Intrathecal Nalbuphine versus Ketamine with Hyperbaric Bupivacaine in Lower Abdominal Surgeries.

Background: Spinal anesthesia is an effective method of anesthesia with fewer side effects. The main limitations include the shorter duration of action and shorter postoperative analgesia when performed only with local anesthetics.

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare adjuvants nalbuphine and ketamine to hyperbaric bupivacaine in spinal anesthesia with respect to the duration of analgesia, sensory and motor onset, hemodynamic status, and side effects.

Cytomegalovirus Immediate-Early Proteins Promote Stemness Properties in Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive human brain tumor. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate-early (IE) proteins that are endogenously expressed in GBM cells are strong viral transactivators with oncogenic properties. Here, we show how HCMV IEs are preferentially expressed in glioma stem-like cells (GSC), where they colocalize with the other GBM stemness markers, CD133, Nestin, and Sox2.

HCMV glycoprotein B is expressed in primary glioblastomas and enhances growth and invasiveness via PDGFR-alpha activation.

Our laboratory first demonstrated that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is associated with the most deadly form of primary brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM). We showed that HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) mediates viral cellular entry via the receptor tyrosine kinase PDGFR-alpha (PDGFRα), resulting in activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, a critical signaling axis gliomagenesis. Here, we investigated the effects of gB overexpression on glioma progression.

Id-1 is a key transcriptional regulator of glioblastoma aggressiveness and a novel therapeutic target.

Glioblastoma is the most common form of primary adult brain tumors. A majority of glioblastomas grow invasively into distant brain tissue, leading to tumor recurrence, which is ultimately incurable. It is, therefore, essential to discover master regulators that control glioblastoma invasiveness and target them therapeutically.

Factors associated with hydrocarbon ingestion in children.

Objective: To investigate the types of hydrocarbon ingested by children and identify factors associated with hydrocarbons ingestion.

Patients And Methods: It was a hospital based case control study in which medical records of sixty seven children with hydrocarbon ingestion, admitted through emergency department between January 2001 to December 2005 of Aga Khan Hospital were reviewed. Variables such as age, sex, types of hydrocarbons, amount ingested, socioeconomic status, family size, number of children, type of containers, trend of ingestion during hot weather, length of stay at hospital along with the outcomes were evaluated.

Awareness about common diseases in selected female college students of Karachi.

Objective: To determine the level of awareness about five common diseases, namely: Tuberculosis (TB), Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS among college female students of Karachi.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of female students aged 16-21 years from three colleges selected by convenient sampling method was conducted from January to May 2004. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire.