Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre
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Many studies have reported insufficient support from surgical services, resulting in nephrologists creating arteriovenous fistulas in many centers. The aim of this study was to compare risk factors of arteriovenous fistula dysfunction in patients whose fistulas were created by nephrologists versus vascular surgeons. ⋯ Arteriovenous fistulae created by vascular surgeons, female gender, and the location are risk factors of dysfunction.
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Kuwait is considered a non-endemic country for most parasitic infections. However, ∼70% of 4.7 million residents in Kuwait are expatriates from Asian and African countries, which are endemic for parasitic infections. Results of microbiological investigations for schistosomiasis and cystic echinococcosis (CE) performed in a reference national laboratory were retrospectively collected and analyzed to provide an insight on the epidemiology of these 2 neglected tropical diseases in Kuwait. ⋯ This study confirmed that schistosomiasis is not autochthonous in Kuwait, as all cases were detected among expatriates from Schistosoma-endemic countries. Our data also showed that CE remains endemic among humans and livestock in Kuwait as is also seen in other Middle Eastern countries.
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Published data show a clear link between psoriasis (Ps) and the increasing prevalence of comorbid conditions, such as diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2). The role of the mitochondrial genomic haplogroup in the potential coexistence of Ps and DM2 comorbidity is the subject of this study. ⋯ Our results indicated that mtDNA haplogroups have a potential contribution to the pathogenesis of Ps and DM2 comorbidity. We show for the first time that the comorbidity of diabetes in Ps may be related to mitochondrial dysfunction.
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Observational Study
The association between changes in low parathyroid hormone levels and cardiac function decline in maintenance hemodialysis patients :A prospective observational study.
The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between changes in low parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and cardiac function decline in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. ⋯ Persistently low PTH levels and changes in the PTH level from high/normal to low were associated with cardiac function decline in MHD patients. Moreover, a PTH level change from high/normal to low showed a stronger correlation with cardiac function decline.
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Resolution of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection requires a complicated interaction between immune cell subsets. The effect of antiviral therapy on immune cell subsets remains to be defined. This study aimed to investigate the absolute count of certain immune cell subsets during therapy with pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV). ⋯ These results suggest a pattern of higher levels of T cytotoxic and NKT cells, and lower levels of T helper, activated T, Treg, and B cell populations in patients who respond favorably to PegIFN/RBV therapy.