The incidence of Epstein-Barr virus in nasopharyngeal carcinoma of Jordanian patients.

Aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in patients diagnosed with undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (UNPC) from the Northern Province of Jordan. All cases diagnosed with UNPC at King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, Jordan, between the years 1991 and 2009 inclusive were examined. Clinical data including age, gender, mode of presentation, site of biopsy were retrieved from pathology reports.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor causing unexplained anemia in a toddler: a case report.

Introduction: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a very rare benign tumor in children that mimics malignant tumors in its aggressiveness locally and by the possibility of recurrence after surgical resection, and causing anemia of chronic disease, which is a decrease in hemoglobin 1 to 2 g/dL below normal level in a patient with chronic illness.

Case Presentation: A 32-month-old boy from Libya presented with microcytic hypochromic anemia. He had been treated in three countries and five centers without response to medical therapy.

Frozen section analysis of margins for head and neck tumor resections: reduction of sampling errors with a third histologic level.

Frozen section analysis is an essential tool for assessing margins intra-operatively to assure complete resection. Many institutions evaluate surgical defect edge tissue provided by the surgeon after the main lesion has been removed. With the increasing use of transoral laser microsurgery, this method is becoming even more prevalent.

Distinct features of teratoid Wilms tumor.

Teratoid Wilms tumor is an unusual variant of nephroblastoma in which heterologous tissue predominates. Typically, histopathologic examination shows a mixture of mature squamous and mucus-producing columnar epithelium and a prominent component of mature adipose tissue. The treatment of this tumor has not been established because of its rarity with some reports doubting the value of chemotherapy.

Snake bite envenomation: experience at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh.

We surveyed the records of 21 of the 28 snakebite victims seen at King Fahad National Guard Hospital in Riyadh over the 20-year period 1986-2005. The most common symptoms were local pain and swelling and the most common signs oedema and tenderness. Neurotoxicity was not noted in any case.

Descriptive epidemiological analysis, MRI signals intensity and histopathological correlations of meningiomas.

Objectives: To present our experience in operated meningioma cases regarding their prevalence, anatomical location, multiplicity, presenting signs and symptoms, and the possible correlation between MRI signal intensity and histological grades to set criteria for radio-pathological diagnosis.

Methods: In this retrospective study, operated meningioma cases in the Department of Neurosurgery, Jordan University Hospital (JUH), Amman, Jordan between January 1997 and January 2007 were reviewed. Our study included 90 cases, and their medical records, histopathological reports, and neuroimages were analyzed thoroughly.

Seasonal effect on heat shock proteins in fish from Kuwait bay.

Heat shock proteins (HSP70) play a significant role in adaptation to temperature and have been proposed as an indicator of cellular stress. Since the water temperature in Kuwait's marine area varies from 13 to 35 degrees C from winter to summer, HSP70 could be a valuable tool in aquaculture in Kuwait. HSP70 levels were quantified by Western blotting in liver, muscle and gill tissues of two varieties of native fish species captured during the winter and summer months from both inside and outside the highly stressed Kuwait Bay area.

Age, stage, and radiotherapy, but not primary tumor site, affects the outcome of patients with malignant rhabdoid tumors.

Background: Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRTs) are aggressive and often fatal; the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database offers an opportunity to study this rare malignancy.

Methods: From the SEER database, we extracted records of patients with a reported diagnosis of MRT and analyzed them for clinical features and survival rates by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results: For the 229 patients included in our data, who were diagnosed from 1986 to 2005, primary tumors were located in the central nervous system (CNS) (35%), kidneys (20%), and extra-renal non-cranial sites (ERNC-MRTs) (45%).

From upfront nephrectomy to preoperative chemotherapy and back: a single institution experience in the treatment of Wilms tumor.

Background: Over the past decades, 2 different approaches for the treatment of Wilms tumor have emerged: upfront nephrectomy (UN) and preoperative chemotherapy (PC), with adjuvant treatment adjusted to stage, histology, and chemotherapy response.

Methods: In July 2005, we switched our strategy from UN to PC. This study is a retrospective review of patients treated at our institution between January 2003 and October 2007.

Pineal gland tumors: experience from the SEER database.

Pineal gland tumors are rare and account for less than 1% of all primary brain tumor diagnoses. They are more commonly seen in pediatric patients than in adults. We analyzed the available SEER data on pineal gland tumors that were diagnosed during the period 1973-2005.

Diffuse pontine glioma in Jordan and impact of up-front prognosis disclosure with parents and families.

For patients with diffuse pontine glioma, our institution offers local radiotherapy and supportive care only. The prognosis and do-not-resuscitate orders are discussed upfront with patients' parents. To investigate the effectiveness of this policy, we retrospectively reviewed records of patients with diffuse pontine glioma treated at the institution over a 49-month period.

Griscelli syndrome type 2: a rare and lethal disorder.

Griscelli syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. It is characterized by pigment dilution and variable immune deficiency leading to increased susceptibility to certain infections and a tendency to develop a life-threatening hemophagocytic syndrome known as the accelerated phase. Griscelli syndrome is now classified into 3 types based on the genetic and molecular features.

Diclofenac-bismuth complex: synthesis, physicochemical, and biological evaluation.

Diclofenac-bismuth complexation was attempted by mixing diclofenac sodium (Na) and bismuth-subcitrate aqueous solutions at diclofenac:bismuth molar ratio of 3:1. A solid precipitate was obtained and isolated. The precipitate was characterized for stoichiometric ratio of diclofenac-bismuth complexation using capillary electrophoresis, which showed 1:1 complexation.

Uterine neoplasms composed of rhabdoid cells do not exhibit loss of INI1 immunoreactivity and are not related to childhood malignant rhabdoid tumor.

Malignant rhabdoid tumors are rare childhood neoplasms which occur most commonly in the kidneys, soft tissue, and central nervous system. They are characterized by cells with eccentric vesicular nuclei, prominent nucleoli, and abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm. Recently, it has been demonstrated that malignant rhabdoid tumors in childhood are characterized by biallelic deletion or mutation involving the SMARCB1/INI1 gene on chromosome 22.

Carcinoma of breast co-existing with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of axillary lymph nodes.

The co-existence of breast carcinoma and lymphoma in the axillary lymph nodes, without a history of previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy is rarely described. We present a case of a 50-year-old female with right breast mass, proved by pathological examination to be invasive mucinous carcinoma. Examination of the axillary lymph nodes as axillary clearance showed concomitant small lymphocytic lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, with no evidence of metastatic mammary carcinoma deposits.

Intention to stay and nurses' satisfaction dimensions.

Objective: The study was conducted to identify the satisfaction dimensions in relation to anticipated nurse turnover in an academic medical institution using an ordinal regression model.

Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed to describe nurse job satisfaction in relation to their intention to stay at King Faisal University's Hospital, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. All nurses available at the time of the study were included (499 nurses in different departments).

Closing the survival gap: implementation of medulloblastoma protocols in a low-income country through a twinning program.

Successful twinning initiatives have been reported in childhood leukemia. Pediatric neuro-oncology requires a complex multidisciplinary approach and the feasibility of similar twinning programs is unknown. Twinning between King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto started with e-mail communications, and subsequently included monthly videoconferences and exchanges between institutions.

Effect of a 12-mo micronutrient intervention on learning and memory in well-nourished and marginally nourished school-aged children: 2 parallel, randomized, placebo-controlled studies in Australia and Indonesia.

Background: Little is known about the combined effect of micronutrients and essential fatty acids on cognitive function in school-aged children.

Objective: We assessed the effect of micronutrients, long-chain n-3 fatty acids, or both on indicators of cognitive performance in well-nourished and marginally nourished school-aged children.

Design: Two 2-by-2 factorial randomized controlled double-blind trials were performed home-based in Adelaide, South Australia, and at 6 primary schools in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Evaluation of the wound healing effect of some Jordanian traditional medicinal plants formulated in Pluronic F127 using mice (Mus musculus).

The wound healing effect of the aqueous extracts of Inula viscosa, Ajuga chia, Rubia taenifolia and Parieteria diffusa, and the oil of Laurus nobilis, dispersed in water, were examined. The 10% (w/w) Pluronic F127 (PF127) was added to the applied preparations, in order to modify the aqueous extracts viscosity, and to stabilize the oil dispersion. A full thickness wound was made in the dorsal area of the mice.

An unusual association between splenectomy and Kikuchi's disease.

Kikuchi's disease is a clinico-pathologic entity of unknown etiology characterized by subacute inflammatory process of lymph nodes. It affects mostly women around the age of 30 years. It is usually a self limiting illness characterized by pyrexia, neutropenia, and cervical lymphadenopathy.