Most Viewed Articles

In many sectors, ranging from sports and military operations to professional settings (notably cognitive enhancement); human performance augmentation has been an enduring ambition. The idea behind this movement, known as human enhancement, has evolved over time from simple means of training to the improvement or augmentation of physical ability through recent developments in fields such as pharmaceuticals and implantable devices that can enhance natural abilities. They span from pharmaceutical agents to wearable technologies used for sophisticated self-experimentation, which offer promise but also present ethical, health, and societal risks Performance-Enhancing Drugs are used to enhance the performance of humans in one way or another as a basic idea. The categories of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) included are Stimulants: Stimulant drugs, including amphetamines and caffeine (in the form of coffee) have been used for thousands of endeavours and physical stamina for decades. There have been many sources of controversy in the sporting world due to use or misuse and side-effectual restrictions. The release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and allowing muscles to grow big, and fast. Nevertheless, the consumption of anabolic steroids is strictly controlled because it has side effects and complications such as liver damage, hormonal imbalances, and greater aggression. Erythropoietin EPO is a hormone that produces red blood cells, and increased oxygen delivery to muscle. EPO Athletes and even more notably endurance athletes (such as cyclists) have a storied history of abusing this performance-enhancing agent to build stamina. However, the misuse of this drug can be very hazardous, as it causes complications such as blood clotting and heart issues.

Bee venom is a very rich and varied biochemical complex, which explains the multitude of its physiological effects as well as its medical indications. In dermatology, apart from psoriasis, few studies have been conducted concerning its interest and effectiveness; however the preliminary results remain so promising and encouraging. We present a clinical case illustrating the efficacy of bee venom in cutaneous varicosities, with a review of the literature of its main dermatological indications.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to differentiate Benign and Malignant Parotid Gland Tumors taking histopathology as gold standard. Design: Cross sectional study. Place and duration of study: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore from January till July 2014. Methodology: 200 patients of age between 5 to 80 years of either gender with parotid gland swelling, having radiological evidence and clinical suspicion of parotid tumour like fixation to underlying skin, pain, facial palsy and cervical lymphadenopathy were taken. T1 and T2 plain and contrast enhanced 1.5 Tesla MRI unit using standard imaging coil was then carried out. Imaging was further evaluated for the presence or absence of benign or malignant parotid gland tumours using histopathology as a Gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of MRI were taken against the gold standard. Results: There were 170 males and 30 females having mean age of 40.27±15.04 and 40.12±12.15 years respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of MRI were 90.4%, 89.33%, 93.39% and 84.41% respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of MRI to differentiate benign and malignant parotid gland tumours was 90%. These results were taken against surgery histopathology as a gold standard. Conclusion: MRI is highly accurate in differentiating malignant & benign tumours of parotid glands and can be used as an adjunct to histopathology for pre-operative evaluation of the parotid gland tumours.

Background: Adult patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) have traditionally been hospitalized for the duration of intensive consolidation chemotherapy until blood count recovery to avoid complications. Recently, there has been a trend to shift the care of AML patients treated with intensive chemotherapy from inpatient to outpatient settings to reduce treatment costs and save beds. Methods and materials: A retrospective study of AML patients who received cytarabine consolidation chemotherapy between the 1st of August 2016 and the 31st of December 2023 at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia was performed. Results: Over a period of 7 years and 4 months, 62 patients received a total of 127 cycles of intensive consolidation chemotherapy at outpatient setting. At diagnosis: 12 patients had extramedullary disease, and 17 patients had adverse cytogenetic abnormalities. Following the 127 cycles of chemotherapy, 38 episodes of febrile neutropenia were encountered, and 46 hospital admissions were required. No complications were encountered following 62.2% of the cycles of consolidation therapy and no early mortality due to intensive consolidation therapy was reported. Out of 62 patients studied, 36 patients underwent various forms of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Disease relapses were encountered in 24 patients and the 5-year incidence of relapse for the entire group of patients was 42%. The 5-year leukemia-free survival for the: entire study patients, transplanted patients, and non-transplanted patients were: 43%, 38%, and 50% respectively. The 5-year overall survival for the: entire study patients, transplanted patients, and non-transplanted patients were: 44%, 34%, and 65% respectively. At the end of follow-up: 37 patients (59.68%) were alive, 24 patients (38.71%) were dead, and the fate of 1 patient (1.61%) was unknown as the patient moved to another hospital. Conclusion: Administration of intensive consolidation chemotherapy for patients with AML at outpatient setting is safe, feasible, and cost-effective. The incidence of infectious complications was relatively low. No early treatment-related mortality due to intensive consolidation therapy was encountered. Outpatient administration of intensive consolidation therapy can save beds, reduce hospital costs, and is associated with short-term and long-term outcomes that are comparable to inpatient administration of consolidation therapy. 

It is utterly important to ensure the safety of stem cell donors and limit the incidence of long-term adverse events. Additionally, the willingness to donate the potentially life-saving stem cells, depends among other reasons, on the donor’s trust in the safety of the procedure as our case highlights. Here we present the case of a 35-year-old patient who developed macrohematuria and proteinuria following peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation. 4 years later he was diagnosed with IgA-nephropathy (IgAN) and the disorder was causally attributed to the PBSC donation. He discouraged his family and friends from registering as donors because of this. In the current case report, we review the literature on the relationship between IgAN and PBSC donation and suggest under which conditions stem cell donation can still be performed even with a prior diagnosis of IgAN.

Introduction: A reduction in physical activity due to spinal cord injury leads to deconditioning and increased dependency. Manual wheelchair propulsion is a straining form of ambulation and propulsion is based on the use of upper extremities, which are usually capable of producing less force with less efficiency. Theraband can be an exercise mode, which resembles wheelchair activity. Mat exercises are also given for strengthening of upper limb muscles in persons with paraplegia. The aim of this study is to compare effects of both elastic resistance strength training and strengthening by mat activity of upper limb muscles on wheelchair propulsion efficiency in persons with paraplegia. Materials and Method: The selected subjects were randomly assigned into Theraband and Mat exercise groups with 15 subjects each. Theraband group received theraband strengthening of wheelchair propulsion muscles, whereas mat activity group received mat strengthening of wheelchair propulsion muscles. Total duration of treatment was 5 days per week for 5 weeks. Results: Results of the study showed both mat exercise and theraband groups showed significant improvement in wheelchair 15 meter sprint test and wheelchair propulsion for 50 meters in paraplegics due to spinal cord injury. However, theraband group showed significantly more improvement. Conclusion: The study revealed that theraband exercises for improving upper limb strength for wheelchair propulsion is superior to strengthening through mat exercise.

Background: The C3 glomerulopathies are a group of rare forms of glomerulonephritis with an incidence of 1-2 cases per million. It is mainly characterized by dysregulation of the alternative complement pathway. It is further classified morphologically based on electron microscopy ultrastructural findings into Dense Deposition Disease (DDD) and C3 glomerulonephritis. DDD is normally characterised by C3 Deposits. Case: We report a rare case of a young Emirati male who presented with sub nephrotic proteinuria and microscopic haematuria on routine evaluation. Renal biopsy showed features of DDD with combined C3 and C4 deposits. The retinal evaluation showed features of Drusen classically seen in DDD. Genomic study showed heterozygous mutation in c.5842G>C (p.Asp1948His) variant of uncertain significance in MYH9 gene. Discussion: C3 Glomerulopathy is a type of immune mediated disease previously classified as membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. DDD is mainly characterised by C3 deposits in the glomerular basement Membrane. Our case has both C3 and C4d deposits, which is a rare entity. It shows the activation of both classical and alternate pathways. Conclusion: Dense deposition disease is a rare complement mediated glomerulopathy. It is characterised by C3 deposits. Dense deposition disease with combined C3 and C4d deposits is a new entity. The treatment and prognosis of such cases will be different and unique compared to the normal cases of DDD.

Nucleic acid-based therapy has become an increasingly important strategy for treating a variety of human diseases. In systemic therapy, a therapeutic gene must be delivered efficiently to its target tissues without side effects. To deliver a therapeutic gene such as plasmid DNA (pDNA) or small interfering RNA (siRNA) to target tissues by systemic administration, cationic carriers such as cationic liposomes and polymers have been commonly used as a non-viral vector. However, the binary complex of therapeutic gene and cationic carrier must be stabilized in the blood circulation by avoiding agglutination with blood components, because electrostatic interactions between positively charged complexes and negatively charged erythrocytes can cause agglutination, and the agglutinates contribute to high entrapment of the therapeutic genes in the highly extended lung capillaries. One promising approach for overcoming this problem is modification of the surface of cationic complexes with anionic biodegradable polymers such as hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, or polyglutamic acid. As another approach, we recently developed a sequential injection method of anionic polymer and cationic liposome/therapeutic gene complex (cationic lipoplex) for delivery of a therapeutic gene into the liver or liver metastasis. In this review, we describe recent advances in the delivery of therapeutic genes by lipid- and polymer-based carrier systems using anionic polymers.

Fine Dust (FD) in the respiratory air generates a variety of human disease issues throughout the earth. This study aimed to investigate whether (1) Tussilago farfara extracts (TF) decrease neutrophils accumulation, typical pathological features, and goblet cell hyperplasia in mice following exposure to fine dust (FD); (2) inflammatory cytokines result from FD exposure; and (3) asymmetric dimethyl-arginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethyl-arginine (SDMA) levels in the mice following exposure to FD. Seven-week-old male Balb/c mice (n = 5/group) were instilled two times by intra-nasal-trachea (INT) injection for 3 days and 6 days to the mice four groups; normal, control, FD + dexamethasone (Dexa, positive control), and FD + TF groups. TF suspended in 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was administered orally to the mice daily for 10 days (100 mg/kg). Neutrophil accumulation, typical pathological features, goblet cell hyperplasia, ADMA, and SDMA levels were assessed on day 10 in FD-induced mice. Results indicated FD significantly reduced neutrophil accumulation in BALF, typical pathological features containing goblet cell hyperplasia in lung tissues, and inflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-17 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and C-X-C motif chemokine 1 (CXCL-1)]. Furthermore, TF significantly decreased levels of elevated ADMA and SDMA by FD exposure. Collectively, TF decreased the counts of neutrophils in BALF, histological changes in lung tissues due to downstream secretion of inflammatory cytokines, and levels of ADMA and SDMA. Therefore, TF may be a potential therapeutics for treating FD-associated diseases.

Based on paraffin-wax include, volcano-based antimony-bearing, phospholipid, antimony found in gold deposit and TIPSb/triisopropylantimony ever predicted as the room temperature organic superconductor compound. Many flourishing explanations have been declared, from variational method to inductive deduction, with all indicating the presence of C9H21O3Sb.PBr6.We consider that aplications in mesoscale regime, at least when using multiscale fractal of critical parameter that affects physical & chemical properties and to adopt “mesoscopic scale” ever stated as “superconductors” by Holmvall (2017). Then the mathematical induction of variational method of exploitation on integers & natural numbers herewith paraffin-wax etc can be resembled the ever built antimony containing compounds to keep the realm of predictions.