Sonographic Assessment of Axillary Lymph Nodes Post COVID-19 Vaccine.

Background The development of axillary lymphadenopathy post COVID-19 vaccine became an area of concern. This needs to be addressed and investigated to provide updated data that could contribute to its management and imaging guidelines. Objectives This study aims to detect possible changes in lymph nodes (LNs) after COVID-19 vaccination, decrease the rate of over-investigation and medical costs, and identify possible predisposing factors that could trigger the development of lymphadenopathy. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in King Fahad University Hospital, a secondary hospital in Al Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), on a total of 1,257 vaccinated patients who underwent axillary ultrasonography (US) from December 2020 till the second of October 2022. All required data were collected using an Excel sheet and analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 21) (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). Results Out of the 1183 cases, 460 (38.9%) cases had abnormal LNs post COVID-19 vaccine based on US, while LNs were normal in 723 (61.1%) cases. The prevalence of axillary lymphadenopathy was significantly more common in females than males (39.1% of cases in female patients versus 22.2% of cases in male patients (P = 0.049)). In addition, lymphadenopathy was more prevalent among patients who received the COVID-19 vaccine less than four weeks ago, compared to others who received the vaccine four to eight weeks ago, 8-12 weeks ago, and more than 12 weeks ago (100% vs 73.3% vs 34.2% vs 72% (P = 0.001)). Conclusion In conclusion, a significant number of patients were found to have lymphadenopathy after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The only predisposing factors identified to be associated with the development of lymphadenopathy were gender (females more than males) and duration since receiving the vaccine (four weeks).

Contributions of replicative and translesion DNA polymerases to mutagenic bypass of canonical and atypical UV photoproducts.

UV exposure induces a mutation signature of C > T substitutions at dipyrimidines in skin cancers. We recently identified additional UV-induced AC > TT and A > T substitutions that could respectively cause BRAF V600K and V600E oncogenic mutations. The mutagenic bypass mechanism past these atypical lesions, however, is unknown. Here, we whole genome sequenced UV-irradiated yeast and used reversion reporters to delineate the roles of replicative and translesion DNA polymerases in mutagenic bypass of UV-lesions. Our data indicates that yeast DNA polymerase eta (pol η) has varied impact on UV-induced mutations: protecting against C > T substitutions, promoting T > C and AC > TT substitutions, and not impacting A > T substitutions. Surprisingly, deletion rad30Δ increased novel UV-induced C > A substitutions at CA dinucleotides. In contrast, DNA polymerases zeta (pol ζ) and epsilon (pol ε) participated in AC > TT and A > T mutations. These results uncover lesion-specific accurate and mutagenic bypass of UV lesions, which likely contribute to key driver mutations in melanoma.

Quality of Life and Disability Among Migraine Patients: A Single-Center Study in AlAhsa, Saudi Arabia.

Background Migraine is a major public health issue that leads to frequent visits to medical care. It is generally considered a disabling disease among individuals below the age of 50 years old predominantly seen in females. Migraine headache has a strong influence on disability, functional impairments, and psychological effects. The majority of the physicians fail to address the degree and extent of impediment caused by a migraine, which contributes to low quality of life and disability. Thus, this study aims to assess the health-related quality of life (QOL) and disability among migraine sufferers in AlAhsa, Saudi Arabia. Material and methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the neurology clinics at King Fahad Hospital-Hofuf, AlAhsa, Saudi Arabia, from May to August 2021. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The migraine-specific quality of life questionnaire (MSQ), version 2.1, was used. MSQ is measured in three domains, including role function restrictive (RR), preventive (RP), and emotional function (EF). Disability related to migraine was assessed by the Migraine Disability Assessment Test (MIDAS). MIDAS classifies disability from no disability to severe disability. Two-tailed with an alpha level of 0.05 considering the significance of a p-value less than or equal to 0.05. The mean scores of QOL domains were compared by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent t-tests. Results A total of 101 out of 359 participants were identified to have a migraine. Eighty-two participants met the inclusion criteria, 75.6% were females. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to more than 45 years with a mean age of 36.4 ± 11.9 years old. The mean score of QOL in the restrictive, preventive, and emotional domains were 46.3% ± 21.5%, 52.1% ± 24.3%, and 61.5% ± 30.8%, respectively. More than half of the participants (57.3%) suffered from a severe disability caused by migraines as compared to 20.7% with a moderate disability. Low QOL scores were associated with females and a significant relationship was found between migraine-associated disability and patients' emotional function in QOL. Conclusion Clinicians should routinely evaluate disability related to migraine and QOL as a complementary approach to migraine patients to ensure that patients are receiving proper treatment and whether additional strategies are needed or not.