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At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources

Anterior fontanelle size in Arab children: standards for appropriately grown full term neonates.

The anterior fontanelle (AF) size of 100 male and 100 female normal neonates, born by spontaneous vertex delivery following a normal pregnancy, was determined on the 3rd day of life, using standard methods. The mean AF size for boys was 2.92 (0.51) (range 1.04-4.4) cm and for girls 2.51 (0.74) (range 1.0-4.1) cm. The difference between the sexes is significant (P less than 0.001). There was no significant difference in the head circumference between the sexes. The study establishes normal values for anterior fontanelle size for appropriately grown, full term Arab male and female infants.

Cephalometry↗

The Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome--a report of two cases.

Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome (MRS) is a rare condition with variable presentation. In some cases there is sequential development of clinical features. This report describes the syndrome in two Arab children who showed partial response to therapy with oral steroids. Since the natural course of the disease is unpredictable and there may be natural remission of symptoms, the efficacy of steroids is difficult to establish.

Adolescent↗

Imerslund-Grasbeck syndrome in a Libyan boy.

Immerslund-Grasbeck syndrome is an uncommon disease, characterized by megaloblastic anaemia and persistent proteinuria. A Libyan boy with the characteristic findings is presented. He received intramuscular vitamin B12 injections and there followed a remarkable clinical and haematological improvement.

Anemia, Macrocytic↗

Antitumor activity of beta-D-glucan from Libyan dates.

Beta-glucan with antitumor activities was isolated from Libyan dates, and the structure of the purified glucan was characterized using methods such as methylation, periodate oxidation, and acetolysis. Glucans were found to exhibit potent antitumor activity; this activity could be correlated to their (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan linkages. Such antitumor glucans have also been obtained from a number of other sources, such as yeast, fungi, bacteria, and plants. This is the first study to report antitumor activity for date glucan.

Animals↗

Muscular dystrophy due to dysferlin deficiency in Libyan Jews. Clinical and genetic features.

The cluster in Jews of Libyan origin of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B due to a dysferlin 1624delG mutation is described. The carrier frequency of this mutation is calculated to be approximately 10% in this population, in which the disease prevalence is at least 1 per 1300 adults. Twenty-nine patients from 12 families were all homozygous for the same mutation. However, clinical features were heterogeneous even within the same family: in half of the patients onset was in the distal muscles of the legs, which is similar to Miyoshi myopathy, while in others onset was in the proximal musculature, which is similar to other forms of limb-girdle dystrophies. Age at onset varied from 12 to 28 years (mean 20.3 +/- 5.5 years). One patient was presymptomatic at age 28 years. Progression was slow regardless of age of onset, patients remaining ambulatory until at least 33 years. Five patients described subacute, painful enlarged calves as an early, unusual feature. The variable features in this ethnic cluster contribute to the definition of the clinical spectrum of dysferlinopathies in general. The cause of the observed heterogeneity remains unclear.

Adult↗

Plague in camels and goats: their role in human epidemics.

In 1976, in a small, remote Libyan village, one apparently sick camel was slaughtered and skinned, and the camel meat was distributed for human comsumption. A few days later, 15 villagers suffered a severe febrile illness. Of the five individuals who had participated in the killing and dispensation of the camel, all were dead within four days. When samples of serum from nine of the remaining patients were examined, seven were found to be positive for plague as determined by the passive hemagglutination test. Another six persons became ill after killing two goats, and the serum of one goat contained antibodies to Yersinia pestis. Because all of the remaining patients except one were treated early enough, they recovered. These incidents confirm previous reports that the camel and the goat are susceptible to naturally occurring plague infection and have a significant role in the dissemination of human plague.

Adult↗

Growth rate and anthropometry of a Libyan population.

Body weight, standing height, skin-fold thicknesses at four sites (biceps, triceps, subscapular, and suprailiac) and percent fat were measured in 1800 Libyan children and adults aged 6-25 years. There was a marked difference in anthropometric measurements between boys and girls at the age of 14 years. Libyan children have the same rate of increase in standing height as European children. Percentage fat was correlated significantly (P less than 0.05) with body mass index. Percentage fat in girls was twice that in boys during all stages of growth. The present study can be used as a source of reference for a Libyan population.

Adipose Tissue↗

Trend and types of disabled persons in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya pays special attention to the problem of disability. It truly follows the policy: "Full participation and equality for all persons with disability". In the country, the number and types of disabled persons have been documented thrice since 1964 and priority social services have been extended for them. The prevalence of disabled persons per 1000 population has shown a downward trend from 29.26 in 1964 to 18.65 in 1976. Males were observed to have significantly higher rates than females. The age specific disability rate per 1000 was 7.92 under 15 years, 24.23 between 15 to 49 years and 99.95 for 50 years or more. Blindness and paralysis were the first and second frequent causes of disability in the three counts carried out in 1964, 1973 and 1976. Among all causes of disability mental subnormality and loss of limbs respectively moved up from position five and four in 1964 to three and five in 1973 and 1976; whereas, deafness and dumbness together moved down from position three to four during the same period of time. Compared to the situation in 1964, all categories of disabled persons per 1000 population showed a declining trend over the years except of mentally subnormal who showed an increasing trend. The common causes of disability in the descending order of frequency were acquired diseases (both communicable and non-communicable), accidents, congenital and other disorders. Prevention of disability and services for disabled persons are outlined along with reference to the newly founded National Committee for Care to Disabled Persons.

Adolescent↗

Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Codon 200 prion disease in Libyan Jews.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the most prevalent of the human prion diseases, a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders afflicting both humans and animals. The unique characteristic of these diseases, whether sporadic, dominantly inherited, or acquired by transmission, is the accumulation in the brain of an abnormal isoform (PrPSc) of the cellular prion protein (PrPc). Progress has been made in understanding inherited prion diseases by genetically linking clusters of familial CJD (fCJD) to mutations of the PrP gene (PRNP). One of the largest clusters of fCJD exists among Jews of Libyan origin. The clinical and pathologic manifestations of CJD in this community resemble those seen with sporadic CJD (sCJD), but the incidence is about 100 times higher than in the general population. Initially, this high incidence was attributed to infection via consumption of sheep brains or eyeballs, but a mutation at codon 200 in PRNP resulting in the substitution of lysine (K) for glutamate (E), designated E200K, was identified in this population. The onset of fCJD (E200K) is age dependent and shows nearly complete penetrance by age 85 years. fCJD in Libyan Jews is invariably associated with accumulation of the pathologic isoform PrPSc in the central nervous system. Using mutation-specific antibodies, it was shown that most PrPSc in the brain of these patients originated from the mutant protein. Some studies suggest that mutant PrP may accumulate in brain and other organs due to an impaired degradation, and its accumulation has been postulated to promote conversion into PrPSc. fCJD (E200K) has been transmitted to primates and transgenic mice, highlighting the need to address ethical and public health issues surrounding the possibility of human to human transmission.

Adult↗

First international conference on infections in children in Arab countries.

This conference was the first of its kind but the need for similar meetings in the future was recognized by the participants. Considering the vast importance of infectious diseases in children in Arab countries, research in this area should receive a high priority in pediatrics. Improvements of diagnosis, management and prevention would appear particularly rewarding and could lead to significant results in a relatively short period of time.

Adolescent↗

A rare short allele of the serotonin transporter promoter region (5-HTTLPR) found in an aggressive schizophrenic patient of Jewish Libyan origin.

The serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), which plays a key role in the serotonergic pathway in the brain, is a candidate for mediating genetic susceptibility to various psychiatric disorders. There are two predominant alleles in the polymorphic promotor region [5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR)] of this gene: a long and a short allele with 16 and 14 repeat units, respectively. The short allele has lower activity and is associated with several psychiatric disorders and personality traits. We identified and sequenced a novel allele with 13 repeat units, 23 base pairs shorter than the common short allele. This unique allele was detected in a schizophrenic patient of Jewish Libyan origin. The patient exhibited extreme aggressive behavior and committed suicide after several attempts. The novel short allele was not detected in 172 healthy control subjects and 361 patients with various mental disorders. The presence of a very short unique allele in a severely aggressive schizophrenic patient may reflect a specific effect on the particular phenotype, although it is unlikely that this allele has a major contribution to susceptibility to schizophrenia. The role of the allele in serotonin transport and possible association with disease phenotype should be further investigated.

Aggression↗

Underevaluation of HIV-1 plasma viral load by a commercially available assay in a cluster of patients infected with HIV-1 A/G circulating recombinant form (CRF02).

The authors studied the correlation and agreement of commercially available assays in detection and quantification of the HIV-1 intersubtype A/G circulating recombinant form CRF02. The assays under comparison were Bayer Versant HIV-1 RNA, version 3.0; Roche Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor, version 1.5 (standard procedure); and Organon Teknika NucliSens HIV-1 RNA QT. Plasma samples from 114 patients infected with CRF02 were tested by the three assays under standard conditions. Although correlation among the assays was high and statistically significant for subtype B and CRF02, in the latter instance, NucliSens measured average viral load values (3.29 +/- 0.71 log(10) copies/mL) about 4 and >8 times lower than those obtained by Versant (3.90 +/- 0.90 log(10) copies/mL) and Amplicor (4.22 +/- 1.05 log(10) copies/mL), respectively. Furthermore, in a statistically significant percentage of CRF02-harboring samples, NucliSens produced viral load values undetectable or 1 log(10) lower than those obtained in Versant and Amplicor assays. Altogether, these data underline a low performance of NucliSens in detecting and quantifying viremia in plasma samples harboring the CRF02. These results are potentially important as global distribution of new HIV-1 subtypes is expanding, and recombinant strains, particularly CRF02, are emerging and becoming highly prevalent.

Adult↗

Mutation in codon 200 and polymorphism in codon 129 of the prion protein gene in Libyan Jews with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Various mutations in the prion protein (PrP) gene are associated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a transmissible fatal neurodegenerative disorder. Among Libyan Jews, CJD is a familial disease with an incidence about 100 times higher than the worldwide population. CJD in this community segregates with a point mutation at codon 200 of the PrP gene which causes the substitution of lysine for glutamate. This mutation was found in all definitely affected individuals and yields a maximum lod score of 4.85. Some healthy elderly mutation carries above 65 years of age were identified, suggesting partial penetrance. Homozygous patients have the same disease pattern and age of onset as heterozygous patients, which argues that CJD associated with the codon 200 lysine mutation is a true dominant disorder. In the caucasian population, Palmer et al. (1991) reported an association between homozygosity in a polymorphic site at codon 129 of the PrP gene, coding for either valine or methionine, with a tendency to acquire the sporadic or iatrogenic forms of CJD, as well as with disease age of appearance in the genetic type. The incidence of the polymorphism at codon 129 in the control Libyan population is similar to the one found in the caucasian population. In the Libyan CJD patients, the codon 200 mutation is within a Met129-encoding allele. The incidence of the Met allele is significantly higher in the affected pedigrees than in the control Libyan population; however, no difference was detected between CJD patients, codon 200 healthy carriers, and their normal family members.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

The establishment of the Anaesthetic Department in Benghazi.

The author has worked in Benghazi for 2 1/2 years. He has contributed in the establishment of the deparment of anaesthesia of the University of Garyounis. The problems of establishing the Department of Anaesthesia in Benghazi are reported and their solution discussed. Some recommendations for the future progress of the specialty in Benghazi are also included.

Anesthesia Department, Hospital↗