Project description:OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the association between various environmental factors and the anthropometric measurements of children and adolescents. METHODS:This retrospective studywasperformed from September 2017 to April 2018 and included 393 children aged 2-18 years. Data were extracted through patient and/or parentinterviews and from medical records of endocrine ambulatory clinics. RESULTS:Among underweight children,the proportion of mixed-fed children was the highest, and among normal weight children, most were either bottle-fed or mixed-fed. Most overweight children were mixed-fed, and most obese children were breastfed. Underweight status was noted most commonly in children playing videogames for <2 hours/day, followed by those playing>4 and 2-4 hours/day. Normal weight was noted most commonly in those playing for >4 hours/day, followed by those playing <2 and 2-4 hours/day. Overweight status was noted most commonly in those playing videogames for >4 hours/day, followed by those playing 2-4 and <2 hours/day. Most children playing videogames for <2 hours/day were obese. Mean BMIs were the highest in those who exercised 1-2 times/week. P-values for the association between passive smoking indoors and BMI, weight, and height were 0.045, 0.150, and 0.854, respectively. Regarding socioeconomic status, log BMI values were 1.22, 1.23, and 1.26 in low-, medium-, and high-income families, respectively (P-value, 0.001). CONCLUSION:Children who were bottle-fed in their first year of life, played video games >2 hours/day, did not exercise regularly, were exposed to indoor passive smoking, and had a high socioeconomic status had a higher BMI and weight than their counterparts. (www.actabiomedica.it).
Project description:Major advances have been made in the treatment of cancer with targeted therapy and immunotherapy; several FDA-approved agents with associated improvement of 1-year survival rates became available for stage IV melanoma patients. Before 2010, the 1-year survival were quite low, at 30%; in 2011, the rise to nearly 50% in the setting of treatment with Ipilimumab, and rise to 70% with BRAF inhibitor monotherapy in 2013 was observed. Even more impressive are 1-year survival rates considering combination strategies with both targeted therapy and immunotherapy, now exceeding 80%. Can we improve response rates even further, and bring these therapies to more patients? In fact, despite these advances, responses are heterogeneous and are not always durable. There is a critical need to better understand who will benefit from therapy, as well as proper timing, sequence and combination of different therapeutic agents. How can we better understand responses to therapy and optimize treatment regimens? The key to better understanding therapy and to optimizing responses is with insights gained from responses to targeted therapy and immunotherapy through translational research in human samples. Combination therapies including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, electrochemotherapy with immunotherapy agents such as Immune Checkpoint Blockers are under investigation but there is much room for improvement. Adoptive T cell therapy including tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells therapy is also efficacious in metastatic melanoma and outcome enhancement seem likely by improved homing capacity of chemokine receptor transduced T cells. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes therapy is also efficacious in metastatic melanoma and outcome enhancement seem likely by improved homing capacity of chemokine receptor transduced T cells. Understanding the mechanisms behind the development of acquired resistance and tests for biomarkers for treatment decisions are also under study and will offer new opportunities for more efficient combination therapies. Knowledge of immunologic features of the tumor microenvironment associated with response and resistance will improve the identification of patients who will derive the most benefit from monotherapy and might reveal additional immunologic determinants that could be targeted in combination with checkpoint blockade. The future of advanced melanoma needs to involve education and trials, biobanks with a focus on primary tumors, bioinformatics and empowerment of patients and clinicians.
Project description:The UK Extracellular Vesicles (UKEV) Forum meetings were born of the realization that there were a number of UK laboratories studying extracellular vesicle biology and using similar techniques but without a regular national meeting dedicated to EVs at which to share their findings. This was compounded by the fact that many of these labs were working in different fields and thus networking and sharing of ideas and best practice was sometimes difficult. The first workshop was organized in 2013 by Dr Charlotte Lawson, under the auspices of the Society for Endocrinology, led to the founding of the UKEV Forum and the organization of a British Heart Foundation sponsored 1-day conference held in London in December 2014. Although growing in size every year, the central aims of these workshops have remained the same: to provide a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas, to allow young scientists to present their data in the form of short talks and poster presentations and to discuss their work with more established scientists in the field. Here we include the presented abstracts for the 2015 1-day conference hosted by Cardiff University. This meeting was attended by approximately 130 delegates throughout the United Kingdom, but also attended by delegates from Belgium, Netherlands, France, Ireland and other nations. The day composed of plenary presentations from Prof Matthias Belting, Lund University, Sweden and Dr Guillaume van Niel, Institut Curie, Paris together with 10 short presentations from submitted abstracts. The topics covered were broad, with sessions on Mechanisms of EV production, EVs in Infection, EVs in Cancer and in Blood and Characterizing EVs in Biological fluids. This hopefully gives a reflection of the range of EV-related studies being conducted currently in the UK. There were also 33 poster presentations equally broad in subject matter. The organizers are grateful to the Life Science Research Network Wales - a Welsh government-funding scheme that part-sponsored the conference. We are also grateful to commercial sponsors, and 3 paid-presentations are included in the abstracts. The UK EV Forum is expected to become an established annual event held at different Universities across the UK and continue to attract increasing delegate numbers and abstract submissions. We look forward to the next planned conference, which will be hosted by David Carter and his colleagues at Oxford Brookes University on 13th December 2016.
Project description:ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine whether female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) exists in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingKing Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.ParticipantsBetween December 2016 and August 2017, women attending the obstetrics and gynaecology clinics were asked to participate in a cross-sectional survey. This included questions on demographics, FGM/C status and type and attitudes towards the practice.ResultsIn a convenience sample of 963 women aged 18 to 75 years, 175 (18.2%) had undergone FGM/C. Compared with women without FGM/C, women with FGM/C were older, married, non-Saudi and had a lower monthly income. Thirty-seven (21.1%) women had had FGM/C with some cutting of body parts (type I or II), 11 (6.3%) with suturing (type III), 46 (26.3%) with no cutting of body parts (type IV) and 81 (46.3%) did not know their type of FGM/C. There was also a significant association between nationality and age at which FGM/C was performed, with Saudi women undergoing the procedure earlier than Egyptian, Somali, Yemeni and Sudanese women.ConclusionsFGM/C is prevalent in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, among immigrant women from other countries, and it is practised among Saudi women. Further research is needed to determine its prevalence.
Project description:IntroductionDiabetes mellitus (DM) is common metabolic disorder that is characterized by increased circulating blood glucose levels. Long-term, continuous hyperglycemia leads to vasculature-related disorders, including those affecting the eyes, such as retinopathy. The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of diabetic complications, specifically diabetic retinopathy, among diabetic patients attending the Jeddah Eye Hospital.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study targeting the outpatient clinics of Jeddah Eye Hospital for a period of 2 months. A total of 380 participants were randomly selected based on sample size calculations. A closed-ended questionnaire, generated after an extensive literature review, was distributed among the selected individuals. The questions focused on the participants' clinical status of DM, socio-demographic characteristics, awareness of eye complications secondary to DM, eye screening, and eye care-seeking behavior.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 58.3 (standard deviation 10.9) years, and 52.4% of patients were female. The majority (89.7%) of participants had type II DM (T2DM). The level of awareness was satisfactory (92.4%); however, only 10.5% of participants knew the recommended frequency for eye check-ups. The level of awareness of related complications was directly influenced by education level, source of patient information, place of residence, and frequency of follow-up visits.ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that although the awareness of diabetes-related eye complications was satisfactory in the patient population, eye care-seeking behavior and frequency of eye check-ups were not optimal. Efforts are needed to promote eye care-seeking behavior in this patient group.
Project description:Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the major cause of global mortality. Applying a comprehensive interventional program may reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and its complications. Objective This study compared the effects of a three-month intervention involving lifestyle modification and physical activity with standard care in women ≥30 years having a moderate to high risk of CVD, with respect to improving physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk factors at the National Guard Residential City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2015. Methods The effects of this community-based lifestyle program were assessed through a randomized controlled trial from January 1st to September 6th, 2015. Women in the intervention group (n = 31) received health education, exercise training, and diet counselling as individuals and in groups according to the participant's risk. Women in the control group (n = 28) received one health education session at the screening site. The primary outcome was the proportion of women with moderate Framingham risk scores (FRS) reducing their risk by 10% and the proportion of women with high FRS reducing their risk by 25%. The secondary outcome was the proportion of women reducing their risk by ≥1 risk category. Results The mean participant age was 42 ± 8 years. At three-month's follow-up, reductions were greater in the intervention group and the difference between groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Lifestyle intervention program significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (-9.2 mmHg), blood glucose (-45 mg/dL) and Framingham risk score (-13.6). Linear regression analysis revealed a significant improvement in the Framingham risk score (p < 0.01). Conclusion In a population of women with moderate-to-high risk of CVD, a personalized lifestyle modification program showed positive association in improving the 10-year cardiovascular Framingham risk score after three months.