Nevin Manimala

Vaccine. 2022 Aug 24:S0264-410X(22)00817-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.06.048. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vaccination is a cost-effective disease prevention measure. Sustainable financing is critical to successful implementation of vaccination programs. Countries in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) have vaccination programs that remain highly vulnerable to budget limitations.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to understand the current vaccine financing landscape in MEA; to assess the availability and variability of data on vaccination budgets, expenditure and schedules including introductions of new vaccines; and to identify and describe key trends.

METHOD: A targeted literature review was conducted for 69 MEA countries for data between 2010 and 2019. Descriptive analysis of the collected data was conducted.

RESULTS: Data on vaccination expenditure were available for 96% of the countries. However, data on vaccination budget were limited, and the variability was high. The median vaccination expenditure per capita was between US$0.57 and US$1.02. High-income countries spent the most on vaccination per capita (median US$3.41) compared to low-income countries (median US$0.69). The highest vaccination expenditure per capita was in countries that receive 100% government funding of vaccination programs (US$0.87) compared to those where government pays for > 0% to < 50% of vaccination expenditure (US$0.74). Vaccination expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product was the highest (0.10%) in low-income countries and the lowest in high-income countries (0.01%). Vaccination expenditure as proportion of healthcare expenditure was the highest (1.76%) in low-income countries and the lowest in high-income countries (0.33%). Statistically significant trends in median expenditure per capita were identified for 27% of the countries. During this period, an average of 4.4 vaccines were introduced.

CONCLUSION: Data on vaccination expenditure in MEA was available for detailed analysis, and it was useful to understand the characteristics of vaccination funding in the region. It is important to secure adequate financing to sustain current vaccination programs and to introduce new vaccines.

PMID:36030126 | DOI:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.06.048

Int J Epidemiol. 2022 Aug 27:dyac170. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyac170. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality, this study investigates overall, sex- and age-specific excess all-cause mortality in 20 countries, during 2020.

METHODS: Total, sex- and age-specific weekly all-cause mortality for 2015-2020 was collected from national vital statistics databases. Excess mortality for 2020 was calculated by comparing weekly 2020 observed mortality against expected mortality, estimated from historical data (2015-2019) accounting for seasonality, long- and short-term trends. Crude and age-standardized rates were analysed for total and sex-specific mortality.

RESULTS: Austria, Brazil, Cyprus, England and Wales, France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Northern Ireland, Peru, Scotland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the USA displayed substantial excess age-standardized mortality of varying duration during 2020, while Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Mauritius, Norway, and Ukraine did not. In sex-specific analyses, excess mortality was higher in males than females, except for Slovenia (higher in females) and Cyprus (similar in both sexes). Lastly, for most countries substantial excess mortality was only detectable (Austria, Cyprus, Israel, and Slovenia) or was higher (Brazil, England and Wales, France, Georgia, Italy, Northern Ireland, Sweden, Peru and the USA) in the oldest age group investigated. Peru demonstrated substantial excess mortality even in the <45 age group.

CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights that excess all-cause mortality during 2020 is context dependent, with specific countries, sex- and age-groups being most affected. As the pandemic continues, tracking excess mortality is important to accurately estimate the true toll of COVID-19, while at the same time investigating the effects of changing contexts, different variants, testing, quarantine, and vaccination strategies.

PMID:36029524 | DOI:10.1093/ije/dyac170

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):72-76. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.9.

ABSTRACT

This study was performed to evaluate the histological changes in the cornea after accelerated collagen crosslinking. In this regard, the right eyes of 7 New Zealand albino rabbits weighing 1.5 to 2 kg were studied. The right eye was considered the case group, and the left eye was considered the control group. The right eye epithelium was removed, riboflavin 0.1 solutions (10 mg riboflavin-5 phosphate in 10 ml dextran-T-500, 20%) were shaken every three minutes for 30 minutes and exposed to UVA for 10 minutes, and crosslinking was performed. All rabbits were euthanized and histologically evaluated. Apoptosis was assessed using the tunnel method. The results showed a significant difference in the mean percentage of apoptotic cells in the treatment and control groups. In both endothelial cells and keratocytes in the treated cornea, the number of apoptotic cells was significantly higher than in the control group. In the general examination of the cornea (keratocytes and endothelium) in the right eye of rabbits, the mean and standard deviation of the percentage of apoptotic cells was 18.39 ± 3.4 and in the left eye was 6.37 ± 1.8. The apoptosis results of keratocytes in the right eye showed that the mean and standard deviation for the percentage of apoptotic keratocytes was 2.86 ± 1.07, which was significantly higher than in the left eye (0.53 ± 0.43) (P <0.001). The mean and standard deviation of endothelial apoptotic cells in the right and left eyes were 86.2 and 53.5, respectively, statistically significant (P = 0.026). Although CXL is a reliable method of preventing the progression of keratoconus disease, there is still a risk of endothelial cell damage and related complications due to endothelial cell damage, and further studies are needed.

PMID:36029513 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.9

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):16-23. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.3.

ABSTRACT

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women and is also the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. In recent years, the survival rate of patients with this disease has been long, and at the same time, more emphasis is on their quality of life. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of supportive and educational care of nurses on the life quality of patients with ovarian cancer. The expression of the HE4 gene was also evaluated as a diagnostic marker of ovarian cancer to assess the role of supportive and educational care of nurses in improving the physical health of these patients. In this study, which was a quasi-experimental study, 45 patients with ovarian cancer participated. The instrument was demographic information and quality of life questionnaires related to Beckman Institute, which were completed in two stages before and after patients’ training and support sessions. HE4 gene expression was also assessed by Real-time PCR technique. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software and statistical tests. Based on the results, the mean score of quality of life before the intervention was 51.73 ± 13.91, and after the intervention was 60.46 ± 13.80 (P <0.001). Also, in all four dimensions of quality of life, the mean score of individuals after the intervention increased compared to before the intervention, but this difference was recognized as significant in only two dimensions of physical and mental health (P <0.001). The results of HE4 gene expression also showed that supportive and educational care of nurses had a significant effect on the expression of this gene. Therefore, this study confirmed the positive effect of educational and supportive programs in improving the quality of life of patients with ovarian cancer. In general, the design and implementation of such programs are proposed more widely and based on patients’ educational and supportive needs.

PMID:36029511 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.3

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):89-95. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.12.

ABSTRACT

Stroke is the most common, deadly, and complicating neurological disease. Many studies have shown that the levels of some acute inflammatory reactants in people with ischemic stroke are higher than average. Therefore, in this study, three acute inflammatory reactants, i.e., C-reactive protein, Serum cystatin C, and carbohydrate antigen 125, were evaluated in patients with acute ischemic stroke to consider the association between these serums with intra and extra-cerebral vessels stenosis. In this cross-sectional study, 90 patients with non-embolic ischemic stroke were evaluated. The diagnosis was by physical examination, rejection of emboli, and brain imaging. Blood samples were taken in the first 24 hours of a stroke. ELISA test was used to measure CRP, Serum cystatin C, and CA125. Doppler ultrasound of cerebral arteries was also performed in the first five days. Independent chi-square and t-tests were used to analyze the data. The result of CRP level in patients with stenosis was 7.58±1.33μg/ml and in patients without stenosis was 4.10±1.75μg/ml (p = 0.004). Also, there was a significant relationship between serum CRP level and stenosis (p = 0.003). In patients with abnormal CRP, the internal carotid artery, middle cerebral artery, and anterior cerebral artery were the most involved. In patients with normal CRP, the most involved arteries were the anterior cerebral artery, internal carotid artery, and middle cerebral artery, respectively. There was a significant relationship between serum CRP level and the location of internal carotid artery stenosis (p = 0.015) and middle cerebral artery (p = 0.006). The amount of cystatin C between the normal CRP and abnormal CRP groups was statistically significant so that its concentration in the normal group was less than in the abnormal group (p = 0.04). The results of measuring the serum concentration of carbohydrate antigen 125 showed that the serum level in the normal group was statistically lower than in the abnormal group (P = 0.02). The results showed that stenosis of the internal carotid artery and middle cerebral artery is more common in patients with ischemic stroke with high serum CRP levels. This finding suggests that abnormal CRP may be more associated with narrowing some cerebral arteries.

PMID:36029510 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.12

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):111-116. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.15.

ABSTRACT

Stroke is the leading cause of neurological problems and the third leading cause of death globally, leading to various neurological defects. Due to the importance of applying nursing and rehabilitation measures to reduce complications in these patients, a study was conducted to determine the effect of nursing and rehabilitation measures on the quality of life of patients with stroke. This two-stage experimental study (before and after) was performed on 20 patients with stroke admitted to the internal medicine department. Patients were selected by sampling method, which had inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a questionnaire based on the quality of life in four areas of physical, mental, general health, and social functioning before and after the intervention. Real-Time PCR measured the expression of Bcl2 / Bax genes. Descriptive and inferential statistics analyzed the data. The results showed that the mean quality of life scores in physical function, psychological, social position, and general health after nursing and rehabilitation measures increased significantly (p = .05). Also, the quality of life score after these measures had a significant increase compared to before (p = .05). Also, a significant increase was observed in the expression ratio of the Bcl2 / Bax genes in the study group compared to the control group, which indicates the effect of nursing and rehabilitation measures on cerebral ischemia. The findings showed that the application of nursing and rehabilitation measures positively affects various aspects of patients’ quality of life with stroke. These programs should be provided while educating patients and their families to help them achieve greater independence in the future.

PMID:36029508 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.15

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):141-145. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.19.

ABSTRACT

Periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs) play a vital role in the period of periodontal regeneration. In addition, studies show that diphenylhydantoin (phenytoin) increases the growth of gingival fibroblasts. If this effect is also present in the periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts, it may be used to regenerate periodontal tissues. Accordingly, this study aimed to compare the effect of phenytoin on the growth rate of gingival fibroblast cells and PDL in the cell culture medium. In this regard, 10 Wistar rats were selected. The gingival specimen was obtained from the area between the upper teeth, and the PDL specimen was obtained from the middle third of the lower teeth root. After transferring the samples to a suitable culture medium for culturing PDL and gingival fibroblasts, each sample was divided into two experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, 20 mg/ml phenytoin dissolved in sodium hydroxide was added to Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM). After 48 hours, fibroblast cell proliferation was assessed through a 1-WST cell proliferation kit by ELISA. The proliferation of gingival fibroblast cells and PDL in both test and control groups were statistically analyzed by the independent t-test. The results showed that the effect of phenytoin on the proliferation of gingival fibroblast cells and PDL fibroblast cells is significant. Also, the proliferation of PDL cells was significantly different from gingival cells in the experimental group (P <0.001) and was higher in PDL cells. In general, in this study, it was found that phenytoin in vitro, like in vivo, is able to increase the proliferation of gingival fibroblast cells, and this phenytoin effect is also present in PDL fibroblast cells.

PMID:36029507 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.19

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):117-123. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.16.

ABSTRACT

The object of this study was to explore the correlation analysis between miRNA-21 and blood Cr levels with tumor invasion and distant metastasis in renal cancer patients. For this purpose 49 cases of renal cancer patients treated in our hospital from February 2018 to March 2020 were selected as the study group, and another 165 cases of renal benign tumors that were pathologically confirmed in our hospital during the same period were selected as the control group. MiRNA-21 and blood Cr levels, miRNA-21 and blood Cr levels at different stages, and miRNA-21 and blood Cr levels when tumor invasion and distant metastasis were present were compared between the two groups. Results showed that compared with the control group, the levels of miRNA-21 and blood Cr in the study group increased, the difference was significant (P < 0. 05); compared with stage I patients, the levels of miRNA-21 and blood Cr in stage II patients increased, compared with stage II patients, the levels of miRNA-21 and blood Cr in stage III patients increased, compared with stage III patients, the levels of miRNA-21 and blood Cr in stage IV patients increased, the difference was significant Compared with the case without tumor invasion, the levels of miRNA-21 and blood Cr in the case of tumor invasion were increased, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0. 05); compared with the case without distant metastasis, the levels of miRNA-21 and blood Cr in the case of tumor distant metastasis were increased, the difference was significant (P < 0. 05) When distant metastasis, miRNA-21 and blood Cr levels increased significantly, which showed that miRNA-21 and blood Cr levels were positively correlated with tumor invasion and distant metastasis; compared with the control group, TIMP1, TIMP2, MACC1 protein expression in the study group increased, and the three showed a positive correlation, the difference was significant (P < 0. 05). It is concluded when renal cancer patients were tested, we found that miRNA-21 and blood Cr levels were abnormally increased, and the two had a certain correlation with renal cancer tumor invasion and distant metastasis, which showed a positive correlation.

PMID:36029501 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.16

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):54-59. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.7.

ABSTRACT

α-Actinin-3 is one of the key components of the Z-line structure of sarcomeres and also have importance in muscle cell signaling processes. Therefore, α-Actinin-3 gene rs1815739 polymorphism is one of the most analysed potential genetic biomarkers in sports genetic studies. We aimed to evaluate the genotypic and allelic distribution of α-Actinin-3 gene rs1815739 polymorphism in Turkish athletes. For this purpose, a total of 131 athletes (39 cyclists, 34 sprinters and distance athletes, 33 volleyball players, 15 bodybuilders and 10 ironmen) and 89 sedentary individuals were enrolled in the study. Genomic DNA from venous blood were isolated by using the PureLink DNA isolation kit by following the manufacturers’ instructions. The α-Actinin-3 rs1815739 genotyping was carried out by Real-time PCR using the commercially provided Taqman Genotyping Assay. The statistical evaluations were assessed by the chi-square testing using the GraphPad InStat statistical package. Results showed that cyclists, ironmen and volleyball players showed statistically significant differences in terms of the genotype when compared to the controls. The OR of having the dominant trait (RR genotype vs. RX+XX combined) was 0.5 (95%CI: 0.28-0.91; P= 0.02) which was statistically significant, while the OR of having the recessive trait (XX genotype vs. RR+RX combined) was 3.76 (95%CI: 1.82-7.39; P=0.0002). Our findings indicated that the α-Actinin-3 gene rs1815739 RR genotype was more prevalent in the sprinters and distance athletes. In the bodybuilders, cyclists, and ironmen it was found that they were harboring the RR and RX genotype equally. According to the results, we suggest the α-Actinin-3 rs1815739 as a potential biomarker for personal training programs.

PMID:36029499 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2022.68.5.7

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2022 May 31;68(5):60-71.

ABSTRACT

Ghrelin is a gut hormone has stimulatory properties on food intake, fat deposition and growth hormone release. Zingerone is a component of ginger with multiple pharmacological activities. They were established that have protective roles against oxidative stress actions. We planned this study to evaluate pretreatment exogenous Ghrelin alone and or accompanied with Zingerone on ischemia-reperfusion injury to gastric fundus wall. Fifty male albino rats were used and subdivided into control, ischemic- reperfusion, Ghrelin pretreated and Ghrelin Zingerone pretreated groups. Specimens from the stomach fundus were processed for histological, immunohistochemical study and gene expression using real time PCR. Morphometric and statistical analyses were also carried out in this research. In ischemic-reperfusion sections, there were deep erosion and distortion of the mucosa. Chief cells appeared with vacuolated cytoplasm and pyknotic nuclei. Congestion of blood vessels with extravasation and cellular infiltration was also noticed. There was a decrease in mucous secreted cells in PAS-stained sections. Sections from Ghrelin pretreated and Ghrelin Zingerone pretreated groups showed a great improvement. In addition, gastric tissues with the ischemia-reperfusion group showed a significant decrease in enos and nrf2 mRNA expression while there was a significant increase in HIF and VEGF, which is counteracted to Ghrelin pretreated and Ghrelin Zingerone pretreated groups. This study revealed the vital protective role of Ghrelin in concomitant with Zingerone than pretreated Ghrelin alone on attenuating the damage changes of fundus that occurred after experimentally induced gastric ischemia-reperfusion.

PMID:36029495