Stroke is a key cerebrovascular disease that is related to high morbidity and mortality in the globe. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is not an exception where stroke is fast developing into a serious challenge due to the high mortality rate. Additionally, stroke presents a tremendous economic burden and has a devastating effect on the quality of lives of individuals. The number of stroke cases are increasing yearly, thus posing a major challenge to the health care system. Therefore, it is crucial to implement primary and secondary prevention strategies in the KSA. Nevertheless, as compared with developed countries, information on the prevalence, socio-demographic properties and prevention of stroke remains scarce that could be attributed to the shortage of research conducted in this specified region. The review is written to address the various aspects of stroke in the KSA, based on current literatures search using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, to identify studies published since inception to Dec 2020.
The paper proposes a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor utilizing MXene and a Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) material layer, placed on the Ag metal-based conventional biosensor to detect disease in human teeth. The SPR biosensor works on the principle of attenuated total reflection. The transverse matrix method was utilized for the reflectivity calculation. The thickness of the Ag layer, MXene, and MoS2 were taken as 45, 0.993, and 0.375 nm, respectively. Single-layer MoS2 and two layers of MXene were taken, and the highest sensitivity of the sensor for the enamel, dentin, and cementum was obtained at 83.219 deg/RIU, 91.460 deg/RIU, and 104.744 deg/RIU. MoS2 was used to enhance the biocompatibility of the analyte with the sensing layer. The aqueous solution had been considered as sensing medium.
Background: Vitamin B12 is one of the most important B-Vitamins that the human body needs on a daily basis, the lack of which can precipitate several neurological issues. Objectives: This systematic aimed to investigate the neurological implications of Vitamin B12 deficiency and the effects when B12 levels were corrected in susceptible individuals. Methods: The databases PubMed-MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus were all searched using pertinent keywords, reference searches, and citation searches. The terms used to access the database were “Cognition”, “Dietary patterns”, “Neurology”, “Nutritional profile”, and “Vitamin B12”. Results: Vitamin B12 was shown to noticeably improve cognition and other neurological parameters in the short term in older adults and the short-to-medium term in children; however, there was no perceived increase/improvement when the Vitamin was administered in the longer term, either alone or in conjunction with other similar nutritional interventions. Conclusion: Vitamin B12’s role in the improvement of neurological functions over a long-term period remains somewhat inconclusive to date, as the majority of our selected control trials did not display much correlation between the two factors. However, Vitamin B12 did improve cognition levels in both children and older adults over a short course of administration.
Oral cancer (OC) is a serious health concern that has a high fatality rate. The oral cavity has seven kinds of OC, including the lip, tongue, and floor of the mouth, as well as the buccal, hard palate, alveolar, retromolar trigone, and soft palate. The goal of this study is to look into new biomarkers and important pathways that might be used as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic candidates in OC. The publicly available repository the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) was to the source for the collection of OC-related datasets. GSE74530, GSE23558, and GSE3524 microarray datasets were collected for analysis. Minimum cut-off criteria of |log fold-change (FC)| > 1 and adjusted p < 0.05 were applied to calculate the upregulated and downregulated differential expression genes (DEGs) from the three datasets. After that only common DEGs in all three datasets were collected to apply further analysis. Gene ontology (GO) and pathway analysis were implemented to explore the functional behaviors of DEGs. Then protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks were built to identify the most active genes, and a clustering algorithm was also implemented to identify complex parts of PPI. TF-miRNA networks were also constructed to study OC-associated DEGs in-depth. Finally, top gene performers from PPI networks were used to apply drug signature analysis. After applying filtration and cut-off criteria, 2508, 3377, and 670 DEGs were found for GSE74530, GSE23558, and GSE3524 respectively, and 166 common DEGs were found in every dataset. The GO annotation remarks that most of the DEGs were associated with the terms of type I interferon signaling pathway. The pathways of KEGG reported that the common DEGs are related to the cell cycle and influenza A. The PPI network holds 88 nodes and 492 edges, and CDC6 had the highest number of connections. Four clusters were identified from the PPI. Drug signatures doxorubicin and resveratrol showed high significance according to the hub genes. We anticipate that our bioinformatics research will aid in the definition of OC pathophysiology and the development of new therapies for OC.
Background and Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune condition that impacts the central nervous system and has a rising incidence globally, especially in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This study examines environmental, lifestyle, and familial risk factors associated with MS in the Aljouf Region by a cross-sectional analysis of 155 clinically diagnosed MS patients. Data were gathered using structured questionnaires and medical record examinations to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics, sun exposure, smoking, obesity, eating habits, and childhood infections. Results: Logistic regression research found insufficient daily sun exposure (4 h/day), exclusive breastfeeding, and regular fish consumption were deemed protective. While familial history of MS was statistically significant (5.5%, p = 0.04), parental consanguinity (38.7%) did not show a significant association with MS risk (p = 0.07). Conclusions: The findings underscore the complex nature of MS and the pressing necessity for preventive efforts, such as advocating for vitamin D supplementation, smoking cessation, obesity prevention, and dietary adjustments. Mitigating these controllable risk factors may alleviate the prevalence of MS in Saudi Arabia.