Advanced Biomedical Research最新文献

Background: Several case-control studies have suggested that global and loci-specific deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of DNA might be potential biomarkers of cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In this study, for the first time, we intended to assess the diagnostic power of the methylation level of tumor suppressor candidate 3 (TUSC3) gene promoter in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Materials and methods: In the current study, we quantitatively assessed the promoter methylation level of TUSC3 in PBMCs of 70 CRC cases and 75 non-cancerous subjects via methylation quantification of endonuclease-resistant DNA (MethyQESD) method.

Results: The methylation level of the TUSC3 was meaningfully higher in CRC cases than in non-CRC subjects (43.55 ± 21.80% vs. 16.07 ± 13.63%, respectively; P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of this gene for the detection of CRC were 88.6% and 76.0%, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve examination discovered an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.880, representing a very high accuracy of the TUSC3 methylation marker in distinguishing CRC subjects from healthy individuals. However, there was no substantial diversity in methylation level between various CRC stages (P: 0.088).

Conclusion: For CRC screening, PBMCs are a reliable source for DNA methylation analysis and TUSC3 promoter methylation can be utilized as a hopeful biomarker for early and non-invasive diagnosis of CRC.

Background: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is an autosomal dominant disease caused by JAG1 or NOTCH2 mutation. It is diagnosed by the presence of three out of five features: characteristic facies, posterior embryotoxon, peripheral pulmonary stenosis, vertebral defects, and interlobular bile duct paucity. This study aimed to review the prevalence, clinical presentations, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with ALGS.

Materials and methods: This is a retrospective review of patients with ALGS at the Pediatric Department, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, between August 1994 and October 2022. The diagnosis was based on clinical, laboratory, radiological, histopathological, and genetic findings.

Results: Five patients were found to have ALGS. The prevalence of ALGS in Bahrain was 1.04 patients per 100,000 (0.001%). Four were Bahraini and three were females. Median birth weight was 2.3 (2.3-2.5) kg. All patients presented at the time of birth with low birth weight, cholestatic jaundice, clay-colored stool, heart murmur, and dysmorphic facial features. All had congenital heart diseases, two had butterfly vertebrae, and one had posterior embryotoxon. All had elevated liver enzymes and normal abdominal ultrasound. Three had positive hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan and one had bile duct paucity in liver biopsy. Three had intraoperative cholangiogram. Four were positive for JAG1 mutation. All received ursodeoxycholic acid and fat-soluble vitamins. Two required liver transplantation.

Conclusion: ALGS is a rare disorder in Bahrain. Diagnosis is challenging as the disease can be associated with or misdiagnosed as biliary atresia. Patients with ALGS are at high risk of morbidity either by unnecessary intraoperative cholangiogram or unavoidable liver transplantation.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Lieberman community return program on reducing positive and negative symptoms and improving social skills in people with schizophrenia.

Materials and methods: In this clinical trial study, 58 patients with schizophrenia were randomly allocated into two groups of 29. The first group received 16 sessions of Lieberman community return training and the second group received routine care as a control group. All patients were evaluated before intervention and 1 and 3 months after intervention using the Matson Social Skills Questionnaire and Negative and Positive Symptoms Assessment Scale and compared between the two groups.

Results: Evaluation of negative symptoms showed that the dimensions of affective flattening, avolition, anhedonia-asociality, attention, and alogia in the intervention group decreased significantly over time (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was seen in the control group. The mean score of positive symptoms such as hallucinations, delusion, inappropriate affect, and formal thinking disorder in the intervention group were decreased significantly (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was seen in the control group. Appropriate social skills and overall skill score were increased significantly in the intervention group over time (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Lieberman community return program is likely to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and increase patients' social skills.

Background: To evaluate atherosclerotic changes in carotid arteries (CCA) in uremic patients before and after 18 months of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) treatment, and to evaluate the impact of dyslipidemia and CAPD treatment on vascular remodeling.

Materials and methods: We conducted a longitudinal, prospective study during 2020 and 2021 at the Clinic for Nephrology, Clinical Center University of Sarajevo. Patients with end-stage renal disease were included and were followed during 18 months of CAPD treatment. All patients were treated using commercially prepared biocompatible balanced dialysis solutions. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and atherosclerotic plaques on the common carotid artery (CCA) were measured by echotomography.

Results: A total of 50 patients were included and were followed during 18 months of CAPD treatment. Lipid values in the serum of patients with CAPD were significantly lower after 18 months of CAPD treatment compared to the values before treatment, while the value of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly increased after 18 months of CAPD treatment. The values of IMT and the diameter of the CCA compared to the basal values were significantly lower (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: We demonstrated significantly lower lipid values and higher HDL levels following CAPD treatment. Correct selection of the targeted pharmacological intervention can substantially impact the regression of vascular changes in patients on peritoneal dialysis.

Background: Stress and saffron seem to affect glucoregulation mechanisms and insulin resistance in different ways. Impacts of the aqueous saffron extract were investigated on serum glucose levels, serum insulin levels, the homeostatic model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA-B), the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), adrenal weight, and hepatic gene expression of angiotensinogen (Agt) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in rats under sub-chronic stress.

Materials and methods: Forty-two male rats were divided into six groups: control, restraint stress (6h/day for seven days), saffron (30 and 60 mg/kg) treatments for seven days, and post-stress saffron (30 and 60 mg/kg) treatments for seven days. The serum glucose and insulin levels, hepatic gene expressions of Agt and TNF-α, HOMA-IR, HOMA-B, and adrenal gland weight were measured.

Results: One-week recovery following sub-chronic stress led to non-significant hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance. The hepatic Agt and TNF-α mRNA levels increased significantly in this group. Saffron administration led to enhanced hepatic Agt mRNA in the non-stressed subjects. In addition, serum glucose levels, insulin resistance, and hepatic Agt gene expression significantly increased in stress-saffron groups. The hepatic TNF-α gene expression was reduced only in the stress-saffron 60 group.

Conclusion: Saffron treatment after sub-chronic stress not only did not improve glucose tolerance but also enhanced insulin resistance. It indicated the interaction of saffron and sub-chronic stress to promote renin-angiotensin system activity. In addition, the saffron treatment decreased TNF-α gene expression after sub-chronic stress. The synergistic stimulating effect of saffron and sub-chronic stress on gene expression of hepatic Agt led to insulin resistance and hyperglycemia.

Background: Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) plays a crucial role in the field of modern anesthesia. There are different techniques to administer LMA. Here we aimed to compare the four methods of standard, 90° rotation, 180° rotation, and thumb placement in LMA mast placement.

Materials and methods: This is a clinical trial that was performed on 257 candidates of elective surgical operations requiring general anesthesia. All patients were categorized into four groups of LMA placement with index finger (standard method), mask placement with 90° rotation, 180° rotation method, and thumb finger group. We collected data regarding the success rates of LMA placement, the need for any manipulation when placing the mask, LMA placement time, failure of mask placement, presence of blood on the LMA, and laryngospasm and sore throats 1 hour after surgery in patients.

Results: The 90° rotation method had a significantly higher first attempt success rate than that in the other three methods (98.4%, P = 0.02). Total success rate in 90° rotation method was also significantly higher than the other techniques (100%, P < 0.001). The need for any manipulation when placing the mask (1.6%, P = 0.01), presence of blood on the LMA mask (1.6%, P = 0.33), and frequency of sore throats 1 hour after surgery (21.9%, P = 0.14) were also lower in 90° rotation method than that in the other methods.

Conclusion: The 90° rotation method had significantly higher success rate and lower failure rate regarding the mask placement compared to other three methods.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is known as the most common cardiovascular disease. The development of CAD is influenced by several risk factors. Diagnostic and therapeutic methods of this disease have many and costly side effects. Therefore, researchers are looking for cost-effective and accurate methods to diagnose this disease. Machine learning algorithms can help specialists diagnose the disease early. The aim of this study is to detect CAD using machine learning algorithms.

Materials and methods: In this study, three data mining algorithms support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network (ANN), and random forest were used to predict CAD using the Isfahan Cohort Study dataset of Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center. 19 features with 11495 records from this dataset were used for this research.

Results: All three algorithms achieved relatively close results. However, the SVM had the highest accuracy compared to the other techniques. The accuracy was calculated as 89.73% for SVM. The ANN algorithm also obtained the high area under the curve, sensitivity and accuracy and provided acceptable performance. Age, sex, Sleep satisfaction, history of stroke, history of palpitations, and history of heart disease were most correlated with target class. Eleven rules were also extracted from this dataset with high confidence and support.

Conclusion: In this study, it was shown that machine learning algorithms can be used with high accuracy to detect CAD. Thus, it allows physicians to perform timely preventive treatment in patients with CAD.

During the current SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, some reports were presented based on those nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids may exacerbate symptoms in COVID-19 patients. According to this, we aimed to collate information available in published articles to identify any evidence behind these statements with the aim of helping clinicians on how best to treat patients. We could not find published conclusive evidence for or against the use of NSAIDs in COVID-19 patients. Meanwhile, there appeared to be some evidence that corticosteroids may be beneficial if utilized in the early acute phase of infection, however, conflicting WHO (World Health Organization) evidence surrounding corticosteroid use in certain viral infections means this evidence is not conclusive. Given the current availability of literature, caution should be exercised until further evidence emerges surrounding the use of NSAIDs and corticosteroids in COVID-19 patients. However, the availability of reliable information for clinicians and patients is paramount.

Background: The present study was to compare the professional quality of life (ProQOL) and its association with the emotional well-being among the physicians and nurses in contact with COVID-19 patients in Iran and France.

Materials and methods: The study was performed on 903 nurses and physicians in contact with COVID-19 patients in Iran and France.he subjects completed their demographics online and then answered questions addressing their job stress and emotion associated with their contact with COVID-19 patients and ProQOL. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software (ver. 25).

Results: According to the results of the present study, the degree of contact with COVID-19 patients had a significant role in compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue, with the coefficient effects of 0.459, 0.688, and 0.433, respectively (P < 0.05). The emotional well-being had a significant role in increasing compassion satisfaction (B = 0.505, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, factors such as contact with a COVID-19 patient, emotional well-being, gender, and marital status had a significant effect on dimensions of ProQOL in both Iran and France. Considering that the entire focus of the physicians and nurses is on the health of COVID-19 patients and they have no concentration on improving their emotional state, it seems that supporting them in terms of psychological self-care and considering its indirect impact on the quality of professional performance are of particular significance.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer leading to death in women. Women with multicentric breast cancer were reported more likely to have poor prognosis. Here, we decided to study and compare the frequency distribution of multicentricity in different subtypes of breast cancer.

Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was performed in 2019-20 on medical records and breast pathology reports of 250 patients who undergone mastectomy due to breast cancer. Demographic data of all patients including age, along with other medical data such as menstruation condition, breast cancer grade, multicentricity status, stage, and expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptors were collected from medical records. Samples were divided into four subtypes of Luminal B, Luminal A, HER2 expressing, and basal-like.

Results: The mean age of patients was 50.21 ± 11.15 years. Ninety-five patients (38%) had multicentricity and HER2 expressing (48.5%) and Luminal A (41.4%) were most common in patients with multicentricity. In addition, basal-like group presented with least multicentricity (13.5%) among the subtypes (P = 0.008). We also showed significant increased chances of multicentricity in Luminal B (odds ratio [OR] = 3.782) (P = 0.033), Luminal A (OR = 5.164) (P = 0.002), and HER2-expressing group (OR = 5.393) (P = 0.011).

Conclusions: Taken together, we showed significantly increased chances of multicentricity in patients with HER2-expression, Luminal A, and Luminal B groups compared to basal-like group or triple negative. These results were in line with most previous studies; however, we showed higher rates of multicentricity among our population compared to some previous reports.