Background and purpose: Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is the most common inflammatory autoimmune thyroid disease and also the most common cause of hypothyroidism in developed countries. There is evidence of the role of HT in developing thyroid cancers (TCs). This study investigated the association between HT and different types of TCs. Methods: Results of a comprehensive search in three major databases, as well as hand searching, were screened in title/abstract and full-text stages and the relevant data were extracted from the studies that met the inclusion criteria. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools and the meta-analysis was conducted with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Results: Out of 4785 records, 50 studies were included in the systematic review, and 27 of them met the criteria for quantitative synthesis. The results indicated a significant role for HT in developing papillary TC (OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.61), medullary TC (OR: 2.70; 95% CI: 1.20 to 6.07) and lymphoma (OR:12.92; 95% CI: 2.15 to 77.63); but not anaplastic TC (OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 0.29 to 1.90) and follicular TC (OR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.41 to 1.27). Also, this study found a significant association between HT and thyroid malignancies (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.77). Conclusion: Although we found a significant association between HT and some types of TCs, High RoB studies, high level of heterogeneity, and the limited number of well-designed prospective studies, suggested the need for more studies to reach more reliable evidence.

Attention, as it is now defined as a process matching data from the environment to the needs of the organism, is one of the main aspects of human cognitive processes. There are several aspects to attention including tonic alertness (a process of intrinsic arousal that varies by minutes to hours), phasic alertness (a process that causes a quick change in attention as a result of a brief stimulus), selective attention (a process differentiating multiple stimuli), and sustained attention (a process maintaining persistence of response and continuous effort over an extended period). Attention dysfunction is associated with multiple disorders; therefore, there has been much effort in assessing attention and its domains, resulting in a battery of tests evaluating one or several attentional domains; instances of which are the Stroop color-word test, Test of Everyday Attention, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. These tests vary in terms of utilities, range of age, and domains. The role of attention in human life and the importance of assessing it merits an inclusive review of the efforts made to assess attention and the resulting tests; Here we highlight all the necessary data regarding neurophysiological tests which assess human attentive function and investigates the evolution of attention tests over time. Also, the ways of assessing the attention in untestable patients who have difficulty in reading or using a computer, along with the lack of ability to comprehend verbal instructions and executive tasks, are discussed. This review can be of help as a platform for designing new studies to researchers who are interested in working on attention and conditions causing deficits in this aspect of body function, by collecting and organizing information on its assessment.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a rare rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease. The diagnosis of CJD is based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, electro-encephalography (EEG), or 14-3-3 protein detection. We report a case of a previously-healthy 72 years old woman, with evidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), who complained of behavioral changes and rapidly progressive dementia. While hospitalization, she didn't have orientation to time and place and repeated an irrelevant sentence in response to questions. Also, anomia and impaired comprehension was observed. Myoclonic jerks, abnormal signal intensity at bilateral parieto-occipital cortices in MRI, periodic sharp wave complexes in EEG, and increased lactate dehydrogenase in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), highly recommended CJD for her. This is the second case of CJD after COVID-19 during this pandemic, which can be an alarm to clinicians about the silent impact of COVID-19 on the central nervous system.

Helicobacter pylori is a microaerophilic gram-negative bacterium infecting around half of the world’s population. Despite its well-known role in gastric malignancies, its impact on esophageal cancer comes with a complex paradox. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain its observed lack of carcinogenic activity in the esophagus, including the trigger of anti-inflammatory pathways, promoting atrophic gastritis, and esophageal microbiome modulation. However, recent studies have highlighted a significantly more complicated interplay, where H. pylori , typically considered a pathogen, may even deliver a protective effect against esophageal carcinogenesis. This paper aims to evaluate the prevalence of H. pylori infection among patients with esophageal carcinoma, discussing the underlying mechanisms of the paradoxical effects of H. pylori on esophageal cancer.