Acute oesophageal necrosis in a patient with recent SARS-CoV-2.

A 57-year-old Hispanic man with diabetes presented with dyspnoea. He had a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR. He was intubated for severe hypoxia and treated with intermittent pressors, methylprednisolone and supportive care.

Mental Health Consequences of Lockdown During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: We aimed to provide an overview of the psychological status and behavioral consequences of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the Libyan population through May and June 2020 in more than 20 cities. The survey comprised basic demographic data of the participants and anxiety symptoms measured using the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) with ≥15 as the cut-off score for clinically significant anxiety symptoms.

The Sub-Phenotypes of Sickle Cell Disease in Kuwait.

Kuwaiti patients with sickle cell disease generally have a mild phenotype, but exhibit considerable heterogeneity, in spite of high Hb F levels. We have carried out a cross-sectional study of patients with sickle cell disease in the five major hospitals in Kuwait. Details of their hemoglobin (Hb) genotypes, clinical presentations and complications are presented.

Effect of packed red blood cell transfusion on IL-8 and sICAM-1 in premature neonates at different postnatal ages.

Background: Transfusion-related immunomodulation (TRIM) has been described in adults; however, its existence in neonates is not confirmed. The generation of TRIM is attributed to increased concentrations of IL-8, sICAM-1 and other pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study aimed to monitor changes in IL-8, sICAM-1 as markers for TRIM in premature infants at different postnatal ages.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of TUCPs in Gossypium hirsutum Ligon-lintless-1 mutant and their proposed functions in cotton fiber development.

Transcripts of uncertain coding potential (TUCP) are part of the LncRNAs, which encode some polypeptides. However, the abundance of TUCP transcripts and their roles in Ligon-linless-1 (Li-1) cotton mutant during the early termination of fiber development are still not documented. Li-1 mutant is one of the excellent modules for investigating fiber elongation processes due to its unique fiber developmental stages.

Clinical and Molecular Characteristics of Non-Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia in Kuwait.

Although not regularly transfused, patients with non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT) are prone to iron overload and its complications. Their molecular, phenotypical and laboratory characteristics vary in different populations and there is a need to document local prevailing patterns. We have reviewed the records of our patients with NTDT in Kuwait and documented their clinical and molecular characteristics in addition to iron status [serum ferritin and liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2*], management and complications.

Transcranial Doppler and brain MRI in children with sickle cell disease and high hemoglobin F levels.

Background/objective: While overt stroke and silent brain infarcts (SBI) are uncommon among Kuwaiti patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), there have been no previous transcranial Doppler (TCD) studies in this population. The main objective of this study is to determine TCD velocities in a group of Kuwaiti children with SCD and correlate same with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and angiography (MRA) findings.

Materials And Methods: Forty-three steady-state, pediatric patients with SCD aged 10.

Hypercoagulable state and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T mutation in patients with beta-thalassemia major in Kuwait.

Introduction: Patients with thalassemia major often present with a hypercoagulable state, the pathogenesis of which is still not understood.

Materials And Methods: This study evaluates the risk factors for hypercoagulability in 50 beta-thalassemia major patients and 50 healthy controls. Fasting total homocysteine, protein C (PC), protein S (PS), antithrombin (AT), activated protein C resistance (APCR) and lupus anticoagulant (LA) were assessed.

Effects of cigarette smoking on hematological parameters and von Willebrand factor functional activity levels in asymptomatic male and female Arab smokers.

Objectives: This study aimed at determining the effects of cigarette smoking based on gender, on several hematological parameters and von Willebrand factor protein in the asymptomatic Arab population of Kuwait.

Subjects And Methods: Ninety-two subjects participated in this study: 55 males (31 smokers and 24 nonsmokers) and 37 females (18 smokers and 19 nonsmokers). Complete blood count results were obtained using Beckman Coulter Hematology Analyzer.

Activation of innate immune responses by IL-2-expressing Salmonella typhimurium is independent of Toll-like receptor 4.

We previously demonstrated that an attenuated strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, engineered to express IL-2 (strain GIDIL2), is cleared more rapidly than its parental, non-cytokine-expressing, strain (designated BRD509) from the reticuloendothelial system of susceptible BALB/c mice. This early clearance correlated with the induction of a strong innate immune response within a few hours of administration of GIDIL2 organisms. In the present study, we wished to assess the contribution of LPS recognition to GIDIL2-induced immune responses using Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mutant C3H/HeJ mice.

Alpha tocopherol protects against immunosuppressive and immunotoxic effects of lead.

Chronic exposure to lead (Pb) is associated with multiorgan toxicity. The precise mechanism(s) involved, however, remains incompletely defined. The present study was undertaken to analyze the effect of Pb on the immune system and determine the ability of alpha tocopherol (AT) to reverse Pb-induced immunotoxicity.

Induction of innate immunity by IL-2-expressing Salmonella confers protection against lethal infection.

Previously, we demonstrated that an attenuated Salmonella strain expressing IL-2 (designated GIDIL2) is cleared from the circulation at a much faster rate than the non-cytokine-expressing parental strain (designated BRD509). These findings suggested that IL-2 expression led to the rapid induction of innate immune responses that, in turn, accounted for the accelerated rate of bacterial clearance. In the present study, the mechanism by which this early antibacterial response is mediated was investigated.

Cytokine expression by attenuated intracellular bacteria regulates the immune response to infection: the Salmonella model.

Attenuated Salmonella strains have shown excellent efficacy as mucosal vaccine delivery systems. In the present report, several recombinant strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, engineered to express defined murine cytokines, were used to study their potential immunoregulatory capacity in the mouse model of typhoid fever. Specifically, recombinant strains expressing IL-2 (known as GIDIL2) or TNF-alpha (GIDTNF) were compared with the parental, non-cytokine-secreting, strain (BRD509) for their ability to induce a variety of immune responses in susceptible BALB/c mice.

Cross-reactivity between six Enterobacteriaceae complete lipopolysaccharide core chemotypes.

To gain insight into the value of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core determinants for cross-protective immunisation the serological relationships between six complete (LPS) core types from Enterobacteriaceae were investigated. Hyperimmune sera were raised in mice by repeated immunisation with heat-killed strains of Salmonella choleraesuis (Ra core type) or Escherichia coli (core types R1, R2, R3, R4 and K12) and characterised for reactivity with complete and incomplete core chemotypes by ELISA and immunoblotting. Three sera (anti-Ra, anti-R2 and anti-R3) reacted strongly with 3-5 different complete core types whereas the other three (anti-R1, anti-R4 and anti-K12) reacted strongly only with their homologous core types in these assays.

Serodiagnosis of tuberculosis and leprosy by enzyme immunoassay.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of serodiagnosis for tuberculosis and leprosy using mycobacterial antigen 38 kDa, with kits from Omega laboratories, to detect IgG by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). METHODS: The study population consisted of 58 patients with evidence of tuberculous infection (culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex or microscopic evidence), of whom 23 had pulmonary and 35 had extrapulmonary disease. There were six subjects who had recently been treated for tuberculosis, 11 patients on treatment for leprosy and 137 patients suspected of having tuberculosis on clinical or radiologic grounds (without laboratory evidence).