Factors affecting fatigue progression in multiple sclerosis patients.

Fatigue is one of the most prevalent and disabling symptoms among patients with MS, but there is limited research investigating the longitudinal determinants of fatigue progression. This study aims to identify the sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical characteristics, and therapeutic regimens that are correlated with worsening fatigue over time in patients diagnosed with MS. This is a retrospective chart review of 483 patients.

Comparing the metabolic signatures of obesity defined by waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, or BMI.

Objective: Measuring obesity is crucial for assessing health risks and developing effective prevention and treatment strategies. The most common methods used to measure obesity include BMI, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio. This study aimed to determine the metabolic signatures associated with each measure of obesity in the Qatari population.

Early Graft Failure After Living-Donor Liver Transplant.

Background: Living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been increasing in the USA. While data exist on longer-term patient and graft outcomes, a contemporary analysis of short-term outcomes is needed.

Aim: Evaluate short-term (30-day) graft failure rates and identify predictors associated with these outcomes.

Outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients boarding in the emergency department of a tertiary care center in a developing country: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Boarding of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED) has long been known to compromise patient care and affect outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple hospitals worldwide experienced overcrowded emergency rooms. Large influx of patients outnumbered hospital beds and required prolonged length of stay (LOS) in the ED.

Pharmacometabolomic Approach to Investigate the Response to Metformin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Metformin constitutes the foundation therapy in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Despite its multiple beneficial effects and widespread use, there is considerable inter-individual variability in response to metformin. Our objective is to identify metabolic signatures associated with poor and good responses to metformin, which may improve our ability to predict outcomes for metformin treatment.

Melitracen and flupentixol (deanxit) use disorder in Lebanon.

Introduction: Deanxit is a combination of melitracen and flupentixol, not approved as an antidepressant for sale and use in several countries but still widely available and commonly used among the Lebanese population. The study aimed to assess Deanxit use disorder, assess the source of the medication, and the consumers' awareness of the therapeutic and side effects of Deanxit, among the Lebanese population.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included all patients taking Deanxit and visited the Emergency Department between October 2019 and October 2020.

Predictors for hospital admission in emergency department patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: A retrospective review.

Objective: This study aims to assess the incidence of Emergency Department (ED) visits for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), describe patient characteristics, management practices and predictors of inpatient admission of BPPV patients.

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of patients presenting with BPPV to a single ED between November 2018 and August 2020. Patients' characteristics, ED management, discharge medications, disposition and unscheduled return visits were determined.

Assessing the psychological impact of Beirut Port blast: A cross-sectional study.

Beirut Port blast's magnitude is considered the third after Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. This blast occurred in the densely populated section of Beirut, leaving more than six thousand injured patients. The psychological disturbances were assessed in the blast survivors who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC).

The Beirut ammonium nitrate blast: A multicenter study to assess injury characteristics and outcomes.

Background: Blasts incidents impose catastrophic aftermaths on populations regarding casualties, sustained injuries, and devastated infrastructure. Lebanon witnessed one of the largest nonnuclear chemical explosions in modern history-the August 2020 Beirut Port blast. This study assesses the mechanisms and characteristics of blast morbidity and mortality and examines severe injury predictors through the Injury Severity Score.

Co-Expression Analysis of microRNAs and Proteins in Brain of Alzheimer's Disease Patients.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia globally; however, the aetiology of AD remains elusive hindering the development of effective therapeutics. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulators of gene expression and have been of growing interest in recent studies in many pathologies including AD not only for their use as biomarkers but also for their implications in the therapeutic field. In this study, miRNA and protein profiles were obtained from brain tissues of different stage (Braak III-IV and Braak V-VI) of AD patients and compared to matched controls.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 on emergency department healthcare workers in a tertiary care center during a national economic crisis.

Background: Since the declaration of the novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) and staff in the Emergency Departments (ED) started experiencing feelings of anxiety and fear from the projected exponential spread and the potential burden on the healthcare system and infrastructure. In Lebanon, major local factors contributing to this fear were the rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases across the country, the lack of preparedness, and the shortage of personal protective equipment, in addition to the evolving economic crisis and financial restrictions. This study aims to investigate the immediate psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on ED staff working in a hospital environment in relation to their household income.

Lead screening in children presenting to three hospitals in Lebanon.

Background: Lead damages most body organs and its effects are most profound in children. In a study in Beirut in 2003, before banning the leaded gasoline, 79% of the participants showed blood lead levels (BLLs) higher than 5 µg/dL. The prevalence of lead exposure in Lebanon after the ban on leaded gasoline has not been studied.

Genomic and Proteomic Study of the Inflammatory Pathway in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiometabolic Syndrome.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) have been linked to inflammation and fibrosis. However, it is still unknown which inflammatory cytokines contribute to the pathogenesis of AF. Furthermore, cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance/glucose intolerance are also associated with inflammation and increased level of cytokines and adipokines.

Vascular Cells Proteome Associated with Bradykinin and Leptin Inflammation and Oxidative Stress Signals.

Among the primary contributors to cardiovascular diseases are inflammation and oxidative imbalance within the vessel walls as well as the fibrosis of rat aortic smooth muscle cell (RASMC). Bradykinin (BK) and leptin are inflammatory modulators that are linked to vascular injury. In this study, we employed tandem LC-MS/MS to identify protein signatures that encompass protein abundance in RASMC treated with BK or leptin followed by systems biology analyses to gain insight into the biological pathways and processes linked to vascular remodeling.

Pediatric emergency department utilisation during Ramadan: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Objective: To investigate the impact of Ramadan on patient characteristics, diagnoses and metrics in the paediatric emergency department (PED).

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: PED of a tertiary care centre in Lebanon.

Modulation of proteomic and inflammatory signals by Bradykinin in podocytes.

Podocyte damage is one of the hallmarks of diabetic nephropathy leading to proteinuria and kidney damage. The underlying mechanisms of podocyte injury are not well defined. Bradykinin (BK) was shown to contribute to diabetic kidney disease.

Comparison of outcomes in ST-elevation myocardial infarction according to age.

Background: Myocardial infarction constitutes a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Its pathophysiology varies according to age; atherosclerosis is the most common cause in older patients while thrombosis or plaque rupture is behind premature MI.

Objective: To compare the outcome differences between young (age ≤ 45 years) and older adults (age > 45 years) presenting with STEMI.

Left without being seen in a hybrid point of service collection model emergency department.

Objective: This study identifies reasons and predictors of LWBS and examines outcomes of patients in a model that uses "point-of-service" (POS) collection for low acuity patients.

Methods: This was a matched case-control study of all patients who left without being seen from the ED of a tertiary care center in Beirut Lebanon between June 2016 and May 2017. Matching was done for the ESI score, date and time (±2 h).

Characteristics and dispositional determinants of psychiatric emergencies in a University Hospital in Beirut.

Mental health problems are common in Lebanon, and so are psychiatric emergencies. In order to show the characteristics of psychiatric emergencies in Lebanon along with their dispositional determinants, we conducted this retrospective, single-center, chart-review study of patients who presented to the Emergency Department between July 1, 2016 until December 31, 2016 and required an official psychiatrist consultation. Our sample included 195 patients of all age groups.

Proteome profiling in the aorta and kidney of type 1 diabetic rats.

Diabetes is associated with a number of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors that contribute to a high rate of microvascular and macrovascular complications. The risk factors and mechanisms that contribute to the development of micro- and macrovascular disease in diabetes are not fully explained. In this study, we employed mass spectrometric analysis using tandem LC-MS/MS to generate a proteomic profile of protein abundance and post-translational modifications (PTM) in the aorta and kidney of diabetic rats.

Multitargeted Flavonoid Inhibition of the Pathogenic Bacterium Staphylococcus aureus: A Proteomic Characterization.

Growth inhibition of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus with currently available antibiotics is problematic in part due to bacterial biofilm protection. Although recently characterized natural products, including 3',4',5-trihydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-flavone [1], 3',4',5,6,7-pentahydroxy-flavone [2], and 5-hydroxy-4',7-dimethoxy-flavone [3], exhibit both antibiotic and biofilm inhibitory activities, the mode of action of such hydroxylated flavonoids with respect to S. aureus inhibition is yet to be characterized.

Cigarette Smoking-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy, Vascular Inflammation and Injury Are Attenuated by Antioxidant Supplementation in an Animal Model.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Cigarette smoking remains a global health epidemic with associated detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. In this work, we investigated the effects of cigarette smoke exposure on cardiovascular system in an animal model.

Characterization of the Kallikrein-Kinin System Post Chemical Neuronal Injury: An In Vitro Biochemical and Neuroproteomics Assessment.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the result of a mechanical impact on the brain provoking mild, moderate or severe symptoms. It is acknowledged that TBI leads to apoptotic and necrotic cell death; however, the exact mechanism by which brain trauma leads to neural injury is not fully elucidated. Some studies have highlighted the pivotal role of the Kallikrein-Kinin System (KKS) in brain trauma but the results are still controversial and inconclusive.

Recent advances in application of biosensors in tissue engineering.

Biosensors research is a fast growing field in which tens of thousands of papers have been published over the years, and the industry is now worth billions of dollars. The biosensor products have found their applications in numerous industries including food and beverages, agricultural, environmental, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical industries and many more. Even though numerous biosensors have been developed for detection of proteins, peptides, enzymes, and numerous other biomolecules for diverse applications, their applications in tissue engineering have remained limited.