Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Endothelial dysfunction is a key player in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Current evidence suggests that the anti-diabetic drug metformin improves insulin resistance and protects against endothelial dysfunction in the vasculature. Hereby, we provide a timely review on the protective effects and molecular mechanisms of metformin in preventing endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Background: Thyroid disorders are commonly encountered endocrine ailments in clinical practice.Objective: To determine the trends and frequency of thyroid disorders in patients presented for thyroid dysfunction at the department of Pathology Benazir Bhutto hospital RawalpindiStudy Design: Cross-sectional retrospective study. Materials and Methods: Patients who underwent thyroid function tests were enrolled in the study Thyroid function tests were performed on a fully automated Chemistry Analyzer. Graph Pad Prism version 7 and SPSS version 25 were used for statistical analysis of the data.Results: Out of 2856 patients, 81.9% were females and 18.1% were males. The mean age of the participants was 38.12 ± 14.51 years and the median was 35(13-96). Overall, 1951 (68.3%) of the subjects were euthyroid, 343(12.0%) had subclinical hyperthyroidism, 200 (7.0%) had subclinical hypothyroidism, 192(6.7%) had overt hyperthyroidism and 168 (5.9%) had overt hypothyroidism. Females have a significantly high percentage of thyroid disorders as compared to males(χ2 =0.976 p =0.027). The major age group 798(27.9 %) tested for thyroid dysfunction suspicion was 24 to 33 years followed by 34-43 (22.9%).Conclusions: The thyroid dysfunction prevalence was higher in females than males. An upward trend in the frequency of thyroid dysfunction was observed with increasing age. Subclinical hyperthyroidism was the commonest abnormality observed. A steep rise in subclinical hyperthyroidism may be attributed to the high intake of iodized salt.
Introduction: About 30% of neonates develop thrombocytopenia during hospital admission. Inevitable and irreversible complications can be prevented by determining the risk factors of neonatal thrombocytopenia. The present study was undertaken to determine the risk factors and outcome of neonatal thrombocytopenia in neonates admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the risk factors for neonatal thrombocytopenia (NT) in 160 neonates. Neonatal and maternal risk factors were recorded and neonates were categorized into three groups based on the severity of thrombocytopenia. Results: A higher percentage of the neonates 89 (55.6%) were male. The majority (61.9%) had moderate neonatal thrombocytopenia while 21.9% had severe neonatal thrombocytopenia. A highly significant difference was observed for the distribution of gestational age, platelet count, birth weight, and age at admission (for all p-value ≥0.0001) among different groups. Multivariate logistic regression revealed a significant independent association of prematurity, birth asphyxia, and low birth weight with neonatal thrombocytopenia. Conclusion: Prematurity, low birth weight, and birth asphyxia were the significant causes of Neonatal thrombocytopenia. The mortality rate increased significantly with the severity of thrombocytopenia.
Introduction: Unexpected eruption and global dissemination of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has tested the healthcare systems of both developed and developing countries.Objective: To analyze the spectrum of novel coronavirus infection in a tertiary care setup.Materials and Methods: All oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal samples (n=7057) were collected in a viral transport medium (VTM) for qualitative analysis by a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine. Positive and negative controls were applied with each batch. Positive cases were stratified into mild, moderate, severe, and asymptomatic, according to the guidelines of the National Institute of Health, Pakistan. Descriptive statistical tests were applied including percentage, chi-square tests, mean, median, and mode. P < 0.05 was counted as statistically significant.Results: Average positive test rate was 18.97% (n=1339). The maximum positivity rate (26%) of COVID-19 infection was observed in June 2020. Most of the cases (60%) belonged to Rawalpindi District, were male (n=844, 63.03%), and belonged to age group (20-40 years) and mean of 36 and age range from 2-85 years. Forty-nine percent of COVID-19 infected patients were asymptomatic and only 9.8% progressed to severe disease. Overall, the mortality rate was 159(11.87%) in RT-PCR confirmed cases.Conclusion: Average positive test rate was 18.97%. The majority of the participants belonged to the young age group (20-40 yrs.) with a range from 2 to 85 years. Forty-nine percent positive COVID-19 infected patients were asymptomatic while 9.8% had severe disease.
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