ABSTRACT
Background: Several studies have associated uric acid with dyslipidemia. However, no previous studies have examined patients without chronic illness. Aim: : The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between serum uric acid concentration and lipid profile parameters and to estimate the prevalence of hyperuricemia in the city of Jeddah. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 1206 patients who undergone laboratory blood testing over a 3-year period (2018-2020) at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, which was ethically approved. We used a predesigned checklist to collect data from electronic hospital records using Google Forms. Bivariate analysis, tables, and graphs were used to represent and identify the relationships between variables. A P value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Our study revealed a prevalence of 12% for hyperuricemia in the study population. Males were more frequently affected than females (8.13% vs. 3.73%, respectively). There was no association between serum uric acid concentration and lipid profile parameters, including total cholesterol (P = 0.92), triglyceride (P = 0.42), high-density lipoprotein (P = 0.47), and low-density lipoprotein (P = 0.66). There was a strong association between serum uric acid concentration and high body mass index (P < 0.001), older age (P = 0.002), male sex (P < 0.001), and nationality (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there was an association between sex and mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P = 0.02) and mean triglyceride concentration (P = 0.02). Conclusion: We observed a low prevalence of hyperuricemia, and our results indicate no association between serum uric acid concentration and lipid profile parameters.
Subject(s)
Hyperuricemia , Uric Acid , Female , Hospitals , Humans , Hyperuricemia/complications , Hyperuricemia/epidemiology , Male , Prevalence , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , TriglyceridesABSTRACT
The hepatitis G virus (HGV) polyprotein was scanned by computer-aided prediction of antigenicity to search for B-cell epitopes. Four polypeptide sequences, V37D (amino acids [aa] 1685 to 1721), V36S (aa 2102 to 2137), P37R (aa 2156 to 2192), and C40P (aa 2280 to 2319), were identified and synthesized for use in immunoassays. Antibodies to these peptides were searched for in a panel of 239 serum samples, which were also tested for anti-E2 antibodies and HGV RNA. Furthermore, the course of HGV markers was studied prospectively in four patients who had been transfused with HGV RNA-positive blood. There was a negative association between immunoreactivity to V37D and P37R and presence of HGV RNA (2 of 53 and 1 of 53, respectively; P < 0.05); none of the subjects with dual antibody positivity was HGV RNA positive. Anti-V37D and anti-P37R antibodies compared favorably with anti-E2 antibodies as markers of recovery from HGV infection. These results might be useful for the development of new, more sensitive diagnostic assays.
Subject(s)
Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte/immunology , Flaviviridae/immunology , Hepatitis, Viral, Human/blood , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Flaviviridae/genetics , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , RNA, Viral/bloodABSTRACT
The historical course of professional interest in psychological trauma in the 20th century parallels the cycle of intrusion and denial characteristic of traumatized individuals, in which periods of recognition and concern alternate with times of forgetfulness and neglect (Glass et al. 1966; Ingraham et al. 1986). The inclusion of the diagnostic category of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed. (DSM-III-1980) inescapably confronted the mental health community with the problem of psychic trauma and catalyzed the quest for a deeper understanding of the disorder. This has led to a variety of explanatory models from such distant fields as neurobiology (Krystal et al. 1989; Pitman 1989; van der Kolk et al. 1985), psychophysiology (Kolb 1987), learning theory (Keane et al. 1985), psychoanalysis (Krystal 1978; Laufer 1988), cognitive psychology (Janoff Bulman 1985), and existential-humanistic philosophy (Lifton 1988).
Subject(s)
Aggression/psychology , Psychotherapy/methods , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Violence , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Arousal , Child , Child Abuse, Sexual/psychology , Combined Modality Therapy , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Depressive Disorder/therapy , Desensitization, Psychologic , Female , Grief , Humans , Life Change Events , Personality Development , Psychoanalytic Therapy , Repression, Psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychologyABSTRACT
Four patients developed characteristic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following medical and surgical events. Post-traumatic symptomatology was associated with poor recovery, a tendency to avoid further medical treatment and life-threatening behaviour. The authors provide clinical guidelines for the diagnosis of PTSD among patients whose medical conditions or treatment are highly stressful and discuss the need for prompt diagnosis and treatment of specific mental disorders among the medically ill.
