Articles

Fascioliasis is a one of the most important serious parasitic zoonotic disease which caused by trematode giant liver fluke Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica among cattle’s and humans. The infection of Fasciola can be control by the use of phytochemicals as anthelmintic components. The anthelmintic activities of dried root powder of medicinal plant Potentilla fulgens and their different preparations (organic extracts and column purified fraction) are uses in vitro against liver fluke F. gigantica. The dried root powder, different organic extract, and column fractions were time and concentration-dependent. Among all the organic extracts, ethanol extract was high toxic than other organic extracts. The toxic effect of ethanolic extract of P. fulgens after 2h exposure the LC50 value is 5.22 mg/ml against F. gigantica. The column purified fraction of dried root powder of P. fulgens shows more toxicity. The 2h LC50 of column purified fraction was 3.25 mg/ml whereas in 8h exposure the LC50 is 1.24 mg/ml. The phytochemicals of the P. fulgens may be used as anthelmintic components against liver fluke F. gigantica. 

Among the abounding lessons we learned from the SARS-C0V-2 pandemic is the uttermost determinant that people are not equal before the severity of COVID-19. Indeed, the disease course differs with age, gender, ethnicity, underlying clinical conditions and virus variants. Other diseases modifying factors are associated with genetic traits such as those driving the immune response, the blood groups, the coagulation system and the ACE2 receptor variants [1-4].

Acute cholecystitis is a common general surgery disease which may require hospital admission. Delayed or early cholecystectomy is the definitive treatment. Availability of theatre slots may postpone cholecystectomy for weeks. I am writing this letter to explain the importance of early cholecystectomy programme and the necessity of support such programme by hospital managers. I will rationalize the concept of such program and its clinical and economic benefits. There are many strong evidences that early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (ELC) is a better option than delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy (DLC) for management of acute cholecystitis. For example, a meta-analysis study showed ELC as safe and effective as DLC and it is associated with lower hospital costs, fewer work delay lost and greater patient satisfaction [1]. Furthermore, US Medicare database that include 29818 elderly patients with acute cholecystitis found a higher risk for mortality over the following two years in patients who were discharged without surgery compared with patients who underwent cholecystectomy in the initial hospitalization [2]. The risk of hospital re-admission after first attack of acute cholecystitis has been studied in a population –based analysis of the clinical course of 10304 patients with acute cholecystitis who discharged without cholecystectomy. Such analysis showed that the probability of a gall stone –related A&E visit or admission within 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 1 year was 14%, 19% and 29% respectively [3]. This will increase the gall stone disease burden and decrease patients’ satisfaction. Per NICE guidelines we should offer ELC (to be carried out within 1 week of diagnosis) to patients with acute cholecystitis. Patients who had pancreatitis secondary to gallbladder stones should have laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the index admission [4]. NICE full health economy report showed that ELC burden is 2728.27 in compare to 3686.21 for DLC [5]. Furthermore, 2018/2019 NHS tariff for emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy is between 6885 to 3872 pounds, while it is 3731 to 2080 pounds only for an elective case. To sum up, ELC is as safe as DLC with potential lower mortality risk in elderly patients. In addition to eliminate the risk of re–admission after first attack of cholecystitis and decrease health care burden of gall bladder stones disease.

Science is not inherently dogmatic. On the contrary, in our opinion and according to Bachelard, it often breaks with certain dogmas [1]. That is why it must have the necessary flexibility to be able to analyze and incorporate exceptional situations. In this regard, the current Coronavirus pandemic is an exceptional situation causing several thousand deaths a day.

The probiotic effects of Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus subtilis were studied on survival, growth, concentrations of basic biochemical constituents, activities of digestive enzymes, and their colony establishments in the gut of Macrobrachium rosenbergii post-larvae (PL). Eleven groups of PL (2.03±0.05 in length and 0.18±0.01g in weight), each consists of 35 individuals maintained in 25 L of ground water and fed ad libitum with five serially diluted concentrations, 10-1, 10-3, 10-5, 10-7 and 10-9 of B. coagulans, and B. subtilis incorporated diets containing 40% protein, for 45 days. Diet without incorporation of any of these probiotics was served as control. These probiotics were found to be alive in the respective feed even on day-15 after their formulations. Significant improvement in survival, nutritional indices (weight gain, specific growth rate, food conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio), contents of basic biochemical constituents (total protein, amino acid, carbohydrate and lipid) and activities of digestive enzymes (protease, amylase and lipase) were observed (P<0.05), particularly in 10-7 concentration of B. coagulans, and B. subtilis incorporated diets fed PL when compared with control. The biochemical confirmation tests revealed that presence of Escherichia coli, Acetonobacter sp., Salmonella sp., and Pseudomonas sp., in the gut of control PL. In the gut of PL fed with B. coagulans incorporated diet, Acetonobacter sp., Salmonella sp., and Pseudomonas sp., were found to be competitively excluded, whereas, in the gut of PL fed with B. subtilis incorporated diet, Acetonobacter sp., and Salmonella sp., only were found to be excluded competitively. Actually, colonies of Bacillus sp., and Lactobacillus sp., were found to be establishment in the gut of PL fed with B. coagulans, and B. subtilis incorporated diets. Overall, these probiotics incorporated diets produced better growth and survival due to better FCR and activities of digestive enzymes, which in turn led to better nutritional profile. Therefore they are recommended as feed additives for sustainable culture of M. rosenbergii.

Pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) is a life-threatening infection that may develop as a result of an underlying hepatobiliary disease. A possible complication of PLA is metastatic spread, resulting in distant seeding of infection in other organs, and occasionally in the epidural space. Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare infection with severe potential complications. We describe a 71-year-old patient who presented with ascending cholangitis that was complicated by micro PLA, with a subsequent Escherichia coli bacteremia and metastatic SEA. An emergent surgical intervention with laminotomy and drainage of the epidural collection was performed. The patient was treated with a prolonged antibiotic regimen, with uneventful recovery and no neurologic sequelae. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a SEA following E. coli PLA.

We have been hearing for centuries that ‘fever is not a disease but a symptom’. Physicians say that fever is a symptom of diseases like flu to cancer.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common disorder whose prevalence increases with age. Over time a strong correlation between erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease has been established as the result of the same pathophysiological process: endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Because small vessels of the penis can be affected by atherosclerotic plaque earlier than coronary arteries, carotids or femoral arteries, men often have symptoms of ED long before the signs of cardiovascular disease appear. For this reason, ED can act as a marker of early atherosclerosis that predicts the onset of cardiovascular disease at a later time.

In order to better understand some neurologic degenerative process is fundamental to use also an evolutionary approach of vertebrates and especially in mammalians. Aim of this work is to verify if an objective measure of brain wasting system can help in this kind of disease. Imaging can help in measuring efficiency of brains wasting system in the various subject. The brain glymphatic systems is well studied today but an accurate measure of the real efficiency of the system is needed. It is relevant so to submit to researcher a working methods strategy to measure this parameter to verify if possible, to use the brain glymphatic system as new therapeutics pathway.

Nobody doubts that mathematics plays a crucial role in medical achievements. It is certain that is being mainly used in statistics and physics for biomedical problems [1]. For sure that we have already heard about how mathematics can improve the anticancer arsenal [2]. Quantitative genetics have triggered a giant potential in medical care [3,4]. And mathematical algorithms, provided by artificial intelligence, continuously boost new therapeutic paradigms [5,6]. Nonetheless, one cannot ignore the ability of mathematics for analyzing ideas.