Optimization of PAS stain and similar Schiff's based methods for glycogen demonstration in liver tissue.

Demonstration of glycogen in tissue holds considerable diagnostic relevance across various pathological conditions, particularly in certain tumors. The histochemical staining of glycogen using methods utilizing Schiff's reagents is subject to influences arising from the type of fixative, fixation temperature, and oxidizing agents employed. This study aimed to assess diverse fixatives, fixation temperatures, and oxidizing agents, each with variable treatment durations, in conjunction with Schiff's reagent for optimal glycogen demonstration. Paraffin blocks derived from a rabbit's liver served as the experimental substrate, encompassing 340 paraffin sections subjected to different procedures. For tissues fixed at 4 °C, good staining outcomes, as determined by the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stain, were observed with 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF), 80% alcohol, and Bouin's solution. Tissues fixed at room temperature (RT) demonstrated good PAS staining results with both 10% NBF and 80% alcohol. Notably, other oxidizing agents exhibited poor outcomes across all fixatives and fixation temperature, with two exceptions, as satisfactory staining results were obtained when using 5% chromic acid. Consequently, Both 10% NBF and 80% emerge as preferred fixatives of choice for glycogen demonstration when coupled with PAS stain. It is noteworthy that Bouin's solution could also provide good outcomes when fixation occurred at 4 °C.

Standardization of Grocott's methenamine (hexamine) silver method for glycogen demonstration in liver tissue.

Demonstration of glycogen can be done in different lesions and is considered diagnostically significant, mainly in some tumors. Glycogen staining is affected by the type of fixative, the temperature of fixation, and the staining technique.Grocott's methenamine (hexamine) silver technique quality was assessed after four different types of fixatives at two different temperatures [Bouin's solution, 10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF), 80% alcohol, and Rossman's solution at room temperature (RT) and 4 °C, for 24 h]. These variables were studied to optimize this technique for glycogen demonstration. Archived paraffin blocks were used in this study. They were prepared from one rabbit's liver, and 32 paraffin sections were prepared and stained with Grocott's methenamine (hexamine) silver technique. Eighty percent alcohol provided the highest staining quality scores at both RT and 4 °C in comparison with the other fixatives. We concluded that 80% alcohol at 4 °C seems to be the fixative of choice for glycogen with the Grocott's methenamine (hexamine) silver technique at the level of this study.

Hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent for glycogen demonstration using Schiff's reagent in rabbit liver fixed with alcoholic and aqueous fixatives.

This study investigated the optimal concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for demonstrating glycogen in rabbit liver using Schiff's reaction as compared to the conventional periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) method. Four fixatives, Bouin's, neutral buffered formalin (NBF), 80% ethanol, and Rossman's, were used at room temperature (RT) and 4°C. Paraffin sections of rabbit liver (n = 192) were stained using 0.5%, 1% and 2% periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and 0.5%, 1%, and 2% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-Schiff methods. It was found that 0.5% H2O2-Schiff provided good staining results, while 1% PAS produced excellent results for glycogen fixed with 80% ethanol at RT. Also, 0.5% H2O2-Schiff produced good staining of glycogen fixed with 10% NBF at RT as compared to 0.5% PAS which provided satisfactory staining results. Fixation with 80% ethanol at RT produced the best staining quality for glycogen using both oxidizing agents at the optimal concentrations of either 1% periodic acid or 0.5% H2O2.

The magnitude of COVID-19 related stress, anxiety and depression associated with intense mass media coverage in Saudi Arabia.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in catastrophic consequences in many aspects of life; including negative psychological effects. We aimed to assess the mental health status of a group of Saudi population during this pandemic. Also, we aimed to assess the effect of the intensive media coverage of the pandemic news on mental health status. A questionnaire was distributed online to test depression, anxiety, and stress (using the DASS-21 scale) and their relationship to certain variables. A total of 215 respondents were included. Higher mental health prevalence rates were reported in non-Saudi participants compared to Saudi ones (i.e., 50.74% vs. 30.40%; 34.23% vs. 13.51% and 59.70% vs. 27.70%; for depression, anxiety and stress, respectively). About 55.8% of the participants felt the extensive coverage in the media of COVID-19 news, which caused higher mental sufferings. Higher mental health prevalence rates were reported in females compared to males participants (i.e., 56.97% vs. 23.25%; 30.23% vs. 13.17% and 54.65% vs. 26.35%; for depression, anxiety and stress, respectively). Reasonable following of the COVID-19 news; and less exposure to the pandemic information could help in reducing the mental health issues related to the ongoing pandemic. Special care and attention should be paid to females and younger people who seem to be particularly affected during the era of COVID-19.

Detection of DNA Mismatch Repair Protein Abnormalities in Sudanese Colorectal Cancer Patients Using Immunohistochemical Methods.

PURPOSE: DNA mismatch repair (MMR) protein abnormalities among 42 Sudanese colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were assessed. METHODS: Sections were stained by immunohistochemical method to assess the abnormalities of MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2. RESULTS: Of the 42 included cases, 34 (80.95%) were MMR protein positive for all MMR proteins under assessment, 3 (7.14%) MSH2 inadequate, and 1 (2.38%) MSH6 inadequate. Abnormal MMR protein expression was found in 4 (9.5%) cases. Of these, 2 (50%) were MSH2 and MSH6 negative and 2 (50%) were MLH1 and PMS2 negative. Regarding microsatellite instability (MSI) results, the three cases that were MSH2 inadequate and positive for the rest by immunohistochemistry (IHC) showed stable results with both BAT 25 and 26. The case that was MSH6 inadequate showed stable results with both BAT 25 and 26. The 2 cases with MSH2- and MSH6-negative results were unstable with both BAT 25 and 26. Of the two cases that were MLH1 and PMS2 negative, one case showed non-evaluable results with both BAT 25 and 26 while the other case was unstable with BAT 26 and not evaluable with BAT 25. CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of MMR protein-negative cases in Sudanese CRC patients appears to be relatively low compared to what is generally reported in certain studies in different countries. Furthermore, MLH1 and PMS2 and MSH2 and MSH6 abnormal expression detected by IHC seems to be the most common form of MMR protein abnormalities in Sudanese CRC patients. Concerning the results of IHC, MLH1 and MSH2 seem to be the most inactivated MMR genes in Sudanese CRC patients.

Frequency of Candida species in Papanicolaou smears taken from Sudanese oral hormonal contraceptives users.

The aim of our study was to compare the numbers of Candida detected in Pap smears from Sudanese users of oral contraceptives (OCs) with non-users of OCs. The frequency of Candida observed in Pap smears was assessed among 158 Sudanese women of whom 108 were OCs users, subsequently termed cases, and the remaining 50 who were not OCs users, subsequently termed controls. Of the 158 smears, Candida were observed in 28 (17%) of the study subjects of whom 27 (25%) were OCs users compared to 1 (2%) among non-OCs users. We concluded that OCs may increase the number of Candida present, which suggests that OCs users may be more prone to infection by cervico-vaginal Candida compared to non-OCs users. The exact role of OCs use as a risk factor for candidiasis requires further assessment using a larger sample size and more precise mycological techniques.

Assessment of elastosis in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast compared to fibroadenoma among Sudanese patients using conventional histochemical methods.

We aimed to identify, using histochemical methods, the degree of elastosis in a malignant breast tumor compared to a benign tumor. Sixty-four tissue blocks were used in this study of which 34 (53.1%) were Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (cases) and 30 (46.8%) were fibroadenomas (controls). Examination of Verhoeff's stained sections revealed different grades of elastosis in 29 (85.2%) cases compared to seven (23.3%) in controls. These findings indicated that elastosis was a prominent feature of IDC (p < 0.000). IDC was associated with more frequent occurrence of different grades of elastosis and should, therefore, be considered a valuable histological finding. Nevertheless, more advanced technology for quantitative measurements of the staining density is recommended to confirm this variation.

Assessment of qualitative changes of Acid mucins among sudanese colorectal carcinoma patients.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the qualitative changes in the amount of acid mucin in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) compared to normal colon. METHODS: A total number of 100 samples were examined, 50 were colorectal cancer samples (cases) and 50 were normal (controls), all were stained with Alcian blue method. RESULTS: Acid mucin increased, in different levels, in 30 (60%) of the cases compared to only six (12%) of controls (P < 0.0001). However, complete absence of acid mucin was detected among 10 (20%) of cases compared to none among controls. CONCLUSIONS: CRC is associated with secretion of increased amounts of acid mucin in most cases, and that should be considered as a valuable histological finding.

The effect of fixatives and temperature on the quality of glycogen demonstration.

Glycogen is demonstrated in a number of lesions and is diagnostically significant, particularly in certain tumors. To stain glycogen accurately, it is essential to choose a suitable fixative, temperature and staining method. We used rabbit liver to assess these variables. Specimens were fixed in three fixatives at two temperatures: 10% formalin, neutral buffered formalin (NBF) and Bouin's solution at 37 and 4 degrees C. Seventy-two paraffin sections were prepared and stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS), hexamine (methenamine) silver and Best's carmine methods. Negative control sections using diastase digestion were used for all methods to confirm the presence of glycogen. For the PAS reaction, Bouin's fixative gave better results at both temperatures compared to the other fixatives. For hexamine (methenamine) silver, the quality of staining was improved for tissues fixed in both 10% formalin and NBF at 37 degrees C compared to Bouin's solution. Both 10% formalin and NBF at 4 degrees C gave better results than Bouin's solution. For Best's carmine, Bouin's solution gave the best results for tissues fixed at 4 degrees C. Fixation of tissues with NBF at 37 degrees C gave the best quality staining. We concluded that the quality of glycogen staining in paraffin sections is greatly affected by both the fixative and the temperature of fixation.