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Moza Alishaq,1 Hanaa Nafady-Hego,2 Andrew Jeremijenko,3 Jameela Ali Al Ajmi,4 Mohamed Elgendy,5 Naser Ali Asad Al Ansari,4 Hamed Elgendy,4,6 Abdul-Badi Abou-Samra,1,3 Adeel A Butt4,7,8 1Department of Quality and Clinical Transformation, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 2Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; 3Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 4Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 5Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sains of Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia; 6Anesthesia Department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt; 7Departments of Medicine and Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA; 8Departments of Medicine and Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, QatarCorrespondence: Adeel A Butt, Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, PO Box 3050, Doha, Qatar, Email aabutt@hamad.qaObjective: To determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection among female workers who were restricted to working from home compared with those who continued to attend in-person work.Methods: As part of national surveillance program, serum samples for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing and nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 PCR were obtained on 1636 female school staff and salon/spa workers who were restricted to work remotely (restricted group) and 1190 female health-care workers who continued in-person work (unrestricted group).Results: Seropositivity rate was 5.1% among the restricted and 22.7% among the unrestricted group (P < 0.0001). Presence of symptoms at baseline (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.88; 95% CI 2.09– 3.97), contact with a confirmed case (aOR 2.34; 95% CI 1.37– 3.98), and unrestricted work type (aOR 4.71; 95% CI 3.24– 6.86) were associated with a higher risk of infection, while increasing age was associated with a lower risk of infection.Conclusion: Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection as determined by seropositivity was higher among women who were not subject to workplace restrictions.Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, work-place restrictions, women, infections, Qatar

Mohamed M Abdel-Daim,1 Mohamed Shaaban Ali,2 Fedekar F Madkour,3 Hamed Elgendy2,4 1Pharmacology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt; 2Anesthesia Department, Assiut University Hospitals, Assiut, Egypt; 3Marine Science Department, Faculty of Science, Port Said University, Port Said 42526, Egypt; 4Anesthesia Department, HAMAD Medical Corporation & Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar & Qatar University, Doha, QatarCorrespondence: Hamed ElgendyAnesthesia Department, HAMAD Medical Corporation, P.O. Box 3050, Doha, QatarTel +974- 4011 4271Fax +974- 4439 1511Email helgendy70@gmail.comIntroduction: Diabetic neuropathy is a common consequence of diabetes. Hyperalgesia is one of the main symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. In response to noxious stimuli, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats show exaggerated hyperalgesic behavior, while Spirulina platensis has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and insulin-like effects. To assess the antinociceptive effect of oral Spirulina platensis (SP) powder on formalin-induced nociceptive responses in STZ-induced diabetic rats.Methods: Sixty mature male albino rats were randomly allocated into six equal groups (10 in each group). Group 1 (control non-diabetic group) received 0.9% saline; group 2 was given oral pure SP powder-treated as a non-diabetic control group, group 3 was sodium salicylate-treated rats and used as a positive non-diabetic control group, group 4 managed as vehicle-treated diabetic rats, group 5 considered as SP-treated-diabetic group, and sodium salicylate-treated-diabetic rats used as a diabetic positive control group (group 6). STZ-diabetic rats were orally given SP in a dose of 500 mg kg/day for 1 month. The formalin test was implemented in two phases: the early phase in the first 10-min post-formalin injection, and the late phase was considered in the 15– 60 min post-formalin injection time interval.Results: Pain scores were increased in the diabetic groups during both phases of the experiment. Blood glucose was significantly reduced in diabetic rats that received oral SP, P < 0.01. Besides, SP-treated rats had lower pain scores during both phases of the experiment than untreated diabetic ones. However, in the sodium salicylate group, the pain score was reduced only during the second phase. An exaggerated nociceptive response occurred in diabetic rats after the formalin test. A significant antinociceptive effect appeared in SP-treated control and diabetic rats.Discussion: The findings suggest that oral Spirulina platensis could have a potential therapeutic role for managing induced painful diabetic neuropathy in rats.Keywords: antinociceptive, Spirulina platensis, diabetes, neuropathy, rat

Hamed M Elgendy,1,2 Sami M Ibrahim,1,3 Loulia Bader,4 Rudaina A Mohammad,5 Zainab O Ali,5 Mohamed Ben Allala Bejaoui,5 Mohamad Hilani,1 Hesham Ismail,1 Hazem F Elewa4 1Department of Anaesthesia, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 2Department of Anaesthesia, Assiut University Hospitals, Assiut, Egypt; 3Department of Anaesthesia and ICU, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt; 4College of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar; 5Hamad Medical Corporation, Medical Research Center, Doha, QatarCorrespondence: Hazem F Elewa, College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar, Tel + 974 4403 5616, Fax +974 4403 5551, Email elewahazem@gmail.comIntroduction: Morphine has been a crucial analgesic agent used perioperatively in various surgical procedures. Genetic factors can lead to morphine dose requirement interpatient variability. Our objective was to determine the contribution of genetic polymorphisms in human μ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), ATP binding cassette gene (ABCB1) and rs2952768 to the variation of the perioperative morphine consumption in women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Methods: This is a prospective cohort study that included 102 adult Arab females undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The exposures were carrying the genetic variants of OPRM1, ABCB1 and rs2952768. Our primary outcome was total morphine or morphine equivalent dose required perioperatively. The secondary outcomes were pain score during the first 24 hours and adverse drug reactions. A standardized, general anaesthesia was used for all subjects. In addition to the genetic factors, we also investigated non-genetic factors influencing post-operative pain sensitivity and morphine consumption.Results: Both (rs1799971, A>G) in OPRM1 and (rs2952768, T>C) showed statistically significant association with intra-operative total morphine dose requirements. Patients carrying the “G” allele in OPRM1 had a significantly higher total morphine mean rank dose compared to the AA genotype [62.9 vs 47.1, p=0.008]. Furthermore, patients homozygous for the rs2952768 (T>C) minor allele “CC” had a higher mean rank compared to the other genotypes [72.7 vs 50.1, p=0.046].Conclusion: OPRM1 (rs1799971) and rs2952768 are associated with variation of intra-operative morphine consumption in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Clinical Trial Identifier: This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04621864. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04621864.Keywords: opioid, OPRM1, ABCB1, genetic polymorphisms, post-operative pain, women, Arabs

This study investigated the association between the pre-miRNA146a C>G rs2910164 polymorphism and serum TNF-α in Egyptian patients with IS.

Background: sepsis and infection are among the leading causes of death world-wide. The annual burden of sepsis in high income countries is rising with mortality of 40%. Despite these figures from industrialized countries, the largest part of the global sepsis burden occurs in middle and low-income countries, 90% of the world wide deaths frompneumonia, meningitis or other infections occur in less developed countries. Aim of the Work: to evaluate the therapeutic efficiency of pentoxifylline as an adjuvant therapy in treatment of severe sepsis and its effect in multiple organ dysfunction and mortality in septic patients. Materials and Methods: this is a randomized double blinded prospective study conducted from January 2015 to March 2016 included total sample size 52 cases (we used organ dysfunction as a primary outcome with proposed large effect size (0.8) and alfa=0.05 and power=0.80, so, 26 cases were needed in each group). Results: we included 52 patients with sepsis who were divided in 1: 1 ratio to receive pentoxifylline or not. The average age of the included patients was almost 53 years, with no statistically significant different between both groups (p=0.902); while the majority of the included patients were males, with no significant difference between both groups (p=0.99). The mean weight was similar between both groups (84.50 ± 11.25 vs. 83.65 ± 10.54 years; p=0.78) and chest disorders were the main cause of sepsis in both groups. Conclusion: we concluded that PTX as an adjuvant therapy had no significant influence on the SOFA score, lactate level, CRP level, and pro-calcitonin level compared to control. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences in terms of length of hospital stay, need for HD, need for vasopressor and inotropic, need for MV, and mortality rate. Further large clinical trials are recommended to assess the effectiveness of PTX especially with regards to organ failure, survival, and dose dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoblast-like cells were grown on a surface that presents cell membrane components to the cells in culture. The culture surface was a bimolecular layer formed by the interaction of osteoblast plasma membrane vesicles with an alkanethiol monolayer. The potential of these osteoblast-membrane hybrid bilayers for promoting osteoblast adhesion,growth and differentiation was examined. UMR-106 osteoblast-like cells cultured on these surfaces are normal in appearance, and in the presence of serum, proliferate as well or better than on control surfaces. The level of alkaline phosphatase production in the presence and absence of serum suggests that the osteoblast-like cells retain their differentiated phenotype, and appear to respond to the cell surface ligands presented by the osteoblast--membrane biomimetic surface. These observations suggest that biomimetic membrane films prepared from osteoblast cell membranes support osteoblast cell growth, allow the cells to maintain their differentiation state and may be suitable as a model system to probe cell--cell interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Post operative pain and stress is a very known complication of many surgical procedures which represents a burden for the patient and associated with many complications including stress, myocardial ischemia, prolonged hospital stay and the need of extensive post operative analgesia. Aim of the Work: to study the effect of Fentanyl as an adjuvant to bupivacaine and Lidocaine in supraclavicular brachial plexus block. After taking approval from Local Ethical Committee approval and informed written consent from each patient, this randomized prospective comparative study was conducted on 60 patients who were divided into two groups: Group A (Control group): 20 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine + 6ml of lidocaine hydrochloride 2% + 1ml of Normal Saline 0.9%. Group B (Fentanyl group): 20 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine + 6ml of lidocaine hydrochloride 2% + 1ml of fentanyl 50 ug/ml. Results: our study showed that addition of a 50 microgram of fentanyl to bupivacaine and lidocaine in ultrasound-guided supraclavicular nerve block has statistically significant effect on the onset of sensory and motor block and prolonged the duration of the sensory and the motor block. In addition, fentanyl prolonged the duration of analgesia of the plexus block significantly, as proved by the time of request of first analgesia. Moreover, in fentanyl group, postoperative analgesic requirements were greatly lesser than that of bupivacaine and lidocaine groups. Addition of fentanyl also did not affect the hemodynamic to a significant level. Conclusion: fentanyl with bupivacaine and lidocaine more superior than the use of bupivacaine and lidocaine alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]