Quantification of Acute and Chronic Theileriosis in Sheep by Quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Small ruminants theileriosis are widespread in Iraq andacute infections usually with hight mortality. However, the survived animals suffer from low production of meat and milk. Coinfection with more than Theileria sp. And/or Anaplasmosis could have an impact on the disease severity. The main finding was identifying T. lestoquardi, T. ovis , T. annulata, blood samples of infected sheep with a history of chronic theileriosis (n=48) and with acute clinical theileriosis sign (n=24) were being collected from fields located in Babylon province (middle of Iraq) after chlinical examination and Polymerase chain reaction and real time PCR were performed for detection. Theileria. lestoquardi was the highest of these species within the acute and chronic cases. As well as, the load of this species in acute cases was significantly higher (P<0.01) to that in chronic. However, the load of T. ovis and T. annualta were similar in acute and chronic cases. Importantly, all these cases were coinfected with Anaplasma phagocytophylum. This could be due to the infection of leukocytes meanwhile weakening of the animal's immune system. Also, these parasites transmitted by the same tick-vector. The impact of this finding could help in disease prevention and diagnosis.

Relationship of asthma control test scores with pulmonary function tests, quality of life and adiposity in asthmatic children.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at assessing asthma control test (ACT score), quality of life (QOL), and pulmonary functions in asthmatic children, and to see the correlations between ACT score, QOL, and pulmonary functions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the departments of pediatrics and physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 109 (53 asthmatics and 56 controls) children (aged 6 to 13 years) of both genders were studied. All subjects underwent clinical evaluation, 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) for QOL, Spirometry, and cognitive assessment through mini mental state examination (MMSE). RESULTS: QOL showed significantly lower scores in asthmatic compared to non-asthmatic children. The higher social functioning [SF] (p=0.0012) and less role limitation due to physical health [RLPH] (non-asthmatic patients had had higher physical functioning [PF] (p=0.0001), less energy/fatigue [EF] (p=0.0008=0.0068). On the opposite side, no significant difference was found regarding role limitations due to emotional problems [RLEP] (p=0.0644) and Emotional well-being [EW] (p=0.0758) between the two groups. A significant positive correlation was seen between QOL items and ACT score in PF (r=.535, p<0.01), less RLPH (r=.593, p<0.01), less FE (r=.379, p<0.01), higher EW (r=.310, p<0.05), and higher SF (r=.495, p<0.01). No significant correlation was found between body mass index (BMI) and lung functions in children with asthma. Interestingly, a positive correlation was found in asthmatic children between BMI and MMSE scores (r=.298, p=0.030). CONCLUSIONS: Our study concluded that QOL in asthmatic patients was significantly lower than healthy subjects in terms of patient's physical functioning and social life. However, the emotional aspects of QOL were not significantly affected in asthmatic children.

Smoking among Saudi university students: consumption patterns and risk factors

Tobacco use is increasing among young people, especially in Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and behavioural patterns of tobacco use among undergraduate students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the academic year 2008/09 and investigate factors that influenced their tobacco use. A cross-sectional study was done of a representative sample [n = 6793] of the undergraduate student population using a modified version of the global youth tobacco survey questionnaire. The prevalence of smoking was 14.5% among students, 22.2% and 2.2% among fathers and mothers and 43.1% and 14.8% for male and female siblings; 15.0% reported all or most of theirfriends smoked. The most important independent predictors of smoking were: friends' smoking [some: OR - 6.7 and all: OR - 54.9], sister's smoking [OR - 2.2], mother's smoking [OR = 2.1], single status [OR -1.7] and age [OR -1.18]

Childhood neuromuscular disorders: a decade's experience in Saudi Arabia.

The study describes the pattern of childhood neuromuscular disorders seen in a decade (1982-1992) at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Similar data are scanty outside Europe and North America, and lacking in Saudi Arabia. Eighty-four children (< or = 16 years) were assigned to an entity of neuromuscular disease following review of the clinical, biochemical and neurophysiological data, and after re-examination of the histological and histochemical features of the muscle biopsies. Of the 84 ascertained cases, 40 (48%) had different forms of muscular dystrophy (MD), 26 (31%) had one of the various types of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and two (2.4%) hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type I. The rest were miscellaneous cases including one (1.2%) with dermatomyositis. Of the dystrophies, severe childhood autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy (SCARMD) was more prevalent (30%) than Duchenne type (25%), conforming with observations from North African countries known to have a high incidence of consanguineous marriages. Family history of other cases of SCARMD included three males and three females, one of whom died at 15 years, and consanguinity was evident in 63%. Congenital MD, inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, was also common (30%). A history of consanguinity was present in 55%. Of the 26 cases of SMA, type I (Werdnig-Hoffman disease) was the most prevalent (69%). Consanguinity was ascertained in 65% of SMA families and histories revealed another 14 affected siblings. Autosomal recessive forms seem to constitute the bulk of neuromuscular disorders in Saudi Arabia.

Multiple congenital malformations in two sibs reminiscent of hydrolethalus and pseudotrisomy 13 syndromes.

We report on two sibs, born to consanguineous parents, with defects of the midline including cleft lip and palate, flat nose, hypotelorism, and dysgenesis of corpus callosum, in addition to short limbs, radiolucent tibial notch, digital anomalies, ambiguous genitalia, and hypopituitarism. In spite of the similarities between this condition and the hydrolethalus and pseudotrisomy 13 syndromes, our patients had neither preaxial nor postaxial polydactyly, but had previously undescribed bilateral radiolucent tibial notch, which is not known to be part of those two syndromes. The cases presented here may very well represent a new autosomal recessive syndrome.

[Prolonged survival of skin allografts in rats by injection of serum or a serum fraction extracted from pregnant rats]. / Survie prolongée d'allogreffes de peau chez le rat par injection de sérum ou d'une fraction sérique (IRG) extraite de rattes.

This work report the partial purification of an alpha 2-macroglobulin present in the serum of allopregnant rats. Ultrogel filtration followed by immune absorption on different antisera were used giving a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This fraction was able to inhibit in vitro T cell cytotoxic response to allogenic cells. When administered repeatedly to rats it significantly increased the survival of skin allograft. This alpha 2-macroglobulin fraction isolated from allopregnant rats was denominated IRG to its graft rejection inhibitory activity.

Rodent leptospirosis in Colorado.

A study was conducted to evaluate leptospirosis in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) and mice (Mus musculus) in southeastern Larimer County, Colorado. Leptospira serotype icterohaemorrhagiae was isolated from fourteen of 143 feral brown rats, an infection rate of 9.8%. Serological evidence of infection with this stereotype was found in 66.4% of the rats. Serological evidence of L. serotype ballum infection was present in three of 17 muskrats. Leptospires were seen in histological sections of kidney tissue from two of 61 feral mice. No isolations were made from cultures and serology was not done on mice.