Background
Autoimmune diseases (AD) are severe pathophysiological ailments that are stimulated by an exaggerated immunogenic response towards self‐antigens, which can cause systemic or site‐specific ...organ damage. An array of complex genetic and epigenetic facets majorly contributes to the progression of AD, thus providing significant insight into the regulatory mechanism of microRNA (miRNA). miRNAs are short, non‐coding RNAs that have been identified as essential contributors to the post‐transcriptional regulation of host genome expression and as crucial regulators of a myriad of biological processes such as immune homeostasis, T helper cell differentiation, central and peripheral tolerance, and immune cell development.
Aims
This article tends to deliberate and conceptualize the brief pathogenesis and pertinent epigenetic regulatory mechanism as well as miRNA networks majorly affecting five different ADs namely rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD) thereby providing novel miRNA‐based theranostic interventions.
Results & Discussion
Pertaining to the differential expression of miRNA attributed in target tissues and cellular bodies of innate and adaptive immunity, a paradigm of scientific expeditions suggests an optimistic correlation between immunogenic dysfunction and miRNA alterations.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is not astonishing that dysregulations in miRNA expression patterns are now recognized in a wide spectrum of disorders, establishing themselves as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Owing to its theranostic potencies, miRNA targets have been widely utilized in the development of biosensors and other therapeutic molecules originating from the same.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally, becoming a long-lasting pandemic. Dengue is the most common arboviral ...disease in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. COVID-19 and dengue coinfections have been reported, associated with worse outcomes with significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aims to determine the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 and dengue coinfection in Latin America.
A systematic literature review was performed using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, LILACS, and BVS databases from January 1, 2020, to September 4, 2021. The key search terms used were "dengue" and "COVID-19".
Nineteen published articles were included. The studies were case reports with a detailed description of the coinfection's clinical, laboratory, diagnostic, and treatment features.
Coinfection with SARS-CoV-2 and dengue virus is associated with worse outcomes with significant morbidity and mortality. The similar clinical and laboratory features of each infection are a challenge in accurately diagnosing and treating cases. Establishing an early diagnosis could be the answer to reducing the estimated significant burden of these conditions.
Ventricular arrhythmias, particularly ventricular tachycardia, are ubiquitously linked to 300,000 deaths annually. However, the current interventional procedure—the cardiac ablation—predict only ...short-term responses to treatment as the heart constantly remodels itself post-arrhythmia. To assist in the design of computational methods which focuses on long-term arrhythmia prediction, this review postulates three interdependent prospectives. The main objective is to propose computational methods for predicting long-term heart response to interventions in ventricular tachycardia Following a general discussion on the importance of devising simulations predicting long-term heart response to interventions, each of the following is discussed: (i) application of “metabolic sink theory” to elucidate the “re-entry” mechanism of ventricular tachycardia; (ii) application of “growth laws” to explain “mechanical load” translation in ventricular tachycardia; (iii) derivation of partial differential equations (PDE) to establish a pipeline to predict long-term clinical outcomes in ventricular tachycardia.
Public health officials around the world are extremely concerned about the global outbreak of monkeypox (MPX), which has been claimed to have originated in Africa. As a result, studies into the ...origins and reasons behind the outbreak's rapid spread have been sped up. The goal of the current investigation is to determine whether the monkeypox virus (MPXV) is present in seminal fluid samples from MPX cases that have been verified. Up until 6 January 2023, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and ScienceDirect databases were used to conduct a thorough evaluation of the literature. The search technique returned a total of 308 items. Fourteen studies reporting the presence of MPXV in the seminal fluid of MPX-confirmed cases were included after the duplicates (
= 158) and searches by title, abstract, and full text were eliminated. In 84 out of the 643 confirmed MPX cases (13.06% or
= 643), MPXV was discovered in seminal fluid. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to identify MPXV, and samples taken from skin lesions (96.27%), pharynx or oropharynx (30.48%), and blood all had higher positivity rates than other samples (12.44%). Additionally, 99.85% of respondents were male with a mean age of 36, 98.45% engaged in MSM (men who have sex with men) sexual conduct, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) accounted for 56.9% of all STD cases. This study offers proof that MPXV can be found in the seminal fluid of MPX sufferers. Our data imply that MPXV transmission is a possibility in these samples and that MSM are more vulnerable to it. The creation of hygienic standards is essential for the early identification of MPX cases.
Anti-VEGF drugs like ranibizumab can be used to treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) by halting the formation of abnormal blood vessels, or lasers can be used to burn the edges of the retina where ...these vessels are present. The objective is to compare the efficacy for ROP between ranibizumab and laser therapy.
Material and methods
Electronic searches will be carried out in medical databases with key words and controlled vocabulary terms. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) will be assessed. The primary outcome will be the full ROP regression. Two reviewers will extract the data using predefined forms and, to assess the quality of the study, we will use RoB 2.0, the tool for randomized controlled trials developed by the Cochrane Collaboration. We used a combination of the inverse-variance approach and random-effects models for the meta-analysis.
Results
The eyes of 182 preterm infants who had ranibizumab treatment were assessed in a total of 364 eyes, and 135 infants received laser therapy. The follow-up period was between 6 and 24 months. Ranibizumab was not associated with greater regression of ROP compared to laser therapy in preterm infants (RR: 1.09, CI 95%: 0.95–1.24;
p
: 0.22). Also, ranibizumab was not associated with recurrence of ROP compared to laser therapy in preterm infants (RR: 3.77, CI 95%: 0.55–25.81;
p
: 0.22).
Conclusions
The efficacy of ranibizumab compared to laser is very uncertain in terms of ROP regression and decreased ROP recurrence in preterm infants.
Systematic Review Registration
identifier PROSPERO (CRD42022324150).
The outbreak of monkeypox was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization on 23 July 2022. There have been 60,000 cases reported worldwide, most of which are in places ...where monkeypox has never been seen due to the travel of people who have the virus. This research aims to evaluate the general Arabic population in regard to the monkeypox disease, fears, and vaccine adoption after the WHO proclaimed a monkeypox epidemic and to compare these attitudes to those of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This cross-sectional study was performed in some Arabic countries (Syria, Egypt, Qatar, Yemen, Jordan, Sudan, Algeria, and Iraq) between 18 August and 7 September 2022. The inclusion criteria were the general public residing in Arabic nations and being older than 18. This questionnaire has 32 questions separated into three sections: sociodemographic variables, prior COVID-19 exposure, and COVID-19 vaccination history. The second portion assesses the knowledge and anxieties about monkeypox, while the third section includes the generalized anxiety disorder (GAD7) scale. Logistic regression analyses were performed to compute the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and their confidence intervals (95%CI) using STATA (version 17.0).
A total of 3665 respondents from 17 Arabic countries were involved in this study. Almost two-thirds (
= 2427, 66.2%) of the participants expressed more worry about COVID-19 than monkeypox diseases. Regarding the major cause for concern about monkeypox, 39.5% of participants attributed their anxiety to the fear that they or a member of their family may contract the illness, while 38.4% were concerned about monkeypox becoming another worldwide pandemic. According to the GAD 7 score, 71.7% of the respondents showed very low anxiety toward monkeypox and 43.8% of the participants scored poor levels of knowledge about monkeypox disease. Participants with previous COVID-19 infection showed a 1.206 times greater acceptance to receive the monkeypox vaccine than those with no previous infection. A 3.097 times higher concern for monkeypox than COVID-19 was shown by the participants who perceived monkeypox as dangerous and virulent than those who did not. Participants who have a chronic disease (aOR: 1.32; 95%CI: 1.09-1.60); participants worried about monkeypox (aOR: 1.21; 95%CI: 1.04-1.40), and perceived monkeypox as a dangerous and virulent disease (aOR: 2.25; 95%CI: 1.92-2.65); and excellent knowledge level (aOR: 2.28; 95%CI: 1.79-2.90) have emerged as significant predictors.
Our study reported that three-fourths of the participants were more concerned about COVID-19 than monkeypox disease. In addition, most of the participants have inadequate levels of knowledge regarding monkeypox disease. Hence, immediate action should be taken to address this problem. Consequently, learning about monkeypox and spreading information about its prevention is crucial.
Introduction: A significant antibiotic prescribing pattern associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been described. Multiple protocols included empirical antimicrobials, leading to a substantial ...increase in antimicrobial consumption in medical care. A higher mortality rate is described among patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who received antibiotics. Objectives: To determine the association between the use of antibiotics and the development of acute renal injury in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in patients treated at the Hospital II EsSalud de Ucayali, 2021. Methods: A cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted, evaluating the medical records of patients admitted to the intensive care unit between July 2020 and July 2021. For the statistical analysis, measures of central tendency and dispersion, statistical hypothesis contrast tests were used in relation to acute kidney injury (AKI), antibiotic use and associated factors, derived from linear regression models. Results: The factors that were positively associated with the development of AKI were sepsis (aPR: 2.86; 95% CI: 1.26–6.43), shock (aPR:2.49; 95% CI: 1.28–4.86), mechanical ventilation (aPR:9.11; 95% CI: 1.23–67.57), and use of vancomycin (aPR: 3.15; 95% CI: 1.19–8.27). Conclusions: In the Peruvian Amazon, there is a high consumption and inadequate prescription of antibiotics. The drugs most commonly used for the treatment of COVID-19 were: aminoglycosides, vancomycin, ivermectin, azithromycin, tocilizumab, and corticosteroids. The development of AKI among hospitalized patients was found to be related to vancomycin administration. In addition, an association was found with the use of mechanical ventilation, a high body mass index, and the presence of complications such as sepsis or shock. Therefore, inappropriate antibiotic use for COVID-19 has been associated with multiple negative outcomes and consequences.
In neonates with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may be more beneficial compared to endotracheal intubation (ETI). We evaluated the efficacy of CPAP in ...neonates with MAS.
Four engines were used to search randomized clinical trials (RCTs). We used relative risk (RR) and mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) to assess the effect on dichotomous and continuous outcomes, respectively. In addition, we used the Paule-Mandel (PM) random effects model due to the anticipated lack of events.
Three RCTs were included (
= 432). No significant difference was found in mortality (RR = 0.82; 95%CI = 0.54-1.25; I
= 71%;
= 0.36), need for ventilation (RR = 0.49; 95%CI = 0.15-1.56; I
= 71%;
= 0.57), and incidence of pneumothorax (RR = 1.24; 95%CI = 0.30-5.12; I
= 0%;
= 0.77) in the CPAP group compared to the ETI group. Regarding secondary outcomes, compared to the ETI group, no significant differences were found in APGAR at one minute (MD = -1.01; 95%CI -2.97 to 0.94; I
= 98%;
= 0.31), APGAR at 5 min (MD = -1.00; 95%CI = -2.96 to 0.95; I
= 99%;
= 0.32), days of hospitalization (MD = -0.52; 95%CI = -1.46 to 0.42; I
= 94%;
= 0.28), and cord pH (MD = 0.003; 95%CI = -0.01 to 0.02; I
= 0%;
= 0.79).
In patients with MAS, there is no significant effect of CPAP use compared to ETI on primary, specifically on mortality, need for ventilation, the incidence of pneumothorax, and secondary outcomes.
Surgical site infections (SSI) can be as high in gynecology and obstetrics surgeries compared to other areas. Antimicrobial prophylaxis is an effective tool in the prevention of SSIs; however, it is ...often not adequately administered, so this study aimed to understand the compliance and factors associated with the use of the clinical practice guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis in gynecological surgeries in two hospitals in the city of Huanuco, Peru.
An analytical cross-sectional study of all gynecologic surgeries performed during 2019 was performed. Compliance was determined based on the antibiotic chosen, dose, administration time, redosing, and prophylaxis duration. Age, hospital of origin, presence of comorbidities, surgery performed, as well as its duration, types of surgery, and anesthesia were considered as related factors.
We collected 529 medical records of patients undergoing gynecological surgery with a median age of 33 years. The prophylactic antibiotic was correctly indicated in 55.5% of cases, and the dose was correct in 31.2%. Total compliance with the five variables evaluated was only 3.9%. Cefazolin was the most commonly used antibiotic.
Low compliance with the institutional clinical practice guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis was identified, showing that antimicrobial prophylaxis in the hospitals studied was inadequate.