Letter and Category Fluency: Normative Data for Lebanese Older Adults.

Background: Verbal fluency tasks are frequently used for neuropsychological assessment in clinical practice and research. It consists of two tasks namely category and letter fluency tests.

Objective: To determine normative values in category (animals, vegetables, fruits) and letter fluency [Mim () "M", Alif () "A", Baa () "B"] tasks in Arabic language in 60 s.

Management of breast cancer patients with gene mutations in Lebanon of the Middle East: perspectives and challenges.

Background: This commentary explores and discusses the challenges oncologists face in diagnosing and managing breast cancer patients with gene mutations in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Methods: Key opinion leaders shared their recommendations to achieve better patient outcomes and satisfaction based on evidence-based medicine and their clinical experience in management.

Results: Challenges associated with management can be divided into four main levels: physicians, patients, test, and treatment factors.

Magnesium and Ketamine Reduce Early Morphine Consumption After Open Bariatric Surgery: a Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Study.

Backgrounds: Optimal pain management in bariatric patients is crucial for early recovery. This study aims to evaluate the effects of magnesium and ketamine combination on morphine consumption after open bariatric surgery (primary outcome), as well as on postoperative pain scores and occurrence of side effects.

Method: A total of 60 patients undergoing elective open gastric bypass were randomized into 3 groups.

An Arabic Version of the Mini-Mental State Examination for the Lebanese Population: Reliability, Validity, and Normative Data.

Background: The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) has not been validated in the Lebanese population and no normative data exist at the national level.

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of an Arabic version of MMSE developed by the "Groupe de Travail sur les Démences de l'Université Saint Joseph" (A-MMSE(GTD-USJ)) and to provide normative data by gender, age, and education in adults over 55.

Methods: Study design: national cross-sectional survey.

Safety and Efficacy of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) Used for Analgesia After Bariatric Surgery: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are cornerstone in multimodal analgesia protocols. This point is of great value in morbidly obese patients due to the high prevalence of restrictive pulmonary disease and obstructive sleep apnea. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that NSAIDs do not increase acute bariatric surgery complications while optimizing postoperative analgesia.

Fracture liaison service: report on the first successful experience from the Middle East.

Unlabelled: This study aims to assess for the first time in the Middle East, the clinical benefits of an FLS model established in a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. It shows a significant 54% relative risk reduction in re-fracture incidence, confirming the patient-oriented benefit of diffusing this system in the Middle East region.

Purpose/introduction: Few hospitals in Lebanon applied Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) program.

Survival of T4aN0 and T3N+ laryngeal cancer patients: a retrospective institutional study and systematic review.

Objective: We aim to assess the correlation of tumor and nodal staging to survival in pT3N+ and T4aN0 laryngeal cancer with subgroup analysis within stage IVa (pT4N0 and pT3N2).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study with systematic review of the literature.

Setting: Hotel Dieu de France University Hospital (tertiary referral center).

Community- and healthcare-associated infections in critically ill patients: a multicenter cohort study.

Objective: To compare the spectrum of infection, comorbidities, outcomes, and mortality of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to community-acquired or healthcare-associated severe sepsis.

Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted in three university medical centers in Lebanon from February 2005 to December 2006. Patients with severe sepsis were included and followed up until hospital discharge or death.

Shoshin Beriberi in Critically-Ill patients: case series.

Thiamine plays a fundamental role in cellular metabolism. The classical syndrome caused by thiamine deficiency is beriberi, and its fulminant variant, once considered an uncommon finding, is now encountered among the critically ill.We present a case series of four critically ill non-septic non-alcoholic patients with severe lactic acidosis and refractory cardio-circulatory collapse caused by acute fulminant beriberi, which drastically responded to thiamine administration.

Triple-negative breast cancer in Lebanon: a case series.

Objectives: To determine the incidence, characteristics, and survival outcomes of triple-negative breast cancer patients in a medical oncology practice in Lebanon.

Methods: The pathology reports of all breast cancer cases diagnosed or treated in 1997-2008 were reviewed.

Results: One hundred seventy breast cancer cases (9.

Comparison of the effects of combination atorvastatin (40 mg) + ezetimibe (10 mg) versus atorvastatin (40 mg) alone on secretory phospholipase A2 activity in patients with stable coronary artery disease or coronary artery disease equivalent.

Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) is an enzyme that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and of adverse cardiovascular events. It is currently the target of emerging therapeutic agents. Our study was designed to investigate the effect of aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol with ezetimibe and atorvastatin on sPLA2 activity.

Percutaneous coronary intervention increases leptin and decreases adiponectin levels.

Objective: The study was designed to examine the effect of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on adiponectin and leptin levels. We have previously demonstrated that PCI triggers a systemic inflammatory response. We hypothesized that inflammation participates in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome by modulating levels of adiponectin and leptin.

Extra-adrenal composite pheochromocytoma-ganglioneuroma.

Composite tumors containing pheochromocytoma and ganglioneuroma are rare tumors typically arising in the adrenal glands. Very few were reported outside of the adrenals. We present the case of a middle-aged woman with a retroperitoneal mass that was discovered when she complained of local signs of compression and systemic signs of catecholamine hypersecretion.

Effects of clopidogrel on soluble CD40 ligand and on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Background: Antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel decreases ischemic complication especially in patients with acute coronary syndromes or after percutaneous coronary interventions. Our study was designed to test the effects of clopidogrel on soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40l) and on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.