluated by assessment of severity of alopecia areata by severity of alopecia tool (SALT) score at baseline and 3 months after treatment and vitamin D₃ levels at baseline and after 3 months. SALT score and vitamin D₃ levels were significantly improved in all groups except placebo after treatment with (P = 0.026, P = 0.005, P = 0.004, P = 0.140) and (P = 0.028, P = 0.011, P = 0.003, P = 0.725 …