Levels and Trends of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity by Cause in North Africa and Middle East, 1990 to 2019: An Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Since 1990, the maternal mortality significantly decreased at global scale as well as the North Africa and Middle East. However, estimates for mortality and morbidity by cause and age at national scale in this region are not available. Method(s): This study is part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study (GBD) 2019. Here we report maternal mortality and morbidity by age and cause across 21 countries in the region from 1990 to 2019. Result(s): Between 1990 and 2019, maternal mortality ratio (MMR) dropped from 148.8 (129.6-171.2) to 94.3 (73.4-121.1) per 100 000 live births in North Africa and Middle East. In 1990, MMR ranged from 6.0 (5.3-6.8) in Kuwait to 502.9 (375.2-655.3) per 100 000 live births in Afghanistan. Respective figures for 2019 were 5.1 (4.0-6.4) in Kuwait to 269.9 (195.8-368.6) in Afghanistan. Percentages of deaths under 25 years was 26.0% in 1990 and 23.8% in 2019. Maternal hemorrhage, indirect maternal deaths, and other maternal disorders rank 1st to 3rd in the entire region. Ultimately, there was an evident decrease in MMR along with increase in socio-demographic index from 1990 to 2019 in all countries in the region and an evident convergence across nations. Conclusion(s): MMR has significantly declined in the region since 1990 and only five countries (Afghanistan, Sudan, Yemen, Morocco, and Algeria) out of 21 nations didn't achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2019. Despite the convergence in trends, there are still disparities across countries.Copyright © 2022 Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved.

Molecular dual actions of hsa-miRNA and v-miRNA in oncogenic EBV

Viruses are one of the main reasons that cause healthy cells to proliferate and become cancerous. Several viruses have been identified as causative factors for various forms of cancer. Tumor occurrence can be caused by viral oncoprotein activity, persistent infection or inflammation. The molecular process is still complicated to be understood. In recent decades, Homo sapiens cell microRNA (hsa-miRNA) has been discovered by small non-coding RNAs that affect post-transcriptional gene expression. hsa-miRNA is a key control factor for several key biological processes and has a much greater impact on the target gene group. even though they occupy a small part of the genome, they play a great role in the development of cancer. Several viruses produce this tiny RNA, which can regulate their gene expression or affect the host's gene expression. A new hypothesis is that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the first cancer causing virus that is found to produce microRNAs (v-miRNAs). In addition, evidence shows that miRNA encoded by EBV contributes to the occurrence and progression of EBV-related malignancies. Generally, these compounds reduce messenger RNA (mRNA) instability, such as genes that regulate tumorigenesis mechanisms like inflammation, cell cycle control, stress response, differentiation, apoptosis, invasion, and immune pathways. Therefore, EBV-miRNAs are important in the complex interaction between host, virus and EBV tumorigenesis. In terms of malignant tumors, the combinatorial process behind EBV-miRNA still needs further study. In this article, we will introduce EBV-miRNA, including the cellular processes affected by the virus, and their ability to promote cancer.

SARS-CoV-2 mutation hotspots incidence in different geographic regions

SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) is RNA virus with a positive-sense single-strand that belongs to the beta-coronavirus group that causes COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) which originally emerged in China. Viruses with RNA genomes are known by a high mutation rate potential. The mutation rate determines genome variability and evolution of the virus;therefore, allowing viruses to evade the immune system, gain more infectivity potentials, virulence modifications, and probably resistance development to antivirals. A total of 311 SARS-CoV-2 virus whole genome sequences have been retrieved from the GISAID database from 1st of January 2020 to 31th of August 2020. The sequences were analyzed for sequence purity and multiple sequence alignment together with reference sequence was conducted through using Clustal Omega that is imbedded in Jalview software and Blast tools. We recorded the occurrence of 4 newly incident high frequently occurring mutations in all six geographic regions, namely at positions 2416, 18877, 23401, and 27964. The majority of all recorded hotspots were detected in Asia, Europe, and North America. The findings of our study suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 is in continuous evolution. For the impact of these mutations, further investigations are required and to understand whether these mutations would lead to the appearance of Drug-resistance viral strains, strains with increased infectivity and pathogenicity, and also their effect on the vaccine development and immunogenesis.