Hypertensive Crisis in a Patient With a Functioning Mesenteric Paraganglioma: Dramatic Response to Octreotide Treatment.

Background/objective: To report a dramatic and immediate clinical and biochemical response during treatment with octreotide in a patient with a functioning mesenteric paraganglioma (PGL).

Case Report: A 44-year-old woman was admitted with a severe hypertensive crisis and a blood pressure reaching 260/150 mm Hg. She was 2 months postpartum and had been previously diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.

Quantification of Drugs in Brain and Liver Mimetic Tissue Models Using Raman Spectroscopy.

Quantitative analysis of drug delivery with in biological systems is an integral challenge in drug development. Analytical techniques are important for assessing both drug target delivery, target action, and drug toxicology. Using mimetic tissue models, we have investigated the efficacy of Raman spectroscopy in quantitative detection of alkyne group and deuterated drugs in rat brain and rat liver tissue models.

Papillary follicular variant thyroid cancer in a malignant struma ovarii: a report of a rare case.

Summary: A 33-year-old female presented in 2013 with left flank pain. Ultrasound and MRI pelvis showed a complex mass 9 × 7 cm arising from the left ovary suggestive of ovarian torsion. She underwent a laparoscopic cystectomy, but the patient was lost to follow-up.

Impact of COVID-19-associated anxiety on the adherence to intravitreal injection in patients with macular diseases a year after the initial outbreak.

Background: As the primary burden of treating COVID-19 patients began to ease in the United Kingdom, ophthalmology clinic volume within the National Health Service has since recovered. Alarmingly, the rate of non-attendance remains higher than the pre-pandemic level.

Purpose: The purpose was to assess how the perceived risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) influences the willingness of individuals with sight-threatening macular conditions to attend intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injection appointments during the second wave of the pandemic.

Specialist palliative care support is associated with improved pain relief at home during the last 3 months of life in patients with advanced disease: analysis of 5-year data from the national survey of bereaved people (VOICES).

Background: Studies have shown that more than half of patients with advanced progressive diseases approaching the end-of-life report pain and that pain relief for these patients is poorest at home compared to other care settings such as acute care facilities and hospice. Although home is the most common preferred place of death, the majority of deaths occur outside the home. Specialist palliative care is associated with improved quality of life, but systematic reviews of RCTs have failed to show a consistent association with better pain relief.

Modeling Gadoxetate Liver Uptake and Efflux Using Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Enables Preclinical Quantification of Transporter Drug-Drug Interactions.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to model the in vivo transporter-mediated uptake and efflux of the hepatobiliary contrast agent gadoxetate in the liver. The efficacy of the proposed technique was assessed for its ability to provide quantitative insights into drug-drug interactions (DDIs), using rifampicin as inhibitor.

Materials And Methods: Three groups of C57 mice were scanned twice with a dynamic gadoxetate-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging protocol, using a 3-dimensional spoiled gradient-echo sequence for approximately 72 minutes.

Effects of supplemental vibrational force on space closure, treatment duration, and occlusal outcome: A multicenter randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: A multicenter parallel 3-arm randomized clinical trial was carried out in 3 university hospitals in the United Kingdom to investigate the effect of supplemental vibratory force on space closure and treatment outcome with fixed appliances.

Methods: Eighty-one subjects less than 20 years of age with mandibular incisor irregularity undergoing extraction-based fixed appliance treatment were randomly allocated to supplementary (20 minutes/day) use of an intraoral vibrational device (AcceleDent; OrthoAccel Technologies, Houston, Tex) (n = 29), an identical nonfunctional (sham) device (n = 25), or fixed-appliance only (n = 27). Space closure in the mandibular arch was measured from dental study casts taken at the start of space closure, at the next appointment, and at completion of space closure.

Evaluation of non-contrast MRI biomarkers in lupus nephritis.

Objectives: To investigate the association of novel non-contrast MRI biomarkers with standard measurements of renal function and renal disease activity in lupus.

Methods: A pilot study of lupus nephritis (LN) and lupus non-nephritis (LNN) patients, and healthy volunteers (HV), was undertaken. Multi-modal renal MRI was performed including sequences for arterial spin labelling (ASL) measuring blood flow, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), measuring microstructural disruption, and effective transverse relaxation time (T2*) which is a biomarker of micro-haemorrhage.

Euthyroid athyroxinemia - a novel endocrine syndrome.

Unlabelled: A 55-year-old female was referred with abnormal thyroid function tests (TFTs); the free thyroxine level (FT4) was undetectable <3.3 pmol/L (normal: 7.9-14.

Lesson of the month 1: Subacute thyroiditis: a rare cause of fever of unknown origin.

Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is sometimes a diagnostic dilemma for clinicians. Endocrine causes reported in the literature include subacute thyroiditis, thyrotoxicosis, adrenal insufficiency and pheochromocytoma. Among these, subacute thyroiditis is often overlooked as it can occasionally lack typical symptoms.

Quantitative Assessment of Liver Function Using Gadoxetate-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Monitoring Transporter-Mediated Processes in Healthy Volunteers.

Objective: The objective of this study was to use noninvasive dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to study, in vivo, the distribution and elimination of the hepatobiliary contrast agent gadoxetate in the human body and characterize the transport mechanisms involved in its uptake into hepatocytes and subsequent efflux into the bile using a novel tracer kinetic model in a group of healthy volunteers.

Materials And Methods: Ten healthy volunteers (age range, 18-29 years), with no history of renal or hepatic impairment, were recruited via advertisement. Participants attended 2 MRI visits (at least a week apart) with gadoxetate as the contrast agent.

Effect of supplemental vibrational force on orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption: A multicenter randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: A multicenter parallel 3-arm randomized clinical trial was carried out in 1 university and 2 district hospitals in the United Kingdom to investigate the effect of supplemental vibrational force on orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption (OIIRR) during the alignment phase of fixed appliance therapy.

Methods: Eighty-one subjects less than 20 years old with mandibular incisor irregularity undergoing extraction-based fixed-appliance treatment were randomly allocated to supplementary (20 minutes a day) use of an intraoral vibrational device (AcceleDent; OrthoAccel Technologies, Houston, Tex) (n = 29), an identical nonfunctional (sham) device (n = 25), or fixed appliances only (n = 27). OIIRR was measured blindly from long-cone periapical radiographs of the maxillary right central incisor taken at the start of treatment and the end of alignment when a 0.

Paget's Disease in an Omani: Long-term Improvement Following a Single Injection of Zoledronic Acid.

Paget's disease of bone is a patchy skeletal disorder characterized by an increase in bone resorption and formation in the affected areas. It affects up to 3% of individuals of Anglo-Saxon origin over the age of 40 years but is rare in Arabs. Although most patients are asymptomatic, a variety of symptoms and complications may develop directly from bone involvement or secondarily to compression by bone expansion and increased blood flow.

Supplemental vibrational force does not reduce pain experience during initial alignment with fixed orthodontic appliances: a multicenter randomized clinical trial.

This prospective randomized trial investigated the effect of supplemental vibrational force on orthodontic pain during alignment with fixed-appliances. Eighty-one subjects < 20 years-old undergoing extraction-based fixed-appliance treatment were randomly allocated to supplementary (20-minutes/day) use of an intra-oral vibrational device (AcceleDent(®)) (n = 29); an identical non-functional (sham) device (n = 25) or fixed-appliances only (n = 27). Each subject recorded pain intensity (using a 100-mm visual-analogue scale) and intake of oral analgesia in a questionnaire, following appliance-placement (T1) and first-adjustment (T2) for 1-week (immediately-after, 4, 24, 72-hours and at 1-week).

Quality of diabetes care at outpatient clinic, sultan qaboos university hospital.

Objective: To assess the clinical care of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) patients at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH), a countrywide tertiary referral center in Muscat, Oman. .

Methods: We performed a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study using a total of 673 Omani T2D patients from the Diabetes and Family Medicine Clinics at SQUH.

Association of gene variants with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes among Omanis.

Aim: To investigate the association of 10 known common gene variants with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) among Omanis.

Methods: Using case-control design, a total of 992 diabetic patients and 294 normoglycemic Omani Arabs were genotyped, by an allelic discrimination assay-by-design TaqMan method on fast real time polymerase chain reaction system, for the following gene variants: KCNJ11 (rs5219), TCF7L2 (rs7903146), CDKAL1 (rs10946398), CDKN2A/B (rs10811661), FTO (rs9939609 and rs8050136), IGF2BP2 (rs4402960), SLC30A8 (rs13266634) CAPN10 (rs3792267) and HHEX (rs1111875). T2D patients were recruited from the Diabetes Clinic (n = 243) and inpatients (n = 749) at Sultan Qaboos Univesity Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman.

Supplemental vibrational force during orthodontic alignment: a randomized trial.

This prospective 3-arm parallel-group randomized clinical trial investigated the effect of supplemental vibrational force on rate of orthodontic tooth alignment with fixed appliances. Eighty-one subjects (40 males, 41 females; mean age, 14.1 y) undergoing first premolar extraction-based fixed appliance treatment were randomly allocated to treatment supplemented with daily use (20 min) of a removable intraoral vibrational device (AcceleDent; OrthoAccel Technologies Inc.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone-Dependent Cushing's Syndrome: Use of an octreotide trial to distinguish between pituitary or ectopic sources.

Objectives: Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) overproduction is usually due to a pituitary tumour which is often not visible on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, ACTH overproduction may be due to an ectopic source. This study aimed to develop a simple non-invasive technique to differentiate these sources.

Radioactive iodine-131 therapy in the management of ectopic thyroid tissue.

The occurrence of ectopic lingual thyroid tissue was first reported over 100 years ago. We report an unusual presentation of ectopic thyroid tissue occurring in the submental area. A 27-year-old female presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman, in October 2011 with an 8 × 6 cm mass which caused difficulty in talking and a feeling of heaviness in the jaw.

Fluctuation in the Levels of Immunoglobulin M and Immunoglobulin G Antibodies for Cardiolipin and β2-Glycoprotein among Healthy Pregnant Women.

Objectives: Antiphospholipid antibodies fluctuate during a healthy normal pregnancy. This study aimed to investigate the levels of both immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies for cardiolipin and β2-glycoprotein (β2GP) among healthy pregnant women.

Methods: This study was conducted between May 2010 and December 2012.

Catecholamine-secreting carotid body paraganglioma: successful preoperative control of hypertension and clinical symptoms using high-dose long-acting octreotide.

Unlabelled: A 48-year-old hypertensive and diabetic patient presented with a 10-year history of progressive right facial pain, tinnitus, hearing loss, sweating, and palpitations. Investigations revealed a 5.6 cm vascular tumor at the carotid bifurcation.

Insulin resistance and its correlation with risk factors for developing diabetes mellitus in 100 omani medical students.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) in healthy young Omanis and relate this with their body mass index (BMI) and family history (FH) of diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods: This study was conducted between May 2009 and February 2010 at Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. A detailed questionnaire was completed by 50 male and 50 female medical students between 20-25 years old.

Successful Management of Phaeochromocytoma using Preoperative Oral Labetalol and Intraoperative Magnesium Sulphate: Report of four cases.

Phaeochromocytoma is a rare neuroendocrine catecholamine-secreting tumour. This type of tumour poses multidimensional anaesthetic challenges as it has an unpredictable clinical course during surgical resection. The alpha-blocking agent phenoxybenzamine remained the mainstay in preoperative preparation before the introduction of beta-blocking agents.

Impaired Fasting Glucose in Omani Adults with no Family History of Type 2 Diabetes.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) among Omani adults with no family history (FH) of diabetes and to investigate the factors behind the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), while excluding a FH of diabetes.

Methods: A total of 1,182 Omani adults, aged ≥40 years, visited the Family Medicine & Community Health Clinic at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, on days other than the Diabetes Clinic days, from July 2010 to July 2011. The subjects were interviewed and asked if they had T2D or a FH of T2D.

An integrated characterization of serological, pathological, and functional events in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.

Many efficacious cancer treatments cause significant cardiac morbidity, yet biomarkers or functional indices of early damage, which would allow monitoring and intervention, are lacking. In this study, we have utilized a rat model of progressive doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiomyopathy, applying multiple approaches, including cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to provide the most comprehensive characterization to date of the timecourse of serological, pathological, and functional events underlying this toxicity. Hannover Wistar rats were dosed with 1.