Bariatric surgeries: Outcome throughout an annum at a specialist center in Malaysia.

Introduction: Malaysia has the highest number of obese and overweight individuals in South-east Asia. The 2019 National Health & Morbidity survey found 50.1% of Malaysians to be overweight or obese with 30.

Flavonoids as Potential Wound-Healing Molecules: Emphasis on Pathways Perspective.

Wounds are considered to be a serious problem that affects the healthcare sector in many countries, primarily due to diabetes and obesity. Wounds become worse because of unhealthy lifestyles and habits. Wound healing is a complicated physiological process that is essential for restoring the epithelial barrier after an injury.

Diagnostic evaluation of optical coherence tomography parameters in normal, preperimetric and perimetric glaucoma patients.

Aim: To compare the diagnostic ability of glaucoma parameters measured by the optical coherence tomography (OCT) in normal, preperimetric glaucoma (PPG) and perimetric glaucoma (PG) patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study includes 127 eyes of 127 subjects. Patients were divided into PPG (51 eyes), PG (46 eyes), and normal controls (30 eyes) based on clinical optic disc assessment and Humphrey visual field changes.

Zebrafish: A Pharmacological Model for Learning and Memory Research.

Learning and memory are essential to organism survival and are conserved across various species, especially vertebrates. Cognitive studies involving learning and memory require using appropriate model organisms to translate relevant findings to humans. Zebrafish are becoming increasingly popular as one of the animal models for neurodegenerative diseases due to their low maintenance cost, prolific nature and amenability to genetic manipulation.

Effectiveness of pentoxifylline in severe early-onset fetal growth restriction: A randomized double-blinded clinical trial.

Objective: Management of pregnancy complicated by severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) is one of the most challenging obstetrical issues. So far, there has not been a proven option for the treatment or improvement of this condition. Improper immune response during placentation leads to inadequate trophoblast invasion and impaired utero-placental perfusion.

Movement Disorders Resulting From Bilateral Basal Ganglia Lesions in End-Stage Kidney Disease: A Systematic Review.

Objective: The basal ganglia (BG) are susceptible to fluctuations in blood urea levels, sometimes resulting in movement disorders. We described patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) presenting with movement disorders associated with bilateral BG lesions on imaging.

Methods: We report four patients and systematically reviewed all published cases of ESKD presenting with movement disorders and bilateral BG lesions (EBSCOhost and Ovid).

Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Endocarditis as a Sequela of Pneumonia in a Patient without Valvular Abnormalities.

A 50-year-old woman with underlying end stage renal disease on hemodialysis developed large isolated staphylococcal infective endocarditis over the left ventricular outflow tract when she had pneumonia, without apparent valvular involvement. She subsequently had successful surgery for excision of vegetation.

Variations in the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across 5 continents: A cross-sectional, individual level analysis.

Background: COVID-19 has caused profound socio-economic changes worldwide. However, internationally comparative data regarding the financial impact on individuals is sparse. Therefore, we conducted a survey of the financial impact of the pandemic on individuals, using an international cohort that has been well-characterized prior to the pandemic.

The interweaving relationship between extracellular vesicles and T cells in cancer.

The interdependency between cancer cells and immune cells is an important link in understanding cancer pathogenesis. T cells are important immune cells that are able to either impede or promote tumor growth. Extracellular vesicles or EVs are membrane-encapsulated vesicles that are released by both cancer and immune cells that can act as communicators.

Neurocognitive Changes in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3: A Systematic Review with a Narrative Design.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), the commonest dominantly inherited ataxia worldwide, is characterized by disruption in the cerebellar-cerebral and striatal-cortical networks. Findings on SCA3-associated cognitive impairments are mixed. The classification models, tests and scoring systems used, language, culture, ataxia severity, and depressive symptoms are all potential confounders in neuropsychological assessments and may have contributed to the heterogeneity of the neurocognitive profile of SCA3.

Relationship between anthropometric and biochemical changes of metabolic syndrome with retinal nerve fiber layer and macular thickness.

Objective: To evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular thicknesses and identify systemic risk factors for thinning of these layers in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study was performed on patients diagnosed with MetS and compared to normal controls. All patients underwent ophthalmic and anthropometric examination, serological and biochemical blood investigations; and ocular imaging using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Colorectal Cancer Affects CD8 T Cells: An Analysis Based on Body Mass Index.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most widely diagnosed cancers worldwide. It has been shown that the body-mass index (BMI) of the patients could influence the tumor microenvironment, treatment response, and overall survival rates. Nevertheless, the mechanism on how BMI affects the tumorigenesis process, particularly the tumor microenvironment is still elusive.

Delineating colorectal cancer distribution, interaction, and risk prediction by environmental risk factors and serum trace elements.

The burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing worldwide especially in developing countries. This phenomenon may be attributable to lifestyle, dietary and environmental risk factors. We aimed to determine the level of 25 trace elements, their interaction with environmental risk factors, and subsequently develop a risk prediction model for CRC (RPM CRC).

Heterogeneity in brain functional changes of cognitive processing in ADHD across age: A systematic review of task-based fMRI studies.

This review aims to establish the cognitive processing of patients with attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) across age. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on children and adult populations were conducted, thus delineating deficits that could have been maintained and ameliorated across age. This allowed for the examination of the correlation between patterns of brain activation and the corresponding development of functional heterogeneity in ADHD.

Early Detection of Undiagnosed Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Sub-Aneurysmal Aortic Dilatations in Patients with High-Risk Coronary Artery Disease: The Value of Targetted Screening Programme.

Introduction: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and coronary artery disease (CAD) share common risk factors. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed AAA in patients with angiographically diagnosed significant CAD.

Patients And Methods: Male patients aged 50 years and above (including indigenous people) with angiographically diagnosed significant CAD in the recent one year were screened for AAA.

A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study of Malaysian Females With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Their Body Image and Their Perspectives on Feminizing Surgery.

Objective: To explore the impact of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) on body image in Malaysian females with CAH and to understand the perspectives of these young women and their parents toward feminizing genitoplasty (FG).

Design: Multi-center cross-sectional study.

Setting: Two tertiary medical centers in Malaysia.

Diagnosing peripheral neuropathy in South-East Asia: A focus on diabetic neuropathy.

Burning and stabbing pain in the feet and lower limbs can have a significant impact on the activities of daily living, including walking, climbing stairs and sleeping. Peripheral neuropathy in particular is often misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed because of a lack of awareness amongst both patients and physicians. Furthermore, crude screening tools, such as the 10-g monofilament, only detect advanced neuropathy and a normal test will lead to false reassurance of those with small fiber mediated painful neuropathy.

Autoinflammatory diseases in childhood, part 1: monogenic syndromes.

Autoinflammatory diseases constitute a family of disorders defined by aberrant stimulation of inflammatory pathways without involving antigen-directed autoimmunity. They may be divided into monogenic and polygenic types. Monogenic autoinflammatory syndromes are those with identified genetic mutations, such as familial Mediterranean fever, tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome (TRAPS), mevalonate kinase deficiency or hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome, cryopyrin-associated periodic fever syndromes (CAPS), pyogenic arthritis pyoderma gangrenosum and acne (PAPA) syndrome, interleukin-10 and interleukin-10 receptor deficiencies, adenosine deaminase 2 deficiency and pediatric sarcoidosis.

Circular RNAs: Potential Regulators of Treatment Resistance in Human Cancers.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) which were once considered as "junk" are now in the spotlight as a potential player in regulating human diseases, especially cancer. With the development of high throughput technologies in recent years, the full potential of circRNAs is being uncovered. CircRNAs possess some unique characteristics and advantageous properties that could benefit medical research and clinical applications.

Management of bleeding irregularities among etonogestrel implant users: Is combined oral contraceptives pills or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs the better option?

Aim: This study is to evaluate whether unacceptable bleeding among the etonogestrel implant user could be better alleviated using combined oral contraceptive pills (COCP) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammation drugs (NSAID).

Methods: This is a prospective randomized study for evaluation of 84 etonogestrel implant (Implanon) users with prolonged or frequent bleeding. They were assigned to either receiving a COCP containing 20 mcg ethinyl estradiol/150 mg desogestrel for two continuous cycle or NSAID; mefenamic acid 500 mg TDS for 5 days, 21 days apart for two cycles.

Impact of Chemotherapy on Extracellular Vesicles: Understanding the Chemo-EVs.

Chemotherapy is the standard go-to treatment for cancer besides surgery and radiation. It has recently come to light that the interaction between chemotherapy and the immune system is important in maintaining tumor immunity as well as influencing the efficacy of the therapy. However, ample preclinical studies have shown that in addition to direct cytotoxic effects on cancer cells, a fraction of chemotherapeutic agents may promote immunogenic cell death, and alter the inflammatory milieu of the tumor microenvironment.

Extracellular Vesicle-derived circular RNAs confers chemoresistance in Colorectal cancer.

Chemo-resistance is associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC), with the absence of early biomarker. Exosomes are microvesicles released by body cells for intercellular communication. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs with covalently closed loops and enriched in exosomes.