Common Reason For Death Research Articles

Prevalence of intestinal parasites in HIV/AIDS-infected patients with correlation to CD4+ T-cell count at hospital in Eastern India.

In developing nations, one of the most common reasons for death and illness is due to infections that are brought on by intestinal parasites. People who have HIV are more likely to contract parasites that are either well-established intestinal pathogens, like Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Strongyloidesstercoralis, or an opportunistic pathogen like Cryptosporidium, Isospora, Cyclospora and Microsporidia. Higher prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections occurs in patients with low CD4+ cell counts. Hence, this study had been performed to know the correlation of intestinal parasitic infection in HIV/AIDS patients with reference to CD4+ cell count. The study comprised 1477 HIV-positive patients who were treated at ART Centre of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi. All participants provided verbal informed consent before specimens were collected. Blood and stool sample were used for the identification of parasite and CD4+ T-Cell count. In patients living with HIV, the prevalence of intestinal parasite infection was 12.59 per cent. In a manner parallel, the prevalence of parasitic infections was found to be 10.29% among male HIV-positive patients and 2.31% among female HIV-positive patients. This study has shed light that low CD4+ T-cell count appears to be a factor for intestinal parasitic infections and development of diarrhoea. Regular screening and treatment of intestinal parasitic infections is very important in overall improvement in quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients. Nevertheless, sanitary hygiene practices and deworming are needed to enhance the control of infection in the affected areas.

Breast cancer classification with histopathological image based on machine learning

<span lang="EN-US">Breast cancer represents one of the most common reasons for death in the worldwide. It has a substantially higher death rate than other types of cancer. Early detection can enhance the chances of receiving proper treatment and survival. In order to address this problem, this work has provided a convolutional neural network (CNN) deep learning (DL) based model on the classification that may be used to differentiate breast cancer histopathology images as benign or malignant. Besides that, five different types of pre-trained CNN architectures have been used to investigate the performance of the model to solve this problem which are the residual neural network-50 (ResNet-50), visual geometry group-19 (VGG-19), Inception-V3, and AlexNet while the ResNet-50 is also functions as a feature extractor to retrieve information from images and passed them to machine learning algorithms, in this case, a random forest (RF) and k-nearest neighbors (KNN) are employed for classification. In this paper, experiments are done using the BreakHis public dataset. As a result, the ResNet-50 network has the highest test accuracy of 97% to classify breast cancer images.</span>

Factors associated with circulatory death after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a population-based cluster analysis

BackgroundOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a common cause of death. Early circulatory failure is the most common reason for death within the first 48 h. This study in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with OHCA was designed to identify and characterize clusters based on clinical features and to determine the frequency of death from refractory postresuscitation shock (RPRS) in each cluster.MethodsWe retrospectively identified adults admitted alive to ICUs after OHCA in 2011–2018 and recorded in a prospective registry for the Paris region (France). We identified patient clusters by performing an unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis (without mode of death among the variables) based on Utstein clinical and laboratory variables. For each cluster, we estimated the hazard ratio (HRs) for RPRS.ResultsOf the 4445 included patients, 1468 (33%) were discharged alive from the ICU and 2977 (67%) died in the ICU. We identified four clusters: initial shockable rhythm with short low-flow time (cluster 1), initial non-shockable rhythm with usual absence of ST-segment elevation (cluster 2), initial non-shockable rhythm with long no-flow time (cluster 3), and long low-flow time with high epinephrine dose (cluster 4). RPRS was significantly associated with this last cluster (HR, 5.51; 95% confidence interval 4.51–6.74).ConclusionsWe identified patient clusters based on Utstein criteria, and one cluster was strongly associated with RPRS. This result may help to make decisions about using specific treatments after OHCA.

Demography and disorders of English Cocker Spaniels under primary veterinary care in the UK

BackgroundThe English Cocker Spaniel (ECS) is a common family dog in the UK. This study aimed to describe demography, morbidity, and mortality in ECS under primary veterinary care in the UK during 2016 using data from the VetCompass™ Programme. This study hypothesised that the prevalence of aggression is higher in male than female ECS, and higher in solid-coloured than bi-coloured ECS.ResultsEnglish Cocker Spaniels comprised 10,313/336,865 (3.06%) of dogs under primary veterinary care during 2016. The median age was 4.57 years (inter-quartile range (IQR) 2.25–8.01) and the median adult bodyweight was 15.05 kg (IQR 13.12–17.35). The annual proportional birth rate was relatively stable between 2.97–3.51% from 2005–2016. The most common specific diagnoses were periodontal disease (n = 486, prevalence 20.97%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 19.31–22.62), otitis externa (n = 234, 10.09%, 95% CI: 8.87–11.32), obesity (n = 229, 9.88%, 95% CI: 8.66–11.09), anal sac impaction (n = 187, 8.07%, 95% CI: 6.96–9.18), diarrhoea (n = 113, 4.87%, 95% CI: 4.00–5.75), and aggression (n = 93, 4.01%, 95% CI: 3.21–4.81). The prevalence of aggression was higher in males (4.95%) than in females (2.87%) (P = 0.015) and in solid-coloured (7.00%) than in bi-coloured dogs (3.66%) (P = 0.010). The median age at death was 11.44 years (IQR 9.46–13.47) and the most common grouped causes of death were neoplasia (n = 10, 9.26%, 95% CI: 3.79–14.73), mass-associated disorders (n = 9, 8.33%, 95% CI: 4.45–15.08), and collapse (n = 8, 7.41%, 95% CI: 3.80–13.94).ConclusionsPeriodontal disease, otitis externa, and obesity are identified as the most common health issues for ECS, and neoplasia and mass-associated disorders as the most common reasons for death. The prevalence of aggression was higher in males and solid-coloured dogs. The results can aid veterinarians in giving evidence-based health and breed choice information to dog owners and highlights the importance of thorough oral examination and body condition score evaluation during routine veterinary examination of ECS.

Deceased-Donor Renal Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience from a Tertiary Care Hospital in North India

Introduction: Deceased-donor renal transplants can help cope up with the increasing demand of renal allografts in India. We evaluated the outcomes of deceased-donor renal transplantation at our center. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the donor and recipient characteristics along with graft and patient survival in deceased-donor renal transplant recipients at our center between April 2011 and October 2021. Results: The mean age of recipients (n = 21) and deceased donors was 48 ± 9.4 and 39.3 ± 8.7 years, respectively. Male:female ratio among recipients was 1.6:1 while that in donors was 2:1. Chronic glomerulonephritis (71.4%) was the most common native kidney disease. Most patients received antithymocyte globulin (80.9%) as induction and tacrolimus-based triple-drug regimen (80.4%) as maintenance therapy. The median follow-up duration was 32.8 months. Graft dysfunction was reported in 57.1% (n = 12/21) patients; acute tubular necrosis was the most common reason (n = 5). Six patients died, and sepsis was the most common reason for death (n = 3/6; 50%); 66.7% (n = 4/6) deaths occurred within the first 6 months. The mean graft survival time was 106.2 months (95% confidence interval: 95.4–116.6). The cumulative proportion of graft survival was 95.2% (n = 20/21) at 3 and 5 years. The cumulative proportion of patient survival was 80.9% at 3 years and 76.2% at 5 years. Conclusion: Patient outcomes over 5 years follow-up were good and suggest that deceased-donor transplants should be encouraged along with living-donor transplants to cover the huge demand–supply mismatch in renal replacement therapy.

Sudden infant death syndrome

The sudden death of infants younger than one year is known as SIDS. It is a major cause of mortality among infants less than one year of age. There is little focus in the literature on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Thus, this review aims to provide new insights on the incidence, risk factors and prevention of SIDS in infants. Following preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, this review explored eligible articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, and research gate databases. Several keywords were used for the search to obtain all possible related articles. The inclusion criteria were reviews and original articles focused on the current subject and written in English. The eligible articles used to compile this review were published between 2007 and 2021. Three main titles were discussed in this review: incidence, risk factors, and prevention. SIDS is the most common reason for death among infants aged less than one year. There is great variation in the global incidence of SIDS. Factors related to the sleeping environment are the major risk factors for SIDS and should be the focus. Hence, following the recommendations of the American academy of pediatrics can reduce incidence of SIDS.

Reasons for Hospitalization and All-Cause Mortality for Adults with Sarcoidosis

PurposeSarcoidosis is a multisystem immune disease with a high rate of hospitalization. There is a paucity of large population-based studies on sarcoid inpatients. We aimed to examine the reasons for hospitalizations and mortality of adult sarcoid patients utilizing the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. MethodsAdult hospitalizations in 2016-2019 NIS database with sarcoidosis (ICD-10 code D86) were analyzed. The “reason for hospitalization” and “reason for in-hospital death” were divided into 19 organ system/disease categories based on their principal ICD-10 hospital billing diagnosis. ResultsAmong the 330,470 sarcoid hospitalizations, cardiovascular (20.4%) and respiratory (16.9%) diagnoses were the most common reasons for hospitalization. The most common individual diagnoses were sepsis and pneumonia. In-hospital death occurred in 2.4% of sarcoid hospitalizations. The most common reasons for death were infectious (30%), cardiovascular (20.7%), and respiratory (20.3%) diagnoses. The most common individual diagnoses in the deceased group were sepsis and respiratory failure. Finally, the sarcoid group had a higher frequency of complications including arrhythmias/heart blocks, heart failure, cranial neuropathies, hypercalcemia, iridocyclitis, myocarditis, and myositis. Sarcoid inpatients had longer length of stay (4 vs 3 days; p < .001) and higher median total hospital charges ($36,865 vs $31,742; p < .001). ConclusionsThe most common reasons for sarcoid hospitalizations were cardiovascular and respiratory. Nearly 1 in 40 hospitalizations resulted in death, with most common complications being conduction abnormalities and heart failure. The most common causes of in-hospital death were sepsis and respiratory failure. Sarcoid hospitalizations had 16% higher total hospital charges compared to nonsarcoid inpatients.

Bronchopneumonia with interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle: Epidemiologic characteristics of affected animals.

Bronchopneumonia with interstitial pneumonia (BIP) of feedlot cattle is characterized by gross and histologic lesions of cranioventral bronchopneumonia (BP) and caudodorsal interstitial pneumonia. This study described the characteristics and frequency of BIP in western Canadian feedlot cattle and identified epidemiologic differences between BIP and either BP or acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP). The study of 9909 deaths on 4 western Canadian feedlots included 1105 BIP, 1729 BP, and 878 AIP cases. A population of 55 cases with gross, histopathology, and microbiology data was used to validate the primary data set. BIP was the second most common reason for death (or euthanasia) from respiratory disease (1105/9909 cases), and the observed frequency was twice what was expected from random concurrence of BP and AIP. Based on logistic regression models, epidemiologic characteristics of BIP were comparable to those of BP, although BIP cases were more chronic with more instances of clinical illness prior to death. BIP was epidemiologically distinct from AIP. Specifically, BIP more frequently affected steers than heifers, deaths occurred earlier in the feeding period at lower body weights and lower daily weight gains, and BIP cases had longer durations from the first clinical illness to death and more separate instances of clinical illness prior to death. Furthermore, death from BIP mainly occurred in winter and fall, while death from AIP was most frequent in summer. These findings define BIP as a unique condition of feedlot cattle and suggest that chronic BP may promote the development of fatal interstitial lung disease in at-risk cattle.

Drug Utilization Review of Antibiotics in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients and Comparison with the Standard Drug of Choice

The risk of morbidity and death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), formerly known as chronic renal failure (CRF), is increased by a number of comorbidities, including infections, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and anaemia. The second most common reason for death in this population is infections. Antibiotics can accumulate in the body and have harmful consequences when given to CKD patients without the necessary dosage modification and in an illogical manner. The purpose of this particular study was to compare the standard treatment protocol with the reasoning and prescribing patterns of antibiotics administered for infections in CKD patients staged 3-5 in the nephrology department of a single Center in Kerala’s Kottayam district. The medical records of 272 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were admitted to the nephrology department between November 2019 and November 2020 were examined as part of single-centred retrospective research that was created to address this. Surprisingly, just 45 percent of the prescriptions were rational, while 55 percent of them were nonsensical. Additionally, we discovered that 23 percent of antibiotic selections went outside accepted therapeutic standards. Thus, we could conclude that the prescriber must use the utmost caution while prescribing to a patient with CKD to prevent future difficulties.

TRPC and TRPM channels: New possible targets for cancer

Cancer is the second most common reason for death in the world. The cancer research over four decades has been reached to the prospective on dysregulation of ions like (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na +, K+, or Cl - ) recently. These ions are orchestrated through numerous proteins, ion channels, selectively or non-selectively. However, the dysregulation of these ions and their channel expression are being reported for various diseases but here we have reviewed precisely TRP channels (TRPC and TRPM) for their role in cancer. The transient receptor potential (TRP) channels were first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster in 1989 and since then the superfamily becomes a group of 30 members under six subsections. Interestingly, we found that the TRPC (Canonical) channels, with 6 members, were explored in nine different types of cancers in last two decades. Additionally, we included the TRPM (Melastatin) subfamily and reviewed their role in cancer. Conclusively, these studies support that TRP channel-based therapies must be taken forward for clinical studies. Some channels, such as TRPC6, TRPM7 and TRPM8 were explored extensively in many cancer types which may be a potential target for cancer treatment. However, TRPM8 in lung cancer was reported for reverse association with cell proliferation, which needs to be reverified in lung cancer and other cancers. Besides, some TRPC channels are associated with store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) such as TRPC1, TRPC4 and TRPC6. Interestingly, the TRPC6 role was reported in breast cancer for modulation of Ca2+ through translocation of Orai1 and Orai3.

Ventricular assist device support in children: better, but not perfect

Ventricular assist device (VAD) support of children as bridge to transplantation or recovery can be associated with major morbidity. In infants and small children, VAD support is especially challenging and restricted to para-corporeal devices. Additional anatomic, physiologic and access limitations, along with coagulation system immaturity, further increase VAD complications in these small children. In the current issue of the EJCTS, Rohde et al. reviewed the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support database and identified 230 children who received the Berlin Heart EXCOR device between 2011 and 2021. They found that 46/230 (20%) had cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and that majority of these (71%) occurred within 90 days following VAD implantation. They also identified pump thrombosis and need for right VAD as risk factors for CVA [1]. In the original EXCOR study, reported CVA was 29% while transplantation was achieved in 88% of patients [2]. This was in a controlled trial setting with very strict selection criteria. When the follow-up extended study was published, 36% of children died and 55% reached transplantation [3]. Most importantly, CVA and multisystem organ failure were the most common reasons for death after VAD [4]. The clinical experience with the EXCOR device has since increased worldwide and the findings from Rohde are in line with other published reports in children [4, 5]. For example, a report from the Netherlands has shown that 50% of children had CVA, with 68% of those occurring in the first 30 days. Similarly, CVA was the most common cause of death [5]. While the study by Rohde examining a contemporary experience was unable to demonstrate an era impact on CVA occurrence, other reports seem to suggest a trend towards lower CVA rate in the recent era [1, 4, 6]. What can we attribute the improving trends to? Two factors seem to play a significant role: (i) the clinical status of the patient going into VAD implantation and (ii) potential improvements in early postoperative management.

COVID-19 Mortality in Children: A Referral Center Experience from Iran (Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran, Iran).

Background The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It spread widely around the world and was described as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The knowledge regarding the mortality rate and risk factors of COVID-19 among the pediatric population is lacking. In this regard, we aimed to report the clinical and laboratory characteristics of deceased pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from February 2020 to April 2021. Recorded documents of 59 pediatric patients (under 18 years old) assumed to have COVID-19 who had died in the COVID-19 ward and COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) were retrospectively evaluated. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software (v. 26.0, Chicago, IL). A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results From 711 COVID-19 definite and suspected patients, 59 children died. Of these deceased pediatric patients, 34 were boys (57.62%) and 25 were girls (42.37%), with a total mean age of 5.6 years. The median length of stay in the hospital was 10 days (range 1–215). 91.52% had underlying comorbidities of which neurological diseases accounted for the largest share. 54 patients were admitted to the ICU and 83.05% of them had intubation during their hospitalization. In addition, the most common reasons for death in our study were related to respiratory and multiorgan failure. Conclusion According to our knowledge, we are the first team to report such a thorough study in the field of COVID-19 pediatric mortality in Iran. Mortality was observed in all age groups of children, especially in those with previous comorbidities, specifically neurological disease. Abnormally elevated tests of ESR, CRP, LDH, AST, and ALT as well as the presence of proteinuria and hematuria were found in more than 50% of patients in our investigations, and ICU admission between both definite and suspected groups had significant differences, so monitoring and considering these factors may help to control and reduce the progression of the disease to death.

Cigarette heavy smoking alters DNA methylation patterns and gene transcription levels in humans spermatozoa.

Tobacco smoking is considered the most common reason of death and infertility around the world. This study was designed to assess the impact of tobacco heavy smoking on sperm DNA methylation patterns and to determine whether the transcription level of ALDH3B2, PTGIR, PRICKLE2, and ALS2CR12 genes is different in heavy smokers compared to non-smokers. As a screening study, the 450K array was used to assess the alteration in DNA methylation patterns between heavy smokers (n = 15) and non-smokers (n = 15). Then, four CpGs that have the highest difference in methylation level (cg16338278, cg08408433, cg05799088, and cg07227024) were selected for validation using deep bisulfite sequencing in an independent cohort of heavy smokers (n = 200) and non-smokers (n = 100). A significant variation was found between heavy smokers and non-smokers in the methylation level at all CpGs within the PRICKLE2 and ALS2CR12 gene amplicon (P < 0.001). Similarly, a significant variation was found in the methylation level at nine out of thirteen CpGs within the ALDH3B2 gene amplicon (P < 0.01). Additionally, eighteen CpGs out of the twenty-six within the PTGIR gene amplicon have a significant difference in the methylation level between heavy smokers and non-smokers (P < 0.01). The study showed a significant difference in sperm global DNA methylation, chromatin non-condensation, and DNA fragmentation (P < 0.001) between heavy smokers and non-smokers. A significant decline was shown in the transcription level of ALDH3B2, PTGIR, PRICKLE2, and ALS2CR12 genes (P < 0.001) in heavy smokers. In conclusion, heavy smoking influences DNA methylation at several CpGs, sperm global DNA methylation, and transcription level of the PRICKLE2, ALS2CR12, ALDH3B2, and PTGIR genes, which affects negatively the semen parameters of heavy smokers.

Risk for Non-AIDS-Defining and AIDS-Defining Cancer of Early Versus Delayed Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy : A Multinational Prospective Cohort Study.

Immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) regardless of CD4 cell count reduces risk for AIDS and non-AIDS-related events in asymptomatic, HIV-positive persons and is the standard of care. However, most HIV-positive persons initiate ART when their CD4 count decreases below 500×109 cells/L. Consequences of delayed ART on risk for non-AIDS-defining and AIDS-defining cancer, one of the most common reasons for death in HIV, are unclear. To estimate the long-term risk difference for cancer with the immediate ART strategy. Multinational prospective cohort study. The D:A:D (Data collection on Adverse events of anti-HIV Drugs) study, which included HIV-positive persons from Europe, Australia, and the United States. 8318 HIV-positive persons with at least 1 measurement each of CD4 cell count and viral load while ART-naive (study period, 2006 to 2016). The parametric g-formula was used, with adjustment for baseline and time-dependent confounders (CD4 cell count and viral load), to assess the 10-year risk for non-AIDS-defining and AIDS-defining cancer of immediate versus deferred (at CD4 counts <350 and <500×109 cells/L) ART initiation strategies. During 64021 person-years of follow-up, 231 cases of non-AIDS-defining cancer and 272 of AIDS-defining cancer occurred among HIV-positive persons with a median age of 36 years (interquartile range, 29 to 43 years). With immediate ART, the 10-year risk for non-AIDS-defining cancer was 2.97% (95% CI, 2.37% to 3.50%) and that for AIDS-defining cancer was 2.50% (CI, 2.37% to 3.38%). Compared with immediate ART initiation, the 10-year absolute risk differences when deferring ART to CD4 counts less than 500×109 cells/L and less than 350×109 cells/L were 0.12 percentage point (CI, -0.01 to 0.26 percentage point) and 0.29 percentage point (CI, -0.03 to 0.73 percentage point), respectively, for non-AIDS-defining cancer and 0.32 percentage point (CI, 0.21 to 0.44 percentage point) and 1.00 percentage point (CI, 0.67 to 1.44 percentage points), respectively, for AIDS-defining cancer. Potential residual confounding due to observational study design. In this young cohort, effects of immediate ART on 10-year risk for cancer were small, and further supportive data are needed for non-AIDS-defining cancer. Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Oversight Committee.

Gastric Cancer Associated Risk Factors and Prevalence in Pakistan

Gastric cancer (GC) is the most lethal disease of all cancer types. In the last three decades, it has become the most common reason for death among all cancer types. Gastric cancer is at the fourth number in all over the world and annually 8,00,000 deaths are reported. Female gastric cancer has been increased in the last 5 years. Unexpected diversity has been noted in GC spreaders in the whole world. Eastern Europe, China, and South America are the major regions of Gastric cancer prevalence. Its main sources are correlated with 2 agents, dietary intake and Helicobacter pylori infection. Although in south Asia occurrence of H. Pylori is high but less prevalence risk. The sole methods to minimize the prevalence of gastric cancer include elimination of Pylori, standard hygienic condition, proper diet, and improved living standards. One of the most common and complicated factors of gastric cancer is infection with Pylori. The main intention of this article is to elaborate the concerned review of GC and up-to-date information about its occurrence moreover its risk aspects in Pakistan.

Evolutionary Role of Epigenetics in Ischemic Stroke: A Review

Stroke is a Central Nervous System (CNS) disorder which occurs due to the obstruction in the brain blood flow. Stroke is mainly of two types, such as ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic stroke (80%) caused due to obstruction of blood flow through Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) and characterized by a decreased supply of oxygen and glucose to CNS. In comparison, Hemorrhagic stroke (20%) mainly occurs due to the rupturing of blood vessels. Epidemiologically, it is the common reason of death after cancer and affecting millions of global population. There are many risk factors such as hypertension; hypercholesterolemia etc. which can exaggerate the condition of stroke. Various conventional therapies like Antiplatelets, Thrombolytic are available, but, there is a need to obtain a therapeutic approach that can provide prevention as well as a cure for the stroke. So the present review is primarily focused on epigenetic approach for ischemic stroke by Endogenous Transplantation of Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells (NSPCs). This, in turn, will decrease the level of REST protein at the genetic level and enhance the activity of Na+-Ca+ exchanger activity and lowers the excitotoxicity.

Relation of hepcidin gene expression in blood mononuclear cells with iron overload severity among β-thalassemia major patients

Iron overload is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in β-thalassemia major patients, and cardiac iron overload is the most common reason for death in these transfusion-dependent patients. Hepcidin, a liver-derived peptide hormone, plays a key role in plasma iron levels regulation by controlling two main stages, digestive iron absorption in enterocytes, and iron recycling in macrophages. Although hepcidin is mainly secreted from hepatocytes in the liver, it is also synthesized from mononuclear cells consisting of monocytes and lymphocytes. Binding of this molecule to ferroportin, a specific cellular exporter of iron, leads to degradation of the ligand-receptor complex, which reduces the iron overload by lowering the amounts of iron released into the plasma. Likewise, the same mechanism has been proved to be true for lymphocyte-drived hepcidin.The expression levels of hepcidin mRNA were evaluated using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) in 50 β-thalassemia major patients, as well as 25 healthy volunteers as the group of control. There was a significantly positive correlation between the cardiac iron concentration, showed by higher T2 values, and hepcidin levels in the patients (p = 0.028; r = 0.311). However, hepcidin expression levels did not significantly correlate with ferritin and liver iron concentrations.Hepcidin can act as a beneficial marker to determine iron overload degrees, particularly in the heart, in β-thalassemia major patients and be used as a logical therapeutic agent for treatment of β-thalassemia disorders.

Aspiration Pneumonia and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Banxia Houpu Tang

Aspiration pneumonia is one of the most common reasons for death in stroke patients. Recently, a traditional herbal medicine banxia houpu tang is remarked to prevent the aspiration pneumonia. This review tells the history of study of banxia houpu tang for prevent aspiration pneumonia.

Recent Advances in Targeting of Breast Cancer Stem Cells Based on Biological Concepts and Drug Delivery System Modification.

Breast cancer with various biological diversity known as the common reason of death in the world and despite progress in novel therapeutic approaches, it faced with failure and recurrence in general. Recent clinical and preclinical statistics support cancer stem cells (CSCs) hypothesis and its similarities with normal stem cells. Evaluation of related paper conclude in significance finding in the further characterization of CSCs biology such as surface biomarkers, microenvironment regulatory molecules, cell signaling pathways, cell to cell transition and drug efflux pumps to overcome multidrug resistance and effective therapy. Emerging novel data indicate biological concepts in the base of unsuccessful treatment. A powerful understanding of the cell signaling pathways in cancer and CSCs topics can be led us to define and control treatment problems in cancer. More recently nano medicine based on drug delivery system modification and new implications on combinatorial therapy have been used to treat breast cancer effectively. The aim of this review is focus on CSCs as a potential target of cancer therapy, to overcome the limitation and problems of current therapeutic strategies in cancer.

Influence of subfertility and assisted reproductive technology treatment on mortality of women after delivery

To compare incidence, risk factors, and etiology of women's deaths in fertile, subfertile, and undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the years after delivery. Retrospective cohort. University hospital. Women who had delivered in Massachusetts. This study used data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System linked to vital records, hospital stays, and the Massachusetts death file. Mortality of patients delivered from 2004-2013 was evaluated through 2015. The exposure groups, determined on the basis of the last delivery, were ART-treated (linked to Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System), subfertile (no ART but with indicators of subfertility including birth certificate checkbox for fertility treatment, prior hospitalization for infertility [International Classification of Disease codes 9 628 or V23], and/or prior delivery with checkbox or ART), or fertile (neither ART nor subfertile). Numbers (per 100,000 women-years) and causes of death were obtained from the Massachusetts death file. Mortality of women after delivery in each of the three fertility groups and the most common etiology of death in each. We included 483,547 women: 16,429 ART, 11,696 subfertile, and 455,422 fertile among whom there were 1,280 deaths with 21.1, 25.5, and 44.7 deaths, respectively, per 100,000 women-years. External causes (violence, accidents, and poisonings) were the most common reasons for death in the fertile group. Deaths occurred on average 46 months after delivery. When external causes of death were removed, there were 19.1, 17.0, and 25.6 deaths per 100,000 women-years and leading causes of death in all groups were cancer and circulatory problems. The study presents reassuring data that death rates within 5 years of delivery in ART-treated and subfertile women do not differ from those in fertile women.