Epidemiology of primary brain tumor among adolescents and adults in Palestine: a retrospective study from 2018 to 2023.

BACKGROUNDS: Primary brain tumors (PBTs) are uncommon, but they significantly increase the risk of disability and death. There is a deficiency of data concerning the epidemiology and anatomical distribution of PBTs among adults in Palestine. METHODS: A retrospective descriptive study in which data were collected from the clinical reports of Palestinian patients diagnosed with PBTs at Al-Makassed Hospital during the period (2018-2023). RESULTS: In Palestinian adolescents and adults, the incidence rate of PBTs was 3.92 per 100,000 person-years. Glioblastoma (18.8%) was the most common type identified, and it was more common in males. Non-malignant tumors were more common than malignant tumors (2.41 vs. 1.52 per 100,000). The mortality rate from PBTs was 4.8%. The most common initial symptom was headaches, and it occurred more with non-malignant tumors (57.28% vs. 42.72%, p-value < 0.001). Cerebral meninges (26.3%) were the most common location for primary brain tumors (p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This is the first study of primary brain tumor epidemiology in Palestine. The overall incidence of PBTs in Palestinian adolescents and adults was 3.96 per 100,000, which was lower than the incidence rate of primary brain tumors worldwide. More studies on the epidemiology and distribution of PBTs in Palestine are recommended.

Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network with an Unequal Clustering Protocol Based on a Balanced Energy Method (EEUCB).

A hot spot problem is a problem where cluster nodes near to the base station (BS) tend to drain their energy much faster than other nodes due to the need to perform more communication. Unequal clustering methods such as unequal clustering routing (UDCH) and energy-efficient fuzzy logic for unequal clustering (EEFUC) have been proposed to address this problem. However, these methods only concentrate on utilizing residual energy and the distance of sensor nodes to the base station, while limited attention is given to enhancing the data transmission process. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy-efficient unequal clustering scheme based on a balanced energy method (EEUCB) that utilizes minimum and maximum distance to reduce energy wastage. Apart from that, the proposed EEUCB also utilizes the maximum capacity of node energy and double cluster head technique with a sleep-awake mechanism. Furthermore, EEUCB has devised a clustering rotation strategy based on two sub-phases, namely intra- and inter-clustering techniques, that considers the average energy threshold, average distance threshold, and BS layering node. The performance of the proposed EEUCB protocol is then compared with various prior techniques. From the result, it can be observed that the proposed EEUCB protocol shows lifetime improvements of 57.75%, 19.63%, 14.7%, and 13.06% against low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH), factor-based LEACH FLEACH, EEFUC, and UDCH, respectively.

Epidemiology and Anatomical Distribution of Primary Brain Tumors Among Children in Palestine: A 6-Year National Referral Institution Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence rate of primary brain tumors (PBTs) among Palestinian children over a 6-year interval. This study also aimed to identify the predominant histopathologic types identified in these children. METHODS: This retrospective epidemiologic study focused on PBTs in children (<15 years) in Palestine. The data were collected from the registry system at Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem, a prominent referral institution in Palestine and the largest center for PBTs in the region, over a 6 years period from 2018 to 2023. RESULTS: The incidence rate of PBTs in children (<15 years) was 1.33 per 100,000 person-years, with a 5% mortality rate. Pilocytic astrocytoma was the most common type (24%), followed by medulloblastoma (15.2%) and glioblastoma (6.3%). About one half of the tumors in children were malignant. Headaches were the most common first sign or symptom. About 20% of brain tumors in children were situated within the ventricles, making it the most prevalent location of these tumors, followed by the cerebellum (15.19%) and frontal lobe (11.39%). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first national study in Palestine investigating PBTs in children. The crude incidence rate of primary brain tumors among Palestinian children was lower than the incidence rate in many countries around the world. It is recommended that more research be done on the epidemiology and distribution of PBTs in children in Palestine.

Antiplatelets and Vascular Dementia: A Systematic Review.

Vascular dementia (VD) is a neurocognitive disorder whose precise definition is still up for debate. VD generally refers to dementia that is primarily caused by cerebrovascular disease or impaired cerebral blood flow. It is a subset of vascular cognitive impairment, a class of diseases that relate any cerebrovascular injury as a causal or correlating factor for cognitive decline, most commonly seen in the elderly. Patients who present with both cognitive impairment and clinical or radiologic indications of cerebrovascular pathology should have vascular risk factors, particularly hypertension, examined and treated. While these strategies may be more effective at avoiding dementia than at ameliorating it, there is a compelling case for intensive secondary stroke prevention in these patients. Repeated stroke is related to an increased chance of cognitive decline, and poststroke dementia is connected with an increased risk of death. In general, most physicians follow recommendations for secondary stroke prevention in patients with VD, which can be accomplished by the use of antithrombotic medicines such as antiplatelets (aspirin, clopidogrel, ticlopidine, cilostazol, etc.). In individuals with a high risk of atherosclerosis and those with documented symptomatic cerebrovascular illness, antiplatelets treatment lowers the risk of stroke. While this therapy strategy of prevention and rigorous risk management has a compelling justification, there is only limited and indirect data to support it. The following systematic review examines the role of antiplatelets in the management of vascular dementia in published clinical trials and studies and comments on the current evidence available to support their use and highlights the need for further study.

Dentists' involvement in identification and reporting of child physical abuse: Jordan as a case study.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge, attitude, and experience among Jordanian dentists regarding child abuse, and to explore the factors that affect their hesitation to report any suspected cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered structured questionnaire was sent randomly to 500 Jordanian dentists. It investigated dentists' knowledge, attitude, and experience in recognizing and reporting child abuse cases. It also investigated several factors associated with dentists' hesitation to report suspected cases of child physical abuse. RESULTS: The response rate was 68%. More dentists were aware of their ethical obligations (80%) than their legal responsibilities (71%) to report child abuse cases. One-third of the dentists knew where to report suspected cases. Although 42% of dentists suspected cases of child abuse, only 20% of them reported these cases. The most frequently cited reasons for hesitation to report such cases were lack of history (76%), uncertainty about diagnosis (73%), and possible consequences on the child (66%). Reporting was significantly associated with suspicion of child abuse cases, as well as the belief of legal responsibilities. CONCLUSION: There was a low reporting rate of child abuse among Jordanian dentists. They lack the adequate knowledge about recognition and reporting issues of suspected cases.

Prevalence and dietary management of polycystic ovary syndrome among Libyan women attending Tripoli Infertility Center

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common heterogenic endocrine illness in women of reproductive age, caused mostly by an excess of androgen and ovarian dysfunction. The present study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of PCOS among Libyan women who attended infertility center Tripoli, Libya, from 2020-2022, evaluate hormonal profile, Body Mass Index, weight and west circumferential before and after treatment and diet management. A longitudinal cross-sectional study conducted in the Tripoli Fertility Center in Tripoli, Libya, the study population targeting output Libyan female patients who presented to the gynecology and obstetrics (OPD) department and therapeutic nutrition department. Data Retrospectively collected from 2020 until 2022 and diagnosed using Rotterdam's criteria. A total of 603 patients visited the gynecology and obstetrics department and the therapeutic nutrition department between January 2020 and December 2022. Out of which 174 women in the PCOS group and 429 in the non-PCOS group. The prevalence of PCOS was 29.56% in 2020, 37.5% in 2021, and 20.27% in 2022. The mean age of PCOS was 34.90 ± 5.5 SD, and all of the PCOS group were married. Worth to mention that all of PCOS cases was insulin resistance type. In terms of weight in the PCOS group, 19.54% were obese BMI >29, 68.96% were morbid obese with BMI >35, and approximately 68.39% of waist circumference measurements were more than 88cm. Hirsutism and oligomenorrhea were the major clinical features, morbid obese seems to be more prevalent in Libyan PCOS patients, low carbohydrate diet and physical activities may play an important role in PCOS management