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Cardiac hypertrophy is a chief dangerous factor for heart failure, which is the leading cause of child mortality among birth defects internationally. It is a disorder that is defined by the heart muscle thickening, which expands the size of the heart chambers to improve the heart's capacity to pump blood into the body's tissues and organs. Pregnant women with a family history, of pre-gestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM), preeclampsia, or hypertension are at high risk of carrying a fetus with cardiac hypertrophy. These inborn developmental defects might include various cardiac defects along with fetal cardiomyopathy. Symptoms of the disease vary from minor to major and may include chest pain, as well as dyspnea. It is diagnosed based on medical history, a physical exam and echocardiogram results. Protection and treatment of the unborn fetus with cardiac hypertrophy can be achieved via lifestyle adjustment, obesity avoidance, medications and sometimes procedures. The aim of the current research is to address the etiology, diagnosis, pathogenesis and protection from cardiac hypertrophy as a teratological disorder in embryo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Jazan region is one of the most important areas of the Kingdom that is located in the southwest of the country. It is considered one of the richest areas in biodiversity and it encompasses a large group of lizards belonging to different families. The aim of the current research is to survey different types of lizards in Jazan.Materials and Methods: Lizards were collected from Al-Aradha, AL-tuwal and Damad by hand capturing between dawn and midmorning, or shortly before sunset.Results: In this work, eight species belonging to four families (Camaeleonidae, Scincidae, Gekkonidae, and Agamidae) were collected and identified. Most of the gathered species belong to the family Gekkonidae.Conclusions: The widespread of species belonging to the family Gekkonidae may be attributed to the ability of these species to withstand various climatic conditions and to live in different habitats using the available facilities to survive and broadly distribute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amphibious animal is defined as a group of vertebrates relying upon water and encompassing areas. Individuals of amphibians are an essential part of environments, but they are threatened by human actions, including climate change. Amphibians can likewise give proof of natural well-being and flexibility. In spite of the fact that Jazan area has distinctive environments and fauna, the investigations of amphibian fauna in Jazan area remain ineffectively contemplated and data about its biology and appropriation is inadequate. This study was carried out to investigate the diversity of amphibians in Jazan region through hand grabbing collection of specimens from Dhamd, Abu-Arish, Samtah, Al-Aradha and Ahad Almasarha. Three types of Amphibia (Anura) belong to the family Bufonidae were recorded to include Duttaphrynus dhufarensis, Sclerophrys arabica and Sclerophrys tihamica among the total of seven amphibian species present in Saudi Arabia. The current study revealed that Sclerophrys tihamica is an abundant species while the other two are rare in the study area. Additional field visits and surveys through different seasons and environments (particularly mountains and valleys locations) are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Obesity increases production of adipose tissue-derived proteins, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Also there are elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6, CD8, and CD4, indicating chronic subclinical inflammation. Since obesity represents a serious risk factor in several metabolic diseases, identifying the status of carbohydrate antigen-125 (CA-125) would further link obesity and tumors. Aim: To examine the effect of weight loss by laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on plasma CRP lipid profiles and CA-125 level in morbidly obese patients. Material and methods: This prospective study was conducted in the Surgery Department, Fayoum University Hospital, between August 2013 and September 2015. To assess the effect of excess weight loss following this operation CRP, lipid profile and CA-125 were measured before and 12 months after the LSG operation for weight loss. The study included 30 cases of morbidly obese patients: 30 (100%) females aged 23-55 years who were considered clinically obese with a mean body mass index of 42.71 ±4.3 (38-46) kg/m² and mean age of 40.3 ±8.5 (23-55) years. The National Institute of Health (NIH) inclusion criteria for bariatric surgery were used. Results: A mean weight loss of29.30% decreased plasma CRP triglycerides, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), CA-125 level and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) The percentage weight loss was significantly associated with changes in plasma CRP triglycerides, total cholesterol, total HDL cholesterol and CA-125. Conclusions: Weight loss by LSG improves inflammation, dyslipidemia and CA-125 level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of the study was to detect the effect of laparoscopic greater curvature plication (LGCP) on peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets (helper and cytotoxic T lymphocytes - CD4+ and CD8+ T cells respectively), leptin level and weight loss in morbidly obese patients. Material and methods: Morbidly obese patients (n = 20, age range: 25-50 years, body mass index (BMI) range: 37-45 kg/m2) who underwent LGCP were enrolled in a prospective study to determine the percentages of their peripheral blood T cells (CD4+ and CD8+) before and 4 months postoperatively using flow cytometry. Also, the level of their leptin before and 4 months postoperatively was established using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The data are expressed as the percentage of total lymphocytes ± the standard error of the mean. Results: A decrease in the BMI and loss of weight (31.20 ±1.2%) were confirmed 4 months postoperatively since BMI was 44.71 ±4.3 (range: 37-45) kg/m2 preoperatively, and decreased to 31.80 ±1.1 (range: 24-33) kg/m2 after surgery. The mean percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes significantly decreased postoperatively (38.2 ±1.5 before and 29.3 ±2.6 after operation for CD4+, 17.3 ±1.8 preoperatively and 9.5 ±1.7 postoperatively for CD8+, p < 0.05). The mean leptin level was 43.01 ±22.01 preoperatively while postoperatively it was 24.8 ±11.1 (p < 0.05), so the leptin level substantially decreased compared to its preoperative values. Conclusions: This study found that weight loss after LGCP in morbidly obese patients led to decreases in levels of leptin and circulating immune cells compared to their preoperative values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); a severe respiratory distress that has emerged from the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China during December 2019. COVID-19 is currently the major global health problem and the disease has now spread to most countries in the world. COVID-19 has profoundly impacted human health and activities worldwide. Genetic mutation is one of the essential characteristics of viruses. They do so to adapt to their host or to move to another one. Viral genetic mutations have a high potentiality to impact human health as these mutations grant viruses unique unpredicted characteristics. The difficulty in predicting viral genetic mutations is a significant obstacle in the field. Evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 has a variety of genetic mutations and genomic diversity with obvious clinical consequences and implications. In this review, we comprehensively summarized and discussed the currently available knowledge regarding SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks with a fundamental focus on the role of the viral proteins and their mutations in viral infection and COVID-19 progression. We also summarized the clinical implications of SARS-CoV-2 variants and how they affect the disease severity and hinder vaccine development. Finally, we provided a massive phylogenetic analysis of the spike gene of 214 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from different geographical regions all over the world and their associated clinical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) play a crucial role in the context of viral infections and their associated diseases. The link between HSCs and HPCs and disease status in COVID -19 patients is largely unknown. This study aimed to monitor the kinetics and contributions of HSCs and HPCs in severe and non-severe COVID -19 patients and to evaluate their diagnostic performance in differentiating between healthy and COVID-19 patients as well as severe and non-severe cases. Peripheral blood (PB) samples were collected from 48 COVID-19 patients, 16 recovered, and 27 healthy controls and subjected to deep flow cytometric analysis to determine HSCs and progenitor cells. Their diagnostic value and correlation with C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, and ferritin levels were determined. The percentages of HSCs and common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) declined significantly, while the percentage of multipotent progenitors (MPPs) increased significantly in COVID-19 patients. There were no significant differences in the percentages of megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitors (MEPs) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs) between all groups. Severe COVID-19 patients had a significantly low percentage of HSCs, CMPs, and GMPs compared to non-severe cases. Contrarily, the levels of CRP, D-dimer, and ferritin increased significantly in severe COVID-19 patients. MPPs and CMPs showed excellent diagnostic performance in distinguishing COVID-19 patients from healthy controls and severe from non-severe COVID-19 patients, respectively. Collectively, our study indicated that hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are significantly altered by COVID-19 and could be used as therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers for severe COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]