The frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in non-obese young medical professionals.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from July 16, 2018 to January 15, 2019 to observe the frequency of occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in non-obese young medical professionals. One hundred and fifty-three subjects were selected using Simple Random Sampling Technique. SPSS version 25.0 was used to analyse the data. Out of a total of 153 medical professionals, 67 (43.8%) were males and 86 (56.2%) were females, median age was 23 years (inter-quartile range of 5 years), mean BMI was 22.79 ± 1.57 kg/m2, 122 (79.7%) subjects had normal texture of liver on ultrasonography and normal ALT levels, 21 (13.7%) had fatty liver with normal ALT levels, and 10 (6.5%) had fatty liver and elevated ALT levels (NASH). NAFLD and NASH are common ultrasonographic findings in seemingly healthy young adults with normal BMI. Awareness programmes should be carried out at the national level to educate the general public about the prevention and treatment of this disease through lifestyle and dietary modifications.

The frequency of occurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after direct antiviral therapy in Hepatitis C virus patients.

OBJECTIVE: To study the frequency of occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis C virus patients treated with direct acting antiviral (DAA) agents. METHODS: This hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mayo Hospital, Lahore from June, 2016 to January, 2018. Total 300 patients with HCV genotype 3, selected via Non-Probability Purposive Sampling technique, without prior or concurrent history of HCC, were given DAA agents and were followed up for 6 months after completion of therapy. Results were based on Quantitative PCR to assess Sustained Virological Response (SVR) and Ultrasound Abdomen to look for the appearance of any new lesion. Data was presented as mean ±SD, frequency and percentages and was analyzed using SPSS Version 24.0. RESULTS: Out of 300 patients, 179 (59.7%) were males and 121(40.3%) were females. Mean age of the patients was 55.08 ± 5.602 years. 214(71.3%) patients had compensated cirrhosis at the start of treatment and 86(28.7%) had decompensated cirrhosis. SVR was achieved in 200(93.4%) out of 214 patients with compensated cirrhosis and in 76(88.3%) out of 86 patients with decompensated cirrhosis. At six months post- treatment, 10(3.33%) patients developed HCC,2(0.7%) in the compensated group and 8(2.7%) in the decompensated group, out of which 5(6.6%) patients had achieved SVR. CONCLUSION: The frequency of HCC following DAA agents is significant (3.3%) even after achieving SVR. Caution must be exercised in prescribing DAA agents to HCV patients keeping this complication of HCC in mind.

Factors perpetuating functional cognitive symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury.

INTRODUCTION: Self-reported memory difficulties (forgetting familiar names, misplacing objects) often persist long after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), despite normal neuropsychological test performance. This clinical presentation may be a manifestation of a functional cognitive disorder (FCD). Several mechanisms underlying FCD have been proposed, including metacognitive impairment, memory perfectionism, and misdirected attention, as well as depression or anxiety-related explanations. This study aims to explore these candidate perpetuating factors in mTBI, to advance our understanding of why memory symptoms frequently persist following mTBI. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 67 adults (n = 39 with mTBI mean = 25 months ago and n = 28 healthy controls). Participants completed standardized questionnaires (including the Functional Memory Disorder Inventory), a metacognitive task (to quantify discrepancies between their trial-by-trial accuracy and confidence), and a brief neuropsychological test battery. We assessed candidate mechanisms in two ways: (1) between-groups, comparing participants with mTBI to healthy controls, and (2) within-group, examining their associations with functional memory symptom severity (FMDI) in the mTBI group. RESULTS: Participants with mTBI performed similarly to controls on objective measures of memory ability but reported experiencing much more frequent memory lapses in daily life. Contrary to expectations, metacognitive efficiency did not differentiate the mTBI and control groups and was not associated with functional memory symptoms. Memory perfectionism was strongly associated with greater functional memory symptoms among participants with mTBI but did not differ between groups when accounting for age. Depression and checking behaviors produced consistent results across between-groups and within-group analyses: these factors were greater in the mTBI group compared to the control group and were associated with greater functional memory symptoms within the mTBI group. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights promising (e.g., depression, checking behaviors) and unlikely (e.g., metacognitive impairment) mechanisms underlying functional memory symptoms after mTBI, to guide future research and treatment.

Mental distress and virtual mental health resource use amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a cross-sectional study in Canada.

Objective: This paper characterizes levels of mental distress among adults living in Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic and examines the extent of virtual mental health resource use, including reasons for non-use, among adults with moderate to severe distress. Methods: Data are drawn from a cross-sectional monitoring survey (29 November to 7 December 2021) on the mental health of adults (N = 3030) in Canada during the pandemic. Levels of mental distress were assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Descriptive statistics were used to examine virtual mental health resource use among participants with moderate to severe distress, including self-reported reasons for non-use. Results: Levels of mental distress were classified as none to low (48.8% of participants), moderate (36.6%), and severe (14.6%). Virtual mental health resource use was endorsed by 14.2% of participants with moderate distress and 32% of those with severe distress. Participants with moderate to severe distress reported a range of reasons for not using virtual mental health resources, including not feeling as though they needed help (37.4%), not thinking the supports would be helpful (26.2%), and preferring in-person supports (23.4%), among other reasons. Conclusions: This study identified a high burden of mental distress among adults in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside an apparent mismatch between actual and perceived need for support, including through virtual mental health resources. Findings on virtual mental health resource use, and reasons for non-use, offer directions for mental health promotion and health communication related to mental health literacy and the awareness and appropriateness of virtual mental health resources.

Predictors of Disease Severity in Adult Covid-19 Patients Admitted in Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess disease severity, based on clinical presentation and laboratory investigations. STUDY DESIGN:  Observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: COVID-19 Isolation Unit of Mayo Hospital, Lahore from 15th March to 31st May, 2020. METHODOLOGY: Four hundred and forty-five COVID-19 RT-PCR positive patients of either gender in age group of 18-80 years, admitted in isolation wards, high dependency units (HDUs) and intensive care units (ICUs) of the Hospital, were selected for the study via simple random sampling. Clinical presentations and laboratory investigations were recorded for all patients. Kruskal-Wallis test, Pearson Chi-square test, boxplots and ROC curve were used to analyse the data. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of the 445 cases, a male predominance 286 (64.3%) was observed with majority of patients 324 (72.8%) having mild disease, 73 (16.4%) moderate, 25 (5.6%) severe and 23 (5.2%) having critical disease. D-dimer was considered to be the best discriminatory marker to assess disease severity with an overall accuracy of 92.1%. CONCLUSION: Fever, sore throat, shortness of breath, body aches, abdominal pain, anosmia and aguesia were the predominant symptoms in majority of patients belonging to different categories based on disease severity. Inflammatory markers like D-dimers and ferritin levels determined the overall disease severity with a high accuracy. Key Words: Disease severity, Clinical presentation, Laboratory investigations, RT-PCR.

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Ameliorate Cyclosporine A-Induced Hypertension in Mice.

The calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA) suppresses the immune system but promotes hypertension, vascular dysfunction, and renal damage. CsA decreases regulatory T cells and this contributes to the development of hypertension. However, CsA's effects on another important regulatory immune cell subset, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), is unknown. We hypothesized that augmenting MDSCs would ameliorate the CsA-induced hypertension and vascular and renal injury and dysfunction and that CsA reduces MDSCs in mice. Daily interleukin-33 treatment, which increased MDSC levels, completely prevented CsA-induced hypertension and vascular and renal toxicity. Adoptive transfer of MDSCs from control mice into CsA-treated mice after hypertension was established dose-dependently reduced blood pressure and vascular and glomerular injury. CsA treatment of aortas and kidneys isolated from control mice for 24 hours decreased relaxation responses and increased inflammation, respectively, and these effects were prevented by the presence of MDSCs. MDSCs also prevented the CsA-induced increase in fibronectin in microvascular and glomerular endothelial cells. Last, CsA dose-dependently reduced the number of MDSCs by inhibiting calcineurin and preventing cell proliferation, as other direct calcineurin signaling pathway inhibitors had the same dose-dependent effect. These data suggest that augmenting MDSCs can reduce the cardiovascular and renal toxicity and hypertension caused by CsA.

C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate discordance: frequency and causes in adults.

C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are widely used tests of inflammation that sometimes show opposite results. We performed a retrospective cohort study to clarify the frequency and causes of CRP/ESR discordance in adults. Between January and December of 2011, the laboratories of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital performed 2150 paired CRP/ESR measurements in 1753 patients, 1731 of whom were nonpregnant adults aged ≥ 18 years. Initial CRP and ESR results for each patient were divided into quartiles. CRP/ESR discordance, predefined as results differing by 2 or 3 quartiles, occurred in 212 patients (12%), 105 of whom had high CRP/low ESR discordance (6%) and 107 of whom had high ESR/low CRP discordance (6%). The 212 patients in the CRP/ESR-discordant group (128 women and 84 men) were subdivided into 1 of 6 diagnostic categories, and the causes of discordances were compared. The high CRP/low ESR-discordant group had more patients with infections than the high ESR/low CRP-discordant group (P = 0.001), particularly infections in the urinary tract (P = 0.03), gastrointestinal tract (P = 0.001), lungs (P = 0.005), and bloodstream (P = 0.03). However, they had fewer bone and joint infections than the high ESR/low CRP-discordant group (P = 0.001). Connective tissue diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, were less common in the high CRP/low ESR-discordant group than in the high ESR/low CRP-discordant group (P = 0.001). Ischemic strokes or transient ischemic attacks almost invariably occurred in the high ESR/low CRP-discordant group (P = 0.001), whereas myocardial infarction or venous thromboembolism was limited to the high CRP/low ESR-discordant group (P = 0.001). Our findings provide information to physicians who order these 2 tests together and receive discordant results, which occurs in approximately 1 in 8 patients.