Anxiety and Depression Among Patients with Diabetes in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Background: Mental stress plagued type II diabetes (T2DM) patients. The psychological and emotional issues related to diabetes and its effects include depression, anxiety, poor diet, and hypoglycemia fear.

Aim: Compare the impact of diabetes on depression and anxiety in Egyptian and Saudi diabetics.

Value of troponin T as a screening test of cardiac structure and function in chronic kidney disease.

Background: Cardiovascular disease starts early in the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is the leading cause of death in patients with end-stage renal disease. Since high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) can detect much lower levels of myocardial injury than conventional assays, it may be useful for studying the earliest stages of heart disease in patients with CKD.

Objective: To evaluate the association of circulating hs-cTnT with LV structural and functional abnormalities detected by echocardiography among dialysis dependent and non-dialysis dependent CKD patients.

Atherosclerosis in chronic hepatitis C virus patients with and without liver cirrhosis.

Background: Chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and liver cirrhosis may be associated with atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). There are two phases to atherosclerosis, Subclinical and Clinical. Assessment of atherosclerosis may be started at its Subclinical phase by the evaluation of Epicardial Fat Thickness (EpFT) and Carotid Intima Thickness (CIMT).

Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Liver Cirrhosis and Fatty Liver: Correlation with Cardiac Performance.

Objective: The aims of the present study were to assess the serum BNP level in patients with post hepatitis C liver cirrhosis and patients with fatty liver and to determine the correlation between BNP and the severity of liver disease and cardiac performance.

Methods: The study was conducted on 140 subjects subdivided into 3 groups: group 1 included 60 patients having post hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver cirrhosis; group 2 included 60 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); and group 3 included 20 healthy volunteers serving as a control group. All patients and volunteers were subjected to full physical examinations, laboratory evaluation of hemoglobin percent, liver and renal function tests, serum electrolytes, cholesterol, triglyceride, HBs antigen, HCV antibody and serum BNP levels, ECG, abdominal ultrasonography, and echocardiography.

Impact of hyponatremia on frequency of complications in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Introduction: Hyponatremia is common in cirrhosis. The relationship between hyponatremia and severity of cirrhosis is evidenced by its close association with the occurrence of complications, the prevalence of hepatic encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, refectory ascites, and hepatic hydrothorax. The aim of this study was assess the impact of hyponatremia on the occurrence of both liver-related complications and the hemodynamic cardiovascular dysfunction.

The Role of Hemostatic Factors in Atherosclerosis in Patients with Chronic Renal Disease.

Introduction: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of increased morbidity and mortality observed in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is thought to be a key initial event in the development of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential role of hemostatic factors in atherosclerosis, thrombosis and cardiovascular complications in patients suffering from chronic renal disease.

Systemic vascular resistance and fluid status in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis with or without functional renal failure in Egypt.

Background: Functional renal failure and cardiovascular dysfunction are common complications of liver cirrhosis. This study aimed to evaluate cardiac performance, systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and fluid status in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis either with or without functional renal failure.

Methods: Sixty patients diagnosed as having decompensated liver cirrhosis were divided into two groups.

Cardiac dysfunction in liver cirrhosis: A tissue Doppler imaging study from Egypt.

Background: Patients with liver cirrhosis suffer from various cardiac abnormalities, which may influence their outcome. Tissue Doppler recording of the mitral and tricuspid annular diastolic velocities can be used to assess diastolic function accurately. There has been very little published information regarding RV diastolic function in liver cirrhosis.

Complex-formation reactions of dicholoro(S-methyl-L-cysteine)palladium(II) with bio-relevant ligands. Labilization induced by S-donor chelates.

The complex-formation equilibria of [Pd(SMC)(H2O)2]+, where SMC = S-methyl-l-cysteinate, with bio-relevant ligands such as amino acids, peptides, dicarboxylic acids and DNA constituents were studied and their formation constants were determined. The binding mode of the ligands containing various functional groups was studied and the speciation diagrams were evaluated. The kinetics of base hydrolysis of amino acid esters bound to [Pd(SMC)(H2O)2]+ was studied in aqueous solution at 25 degrees C and 0.