Cardiovascular Risk Among Patients ≥65 Years of Age with Parkinson's Disease (From the National Inpatient Sample).

In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between Parkinson's disease (PD) and vascular disease and risk factors using a nationally representative sample. The National Inpatient Sample was queried for all patients aged ≥65 who were diagnosed with PD during the year 2016. Patients were identified using the International Classification of Diseases-Tenth Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis code: "G20.

May Measurement Month 2018: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Sudan.

To raise awareness of high blood pressure (BP) levels and associated risk factors among the Sudanese population. A cross-sectional study was conducted in six Sudanese states during the period May-August 2018. The study area included public indoor and outdoor areas, institutes, and service facilities.

May Measurement Month 2017: an analysis of blood pressure screening in Sudan-Northern Africa and Middle East.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. Sudan has the second highest prevalence of hypertension in North Africa. One in four people with a non-communicable disease has hypertension.

Development and evaluation of real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for rapid detection of cystic echinococcosis.

Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis, caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (EG)-complex, is a neglected parasitic disease of public health importance. The disease is endemic in many African and Mediterranean countries including the Sudan. The objective of the present study was to develop and evaluate a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for simple and rapid detection of CE in humans and domestic live stock in Sudan.

First report on circulation of Echinococcus ortleppi in the one humped camel (Camelus dromedaries), Sudan.

Background: Echinococcus granulosus (EG) complex, the cause of cystic echinococcosis (CE), infects humans and several other animal species worldwide and hence the disease is of public health importance. Ten genetic variants, or genotypes designated as (G1-G10), are distributed worldwide based on genetic diversity. The objective of this study was to provide some sequence data and phylogeny of EG isolates recovered from the Sudanese one-humped camel (Camelus dromedaries).

Application of Confocal Microscopy for 3D Assessment of Carotid Plaque Structure: Implications for Carotid Blood Flow and Stroke Research.

Background: Little information is available on how forces resulting from fluid flow interact with structural stability of carotid atherosclerotic plaque and how such interactions may impact on stroke prevention; investigation of the 3D structure of plaque could help in such studies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether confocal microscopy can be used to obtain 3D visualization of the structure of atherosclerotic carotid plaques.

Methods: Carotid plaque specimens were collected from routine end-arterectomy surgical operations.

Evaluation of the effects of VKORC1 polymorphisms and haplotypes, CYP2C9 genotypes, and clinical factors on warfarin response in Sudanese patients.

Objective: African populations, including the Sudanese, are underrepresented in warfarin pharmacogenetic studies. We designed a study to determine the associations between the polymorphisms and haplotype structures of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 and warfarin dose response in Sudanese patients, one of the most genetically diverse populations in Africa.

Material And Methods: The effect of the CYP2C9 polymorphisms (*2, *3, *5, *6, *8, *9, and *11), 20 VKORC1 tag SNPs and haplotypes, and clinical covariates were comprehensively assessed in 203 Sudanese warfarin-treated patients.

Immunoassays for avian butyrylcholinesterase: Implications for ecotoxicological testing and clinical biomonitoring.

Limitations of using the cholinesterases as biomarkers for assessing organophosphate (OP) pesticides impact on avian wildlife are a matter of concern for both toxicologists and environmentalists. One limitation appears to be the assumption of proportionality between enzyme activity and enzyme protein content. However, this proportionality does not hold during exposure to OP pesticides which can cause changes in both factors.

Care of patients with haemoglobin abnormalities: nursing management.

This second of two articles on sickle cell disease (SCD) aims to provide advice on nursing care for patients. All health professionals should be aware of the various manifestations of the disease, the life-threatening complications and their optimal management. Prophylactic strategy is of paramount importance as it may avert many possible adverse outcomes.

Care of patients with haemoglobin abnormalities: history and biology.

Haemoglobinopathies refer to a range of genetically inherited disorders of red blood cell haemoglobin and include sickle cell disorders and thalassaemias. They occur most commonly in populations whose ancestors come from Africa, Asia, Mediterranean Islands, and the Middle and Far East. Haemoglobin (Hb) abnormalities (or haemoglobinopathies) are caused by (i) abnormalities of the protein structure; (ii) imbalanced globin chain production owing to reduced rate of synthesis of normal a or b globin chains; or (iii) a combination of the two.

Peripheral arterial disease in diabetic patients selected from a primary care setting: Implications for nursing practice.

Although the care of patients with diabetes is increasingly provided in primary care, there is relatively little information on the prevalence and long-term progression of asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in diabetic populations selected from primary care settings. The aims of this study were to investigate prevalence and progression of PAD in 146 diabetic patients, and to compare mortality with 113 nondiabetic controls over a 7-year period. The prevalence of PAD in individual pedal arteries varied between 28.

Haemoglobinopathies and healthcare provision for ethnic minorities.

The level of training and competence in dealing with haemoglobinopathies (which mainly affect ethnic minorities in the UK) may not be totally adequate among nurses. Nurses indicated that they received little or no information in their teaching for working from a multiracial perspective and what they had learned was through experience and personal research since qualifying as nurses. Knowledge of the biological basis of inheritance, methods of acquisition of thalassaemia and sickle-cell anaemia and the ethnic profile of people affected by these conditions may not be totally adequate among nurses.