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There is a constant exposure of humans to Aspergillus mold fungus and 95 % of the pathogenic species. It is important to study drugs with new efficacy against infections because of increased prevalence of infections resistant to antibiotics. The present study aims to assess the antifungal activity of aqueous and ethanol plant extracts (cinnamon, garlic, ginger and guava) against five isolates of the opportunistic mold Aspergillus fumigatus. The results showed that effect of ethanol and aqueous extracts of cinnamon was same on all the five isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus. The recorded diameters of inhibition zone for isolates 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 exerted by the cinnamon ethanol extracts were 41, 46, 40, 45 and 46 mm respectively. Moreover, ginger was excluded in next experiments because all the isolates showed resistance against the aqueous and ethanol extract of ginger, except for isolate 5. Minimum inhibitory concentration was 2 mg/ ml ethanol extract of garlic and cinnamon whereas that of aqueous extract of garlic and cinnamon was 40 mg/ml and 10 mg/ml, respectively. The study concluded that ethanol extract of cinnamon can be used as antimycotic agent against Aspergillus fumigatus to treat diseases but it is urged to detect the sensitivity of fungal isolate to the extract before using as different responses are provided by isolates in a wide range of extracts.

Background Hyperbilirubinemia is toxic to the auditory pathways and to the central nervous system, leaving sequelae such as hearing loss and encephalopathy. The damage to the auditory system occurs primarily within the brainstem and cranial nerve VIII, and manifests clinically as auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. Aim to establish the relationship that exists between hyperbilirubinemia at birth as a risk factor of neonatal hearing loss in children born in ABOU-EL-REISH hospital. Materials and methods we carried out of 60 neonates categorized into two groups: Group (A n = 30), neonates with hyperbilirubinemia; Group (B n = 30), neonates without hyperbilirubinemia. Results Ten neonates were boys and twenty were girls from group A and eleven boys and nigh-teen girls from group B.There was significant statistical difference between group A and group B regarding ABR (P-value = 0.001) and a statistical difference regarding OAE (P-value = 0.103 in the right ear and 0.028 in the left ear). Also, our study shows the area under the curve and the diagnostic accuracy of total serum bilirubin (TSB) level for detection of hearing screening results (ABR) at a cut-off point 21 mg/dl (P-value = 0.008 and 0.009 in the right and left ears respectively.) Conclusions Our study showed a relevant association between bilirubin levels and abnormal hearing screening results and the importance of combined screening with OAE and ABR tests.

Background/aim: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a common birth defect. Many studies have reported GATA4 mutations in patients with CHD, mainly septal defects. This study aimed to investigate the GATA4 exon 1 mutation in Egyptian patients with isolated congenital heart defects as a possible causative mutation. Materials and methods: Screening for mutations or any sequence variations in exon 1 of the GATA4 gene was carried out by PCR amplification followed by direct sequencings in 165 Egyptian patients with different nonsyndromic congenital heart diseases and 93 controls who were matched in terms of age and sex. Thorough clinical assessments were done for all subjects, along with X-ray, 2D echocardiography, and Doppler examinations. Results: The most common CHD among our cases was isolated ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 47.3% (78/165), followed by isolated atrial septal defect. A novel nonsynonymous sequence variation in fragment 2 (P193H) of exon 1 of GATA4 was detected in 15 (9.1%) of the subjects with septal defects. This mutation was not seen in any of the control group subjects. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of exon 1 GATA4 mutation (9.1%) in our study compared to other studies in different populations, which may correlate with different ethnic populations.

A 19.5-year-old patient after Mustard operation was found to have baffle leaks and obstruction. This patient underwent successful device closure of the leaks using the Amplatzer device and stent implantation with complete resolution of the symptoms. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2001;54:72–76. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.