Background and Aims: The dengue virus is widespread throughout Bangladesh and significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality. One effective method for preventing further dengue epidemics is to reduce mosquito breeding at the most opportune period each year. This study aims to determine dengue prevalence in 2022 by comparing previous years' data and estimating the period of this disease's most significant incidence.Methods: From the beginning of 2008–December 15, 2022, we looked at the monthly reports of cases made to the Bangladesh Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research.Results: According to our findings, there were 61089 confirmed dengue cases in 2022, with 269 fatalities ‐ the highest annual death toll for this disease since 2000. Almost one‐third (32.14%) of all dengue deaths in Bangladesh occurred in 2022 (1 January–15 December), highlighting the severity of the threat posed by this disease in the coming year. Furthermore, we observe that the months in the second half of any year in Bangladesh are the most at risk for dengue transmission. In 2022, Dhaka city and Chittagong are hit the hardest (incidence: 63.07% vs. 14.42%; morality: 63.34% vs. 24.16%), showing the relevance of population density in spreading this fatal disease.Conclusion: Statistics show an increase in dengue cases every day, and the year 2022 will be marked as the peak of the disease's death prevalence. Both the individuals and the government of Bangladesh need to take action to reduce the dissemination of this epidemic. If not, the country will soon be in great peril.

Breast cancer is considered the most frequent cause of mortality from malignancy among females. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene polymorphisms are highly related to the risk of breast cancer. However, no investigation has been carried out to determine the association of FGFR2 gene polymorphisms in the Bangladeshi population. Based on polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), this study was performed to evaluate the association of FGFR2 (rs1219648, rs2420946, and rs2981582) variants in 446 Bangladeshi women (226 cases and 220 controls). A significant association of the FGFR2 rs1219648 variant with breast malignancy was reported in additive model 1 (aOR = 2.87, p < 0.0001), additive model 2 (aOR = 5.62, p < 0.0001), the dominant model (aOR = 2.87, p < 0.0001), the recessive model (aOR = 4.04, p < 0.0001), and the allelic model (OR = 2.16, p < 0.0001). This investigation also explored the significant association of the rs2981582 variant with the risk of breast cancer in additive model 2 (aOR = 2. 60, p = 0.010), the recessive model (aOR = 2.47, p = 0.006), and the allelic model (OR = 1.39, p = 0.016). However, the FGFR2 rs2420946 polymorphism showed no association with breast cancer except in the overdominant model (aOR = 0.62, p = 0.048). Furthermore, GTT (p < 0.0001) haplotypes showed a correlation with breast cancer risk, and all variants showed strong linkage disequilibrium. Moreover, in silico gene expression analysis showed that the FGFR2 level was upregulated in BC tissues compared to healthy tissues. This study confirms the association of FGFR2 polymorphisms with breast cancer risk.

Background and Aims: Vitamin C has been predicted to be effective as an antioxidant in treating various ailments, including viral infections such as pervasive coronavirus disease (COVID‐19). With this meta‐analysis, we looked to ascertain the relationship between high‐dose vitamin C administration and mortality, severity, and length of hospitalization of COVID‐19 patients.Methods: We collected articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, SAGE, and Cochrane databases between January 1, 2020, and May 30, 2022. Odds ratio (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value were calculated to assess the connection of high‐dose vitamin C in COVID‐19 patients' mortality and severity. The length of hospitalization was calculated and pooled with the mean difference (MD), 95% CI, and p value. Review manager 5.3 was used to carry out this meta‐analysis.Results: This meta‐analysis included 15 complete studies involving 2125 COVID‐19 patients. Our study demonstrated a significant correlation between vitamin C consumption and death. Vitamin C consumption significantly reduces mortality risk with COVID‐19 patients (OR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.42–0.69, p < 0.00001). Furthermore, there was a link between the severity of COVID‐19 and the intake of vitamin C. Patients who consumed vitamin C showed 0.63 times less severity than those who did not take vitamin C (OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.43–0.94, p = 0.02). Patients taking vitamin C spent slightly more time in hospital than those who did not take vitamin C (MD = 0.19, 95% CI = −1.57 to 1.96, p = 0.83).Conclusions: During COVID‐19, there was a substantial advantage in taking supplementary vitamin C, at least in terms of severity and mortality.

Background and Aims: Abnormalities in hematological and biochemical markers are assumed to be associated with the progression of COVID‐19 disease. This meta‐analysis was performed to assess the consequences of abnormalities of biomarkers (D‐dimers, C‐reactive protein [CRP], serum ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], random blood sugar [RBS], absolute neutrophil count [ANC], neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), serum creatinine, and hemoglobin) in the Bangladeshi COVID‐19 patients.Methods: The data of biomarker levels in Bangladeshi COVID‐19 patients were gathered from five databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Bangladesh Journals Online between January 2020 to March 2022. Review Manager 5.4 was used for the meta‐analysis, and Egger's test and Begg‐Mazumdar's rank correlation were used to investigate publication bias.Results: This study included 1542 patients with 567 severe and 975 nonsevere statuses. Based on the accumulated data synthesis, there is a strong correlation between disease severity and different biomarkers, including D‐dimer, CRP, ferritin, LDH, RBS, NLR, and serum creatinine (MD = 1.16, p = 0.0004; MD = 22.97, p = 0.003; MD = 419.26, p < 0.00001; MD = 118.37, p = 0.004; MD = 1.96, p = 0.02; MD = 1.26, p = 0.02; and MD = 0.31, p = 0.008, respectively). A significantly decreased correlation was observed for hemoglobin levels in severe COVID‐19 patients (MD = −0.73, p = 0.10).Conclusion: The elevated biomarkers level was noticed in severe cases compared to nonsevere patients, revealing that D‐dimer, CRP, ferritin, LDH, RBS, NLR, and serum creatinine are significantly correlated to COVID‐19 severity. Only lower hemoglobin level was found to be associated with COVID‐19 severity.

Background and Aims: Breast cancer is one of the deadliest diseases affecting women in Bangladesh, and its prevalence is increasing year by year. Although several IL‐6 single nucleotide polymorphisms have been implicated in BC susceptibility and prognosis in various studies, no research has been done to investigate the relationship between breast cancer and IL‐6 in Bangladeshi women. This investigation aimed to explore the linkage between the rs1800797 variant of IL‐6 and the susceptibility to breast carcinoma among women in Bangladesh. Methods: The IL‐6 rs1800797 variant was genotyped in 218 subjects (110 cases and 108 controls) using the tetra‐primer ARMS‐PCR method. The statistical analysis was applied utilizing the SPSS software version 24.0. UALCAN database was used for IL‐6 mRNA analysis, and genotype‐based gene expression was retrieved from GTEx Portal. Results: This study found a significant link between IL‐6 rs1800797 variants and increased chance of breast cancer across different genetic inheritance models, including additive model 1 (AG vs. GG: OR = 2.16, p = 0.035); dominant model (AG + AA vs. GG: OR = 2.26, p < 0.05); overdominant model (AG vs. GG + AA: OR = 2.08, p < 0.05); and allelic model (A vs. G: OR = 2.15, p < 0.05). However, an insignificant association of breast cancer was found in both additive model 2 (AA vs. GG: OR = 2.91, p > 0.05) and the recessive model (AA vs. GG + AG: OR = 2.52, p > 0.05). Under the analysis of the probability of false positive reports, no significant values were found in different models when the OR was 1.5, and the prior probability was 0.25. Conclusions: A significant relationship was found between the IL‐6 rs1800797 genetic variant and the risk of breast cancer. However, the findings of the study should be further investigated with a larger sample size to validate the correlation.

Background: Ethanol consumption disrupts glutamate homeostasis in several brain regions. The uptake of extracellular glutamate is regulated in the majority by the astrocytic glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1), and cystine-glutamate exchanger (xCT) contributes to this regulatory effect. Chronic ethanol consumption is well known to downregulate GLT-1 expression in several reward brain regions, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Objectives: Recently, we reported that a novel beta-lactam, MC-100093, attenuated ethanol consumption and normalized the expression of GLT-1 in the subregions of the NAc. Based on these findings, we aimed in this study to determine the dose-dependent effect of MC-100093 in attenuating ethanol consumption and whether this attenuating effect is associated with restoration of glutamate uptake. In addition, we focused on whether the effects of MC-100093 on GLT-1 are mediated through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), protein kinase B (Akt), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways. Methods: Male and female alcohol-preferring (P) rats are grouped into 4 groups. Other than control groups all the 3 groups had free access to ethanol (15% and 30% v/v), and water for 5 weeks. On week 6, rats received intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) of MC-100093 at a dosage of 100 or 150 mg/kg, or saline, for 5 days. The Na+ dependent and Na+ independent glutamate uptake is measured by radioactive glutamate uptake assay. The expression of GLT-1, xCT, mTOR, phospho-Akt (p-Akt), kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha (IkBa), and NF-κB are determined by Western blot analysis. Results: MC-100093 treatment reduced ethanol drinking in male and female P rats. MC-100093 was associated with an increase in Na+-dependent and Na+-independent glutamate uptake. Furthermore, MC-100093 treatment attenuated ethanol-induced decrease in GLT-1, xCT, NF-κB, and p-Akt expression in the NAc. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that MC-100093 attenuated ethanol consumption and regulated glutamate uptake through normalizing GLT-1 expression.