Effect of classic uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty on voice acoustics and speech nasalance

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty [UPPP] is a commonly used surgical technique for oropharyngeal reconstruction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea [OSA]. This procedure can be done either through the classic or the laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty [LAUP] technique. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of classic UPPP and LAUP on acoustics of voice and speech nasalance, and to compare the effect of each operation on these two domains. The study included 27 patients with a mean age of 46 years. All patients were diagnosed with OSA based on polysomnographic examination. Patients were divided into two groups according to the type of surgical procedure. Fifteen patients underwent classic UPPP, whereas 12 patients were subjected to LAUP. A full assessment was done for all patients preoperatively and postoperatively, including auditory perceptual assessment [APA] of voice and speech, objective assessment using acoustic voice analysis and nasometry. Auditory perceptual assessment of speech and voice, acoustic analysis of voice and nasometric analysis of speech did not show statistically significant differences between the preoperative and postoperative evaluations in either group [P>.05]. The results of this study demonstrated that in patients with OSA, the surgical technique, whether classic UPPP or LAUP, does not have significant effects on the patients' voice quality or their speech outcomes

Genetic variation in the DNA profiling between small population samples of Egypt and Uinted Arab Emirates

Short tandem repeats [STRs] are most extensively used for elucidating the genetic variation of human populations because of their abundance and prevalence in the genome. A lot of studies have been reported for autosomal STR allele frequencies for a number of different ethnic groups, however, published data for Arabs are limited. Therefore, it is desirable to establish the population DNA databases for Egypt and United Arab Emirates in general and to determine the extent of genetic variation between the allele frequencies of the two Arabic populations based on the analysis of different STR loci. In this study the Powerplex 1.2 system was used which is able to detect eight different tetrameric STR loci plus the amelogenin locus. DNA extraction was done from blood samples of 200 unrelated Egyptian volunteers and 200 unrelated Emirate volunteers. The coamplification of STR loci was performed according to the manufacturer's instructions and DNA typing was done in Abu Dhabi by using ABI 310 automated sequencer. Allele frequencies, forensic and paternity parameters were calculated. The two populations were compared by F-statistic estimation. The results showed that from the eight STR loci 60 and 63 different alleles were found in the Egyptian and UAE repectively, their frequencies were similar in the two populations. The data showed that none of the Egyptian population observed a significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium [HWE]. However, two loci in the UAE population displayed significant deviation from HWE. The result of this study confirmed that these STR loci are suitable for forensic and paternity testing in the Egyptian and UAE populations. There was little evidence of genetic differences between the two populations. Therefore one large database for these loci would be sufficient for the two populations. Howeverr, more studies for other loci are recommended between large samples of the two countries and also between other Arabic countries to confirm if one large Arabic DNA data could be enough for Arab or would it be necessary to set up one database for eash Arabic country

Effect of variation in site and time on the level of ethanol and methanol in postmortem blood samples

It is well recognized that postmortem [PM] drug levels in blood may be unstable as a consequence of redistribution artifact. Whereby drugs diffuse from their binding sites of high concentration in tissues and major organs, such as liver and lung, into blood. Also drugs can be expected to diffuse from gastric contents into blood. When measuring drug concentrations after death, it is important to consider the phenomenon of PM drug redistribution. PM drug concentrations may not be a true reflection of the antemortem one and as a result, wrong conclusions could be made about the cause of death. There is few published evidence for most drugs and poisons to show the important differences in their PM concentrations in blood and tissues according to choice of sampling site, sampling time, handling of samples including containers, preservation and documentation and type of laboratory investigation carried out on PM samples. The present work was carried out to evaluate experimentally in rabbits PM behavior of ethyl and methyl alcohol in relation to their concentration in different blood sampling sites at different time intervals. Furthermore to assess the effect of site of PM blood sampling on the level of ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol at time of autopsy in human cadavers and compare it with the results from rabbit experiments. The study was conducted on ninety male rabbits as experimental animals, and the human cadavers that were positive on screening to ethanol [n = 4] and methanol [n = 3] during the period of the study. Rabbits were divided into three groups [30 rabbits each], two groups for each drug, which were given the LD50 of the drug. Blood samples [2ml] were drawn from right and left sides of the heart and femoral vein from each group of rabbits, immediately, twelve hours and twenty-four hours after death. As regards human cadavers, blood samples [5m1] were drawn from right and left sides of the beau and femoral vein at time of autopsy. Experimental and human blood sample extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography. The study showed that ethanol was detected in the control group after 12h PM. The highest mean value recorded was 681 g/ml in 24h PM Rt. cardiac. No significant changes could be detected in immediate PM blood concentration for ethanol and methanol from different sampling sites. The study also revealed that PM blood concentration for ethanol and methanol increased over time for different sampling sites. Where up to 24h PM femoral [peripheral] blood drug concentrations were the closest to the immediate PM values, followed by Rt. cardiac then Lt. cardiac blood. It was noticed also that up to 12h PM femoral [peripheral] blood methanol concentration could be used as a reliable indicator for the immediate PM values. Experimental animal studies, when interpreted carefully, are indicative of the PM drug changes observed in human, denoting that femoral [peripheral] blood is the best site for drug sampling

Some haematological findings in allergic rhinitis patients

To investigate the hematological changes in allergic rhinitis as electrophoretic pattern, serum iron and copper, 20 patients suffered from allergic rhinitis with polyps and 10 healthy subjects as controls with matched age and sex were selected for this study. A highly significant increase in the mean level of alpha 2 in about 75% of the cases and an increase in alpha 1 in about 30% of the cases with no significant difference between the mean level of total protein, albumin and gamma globulin in both groups were found. The mean serum level iron was decreased, while the mean serum level of copper was increased in all allergic patients compared with the controls. Thus, it was concluded that electrophoretic changes as well as serum iron and copper levels changes could have a role in the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis with polyps

Role of Ambulatory Blood Pressure monitoring in evaluating hypertensive patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy

This study included 60 patients with essential hypertension [32 females and 28 males], their age ranged from 43 to 59 years [mean 52 +/- 4 Twenty normal, age and sex matched, healthy subjects were also studied as a control group. All subjects were subjected to 24 hours Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring [ABPM], EGG and Echocardiography. According to echocardiographic parameters, hypertensive patients were classified into two groups. hypertensives with left ventricular hypertrophy [LVH] and hypertensives without LVH. This study revealed: Significant increase in left ventricular mass and LVH in hypertensive versus normotensive group. LVH is more closely related to ambulatory blood pressure than to casual blood pressure. Closer relation of systolic over diastolic BP to the degree of hypertrophy, another evidence that wall stress which is mostly related to systolic blood pressure [SBP] is a key factor influencing LVH development. Significant increase in left ventricular mass and LVH in hypertensives with marked fluctuation in BP throughout 24 hours versus hypertensives without marked fluctuations. Significant increase in LVM in hypertensive non-dippers versus hypertensive dippers. The propensity for LVH among patients with hypertension is increased with age and with the duration of hypertension. The results of this study shows a significant relationship between cir-cadian blood pressure changes and left ventricular hypertrophy which underlines the importance of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in evaluating the effects of hypertension in relation to left ventricular hypertrophy