Relation between Urine Cytological Findings and Renal Function in Patients with Kidney Stones in Taif, Saudi Arabia.

Background and Objectives: Urine serves as a vital diagnostic fluid, and urine cytology analysis plays a crucial role in identifying urinary system illnesses such as bladder cancer and kidney stones. The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology establishes a uniform method for diagnosing urinary tract cancer. This study aimed to provide valuable insights that can inform diagnostic strategies related to kidney stones and ultimately improve patient outcomes via the early detection of the cellular changes associated with kidney stones and their relation to kidney function tests. Materials and Methods: A comparative study was conducted and comprised two groups: group 1, consisting of 50 patients diagnosed with kidney stones, and group 2, comprising 50 patients diagnosed with other kidney diseases. Renal function tests and urinalysis (via the PAP staining of urine cellular deposits to detect nuclear changes) were performed, and the results were analyzed. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in urinary red blood cells, white blood cells, and nuclear reactive atypical changes in urinary sediments of kidney stone patients compared to the patients without stones, while there was a decrease in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). eGFR showed a 96.7% specificity in detecting cases with nuclear reactive atypia. Conclusions: eGFR emerges as a reliable diagnostic marker for the comprehensive assessment of kidney stones, particularly when associated with nuclear atypia. The significant correlation between the indicators of chronic kidney disease, such as decreased eGFR, and the presence of kidney stones emphasizes the urgent need for efficient diagnostic practices.

Exploration of Community Care Awareness about COVID-19 Sterilization.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 affects millions of people worldwide so WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2020. Since the vaccine is in the early trial phase and until it proves its efficacy, the need of finding alternative methods, which can help to curb this pandemic is urgent, so its prevention depends on standard infection control measures. This study's aim is to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practice level of Taif population towards Corona Virus disease - 2019 (COVID-19) sterilization. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted on 504 participants by administering a well-structured questionnaire comprising three sections including demographics, knowledge, attitude, and practice among the general population in Taif governorate KSA, over a duration of three months from July until September 2020. The descriptive analysis was carried out for demographics and dependent variables using the statistical program for social sciences. The t-test was used to detect any relationship between knowledge and practice score percentage of the general population response with respect to their gender and level of education. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 504 respondents willingly participated in the survey, there is a highly significant difference in the knowledge score percentage in respondents aged between 41 - 60 years old in comparison to the age group < 20 - 40 years old also between urban residence in comparison to rural residence, and a highly significant difference in the knowledge and practice score percentage in post graduate respondents in comparison to undergraduate. In addition, there was a significant difference in the practice score percentage in respondents aged between 41 - 60 years old in comparison to age group < 20 - 40, and a highly significant difference was seen in the practice score percentage in respondents living in urban areas in comparison to rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: The suggestion of this study was that knowledge and practice gaps among population, especially in the young age group, had to be covered by holding training programs through workshops or to include courses in the curriculum of ministry of health.

Profiling Inflammatory Cytokines in a Cohort Study of Egyptian Patients with COVID-19 Infection.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an international public health emergency with major disruptions and devastating health consequences resulting from the associated cytokine storm syndrome. The aim of our research was to assess the inflammatory biomarkers and risk factors associated with severity of (COVID-19) patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included 150 Egyptian patients with COVID-19. Patients were classified into mild, moderate, and severe according to the clinical and CT chest findings. Blood samples were collected from patients for laboratory assessment of inflammatory biomarkers. RESULTS: Our results showed significant negative correlation between oxygen saturation percent and serum levels of inflammatory markers. The correlations were statistically significant with IL-6, CRP, ferritin, LDH, and D-dimer which can be used as sensitive biomarkers for assessment of the risk of severity of infection in COVID 19 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that the risk factors associated with severity of COVID 19 infection included older age, male gender, presence of underlying chronic disease, and increased levels of inflammatory biomarkers: CRP, LDH, ferritin, IL-6, and D-dimer.

Restoration of renal hemodynamics and functions by Nigella sativa administration in dinitrophenol-induced hypoxia in rat's animal model.

Objective: Hypoxia is one of the principal causes of renal diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Nigella sativa on dinitrophenol (DNP)-induced hypoxia renal damage in rats. Methods: Forty adult male rats were incorporated in this study. The rats were divided into four groups: control group, N. sativa group, DNP hypoxic group, and DNP + N. sativa group receiving N. sativa (400 mg/kg body weight). Serum and renal tissue erythropoietin (EPO) hormone and hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) levels were measured. Renal oxidative stress biomarkers, inflammatory biomarkers, renal hemodynamics, and histopathological examination were evaluated. Results: Administration of N. sativa highly significantly normalized serum EPO level, HIF-2α (P < 0.001 for each) in DNP + N. sativa treated rats as compared to DNP hypoxic rats. Furthermore, it highly significantly improved renal oxidative stress evident by decreased renal tissues malondialdehyde and increased superoxide dismutase, total thiol, and catalase activity (P < 0.001 for each). Furthermore, a highly significant decline of renal intercellular adhesion molecule-1, myeloperoxidase, and interleukin-6 was observed in DNP + N. sativa rats (P < 0.001 for each). Improvements in renal hemodynamics and kidney functions were also found after N. sativa administration (with P < 0.001 for all parameters). In addition, N. sativa treatment reduced renal histopathological changes of the DNP + N. sativa group. Our results were statistically analyzed using the Prism software package (GraphPad version 8.0). Conclusion: N. sativa has an alleviating effect on DNP-induced hypoxia renal damage and can restore kidney functions in rats' animal models. These effects were through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hemodynamic mechanisms.

Clinicopathological Aspects of Dilation and Curettage (D&C) Biopsies Taken from Patients Living at High Altitude in Taif, KSA, with a Special Emphasis on Chronic Endometritis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic endometritis (CE) is a persistent inflammation of the uterine lining. Although it has a minimal clinical presentation, CE adversely affects the reproductive ability of women. The aims of this study were to detect pathological endometrial patterns in D&C biopsies and to evaluate chronic endometritis in patients living in a high-altitude area (1800 m above sea level) in order to determine the clinical pathological features and prevalence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted at King Faisal Maternity Hospital included 100 samples of D&C biopsies from women complaining of various gynecological symptoms not due to gestational causes. The biopsies underwent tissue processing, H&E staining, and CD138 detection. Blood samples were taken for serological detection of infectious diseases, complete blood count, and chemical parameters. RESULTS: The mean age of women in the study with CE was 48.5 ± 8.5 years, and that of those without CE was 46.9 ± 9.7 years. The most common complaints were abnormal uterine bleeding, accounting for 83%. CE was present in 8% of cases, and there was a nonsignificant difference in hematological parameters between women with CE and those with other pathological diagnoses. There were also nonsignificant differences in chemical parameters, except for FSH and LH levels, which showed a significant difference, with p-values of 0.05 and 0.02, respectively. It can be concluded that the most common gynecological complaint of women in this study was abnormal uterine bleeding. CONCLUSIONS: The most commonly diagnosed pathological endometrial disorder in D&C biopsies was disordered proliferative endometrium, followed by endometrial polyps and endometrial hyperplasia. All of these are usually associated with hormonal disturbance, which appeared to be very common in the women in this study. The prevalence of chronic endometritis detected in our study was 8%, which is relatively high.

Evaluation of TET Family Gene Expression and 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine as Potential Epigenetic Markers in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: DNA methylation is the most studied epigenetic modification in cancer. Ten-eleven translocation enzymes (TET) catalyze the oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in the DNA. In the current research, we aimed to evaluate the role of 5-hmC and TET enzymes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and their possible association with outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ELISA was used to measure the 5-hmC levels in genomic DNA and qRT-PCR was used to evaluate TET1, TET2, and TET3 mRNAs expression levels in NSCLC tissues and their paired normal controls. RESULTS: The levels of 5-hmC were significantly lower in NSCLC tissues than in normal tissues, with a mean ±SD of 0.28±0.37 vs. 1.84±0.58, respectively (t=22.77, p<0.0001), and this reduction was correlated with adverse clinical features. In addition, all TET genes were significantly down-regulated in NSCLC tissues in comparison to their matched normal tissues. The mean±SD level of TET1-mRNA was 38.48±16.38 in NSCLC vs. 80.65±11.25 in normal tissues (t=21.33, p<0.0001), TET2-mRNA level in NSCLC was 5.25±2.78 vs. 9.52±1.01 in normal tissues (t=14.48, p<0.0001), and TET3-mRNA level in NSCLC was 5.21±2.8 vs. 9.51±0.86 in normal tissues (t=14.75, p<0.0001). Downregulation of TET genes was correlated with poor clinical features. CONCLUSION: 5-HmC levels as well as TET1, TET2, and TET3 mRNA levels were reduced in NSCLC tissues. The reduced levels of 5-hmC and TET mRNAs were associated with adverse clinical features, suggesting that the level of 5-hmC may serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker for NSCLC.

Genotypes of Hepatitis C Virus and Efficacy of Direct-Acting Antiviral Drugs among Chronic Hepatitis C Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection is a major causative factor for several chronic liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis, liver cell failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The HCV has seven major genotypes. Genotype 4 is the most prevalent genotype in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, followed by genotype 1. The HCV genotype affects the response to different HCV treatments and the progression of liver disease. Currently, combinations of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) approved for the treatment of HCV achieve high cure rates with minimal adverse effects. Because real-world data from Saudi Arabia about the efficacy of DAAs are still limited, this study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of DAAs in treating patients with chronic hepatitis C and to identify the variables related to a sustained virologic response (SVR) in a real-world setting in Saudi Arabia. This prospective cohort study included 200 Saudi patients with chronic HCV who were 18 years of age or older and had been treated with DAAs at King Abdul-Aziz Specialized Hospital in Taif, Saudi Arabia, between September 2018 and March 2021. The response to treatment was assessed by whether or not an SVR had been achieved at week 12 post treatment (SVR12). An SVR12 was reached in 97.5% of patients. SVR12 rates were comparable for patients of different ages, between men and women, and between patients with and without cirrhosis. In addition, the SVR12 rates did not differ according to the infecting HCV genotype. In this study, the presence of cirrhosis and the patient's gender were independent predictors of who would not reach an SVR12 (known here as the non-SVR12 group) according to the results of univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses based on the determinants of SVR12. In this population of patients with chronic HCV infection, all DAA regimens achieved very high SVR12 rates. The patients' gender and the presence of cirrhosis were independent factors of a poor response.

Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Apoptotic, and Antioxidant Roles of Honey, Royal Jelly, and Propolis in Suppressing Nephrotoxicity Induced by Doxorubicin in Male Albino Rats.

Nephrotoxicity is one of the limiting factors for using doxorubicin (DOX). Honey, propolis, and royal jelly were evaluated for their ability to protect against nephrotoxicity caused by DOX. Forty-two adult albino rats were divided into control groups. The DOX group was injected i.p. with a weekly dose of 3 mg/kg of DOX for six weeks. The DOX plus honey treated group was injected with DOX and on the next day, received 500 mg/kg/day of honey orally for 21 days. The DOX plus royal jelly treated group was injected with DOX and on the following day, received 100 mg/kg/day of royal jelly orally for 21 days. The DOX plus propolis treated group received DOX and on the following day, was treated orally with 50 mg/kg/day of propolis for 21 days. The DOX plus combined treatment group received DOX and on the following day, was treated with a mix of honey, royal jelly, and propolis orally for 21 days. Results confirmed that DOX raised creatinine, urea, MDA, and TNF-α while decreasing GPX and SOD. Damages and elevated caspase-3 expression were discovered during renal tissue's histopathological and immunohistochemical studies. Combined treatment with honey, royal jelly, and propolis improved biochemical, histological, and immunohistochemical studies in the renal tissue. qRT-PCR revealed increased expression of poly (ADP-Ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and a decline of Bcl-2 in the DOX group. However, combined treatment induced a significant decrease in the PARP-1 gene and increased Bcl-2 expression levels. In addition, the combined treatment led to significant improvement in the expression of both PARP-1 and Bcl-2 genes. In conclusion, the combined treatment effectively inhibited nephrotoxicity induced by DOX.