Anolunula in Fingernails among Patients Infected with HIV

Lunula is the white, half-moon shaped area seen in proximal ends of some nails. Though a few studies have described the nail changes that can occur in association with HIV infection, none of these paid much attention to lunula. Aims and Objectives. To study the lunula in fingernails among HIV infected patients. Materials and Methods. An observational, cross-sectional study to record presence of lunula in 168 HIV-positive patients and compare it with age and sex matched 168 healthy HIV-negative control. Anolunula (absence of lunula) in HIV-positive patients was correlated with CD4 counts, stages of HIV infection, time since patient was diagnosed as HIV-positive, and status of antiretroviral therapy. Results. Anolunula was present in significantly more fingernails in HIV-positive patients compared to HIV-negative controls. There was a highly significant difference for total anolunula (anolunula in all fingernails) in study and control group. Incidence of total anolunula was directly proportional to the stage of HIV infection, increasing progressively as the HIV infection advances from stage 1 to stage 4. Conclusion. Absence of lunula is related to not only HIV infection per se but also the stages of HIV infection.

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Comparison of ox-LDL Levels in Diabetic Patients with Normo-, Micro-, and Macroalbuminuria with Their First Degree Relatives and the Healthy Control Group

International Journal of Endocrinology ◽

10.1155/2012/167154 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Parisa Behzadi ◽

Firouzeh Torabi ◽

Massoud Amini ◽

Ashraf Aminorroaya

Keyword(s):

Low Density Lipoprotein ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Diabetic Patients ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

First Degree Relatives ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Healthy Control ◽

And Control

Oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is a product of oxidative stress. In this cross-sectional study, we compared the ox-LDL concentrations in diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria (n=28), microalbuminuria (n=28), and macroalbuminuria (n=28) with their first degree relatives (n=28) and healthy control people (n=31). They were selected by consecutive patient selection method. The ox-LDL level was assayed using ELISA. We measured blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and HbA1c in all groups. There was no significant difference in ox-LDL concentrations among normoalbuminuric, microalbuminuric, and macroalbuminuric diabetic groups. In diabetic patients with micro- and macroalbuminuria, ox-LDL concentration was higher than their first degree relatives (P=0.04andP=0.03) and control group (P=0.001andP=0.03, resp.). In normoalbuminuric diabetic persons, ox-LDL concentration was just higher than that of healthy people (P=0.02). There was no statistically significant difference in ox-LDL levels between normoalbuminuric diabetic patients and their first degree relatives. In conclusion, the presence and progression of albuminuria in diabetic patients are not related to ox-LDL concentration and genetic predisposition influences the plasma OX-LDL level. Larger sample size is needed to confirm this conclusion in future studies.

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Motor development in non-microcephalic infants born to mothers with Zika Virus infection during pregnancy

Fisioterapia e Pesquisa ◽

10.1590/1809-2950/19015227022020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 174-179

Author(s):

Laís Rodrigues Gerzson ◽

Carla Skilhan de Almeida ◽

Juliana Herrero da Silva ◽

Lavinia Schüler-Faccini

Keyword(s):

Motor Development ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Gross Motor ◽

Gross Motor Development ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Z Scores ◽

And Control ◽

Normal Head

ABSTRACT This cross-sectional study sought to evaluate motor development in infants exposed to ZIKV born with normal head circumference (HC). Thirty one children, distributed into two groups, participated in the study: 15 whose mothers were infected by ZIKV during pregnancy, born with HC from −1.9 to +2 Z-scores, adjusted for sex and gestational age (exposed group); and 16 randomly selected infants without known prenatal exposure to ZIKV, paired by sex and age (control group). Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) was used to evaluate gross motor development. We found no significant difference between the exposed and control groups. However, considering that AIMS is a screening test that assesses only the gross motor development and the small size of our sample, infants exposed to ZIKV during pregnancy should be continuously evaluated for different aspects of their development.

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COMPARISON IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY EXPRESSION OF DESIDUAL NATURAL KILLER (dNK) IN SEVERE PREECLAMPSIAAND NORMAL PREGNANCY

International Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Research ◽

10.22159/ijcpr.2020v12i3.38306 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 58-60

Author(s):

MUARA P. LUBIS

Keyword(s):

Normal Pregnancy ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Case Group ◽

Vascular Endothelial ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Maternal Immune System ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Immuno Histochemistry ◽

And Control

Objective: Preeclampsia characterized systematically by extensive vascular endothelial dysfunction and microangiopathy on mother, dNK is very important for the success of placentation. They are the key mediator of maternal immune system interactions with fetal cells. dNK cells are also involved in the modulation of EVT and the remodeling of spiral arteries. Methods: Analytic research with cross-sectional study, with samples of pregnant women who suffer from severe PE and aterm pregnancy which came to H. Adam Malik Hospital and Networking Hospital, November 2015-April 2016. The samples are 46 women, who met the inclusion criteria. Results: Immunohistochemistry examination dNK cell in the severe PE case group and control group, statistically found p<0,05. dNK placenta expression in the severe preeclampsia case group gives an overview of expression with a mean of 2.55±2.31, while the control group of normal pregnancy had higher mean is 8.66±3.16. Conclusion: The examination of immunohistochemistry of dNK cells showed there is a significant difference in the expression of Immuno-histochemistry dNK cells between severe PE case group and non severe PE.

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Serum Leptin as a Marker for Severity of Endometriosis

Obstetrics and Gynecology International ◽

10.1155/2020/6290693 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Shatha Sami Hussein ◽

Fatin Shallal Farhan ◽

Alaa Ibrahim Ali

Keyword(s):

Elective Surgery ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Surgical Staging ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Noninvasive Test ◽

Serum Leptin ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Normal Women ◽

Stage 1

Background. Endometriosis a disease of theories, and one of the important causes of chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and subfertility. Surgery is the mainstay step for the diagnosis; noninvasive test is the goal in the future. Aim of Study. To test the role of serum leptin in determination of severity of endometriosis. Study Design. A cross-sectional study done in Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital from 1st of January 2018 to 1st of January 2019. Methods. 60 BMI-matched patients were involved in the study. A study group of 30 patients were operated either by laparoscopy or laparotomy for many reasons diagnosed as endometriosis by histopathology, and 30 normal women as a control group underwent elective surgery. Blood sample was taken from all patients in the theater room when laparoscopy finding went with endometriosis, and classifying according to surgical staging of endometriosis, the level of serum leptin was measured by ELISA using Human LEP (Leptin) ELISA Kit. The recording of finding of laparoscopy after conforming of diagnosis by histopathology was compared with the result of serum leptin. Result. The result shows no significant difference between the two groups regarding parity and age; however, the level of serum leptin was significantly high in the endometriosis group than in the control group. The P value was less than 0.05. Also, the result shows no significant differences between serum leptin in both groups according to the symptom but there was a significant difference with surgical staging. The mean of the level of serum leptin in stage 1 was 214.8, while it was 340.3 in stage 4. Conclusion. Serum leptin can be used as a marker of severity of endometriosis.

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Relationship between migraine and sleep disorders in adolescents

Paediatrica Indonesiana ◽

10.14238/pi53.4.2013.214-7 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 214

Author(s):

Lina Waty ◽

Supriatmo Supriatmo ◽

Bistok Saing

Keyword(s):

Sleep Disorders ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Headache Type ◽

Migraine Group ◽

And Control ◽

The Relationship ◽

Sleeping Disorder

Background Headaches and sleep disorders may influenceacademic performances, personality, memory, and interpersonalrelationships. Migraine is the most common headache type seen inadolescents. Although headaches and sleep disorders are believedto be related, there has been little study in this area.Objectives To assess the relationship between migraine andsleep disorders in adolescents and compare different types ofsleep disorders found in adolescents with migraine vs. healthyadolescents.Methods We conducted a cross sectional study in December 2009on students of three junior high schools in the Secanggang District,Langkat Regency, North Sumatera. We included adolescents aged12 to 17 years who suffered from migraines, as defined by theInternational Cftissificaticm of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition criteria(ICHD-II), and h ealthy adolescents who did not experien cemigraines as the control group. Parents filled questionnaires ontheir child's sleep patterns for one week.Results A total of 100 adolescents were enrolled in the study,consisted of 50 adolescents in the migraine group and the others50 in the control group. There was a significant difference in theincidence of sleep disorders between the two groups (76% and30%, in the case and control groups, respectively; P= 0.0001).Moreover, significant differences were also found in the prevalenceof different sleeping disorder types between the case and controlgroups, i.e. insomnia (62% and 30%, respectively; P= 0.003), sleepapnea (56% and 16%, respectively; P= 0.0001), restlessness (56%and 18%, respectively; P= 0.0001) , parasomnia (76% and 10%,respectively; P= 0.0001), narcolepsy (42% and 16%, respectively;P= 0.008), and excessive daytime sleepiness (50% and 26%,respectively; P= 0.023).Conclusions Migraine in adolescents is significantly associatedwith sleep disorders. Parasomnia is the most common type ofsleeping disorder observed in adolescents with migraines in ourstudy.

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Fascioliasis and COVID-19: A Case-Control Study in Iran

10.21203/rs.3.rs-257860/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fatemeh Balazadeh ◽

Mohammad Zibaei ◽

Aliehsan Heidari ◽

Hadis Rastad ◽

Farzaneh Firoozeh

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

Fasciola Hepatica ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Healthy Control ◽

And Gender ◽

And Control

Abstract Background: Human Fascioliasis is a zoonotic infection caused by the adult stage of Fasciola species. Fasciola hepatica is a parasite that, following living in its vertebrate host, reduces the host's inflammatory immune responses to infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Therefore, because of the completely unproven and limited data on this issue, we decided to evaluate the prevalence of antibodies against this parasite in patients admitted to the hospital due to relatively severe symptoms of COVID-19.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the serum samples of 182 patients with COVID-19 disease who were diagnosed by PCR test and 210 healthy subjects in Alborz Province, Iran between March and June 2020. Anti-Fasciola antibodies status was determined in all serum samples, using ELISA technique. A self-developed questionnaire was used to measure demographic information.Results: The frequency of Fasciola infection was found to be significantly higher in COVID-19 patients as compared to healthy control (n = 4, 2.2%, n = 9, 4.3%; respectively) (P = 0.041). There was no significant difference between COVID-19 patients and control group in age, education, and gender (P > 0.05).Conclusions: This study indicates that a significant association between Fasciola hepatica seropositivity and COVID-19 disease. Our finding suggests that Fasciola infection may be able to lead to decreased immune responses, thereby reducing the severity and symptoms of COVID-19 disease.

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Evaluation of Podocalyxin level in pre-eclampsia with severe features' patients: a cross-sectional study

International Journal of Reproduction Contraception Obstetrics and Gynecology ◽

10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20193545 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 3255

Author(s):

Ahmed F. Amin ◽

Hisham Abou-Taleb ◽

Mustafa Gamal ◽

Marwa M. Thabet ◽

Nashwa Azoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Univariate Analysis ◽

Group Versus ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Study Group ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Women Health ◽

Significant Difference ◽

And Control

Background: This study aims to evaluate the level of podocalyxin (PCX) in preeclampsia with severe features patients and correlate it with the results of laboratory tests.Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional study conducted in Assiut Women Health Hospital between April and October 2018. The study included 60 patients divided into two groups; Group (A): 30 patients diagnosed to have preeclampsia with severe features and Group (B): 30 patients as normal control group. Complete laboratory investigations with measurements of the PCX level was performed for all study participants.Results: No statistically significant difference between the study group and control group according to blood urea (p= 0.339) and serum creatinine (p= 0.801).There was statistically significant difference between the study group and control group according to PCX level (p= 0.001); the mean PCX was 3340.0 ± 2394.6 in the study group versus 1083.5±1400.2 in the control group. Univariate analysis revealed podocalyxin was not correlated with clinical data or laboratory investigations.Conclusions: Podocalyxin levels were significantly elevated in preeclampsia.

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Exercise and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Galen Medical Journal ◽

10.31661/gmj.v2i2.30 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 49-53

Author(s):

Fatemeh Bahramnezhad ◽

Ahmad Ali Asadi Noughabi ◽

Pouya Farokhnezhad Afshar ◽

Simin Marandi

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Heart Failure ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significant Difference ◽

And Control ◽

Positive Effect

Background: Guidelines recommend that exercise training can beconsidered for medically stable outpatients with heart failure; thus, this study sought to determine the effect of exercise on quality of life in patients with heart failure.Patients and Methods: In this cross sectional study 160 patients were included and divided into 2 groups (n=80). Intervention group performed the exercise (poly striding), 30 minutes three times a week, for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, the exercises have not been followed for six months; SF36 Questionnaire was filled to assess the quality of life for the individuals in both groups in three steps: before the intervention, and 3 and 6 months after. After completion of questionnaires, quality of life was compared between the two groups and all the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The mean ages of the intervention and control groups were 61.65±17.5 and 64.116±17.4 years, respectively. Control group had significant decrease in quality of life at different stages of the study. Quality of life was significantly better in the intervention group comparing to the control group three months after the intervention despite the lack of significant difference before the intervention and after 6 months.Conclusion: Results showed a positive effect of exercise on quality of life in patients but the failures and lack of continuity did not improve the overall quality of life of patients as compared with their condition before the exercise. Overall, regular exercise is recommended for these patients.

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Cut off value of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration for predicting metabolic syndrome

Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy ◽

10.34071/jmp.2019.6_7.10 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 68-73

Author(s):

Trong Nghia Nguyen ◽

Thi Nhan Nguyen ◽

Thi Dua Dao

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Medical Center ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Hydroxyvitamin D ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome ◽

25 Hydroxyvitamin D ◽

Key Words Metabolic Syndrome ◽

And Control

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of cardiometabolic risk factors that tend to cluster together in affected individuals more often than predicted by chance. The presence of the metabolic syndrome substantially increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and is associated with a range of adverse clinical outcomes, many of which are closely associated with aging. Current estimates suggest that approximately 20 - 25% of the world’s population is affected by the metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome rises with age and more than 45% of people aged over 60 years have the metabolic syndrome. Recent studies show that low vitamin D status is very common in the world and this is a risk factor of metabolic syndrome. Objective: (1) Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in subjects with metabolic syndrome. (2) Cut off value of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration for predicting metabolic syndrome. Material and method: A cross-sectional study with control group on 318 adult subjects for health examinations at International Medical Center at Hue Central Hospital, including 139 subjects with metabolic syndrome and control group of 179 healthy subjects. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the IDF, NHLBI, AHA, WHF, IAS, IASO (2009). Plasma hydroxyvitamin D concentration was measured using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Reciever operating characteristic (ROC) curve were generated to assess sensitivity and specificity for different cut off value of 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration for predicting metabolic syndrome. Results: Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration in subjects with metabolic syndrome was 26.4 ng/ml, incidence of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency (59.7%) was significantly higher than in control group (23.5%) (p < 0.001). The optimal cut off point for 25-OH-D concentration for predictor of metabolic syndrome as 26.4 ng/ml (AUC=0.657, sensitivity=53.4%, specificity=71.6%). Conclusion: In 139 subjects with metabolic syndrome, the plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 26.4 ng/ml and the incidence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in the metabolic syndrome group was 59.7%. The optimal cut off point for plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration for predictor of metabolic syndrome as 26.4 ng/ml. Key words: Metabolic syndrome, 25-hydroxyvitamin D

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