Publications by authors named "Soraya Amar El Dusouqui"
Article Synopsis
- Some countries are changing their rules about blood donation because they believe the risk of a disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) has decreased since it was a big concern in the past, especially in the UK.
- Experts held a meeting to talk about how to learn more about the disease and how to keep people safe during blood transfusions.
- They agreed that the risk of getting vCJD from blood donors who traveled or received blood in the UK is very low now, and it's important for experts in Europe to work together to create safer guidelines for blood donation.
Article Synopsis
- Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 is a significant cause of acute hepatitis in Europe, often spread through contaminated pork and blood transfusions, particularly affecting immunocompromised individuals.
- A nationwide study in Switzerland over two years assessed the prevalence of HEV in blood donations to evaluate the need for RNA screening.
- Out of over 541,000 blood donations screened, 125 were found positive for HEV, with a predominance of infections in men, and all confirmed cases belonging to HEV genotype 3, highlighting the need for monitoring to protect vulnerable patients.
Article Synopsis
- Over the past few decades, efforts in Switzerland have significantly improved the safety of blood and blood products by targeting viral infections like HCV, HIV, and HBV.
- There has been a noteworthy decrease in the prevalence and incidence of these infections, as well as the estimated residual risks (RR) associated with blood transfusions, primarily due to stricter donor selection, better questionnaires, and advanced screening technologies.
- The effectiveness of these safety measures is supported by real-life data from lookback procedures and haemovigilance reports from Swissmedic, confirming low prevalence and incidence rates for blood-borne infections.
Background: Risk of transfusion-transmitted (TT) malaria is mainly associated with whole blood (WB) or red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Risk mitigation relies mostly on donor deferral while a limited number of countries perform blood testing, both negatively impacting blood availability. This study investigated the efficacy of the pathogen reduction system using amustaline and glutathione (GSH) to inactivate Plasmodium falciparum in WB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLow-Frequency Blood Group Antigens in Switzerland.
Transfus Med Hemother
July 2018
Article Synopsis
- High-frequency blood group antigens (HFA) are found in over 90% of people, making it hard to find compatible blood for those who lack these antigens and may have alloantibodies.* -
- This study used high-throughput SNP genotyping on more than 37,000 Swiss blood donors to identify individuals with low-frequency blood group antigens (LFA).* -
- 326 potential donors with rare blood group genotypes were identified, highlighting the genetic diversity among Swiss donors influenced by regional and cultural factors.*
Results of genotyping with true high-throughput capability for MNSs antigens are underrepresented, probably because of technical issues, due to the high level of nucleotide sequence homology of the paralogous genes GYPA, GYPB and GYPE. Eight MNSs-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were detected using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization, time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) in 5800 serologically M/N and S/s pre-typed Swiss blood donors and 50 individuals of known or presumptive black African ethnicity. Comparison of serotype with genotype delivered concordance rates of 99·70% and 99·90% and accuracy of genotyping alone of 99·88% and 99·95%, for M/N and S/s, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlioblastoma is a deadly malignant brain tumor and one of the most incurable forms of cancer in need of new therapeutic targets. As some cancers are known to be caused by a virus, the discovery of viruses could open the possibility to treat, and perhaps prevent, such a disease. Although an association with viruses such as cytomegalovirus or Simian virus 40 has been strongly suggested, involvement of these and other viruses in the initiation and/or propagation of glioblastoma remains vague, controversial and warrants elucidation.
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