Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Short-Term Outcomes of Full-Term Low Birth Weight Infants Born at a Tertiary Academic Center: A Prospective Case-Control Study.

OBJECTIVE: Low birth weight (LBW) infants (<2,500 g) continued to be a global health problem because of the associated short- and long-term adverse outcomes. The study aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and short-term outcomes of term LBW infants STUDY DESIGN: A prospective and case-control study. All infants born consecutively from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019 were included. Cases, term LBW infants, were 1:1 matched to controls, appropriate for gestational age (AGA) term infants. Major congenital or chromosomal anomalies and multiple pregnancies were excluded. RESULTS: The prevalence of term LBW in the studied period was 4.8%. Mothers of term LBW infants had significantly lower body mass index (p = 0.05), gained less weight (p = 0.01), had a history of previous LBW (p = 0.01), and lower monthly income (p = 0.04) compared with mothers of term AGA infants even after adjustment for confounders. A nonsignificant higher number of term LBW infants needed NICU admission, while their need for phototherapy was deemed significant. CONCLUSION: We identified nutritional and socioeconomic maternal factors that are significantly associated with LBW infants and should be targeted during antenatal visits to improve neonatal outcomes. KEY POINTS: · LBW infants (<2,500 g) are at risk of short- and long-term morbidities.. · Poor maternal nutritional and socioeconomic factors increase the risk of LBW infant.. · Targeting identified risk factors of LBW infant antenatally improve neonatal outcomes.

SETD1A Methyltransferase Is Physically and Functionally Linked to the DNA Damage Repair Protein RAD18.

SETD1A is a SET domain-containing methyltransferase involved in epigenetic regulation of transcription. It is the main catalytic component of a multiprotein complex that methylates lysine 4 of histone H3, a histone mark associated with gene activation. In humans, six related protein complexes with partly nonredundant cellular functions share several protein subunits but are distinguished by unique catalytic SET-domain proteins. We surveyed physical interactions of the SETD1A-complex using endogenous immunoprecipitation followed by label-free quantitative proteomics on three subunits: SETD1A, RBBP5, and ASH2L. Surprisingly, SETD1A, but not RBBP5 or ASH2L, was found to interact with the DNA damage repair protein RAD18. Reciprocal RAD18 immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed the interaction with SETD1A, whereas size exclusion and protein network analysis suggested an interaction independent of the main SETD1A complex. We found evidence of SETD1A and RAD18 influence on mutual gene expression levels. Further, knockdown of the genes individually showed a DNA damage repair phenotype, whereas simultaneous knockdown resulted in an epistatic effect. This adds to a growing body of work linking epigenetic enzymes to processes involved in genome stability.

Confluent and Reticulated Papillomatosis Successfully Treated with Topical Vitamin A Derivative.

Confluent and reticulated papillomatosis (CARP) is a rare dermatosis that typically develops in adolescents and young adults. Clinical characteristics include hyperkeratotic papules that coalesce centrally with a reticulated pattern peripherally on the central and upper trunk, neck, and axilla. Its etiology is not precisely known, and disordered keratinization has been postulated as one of the etiologies. Treatment options of the disease include systemic (such as antibiotics, antifungals, and retinoids) and topical treatments (such as lactic acid, antifungals, retinoids, salicylic acid, urea, tacrolimus, and vitamin D analogs). We report a case of a 17-year-old boy, otherwise healthy, presented with a new onset of asymptomatic, persistent, and slowly progressing brownish skin lesions over the trunk for 6 months. The diagnosis was revised to CARP based on clinical and histopathological examination. Treatment with topical tretinoin 0.025% cream once daily was begun. There was complete resolution of his lesions at the end of 8 weeks of therapy. There has been no relapse at 2 months follow-up. The effectiveness of tretinoin in this patient supports the theory that CARP is a keratinization disorder. Initiating treatment with topical tretinoin when no limitations for its use would be reasonable as it can provide a safer alternative to systemic therapy.

An Outlook on Dental Practices to Avoid the Oral Transmission of COVID-19.

The oral microbiome plays an important role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis, whereas its association with SARS-CoV-2 infection remains under investigation. Since the oral path is one of the transmission routes for COVID-19, we attempt to show the relationship between the oral microbiome, COVID-19 infection, and oral hygiene. We highlight the importance of oral hygiene to control the infection, especially for ICU cases with COVID-19. Moreover, we present the current strategies adapted by in-person dental clinics to overcome the spread of COVID-19. New emerging policies and protocols suggested during the pandemic and their future implementation to minimize virus transmission are also summarized in this review.

Association Between Blood Pressure, Glomerular Filtration Rate, and Serum Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels in Hypothyroid Patients: A Retrospective Single-Center Study.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormones have substantial effects on blood pressure (BP) and renal function as they influence the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Maintaining healthy BP and preventing premature development of nephropathy necessitates taking steps. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the association between BP, GFR, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in hypothyroid patients at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective record review study of all hypothyroid patients from June 1, 2010 to June 6, 2020. The medical records of 1,181 adult patients were reviewed, and 157 met the criteria. All patients aged >18 years who were diagnosed with hypothyroidism and were on levothyroxine therapy, were included in this study. RESULTS: More than half of the participants were female (83.4%). There was no significant correlation between TSH and systolic BP (P= 0.6), or TSH and diastolic BP (P=0.8), while there was a positive correlation between TSH and creatinine (r=0.4, P=0.001) and a negative correlation between TSH and GFR (r=-0.2, P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: We found no association between BP and TSH, while creatinine correlated directly and GFR inversely with TSH. Follow-up renal function should be a target for physicians in hypothyroid patients to prevent premature complications.

Behaviors and Knowledge Related to Intentional Outdoor Tanning Among Adults in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Intentional outdoor tanning is the process through which people expose their skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation to darken their skin color toward brown or bronze. UV radiation is a well-known modifiable risk factor for photoaging, photoallergic reactions, and phototoxicity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the behaviors and knowledge of intentional outdoor tanning among adults in the western region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1023 adults from the general population who met the eligibility criteria. Data were collected in October and November 2022 using an electronic questionnaire to assess the sociodemographic data, behaviors, and knowledge of the participants related to intentional outdoor tanning. RESULTS: Overall, 24.5% of the participants intentionally tanned outdoors, the majority of which (203, 80.9%) were exposed to the sun for more than 20 minutes. The participants who intentionally tan outdoors were significantly younger than those who do not (32 ± 10.7 vs. 38.4 ± 13.9, respectively, P <0.001). Most of the participants had good knowledge of the disadvantages of sun exposure on the skin (61.3%). Additionally, good knowledge was significantly more prevalent in women (70.3%) than men (48.6%) (P <0.001). CONCLUSION: Individuals who intentionally tan outdoors engage in other behaviors or beliefs that increase exposure to UV rays. This points to the need for comprehensive interventions such as community-counseling campaigns to address these new trends and their relationship with photoaging and skin cancer.

ERICH3 in Primary Cilia Regulates Cilium Formation and the Localisations of Ciliary Transport and Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Proteins.

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) is essential for the formation and function of the microtubule-based primary cilium, which acts as a sensory and signalling device at the cell surface. Consisting of IFT-A/B and BBSome cargo adaptors that associate with molecular motors, IFT transports protein into (anterograde IFT) and out of (retrograde IFT) the cilium. In this study, we identify the mostly uncharacterised ERICH3 protein as a component of the mammalian primary cilium. Loss of ERICH3 causes abnormally short cilia and results in the accumulation of IFT-A/B proteins at the ciliary tip, together with reduced ciliary levels of retrograde transport regulators, ARL13B, INPP5E and BBS5. We also show that ERICH3 ciliary localisations require ARL13B and BBSome components. Finally, ERICH3 loss causes positive (Smoothened) and negative (GPR161) regulators of sonic hedgehog signaling (Shh) to accumulate at abnormally high levels in the cilia of pathway-stimulated cells. Together, these findings identify ERICH3 as a novel component of the primary cilium that regulates cilium length and the ciliary levels of Shh signaling molecules. We propose that ERICH3 functions within retrograde IFT-associated pathways to remove signaling proteins from cilia.

Knowledge and attitude toward hemoglobinopathies premarital screening program among unmarried population in western Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge and attitude toward hemoglobinopathies premarital screening (PMS) program among unmarried population in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1039 unmarried males and females from the general population who fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Data was collected from July-December 2017, using an electronic questionnaire to assess the socio-demographic data, knowledge and attitudes of the participants regarding PMS. Results: Approximately half of the participants had poor knowledge scores (51.1%), while 28.4% of them had fair and 20.5% had good scores. Individuals with an educational level of "university degree and above" had significantly higher knowledge than  those with lower educational levels. Furthermore, 60.4% of the participants had a positive attitude toward PMS. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA); and a Chi-squared test was used for comparisons between proportions and a p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Conclusion: Participants showed a lack of knowledge regarding PMS but they had a positive attitude towards the program. More efforts are required to raise awareness in the public regarding PMS, via social media and educational lectures in schools and universities. Additionally, early genetic screening may help improve test acceptance and higher impact.