Search results for: kidney disease

Authors: Fatemeh Keshavarz

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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, often leading to joint damage and physical disability. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of serum levels of interleukin 17 and anti-CCP factor with disease severity in RA patients. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four patients with RA confirmed by clinical and laboratory criteria were recruited. A 5 ml venous blood sample was taken from every patient, its serum was separated. Based on clinical data and severity of symptoms, patients were classified into three groups of those with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. Serum levels of IL-17 and anti-CCP in all samples were measured using ELISA. Results: Analysis of IL-17 serum levels in different groups showed that its amount was higher in the group with mild clinical symptoms than in other groups. Comparison of IL-17 serum levels between mild and moderate disease severity groups showed a statistically significant relationship. There was also a positive linear relationship between anti-CCP and serum IL-17 levels in different groups of the disease, and serum IL-17 levels were inversely related to the duration of exposure to the disease. Conclusion: Higher IL-17 serum levels in patients with mild symptom severity confirm that this highly specific marker is involved in the pathogenesis of RA and may be effective in initiating patients’ clinical symptoms.

Keywords: IL-17, anti-CCP, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune

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Authors: Teja Koduru

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Untreated Lyme disease can lead to neurological, cardiac, and dermatological complications. Rapid diagnosis of the erythema migrans (EM) rash, a characteristic symptom of Lyme disease is therefore crucial to early diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we aim to utilize deep learning frameworks including Tensorflow and Keras to create deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN) to detect images of acute Lyme Disease from images of erythema migrans. This study uses a custom database of erythema migrans images of varying quality to train a DCNN capable of classifying images of EM rashes vs. non-EM rashes. Images from publicly available sources were mined to create an initial database. Machine-based removal of duplicate images was then performed, followed by a thorough examination of all images by a clinician. The resulting database was combined with images of confounding rashes and regular skin, resulting in a total of 683 images. This database was then used to create a DCNN with an accuracy of 93% when classifying images of rashes as EM vs. non EM. Finally, this model was converted into a web and mobile application to allow for rapid diagnosis of EM rashes by both patients and clinicians. This tool could be used for patient prescreening prior to treatment and lead to a lower mortality rate from Lyme disease.

Keywords: Lyme, untreated Lyme, erythema migrans rash, EM rash

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Authors: Zahra Rakhshan Masoudi, Sona Rostampour Yasouri

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Considering that the only way to save the lives of patients and healthy people who have suffered sudden accidents is blood transfusion, what is important is the presence of the known HCV virus as the most important cause of the disease after blood transfusion. HCV is one of the major global problems, and its transmission through blood causes life-threatening complications and extensive legal, social and economic consequences. On the one hand, unfortunately, there is still no effective vaccine available to prevent HCV. In Iran, the exact statistics of the prevalence of this disease have not yet been fully announced. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence rate and rapid diagnosis of HCV among those who refer to laboratory centers in Tehran. From spring to winter of 1401 (2022-2023), 2166 blood samples were collected from laboratory centers in Tehran. Blood samples were evaluated for the presence of HCV by Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) and PCR techniques along with specific HCV primers. In general, 36 samples (1.6%) were tested positive by the mentioned techniques. The results indicated that the ECL technique is a sensitive and specific diagnostic method for detecting HCV in the early stages of the disease and can be very helpful and provide the possibility of starting the treatment steps to prevent the exacerbation of the disease earlier. Also, the results of PCR technique showed that PCR is an accurate, sensitive and fast method for definitive diagnosis of HCV. It seems that the incidence rate of this disease is increasing in Iran, and investigating the spread of the disease throughout Iran for a longer period of time in the continuation of our research can be helpful in the future to take the necessary measures to prevent the transmission of the disease to people and the rapid onset Treatment steps for patients with HCV should be carried out.

Keywords: electrochemiluminescence, HCV, PCR, prevalence

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Authors: Ritu Nambiar, Shazia Tariq, Sumaira Jamil, Farida Munawar, Imelda Israell

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GBS has emerged as a leading cause of neonatal infections worldwide and clinical trials have demonstrated that giving IAP was effective in reducing early onset GBS (EOGBS) disease of the newborn. There is no available data on the prevalence of GBS in the UAE, therefore, a retrospective chart analysis of our parturients were done to look at our prevalence. The aim of this study is: 1. To study the prevalence of GBS colonization of parturients at al Rahba Hospital following universal screening between 35-37 week. 2. To look at efficacy of GBS intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis by NICU admission for EO GBS disease of the newborn. 1) The prevalence of GBS in our patient population is 24.15%. 2) Incidence of EO GBS disease of the newborn was 0.6%.

Keywords: GBS Screening, universal intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, parturients, newborn

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Authors: Priti S. Tidke, Chandragouda R. Patil

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The present study was designed to investigate the effect of Magnesia phosphorica, a biochemical medicine on urine screeing, biochemical, histopathological, and electron microscopic images in ethylene glycol induced nepholithiasis in rats.Male Wistar albino rats were divided into six groups and were orally administered saline once daily (IR-sham and IR-control) or Magnesia phosphorica 100 mg/kg twice daily for 24 days.The effect of various dilutions of biochemical Mag phos3x, 6x, 30x was determined on urine output by comparing the urine volume collected by keeping individual animals in metabolic cages. Calcium oxalate urolithiasis and hyperoxaluria in male Wistar rats was induced by oral administration of 0.75% Ethylene glycol p.o. daily for 24 days. Simultaneous administration of biochemical 3x, 6x, 30xMag phos (100mg/kg p.o. twice a day) along with ethylene glycol significantly decreased calcium oxalate, urea, creatinine, Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Phosphorus, Albumin, Alkaline Phosphatase content in urine compared with vehicle-treated control group.After the completion of treatment period animals were sacrificed, kidneys were removed and subjected to microscopic examination for possible stone formation. Histological estimation of kidney treated with biochemical Mag phos (3x, 6x, 30xMag phos 100 mg/kg, p.o.) along with ethylene glycol inhibited the growth of calculi and reduced the number of stones in kidney compared with control group. Biochemical Mag phos of 3x dilution and its crude equivalent also showed potent diuretic and antiurolithiatic activity in ethylene glycol induced urolithiasis. A significant decrease in the weight of stones was observed after treatment in animals which received biochemical Mag phos of 3x dilution and its crude equivalent in comparison with control groups. From this study, it can be proposed that the 3x dilution of biochemical Mag phos exhibits a significant inhibitory effect on crystal growth, with the improvement of kidney function and substantiates claims on the biological activity of twelve tissue remedies which can be proved scientifically through laboratory animal studies.

Keywords: Mag phos, Magnesia phosphorica, ciochemic medicine, urolithiasis, kidney stone, ethylene glycol

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Authors: Moetazza M. Alshafei, Ahmed M. Mabrouk, Emtenan M. Hanafi, Manal M. Ramadan, Reda M. S. Korany, Seham S. Kassem, Dina Mostafa Mohammed

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Metabolic syndrome (MeS) is a major health problem with a high incidence of obese individuals worldwide. Increased related morbidity of diabetes, hypertension and fatty liver disease, and complicated cardiovascular disease are inevitable. Boswellia serrata gum (Bos) is a promising traditional medicinal plant; it has several pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antilipase activities. Probiotics (Bac) supplements have good benefits on health and MeS, whether it is supplemented in combination with prebiotics or alone. Microencapsulation helps to mask unpalatable taste and odor and deliver active ingredients to targeted organs. Methodology MeS rat model was produced by feeding rats with a high fat, high CHO diet (HFD). Bos was extracted, and both Bos and the probiotic were microencapsulated with a spray drier. Female rats were divided into 5 groups (N8). HFD control, control normal receiving basic diet, HFD treated, from the start of the experiment, either with encapsulated Bos, Bac and Bos or Bac only, all treatments were received for eight weeks (after approval from NRC animal ethical committee). Serum was collected to analyze lipid profile, blood sugar, liver and kidney functions, antioxidants, leptin, and progesterone. Rat's organs and body fat were weighed and collected for histopathology. Statistical analysis was done by use of one way Anova test in the SPSS program. Results showed control of elevated body weight, lipid profile, and glucose levels as well as decrease of body fat index and improvement of histopathology of liver and heart, especially in combination. Conclusion: We concluded that both microencapsulated Bos and probiotics have a controlling effect on MeS parameters.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, Boswellia serata, probiotic, micro-encapsulation, histopathology, liver steatosis

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Authors: Rezvan Hosseinian

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Aim: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic connective tissue disease with the clinical hallmark of skin thickening and tethering. The correlation of musculoskeletal features with other parameters should be considered in SSc patients. Methods: We reviewed the records of all patients who had more than one visit and standard anteroposterior radiography of hand. We used univariate analysis, and factors with p<0.05 were included in logistic regression to find out dependent factors. Results: Overall, 180 SSc patients were enrolled in our study, 161 (89.4%) of whom were women. The median age (IQR) was 47.0 years (16), and 52% had a diffuse subtype of the disease. In multivariate analysis, tendon friction rubs (TFRs) were associated with the presence of calcinosis, muscle tenderness, and flexion contracture (FC) on physical examination (p<0.05). Arthritis showed no differences in the two subtypes of the disease (p=0.98), and in multivariate analysis, there were no correlations between radiographic arthritis and serological and clinical features. The radiographic results indicated that disease duration correlated with joint erosion, acro-osteolysis, resorption of the distal ulna, calcinosis and radiologic FC (p< 0.05). Acro-osteolysis was more frequent in the dcSSc subtype, TFRs, and anti-TOPO I antibody. Radiologic FC showed an association with skin score, calcinosis and haematocrit <30% (p<0.05). Joint flexion on radiography was associated with disease duration, modified Rodnan skin score, calcinosis, and low hematocrit (P<0.01). Conclusion: Disease duration was a main dependent factor for developing joint erosion, acro-osteolysis, bone resorption, calcinosis, and flexion contracture on hand radiography. Acro-osteolysis presented in the severe form of the disease. Acro-osteolysis was the only dependent variable associated with bone demineralization.

Keywords: disease subsets, hand radiography, joint erosion, sclerosis

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Authors: Nasrin Azarbani

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Aim: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic connective tissue disease with the clinical hallmark of skin thickening and tethering. Correlation of musculoskeletal features with other parameters should be considered in SSc patients. Methods: We reviewed the records of all patients who had more than one visit and standard anteroposterior radiography of hand. We used univariate analysis, and factors with p<0.05 were included in logistic regression to find out dependent factors. Results: Overall, 180 SSc patients were enrolled in our study, 161 (89.4%) of whom were women. Median age (IQR) was 47.0 years (16), and 52% had diffuse subtype of the disease. In multivariate analysis, tendon friction rubs (TFRs) was associated with the presence of calcinosis, muscle tenderness, and flexion contracture (FC) on physical examination (p<0.05). Arthritis showed no differences in the two subtypes of the disease (p=0.98), and in multivariate analysis, there were no correlations between radiographic arthritis and serological and clinical features. The radiographic results indicated that disease duration correlated with joint erosion, acro-osteolysis, resorption of distal ulna, calcinosis and radiologic FC (p< 0.05). Acro-osteolysis was more frequent in the dcSSc subtype, TFRs, and anti-TOPO I antibody. Radiologic FC showed an association with skin score, calcinosis and haematocrit <30% (p<0.05). Joint flexion on radiography was associated with disease duration, modified Rodnan skin score, calcinosis, and low haematocrit (P<0.01). Conclusion: Disease duration was a main dependent factor for developing joint erosion, acro-osteolysis, bone resorption, calcinosis, and flexion contracture on hand radiography. Acro-osteolysis presented in the severe form of the disease. Acro-osteolysis was the only dependent variable associated with bone demineralization.

Keywords: sclerosis, disease subsets, joint erosion, musculoskeletal

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Authors: Adeleke G. E., Bello M. A., Abdulateef R. B., Olasinde T. T., Oriaje K. O., AransiI A., Elaigwu K. O., Omidoyin O. S., Shoyinka E. D., Awoyomi M. B., Akano M., Adaramoye O. A.

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Hymenocardia acidatul belongs to the genus, Hymenocardiaceae, which is widely distributed in Africa. Both the leaf and stem bark of the plant have been used in the treatment of several diseases. The present study examined the chemical constituents of the H. acida stem bark extract (HASBE) and its effects on some antioxidant indices and esterase enzymes in female Wistar rats. The HASBE was obtained by Soxhlet extraction using methanol and then subjected to Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) for elemental analysis, and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, for functional group analysis, while High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and Gas Chromatography-Flame ionization detection (GC-FID) were carried out for compound identification. Forty-eight female Wistar rats were assigned into eight groups of six rats each and separately administered orally with normal saline (Control), 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 mg/kg of HASBE twice per week for eight weeks. The rats were sacrificed under chloroform anesthesia, and kidneys and heart were excised and processed to obtain homogenates. The levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and carboxylesterase (CE) were determined spectrophotometrically. The AAS of HASBE shows the presence of eight elements, including Cobalt (0.303), Copper (0.222), Zinc (0.137), Iron (2.027), Nickel (1.304), Chromium (0.313), Manganese (0.213), and Magnesium (0.337 ppm). The FT-IR result of HASBE shows four peaks at 2961.4, 2926.0, 1056.7, and 1034.3 cm-1, while UV analysis shows a maximum absorbance (0.522) at 205 nm. The HPLC spectrum of HASBE indicates the presence of four major compounds, including orientin (77%), β-sitosterol (6.58%), rutin (5.02%), and betulinic acid (3.33%), while GC-FID result shows five major compounds, including rutin (53.27%), orientin (13.06%) and stigmasterol (11.73%), hymenocardine (6.43%) and homopterocarpin (5.29%). The SOD activity was significantly (p < 0.05) lowered in the kidney but elevated in the heart, while catalase was elevated in both organs relative to control rats. The GPx activity was significantly elevated only in the kidney, while MDA was not significantly (p > 0.05) affected in the two organs compared with controls. The activity of AChE was significantly elevated in both organs, while CE activity was elevated only in the kidney relative to control rats. The present study reveals that Hymenocardia acida stem bark extract majorly contains orientin, rutin, stigmasterol, hymenocardine, β-sitosterol, homopterocarpin, and betulinic acid. In addition, these compounds could possibly enhance redox status and esterase activities in the kidney and heart of Wistar rats.

Keywords: hymenocardia acida, elemental analysis, compounds identification, redox status, organs

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Authors: Kingston Rajiah, Mari Kannan Maharajan, Si Jen Yeen, Sara Lew

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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with evolving layers of complexity. Both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD may affect patients’ quality of life (QoL). Life expectancy for an individual with Parkinson’s disease depends on the level of care the individual has access to, can have a direct impact on length of life. Therefore, improvement of the QoL is a significant part of therapeutic plans. Patients with PD, especially those who are in advanced stages, are in great need of assistance, mostly from their family members or caregivers in terms of medical, emotional, and social support. The role of a caregiver becomes increasingly important with the progression of PD, the severity of motor impairment and increasing age of the patient. The nature and symptoms associated with PD can place significant stresses on the caregivers’ burden. As the prevalence of PD is estimated to more than double by 2030, it is important to recognize and alleviate the burden experienced by caregivers. This study focused on the impact of the clinical features on the QoL of PD patients, and of their caregivers. This study included PD patients along with their caregivers and was undertaken at the Malaysian Parkinson's Disease Association from June 2016 to November 2016. Clinical features of PD patients were assessed using the Movement Disorder Society revised Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS); the Hoehn and Yahr Staging of Parkinson's Disease were used to assess the severity and Parkinson's disease activities of daily living scale were used to assess the disability of Parkinson’s disease patients. QoL of PD patients was measured using the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). The revised version of the Zarit Burden Interview assessed caregiver burden. At least one of the clinical features affected PD patients’ QoL, and at least one of the QoL domains affected the caregivers’ burden. Clinical features ‘Saliva and Drooling’, and ‘Dyskinesia’ explained 29% of variance in QoL of PD patients. The QoL domains ‘stigma’, along with ‘emotional wellbeing’ explained 48.6% of variance in caregivers’ burden. Clinical features such as saliva, drooling and dyskinesia affected the QoL of PD patients. The PD patients’ QoL domains such as ‘stigma’ and ‘emotional well-being’ influenced their caregivers’ burden.

Keywords: carers, quality of life, clinical features, Malaysia

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Authors: H. N. Agiza, M. A. Sohaly, M. A. Elfouly

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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous disorder with common age of onset, symptoms, and progression levels. In this paper we will solve analytically the PD model as a non-linear delay differential equation using the steps method. The step method transforms a system of delay differential equations (DDEs) into systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). On some numerical examples, the analytical solution will be difficult. So we will approximate the analytical solution using Picard method and Taylor method to ODEs.

Keywords: Parkinson's disease, step method, delay differential equation, two delays

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Ecem Deniz Kırkpantur, Ozge Ecmel Onur, Tuba Cimilli Ozturk, Ebru Unal Akoglu

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Moyamoya disease is a unique chronic progressive cerebrovascular disease characterized by bilateral stenosis or occlusion of the arteries around the circle of Willis with prominent arterial collateral circulation. The occurrence of Moyamoya disease is related to immune, genetic and other factors. There is no curative treatment for Moyamoya disease. Secondary prevention for patients with symptomatic Moyamoya disease is largely centered on surgical revascularization techniques. We present here a 62-year old male presented with headache and vision loss for 2 days. He was previously diagnosed with hypertension and glaucoma. On physical examination, left eye movements were restricted medially, both eyes were hyperemic and their movements were painful. Other neurological and physical examination were normal. His vital signs and laboratory results were within normal limits. Computed tomography (CT) showed dilated vascular structures around both lateral ventricles and atherosclerotic changes inside the walls of internal carotid artery (ICA). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and angiography (MRA) revealed dilated venous vascular structures around lateral ventricles and hyper-intense gliosis in periventricular white matter. Ischemic gliosis around the lateral ventricles were present in the Digital Subtracted Angiography (DSA). After the neurology, ophthalmology and neurosurgery consultation, the patient was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, pulse steroid therapy was started for vision loss, and super-selective DSA was planned for further investigation. Moyamoya disease is a rare condition, but it can be an important cause of stroke in both children and adults. It generally affects anterior circulation, but posterior cerebral circulation may also be affected, as well. In the differential diagnosis of acute vision loss, occipital stroke related to Moyamoya disease should be considered. Direct and indirect surgical revascularization surgeries may be used to effectively revascularize affected brain areas, and have been shown to reduce risk of stroke.

Keywords: headache, Moyamoya disease, stroke, visual loss

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Authors: Shripad Kulkarni

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Plant disease is an impairment of the normal state of a plant that interrupts or modifies its vital functions. Disease occurs on different parts of plants and cause heavy losses. Diagnosis of Problem is very important before planning any management practice and this can be done based on appearance of the crop, examination of the root and examination of the soil. There are various types of diseases such as biotic (transmissible) which accounts for ~30% whereas , abiotic (not transmissible) diseases are the major one with ~70% incidence. Plant diseases caused by different groups of organism’s belonging fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and few others have remained important in causing significant losses in different crops indicating the urgent need of their integrated management. Various factors favor disease development and different steps and methods are involved in management of diseases under protected condition. Management of diseases through botanicals and bioagents by modifying root and aerial environment, vector management along with care to be taken while managing the disease are analysed.

Keywords: organic production system, diseases, bioagents and polyhouse, agriculture

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Authors: Yuxi Wang, Xuan Gao

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Traditional Chinese medicine has been used in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) for centuries, and in recent years, the research data on the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine through clinical trials has gradually increased to explore its real efficacy and internal pharmacology. However, due to the complexity of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, the efficacy of each component is difficult to clarify, and pharmacological research is challenging. This study aims to systematically review and clarify the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of coronary heart disease through a meta-analysis. Based on PubMed, CNKI database, Wanfang data, and other databases, eleven randomized controlled trials and 1091 CHD subjects were included. Two researchers conducted a systematic review of the papers and conducted a meta-analysis supporting the positive therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of CHD.

Keywords: coronary heart disease, Chinese medicine, treatment, meta-analysis

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Authors: Mahzad Yousefi, Azin Tavakoli

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Periodontal disease is an inflammatory reaction; therefore, it is predicted that changes may occur in some inflammatory parameters that can be detected in routine blood tests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hematological and biochemistry changes that occur in dogs affected with advanced stages of periodontal disease. 87 dogs were diagnosed with periodontal disease (PD group), and 76 healthy dogs entered the study. The PD dogs had been affected with periodontitis stage 3 or 4 and were candidates for any dental extractions. The healthy dogs were either referred for annual checkups or for issuing health travel certificates that their owners asked for complete lab tests. Neither the diseased nor healthy subjects had a history of infectious, or other general health problems or surgery in the past 3 months. Age, as well as all hematologic including PCV, WBC and RBC count, Hb, MCV, MCH, MCHC, PLT, CBC, NLR, and biochemistry data, including total protein, albumin, glucose, BUN, Creatinine, ALT, AST, and ALP, were recorded and analyzed statistically. Results confirmed that aging has a significant direct relationship with the advanced stages of periodontal disease. Mild leukocytosis occurred in the diseased group; however, it was not significant. Also, the mean total protein of the PD group was lower than that of the healthy dogs, and serum levels of albumin were found to be lower significantly in the diseased group (P<0.05). Mean ±SD amount of Platelet, MCH, and ALT were significantly higher in the diseased group in comparison to the healthy dogs (P<0.05). No significant differences were reported in other evaluated parameters. It is concluded that CBC indices of PD dogs are not systemic inflammatory; however, only a decrease in albumin showed inflammatory responses. Some indices in routine laboratory tests can be changed significantly during advanced stages of the periodontal disease dogs.

Keywords: periodontal disease, dogs, hematological factors, advanced stages, blood tests

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Authors: Małgorzata Tomczyńska, Joanna Saluk-Bijak

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Background: Graves’ disease is a frequent organ-specific autoimmune thyroid disease, which characterized by the presence of different kind autoantibodies, that, in most cases, act as agonists of the thyrotropin receptor, leading to hyperthyroidism. Role of platelets and lymphocytes can be modulated in the pathophysiology of thyroid autoimmune diseases. Interference in the physiology of platelets can lead to enhanced activity of these cells. Activated platelets can bind to circulating lymphocytes and to affect lymphocyte adhesion. Platelets and lymphocytes can regulate mutual functions. Therefore, the activation of T lymphocytes, as well as blood platelets, is associated with the development of inflammation and oxidative stress within the target tissue. The present study was performed to investigate a platelet-lymphocyte relation by assessing the degree of their mutual aggregation in whole blood of patients with Graves’ disease. Also, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of platelet interaction on lymphocyte migration capacity. Methods: 30 patients with Graves’ disease were recruited in the study. The matched 30 healthy subjects were served as the control group. Immunophenotyping of lymphocytes was carried out by flow cytometry method. A CytoSelect™ Cell Migration Assay Kit was used to evaluate lymphocyte migration and adhesion to blood platelets. Visual assessment of lymphocyte-platelet aggregate morphology was done using confocal microscope after magnetic cell isolation by Miltenyi Biotec. Results: The migration and functional responses of lymphocytes to blood platelets were greater in the group of Graves’ disease patients compared with healthy controls. The group of Graves’ disease patients exhibited a reduced T lymphocyte and a higher B cell count compared with controls. Based on microscopic analysis, more platelet-lymphocyte aggregates were found in patients than in control. Conclusions: Studies have shown that in Graves' disease, lymphocytes show increased platelet affinity, more strongly migrating toward them, and forming mutual cellular conglomerates. This may be due to the increased activation of blood platelets in this disease.

Keywords: blood platelets, cell migration, Graves’ disease, lymphocytes, lymphocyte-platelet aggregates

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Authors: Wassie Molla, Klaas Frankena, Mart De Jong

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Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a severe viral disease of cattle, which often occurs in epidemic form. It is caused by lumpy skin disease virus of the genus capripoxvirus of family poxviridae. Mathematical models play important role in the study of infectious diseases epidemiology. They help to explain the dynamics and understand the transmission of an infectious disease within a population. Understanding the transmission dynamics of lumpy skin disease between animals is important for the implementation of effective prevention and control measures against the disease. This study was carried out in central and north-western part of Ethiopia with the objectives to understand LSD outbreak dynamics, quantify the transmission between animals and herds, and estimate the disease reproduction ratio in dominantly crop-livestock mixed and commercial herd types. Field observation and follow-up study were undertaken, and the transmission parameters were estimated based on a SIR epidemic model in which individuals are susceptible (S), infected and infectious (I), and recovered and immune or dead (R) using the final size and generalized linear model methods. The result showed that a higher morbidity was recorded in infected crop-livestock (24.1%) mixed production system herds than infected commercial production (17.5%) system herds whereas mortality was higher in intensive (4.0%) than crop-livestock (1.5%) system and the differences were statistically significant. The transmission rate among animals and between herds were 0.75 and 0.68 per week, respectively in dominantly crop-livestock production system. The transmission study undertaken in dominantly crop-livestock production system highlighted the presence of statistically significant seasonal difference in LSD transmission among animals. The reproduction numbers of LSD in dominantly crop-livestock production system were 1.06 among animals and 1.28 between herds whereas it varies from 1.03 to 1.31 among animals in commercial production system. Though the R estimated for LSD in different production systems at different localities is greater than 1, its magnitude is low implying that the disease can be easily controlled by implementing the appropriate control measures.

Keywords: commercial, crop-livestock, Ethiopia, LSD, reproduction number, transmission

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Authors: Sanjay Singh, Parameswara Rao Vuddanda

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The aim of the present study is study the factual benefit of nano size and surface coating of p-gp efflux inhibitor on enhancement of bioavailability of Berberine chloride (BBR); a p-gp substrate. In addition, 28 days sub acute oral toxicity study was also conducted to assess the toxicity of the formulation on chronic administration. BBR loaded polymeric nanoparticles (BBR-NP) were prepared by nanoprecipitation method. BBR NP were surface coated (BBR-SCNP) with the 1 % w/v of vitamin E TPGS. For bioavailability study, total five groups (n=6) of rat were treated as follows first; pure BBR, second; physical mixture of BBR, carrier and vitamin E TPGS, third; BBR-NP, fourth; BBR-SCNP and fifth; BBR and verapamil (widely used p-gp inhibitor). Blood was withdrawn at pre-set timing points in 24 hrs study and drug was quantified by HPLC method. In oral chronic toxicity study, total four groups (n=6) were treated as follows first (control); water, second; pure BBR, third; BBR surface coated nanoparticles and fourth; placebo BBR surface coated nanoparticles. Biochemical levels of liver (AST, ALP and ALT) and kidney (serum urea and creatinine) along with their histopathological studies were also examined (0-28 days). The AUC of BBR-SCNP was significantly 3.5 folds higher compared to all other groups. The AUC of BBR-NP was 3.23 and 1.52 folds higher compared to BBR solution and BBR with verapamil group, respectively. The physical mixture treated group showed slightly higher AUC than BBR solution treated group but significantly low compared to other groups. It indicates that encapsulation of BBR in nanosize form can circumvent P-gp efflux effect. BBR-NP showed pharmacokinetic parameters (Cmax and AUC) which are near to BBR-SCNP. However, the difference in values of T1/2 and clearance indicate that surface coating with vitamin E TPGS not only avoids the P-gp efflux at its absorption site (intestine) but also at organs which are responsible for metabolism and excretion (kidney and liver). It may be the reason for observed decrease in clearance of BBR-SCNP. No toxicity signs were observed either in biochemical or histopathological examination of liver and kidney during toxicity studies. The results indicate that administration of BBR in surface coated nanoformulation would be beneficial for enhancement of its bioavailability and longer retention in systemic circulation. Further, sub acute oral dose toxicity studies for 28 days such as evaluation of intestine, liver and kidney histopathology and biochemical estimations indicated that BBR-SCNP developed were safe for long use.

Keywords: bioavailability, berberine nanoparticles, p-gp efflux inhibitor, nanoprecipitation method

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Selvaprakash Ramalingam, Rabi N. Sahoo, Dharmendra Saraswat, A. Kumar, Rajeev Ranjan, Joydeep Mukerjee, Viswanathan Chinnasamy, K. K. Chaturvedi, Sanjeev Kumar

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Rice is one of the most important staple food crops in the world. Among the various diseases that affect rice crops, rice blast is particularly significant, causing crop yield and economic losses. While the plant has defense mechanisms in place, such as chemical indicators (proteins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, and azelaic acid) and resistance genes in certain varieties that can protect against diseases, susceptible varieties remain vulnerable to these fungal diseases. Early prediction of rice blast (RB) disease is crucial, but conventional techniques for early prediction are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques hold the potential to predict RB disease at its asymptomatic stage. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the prediction of RB disease at the asymptomatic stage using non-imaging hyperspectral ASD spectroradiometer under controlled laboratory conditions. We applied statistical spectral discrimination theory to identify unknown spectra of M. Oryzae, the fungus responsible for rice blast disease. The infrared (IR) region was found to be significantly affected by RB disease. These changes may result in alterations in the absorption, reflection, or emission of infrared radiation by the affected plant tissues. Our research revealed that the protein spectrum in the IR region is impacted by RB disease. In our study, we identified strong correlations in the region (Amide group - I) around X 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm with the Lambda / Lambda derived spectra methods for protein detection. During the stages when the disease is developing, typically from day 3 to day 5, the plant's defense mechanisms are not as effective. This is especially true for the PB-1 variety of rice, which is highly susceptible to rice blast disease. Consequently, the proteins in the plant are adversely affected during this critical time. The spectral contour plot reveals the highly correlated spectral regions 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm associated with RB disease infection. Based on these spectral sensitivities, we developed new spectral disease indices for predicting different stages of disease emergence. The goal of this research is to lay the foundation for future UAV and satellite-based studies aimed at long-term monitoring of RB disease.

Keywords: rice blast, asymptomatic stage, spectral sensitivity, IR

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Authors: Anat Achiron

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system in young adults. It involves the immune system attacking the protective covering of nerve fibers (myelin), leading to inflammation and damage. MS can result in various neurological symptoms, such as muscle weakness, coordination problems, and sensory disturbances. Seizures are not common in MS, and the frequency is estimated between 0.4 to 6.4% over the disease course. Objective: Investigate the frequency of seizures in individuals with multiple sclerosis and to identify associated risk factors. Methods: We evaluated the frequency of seizures in a large cohort of 5686 MS patients followed at the Sheba Multiple Sclerosis Center and studied associated risk factors and comorbidities. Our research was based on data collection using a cohort study design. We applied logistic regression analysis to assess the strength of associations. Results: We found that younger age at onset, longer disease duration, and prolonged time to immunomodulatory treatment initiation were associated with increased risk for seizures. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that seizures in people with MS are directly related to the demyelination process and not associated with other factors like medication side effects or comorbid conditions. Therefore, initiating immunomodulatory treatment early in the disease course could reduce not only disease activity but also decrease seizure risk.

Keywords: epilepsy, seizures, multiple sclerosis, white matter, age

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Authors: P. S. Jagadeesh Kumar, Mingmin Pan, Xianpei Li, Yanmin Yuan, Tracy Lin Huan

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Researchers are doing enchanting research into the inherited features of Alzheimer’s disease and probable consistent therapies. In Alzheimer’s, memories are extinct in reverse order; memories formed lately are more transitory than those from formerly. Reminiscence therapy includes the conversation of past actions, trials and knowledges with another individual or set of people, frequently with the help of perceptible reminders such as photos, household and other acquainted matters from the past, music and collection of tapes. In this manuscript, the competence of reminiscence therapy for Alzheimer’s disease is measured using logistic regression based linear bootstrap aggregating. Logistic regression is used to envisage the experiential features of the patient’s memory through various therapies. Linear bootstrap aggregating shows better stability and accuracy of reminiscence therapy used in statistical classification and regression of memories related to validation therapy, supportive psychotherapy, sensory integration and simulated presence therapy.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, linear bootstrap aggregating, logistic regression, reminiscence therapy

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Authors: Jay L. Fu

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Patients with Alzheimer's disease progressively lose their memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out simple daily tasks. The disease is irreversible, but early detection and treatment can slow down the disease progression. In this research, publicly available MRI data and demographic data from 373 MRI imaging sessions were utilized to build models to predict dementia. Various machine learning models, including logistic regression, k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, random forest, and neural network, were developed. Data were divided into training and testing sets, where training sets were used to build the predictive model, and testing sets were used to assess the accuracy of prediction. Key risk factors were identified, and various models were compared to come forward with the best prediction model. Among these models, the random forest model appeared to be the best model with an accuracy of 90.34%. MMSE, nWBV, and gender were the three most important contributing factors to the detection of Alzheimer’s. Among all the models used, the percent in which at least 4 of the 5 models shared the same diagnosis for a testing input was 90.42%. These machine learning models allow early detection of Alzheimer’s with good accuracy, which ultimately leads to early treatment of these patients.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, clinical diagnosis, magnetic resonance imaging, machine learning prediction

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Authors: Mualla McManus, Jenna Luche Thaye

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World Health Organisation International Classification of Disease codes were created to define disease including infections in order to guide and educate diagnosticians. Most infectious diseases such as syphilis are clearly defined by their ICD 10 codes and aid/help to educate the clinicians in syphilis diagnosis and treatment globally. However, current ICD 10 codes for relapsing fever Borreliosis and Lyme disease are less clearly defined and can impede appropriate diagnosis especially if the clinician is not familiar with the symptoms of these infectious diseases. This is despite substantial number of scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals about relapsing fever and Lyme disease. In the USA there are estimated 380,000 people annually contacting Lyme disease, more cases than breast cancer and 6x HIV/AIDS cases. This represents estimated 0.09% of the USA population. If extrapolated to the global population (7billion), 0.09% equates to 63 million people contracting relapsing fever or Lyme disease. In many regions, the rate of contracting some form of infection from tick bite may be even higher. Without accurate and appropriate diagnostic codes, physicians are impeded in their ability to properly care for their patients, leaving those patients invisible and marginalized within the medical system and to those guiding public policy. This results in great personal hardship, pain, disability, and expense. This unnecessarily burdens health care systems, governments, families, and society as a whole. With accurate diagnostic codes in place, robust data can guide medical and public health research, health policy, track mortality and save health care dollars. Better defined ICD codes are the way forward in educating the diagnosticians about relapsing fever and Lyme diseases.

Keywords: WHO ICD codes, relapsing fever, Lyme diseases, World Health Organisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Davies Obaromi, Qin Yongsong, James Ndege, Azeez Adeboye, Akinwumi Odeyemi

Abstract:

The basic model usually used in disease mapping, is the Besag, York and Mollie (BYM) model and which combines the spatially structured and spatially unstructured priors as random effects. Bayesian Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) model is a disease mapping method that is commonly used for smoothening the relative risk of any disease as used in the Besag, York and Mollie (BYM) model. This model (CAR), which is also usually assigned as a prior to one of the spatial random effects in the BYM model, successfully uses information from adjacent sites to improve estimates for individual sites. To our knowledge, there are some unrealistic or counter-intuitive consequences on the posterior covariance matrix of the CAR prior for the spatial random effects. In the conventional BYM (Besag, York and Mollie) model, the spatially structured and the unstructured random components cannot be seen independently, and which challenges the prior definitions for the hyperparameters of the two random effects. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to construct and utilize an extended Bayesian spatial CAR model for studying tuberculosis patterns in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and then compare for flexibility with some existing CAR models. The results of the study revealed the flexibility and robustness of this alternative extended CAR to the commonly used CAR models by comparison, using the deviance information criteria. The extended Bayesian spatial CAR model is proved to be a useful and robust tool for disease modeling and as a prior for the structured spatial random effects because of the inclusion of an extra hyperparameter.

Keywords: Besag2, CAR models, disease mapping, INLA, spatial models

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Authors: Yang Zhang, Jian He

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Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world, and coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the major heart diseases. Electrocardiogram (ECG) is widely used in the detection of heart diseases, but the traditional manual method for CHD prediction by analyzing ECG requires lots of professional knowledge for doctors. This paper introduces sliding window and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to transform ECG signals into images, and then ResNet and Bi-LSTM are introduced to build the ECG feature extraction network (namely ECGNet). At last, an auxiliary system for coronary heart disease prediction was developed based on modified ResNet18 and Bi-LSTM, and the public ECG dataset of CHD from MIMIC-3 was used to train and test the system. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the method is 83%, and the F1-score is 83%. Compared with the available methods for CHD prediction based on ECG, such as kNN, decision tree, VGGNet, etc., this method not only improves the prediction accuracy but also could avoid the degradation phenomenon of the deep learning network.

Keywords: Bi-LSTM, CHD, ECG, ResNet, sliding window

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Authors: Jyotismita Talukdar

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In this paper, a study has been made on the possibility and accuracy of early prediction of several Heart Disease using Artificial Neural Network. (ANN). The study has been made in both noise free environment and noisy environment. The data collected for this analysis are from five Hospitals. Around 1500 heart patient’s data has been collected and studied. The data is analysed and the results have been compared with the Doctor’s diagnosis. It is found that, in noise free environment, the accuracy varies from 74% to 92%and in noisy environment (2dB), the results of accuracy varies from 62% to 82%. In the present study, four basic attributes considered are Blood Pressure (BP), Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Thalach (THAL) and Cholesterol (CHOL.). It has been found that highest accuracy(93%), has been achieved in case of PPI( Post-Permanent-Pacemaker Implementation ), around 79% in case of CAD(Coronary Artery disease), 87% in DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy), 89% in case of RHD&MS(Rheumatic heart disease with Mitral Stenosis), 75 % in case of RBBB +LAFB (Right Bundle Branch Block + Left Anterior Fascicular Block), 72% for CHB(Complete Heart Block) etc. The lowest accuracy has been obtained in case of ICMP (Ischemic Cardiomyopathy), about 38% and AF( Atrial Fibrillation), about 60 to 62%.

Keywords: coronary heart disease, chronic stable angina, sick sinus syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Thalach

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Authors: Ofosuhene O. Apenteng, Noor Azina Ismail

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Recently tourism is a major foreign exchange earner in the World. In this paper, we propose the mathematical model to study the impact of tourists on the spread of HIV incidences using compartmental differential equation models. Simulation studies of reproduction number are used to demonstrate new insights on the spread of HIV disease. The periodogram analysis of a time series was used to determine the speed at which the disease is spread. The results indicate that with the persistent flow of tourism into a country, the disease status has increased the epidemic rate. The result suggests that the government must put more control on illegal prostitution, unprotected sexual activity as well as to emphasis on prevention policies that include the safe sexual activity through the campaign by the tourism board.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, mathematical transmission modeling, tourists, stability, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Sara Sahraoui

Abstract:

This research studied the effect of Alzheimer's disease (AD) on language information processing in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who were bilingual (French and dialectical Arabic). The results show a disorder of certain semantic aspects of their mother tongue (L1). On the other hand, grammatical levels appeared to be relatively unaffected in oral speech in L1 but were disturbed in the second language (L2). In consequence, we constructed a cognitive-language stimulation protocol for bilingual patients (PSCLAB) to respond to this disorder. The efficacy of this protocol in terms of rehabilitation was assessed in 30 such patients through discourse analysis carried out before and after initiating the protocol. The results show that cognitive/language training using the PSCLAB appears to improve the language behaviour of bilingual patients with AD. However, this survey study aims to verify the satisfaction of patients’ relatives with the results of cognitive language training by PSCLAB. We developed a brief instrument to measure the satisfaction of family members. The results report that the patient's relatives are satisfied with the results of cognitive training by PSCLAB.

Keywords: satisfaction, Alzheimer's disease, rehabilitation, levels language

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Manea A. I. Alqrad, Alaa Sirwi, Sabrin R. M. Ibrahim, Hossam M. Abdallah, Gamal A. Mohamed

Abstract:

Phytochemical study of the methanolic extract of the air dried powdered of the parts of Viscum schemperi Engl. (Family: Viscaceae) using different chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of five compounds: -amyrenone (1), betulinic acid (2), (3β)-olean-12-ene-3,23-diol (3), -oleanolic acid (4), and α-oleanolic acid (5). Their structures were established based on physical, chemical, and spectral data. Anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities of oleanolic acid in a mouse model of acute hepatorenal damage were assessed. This study showed the efficacy of oleanolic acid to counteract thioacetamide-induced hepatic and kidney injury in mice through the reduction of hepatocyte oxidative damage, suppression of inflammation, and apoptosis. More importantly, oleanolic acid suppressed thioacetamide-induced hepatic and kidney injury by inhibiting NF-κB/TNF-α-mediated inflammation/apoptosis and enhancing SIRT1/Nrf2/Heme-oxygenase signalling pathway. These promising pharmacological activities suggest the potential use of oleanolic acid against hepatorenal damage.

Keywords: oleanolic acid, viscum schimperi, thioacetamide, SIRT1/Nrf2/NF-κB, hepatorenal damage

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Sahar M. El-Gowilly, Mai M. Helmy, Hanan M. El-Gowelli

Abstract:

Methotrexate (MTX) is widely used in treatment of cancers and autoimmune diseases. However, nephrotoxicity is one of the most important side effects of MTX. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist, pioglitazone (PIO), is known to exert anti-inflammatory and reno-protective effects in various kidney injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential involvement of endothelial damage in MTX-induced renal injury and to elaborate the possible protective effect of PIO against MTX-induced nephropathy. Compared with saline-treated rats, treatment with MTX (7 mg/kg for 3 day) caused significant elevations in serum levels of urea and creatinine, increased renal nitrate/nitrite level and impaired renovascular responsiveness of isolated perfused kidney to endothelium-dependent vasodilations induced by acetylcholine (0.01-2.43 nmol) and isoprenaline (1µmol). These effects were abolished by concurrent treatment with PIO (2.5 mg/kg, for 5 days starting two days before MTX). Alternatively, MTX treatment did not affect endothelium-independent renovascular relaxation induced by sodium nitroprusside (1-30 μmole). The possibility that alterations in renal antioxidants, circulating cytokine and apoptotic factor (Fas) levels contributed to MTX-PIO interaction was assessed. PIO treatment abrogated renal oxidative stress (decreased reduced glutathione and catalase activity and increased malondialdehyde), elevated serum cytokine (interleukin-6, interleukin-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and transforming growth factor-beta1) and Fas induced by MTX. Histologically, MTX caused defused tubular cells swelling and vacuolization associated with endothelial damage in renal arterioles. These effects disappeared upon co-treated with PIO. Collectively, PIO abolished MTX-induced endothelium dysfunction and nephrotoxicity via ameliorating oxidative stress and rectifying cytokines and Fas abnormalities caused by MTX.

Keywords: methotrexate, pioglitazone, endothelium, kidney

Procedia PDF Downloads 292