n/a

n/a

BACKGROUND: Renin-angiotensin system components have been demonstrated in the biology of infantile hemangioma (IH). Captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, is proposed as a therapeutic alternative to oral propranolol.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare the benefit of propranolol and captopril in the treatment of IH, and to assess angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism in patients with IH and in control subjects.

METHODS: Thirty patients with IH and 35 healthy control subjects were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with either propranolol or captopril. Assessment was done clinically and by measurement of serum vascular endothelial growth factor and angiotensin II in patients and control subjects. Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism was also studied.

RESULTS: Clinical improvement was significantly better and faster in the patients treated with propranolol. Both groups showed reduced vascular endothelial growth factor and angiotensin II levels posttreatment, with a significantly higher percentage reduction in the propranolol-treated group. Cardiac side effects were reported only in the captopril-treated group. Baseline vascular endothelial growth factor level was significantly higher, and baseline angiotensin II level was significantly lower, in patients than control subjects.

LIMITATIONS: We studied a relatively small number of patients and control subjects.

CONCLUSION: Propranolol shows greater benefit than captopril in the treatment of IH.

Well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) is a malignant head and neck tumor with a very high incidence. Thyroidectomized WDTC patients have been referred to nuclear medicine for radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation therapy and/or annual follow-up with diagnostic whole-body imaging. Serum thyroglobulin (TG) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TGAb) are biochemical tumor markers used to monitor WDTC. A global rise in the prevalence of WDTC is increasing the number of thyroidectomized patients requiring lifelong monitoring for persistent or recurrent diseases. The present study aimed to identify the most successful prognostic factors in well-defined thyroid carcinoma patients following total thyroidectomy and RAI therapy, followed by an estimation of the cutoff value of TG and TGAb. In this context, a total of 100 subjects were recruited and classified as follows: 60 thyroid carcinoma patients underwent total thyroidectomy and successful RAI therapy, while 40 normal healthy individuals matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status constituted the control group. Interestingly, the levels of TG did not differ significantly between the relapsed and non-relapsed cases, but the levels of TGAb differed significantly between the relapsed and non-relapsed cases. Collectively, TG and TGAb are considered the most successful prognostic factors in well-defined thyroid carcinoma patients after total thyroidectomy and RAI therapy. The present study also concluded that the TGAb determination was better than that of the TG level, with a cutoff value of 10 ng/mL. These findings provide baseline information for follow-up and lifelong monitoring of thyroidectomized WDTC patients. Further research is warranted to explore more about serum TG and TGAb in thyroid carcinoma patients on a larger scale.

The release of harmful wastes via different industrial activities is the main cause of heavy metal toxicity. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of heavy metal stress on the plant growth traits, antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll content and proline content of Sesbania sesban with/without the inoculation of heavy-metal-tolerant Bacillus gibsonii and B. xiamenensis. Both PGP strains showed prominent ACC-deaminase, indole acetic acid, exopolysaccharides production and tolerance at different heavy metal concentrations (50–1000 mg/L). Further, in a pot experiment, S. sesban seeds were grown in contaminated and noncontaminated soils. After harvesting, plants were used for the further analysis of growth parameters. The experiment comprised of six different treatments. The effects of heavy metal stress and bacterial inoculation on the plant root length; shoot length; fresh and dry weight; photosynthetic pigments; proline content; antioxidant activity; and absorption of metals were observed at the end of the experiment. The results revealed that industrially contaminated soils distinctly reduced the growth of plants. However, both PGPR strains enhanced the root length up to 105% and 80%. The shoot length was increased by 133% and 75%, and the fresh weight was increased by 121% and 129%. The proline content and antioxidant enzymes posed dual effects on the plants growing in industrially contaminated soil, allowing them to cope with the metal stress, which enhanced the plant growth. The proline content was increased up to 190% and 179% by the inoculation of bacterial strains. Antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, increased to about 216% and 245%, while POD increased up to 48% and 49%, respectively. The results clearly show that the utilized PGPR strains might be strong candidates to assist S. sesban growth under heavy metal stress conditions. We highly suggest these PGPR strains for further implementation in field experiments.

Background: Postnatal care (PNC) is considered a challenge, fulfilling very important needs of two very vulnerable individuals namely the puerperal woman and the neonate. Improving the service quality provided during this period is considered as the most important intervention for preventing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. However less is known about the utilization of postnatal care. The objectives of the study are to identify the possible predictors characterize women utilizing PNC among rural Egyptian women, assess the quality of PNC services offered women, identify possible barriers contributed to under utilization of PNC services in rural health units and explore the health care providers’ perspectives for enhancing PNC utilization. Methods: The study is an exploratory study that was conducted in 3 randomly selected PHC units in Shebien el Kanater, Qaliobia, Egypt using quantitative data: the total sample size was accounted for 600 women. A structured interview questionnaire was designed to collect data from the mothers regarding socio-demographic data, maternal history, pattern of antenatal care (ANC) / natal care (NC) and pattern of PNC utilization. This interview last for 25 to 30 minutes. Qualitative component: Eight in-depth interviews were conducted with health care providers including Traditional birth attendants and Raeda Riffias (rural health workers/visitors). Eight focus group discussions were also conducted with women who had babies younger than one year. The discussion guide included information about importance of postnatal care, barriers to utilization and suggestions for improvement. Results: the study showed that the Mean age at marriage 19.8±2.9. Only 34.2% of sampled women were examined late within the 40 days following delivery. From neonates, 80% were examined postnatal for the first time at the first month of life. Women who received ANC in their last pregnancy were (80.5%). (81.2%) of women delivered vaginal while only (17.6%) by caesarean section. home deliveries which are still present (15.8%). About 81% delivered at a health facility. More than half of women received PNC home visit only once. Shortages of skilled staff, equipment and supplies maltreatment of HCPs and PHC unit employees, inadequate quality of services provided, crowdedness and absence of standard protocol including all components of PNC services for mothers and their babies were common complaints in the community. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the following predictors were significantly associated with the utilization of PNC: Income (P value =0.001), utilization of ANC (P value =0.000) and delivery place (P value =0.02). Conclusion and Recommendations: only 34.2% of women were examined late within the 42 days following delivery. The possible predictors related to PNC utilization were family income, utilization of ANC services and the place of delivery. Fair quality of PNC services offered to babies but on the other hand bad quality of PNC services provided to rural Egyptian women. Raising awareness of mothers by seminars presented by nurses or health visitors discussing importance of PNC services and consequences of not receiving it on both mother and child health. Policymakers should consider delivering PNC services at both health facilities and at home to overcome financial, geographical and cultural barriers during the postnatal period.

n/a