Determining the current prevalence of β-thalassemia variants in Jordan.

Introduction: This study aimed to define and update the prevalence of β-pathogenic thalassemia variants in Jordan.

Methods: A total of 158 patients with suspected β-thalassemia minor were examined using CBC and Hb-electrophoresis, and polymerase chain reaction with hybridization to identify the type of pathogenic variants.

Results: Five common and seven rare β-thalassemia pathogenic variants were identified in this study, in addition to three variants that had not been previously reported: -101 [C>T], IVS 1.

Regional connectivity drove bidirectional transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East during travel restrictions.

Regional connectivity and land travel have been identified as important drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. However, the generalizability of this finding is understudied outside of well-sampled, highly connected regions. In this study, we investigated the relative contributions of regional and intercontinental connectivity to the source-sink dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 for Jordan and the Middle East.

Serum Biomarkers for Chemotherapy Cardiotoxicity Risk Detection of Breast Cancer Patients.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate level fluctuations of serum biomarkers that are associated with cardiotoxicity risk, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and apolipoprotein-B (Apo-B) in response to chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.

Method: The serum levels of hs-CRP and Apo-B were evaluated in 56 breast cancer patients with main inclusion criteria: HER2 negative and who received adjuvant chemotherapy AC [A: Adriamycin, C: Cyclophosphamide] or AC→T [A: Adriamycin, C: Cyclophosphamide, T: Taxane] regimes at early II (n = 26) and late IV (n = 30) clinical stages by using particle enhanced turbidimetric assay.

Results: The results of this study suggest that a high level of pre-treatment hs-CRP is a good prognostic marker in comparison to Apo-B.