BackgroundNowadays, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) represents an escalating worldwide public health problem. Providing consistent data on the magnitude and risk factors of CVDs among young population will help in controlling the risks and avoiding their consequences.ObjectiveThe objective was to estimate the prevalence of risk factors of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) among medical students during their clinical clerkship (4th - 6th years).MethodsA cross-sectional study was done during the educational year 2012–2013 at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah. Ethical standards were followed and a multistage stratified random sample method was used for selection of 214 medical students. Data was collected through an interviewing questionnaire, measurements and laboratory investigations. Both descriptive and analytical statistics were done by SPSS version 21. CHD risk percent in thirty years was calculated using Framingham algorithm for each student, then the risk among all students was determined.ResultsThe commonest risk factors of CHDs were daily intake of high fat diet (73.4%), physical inactivity (57.9%), overweight/or obesity (31.2%) and daily consumption of fast food (13.1%). Hyper-cholesterolemia (17.2%) and hypertension (9.3%) were also prevalent risk factors. Smoking prevalence was low (2.8%). Males had significantly higher mean scores for most of CHD risk factors compared to females (p < 0.05). Systolic Blood pressure was higher among males (119.47 ± 11.17) compared to females (112.26 ± 9.06). A highly statistical significant difference was present (Students’t test = 4.74, p < 0.001). Framingham Risk Score revealed that CHD risk percent in thirty-years among all students was 10.7%, 2.3% and 0.5% for mild, moderate and severe risk, respectively.ConclusionAn alarmingly high prevalence of CHD risk factors was prevailed among medical students, especially among males. However, a low prevalence of smoking may indicate the success of “Smoke-free Campus” program. Screening risk factors of CHD among medical students and implementation of intervention programs are recommended. Programs to raise awareness about CHD risk factors, encourage young adult students to adopt a healthy dietary behavior and promote physical exercise should be initiated.

BackgroundBenign neutropenia often presents in certain populations without any genotype nor phenotype. Middle East countries are among the regions where endemic cases of chronic benign neutropenia are reported in the general population with an incidence of approximately between 10-15%. Not many studies have been performed to ascertain the cause or burden associated with this condition. The objective of the current study was to identify the frequency and characterize the consequences of chronic benign neutropenia in the country of Saudi Arabia.ResultsBenign neutropenia was found to be high in the Saudi Arabia general population (up to 20%), with an average neutrophil count of 1.48 (range 0.99 – 1.95 × 109cells/L), with Saudis having a higher incidence of chronic benign neutropenia compared to non-Saudis (p = <0.05). Complete blood count analyses showed significant difference in the total white cell count of neutrophils (p < 0.0001), WBC (p < 0.0001), lymphocytes (p < 0.001), monocytes (p < 0.001), eosinophils (p = 0.013) as well as the CD19 B cells (p = 0.008).ConclusionsOur study is the first to carefully quantitate benign neutropenia in Saudi Arabia. We identified that this condition is prevalent in the middle aged population (18 years to 55 years). These individuals not only had lower neutrophil counts, but also reduced peripheral blood cells types, especially the B-lymphocyte population (CD19 subset). As B-lymphocytes are involved in antibody production and antigen recognition, a decrease might easily predispose the individuals to infectious agents. As such more mechanistic studies need to be undertaken to understand the cause and potential long-term consequences of benign neutropenia.

Angiogenesis plays a critical role in tumorigenesis as it provides the necessary blood supply to the newly grown solid tumor. It helps maintain the tumor microenvironment, promotes tumor development, progression, and metastasis. The vascular epithelial growth factor (VEGF), interacting with the tyrosine kinase receptor VEGFR-2 on endothelial cells, exerts its proangiogenic activity. Hence, targeting the VEGFR-2 signaling is considered a promising strategy to inhibit angiogenesis and thus cancer treatment. This study aims to identify the bioactive compounds derived from the medicinal herb Rauwolfia serpentina that effectively binds with VEGFR-2. The bioactive compounds of R. serpentina were first screened for their physicochemical properties using the DataWarrior program (version 5.5.0). Finally, 17 compounds that obeyed Lipinski’s rule of five and showed good drug-likeness were selected for molecular docking studies. Molecular docking results showed that the ligands ajmalicidine, 1, 2-dihydrovomilenine, rauwolscine, yohimbine, ajmaline, and papaverine interact strongly with the target VEGFR-2 receptor. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions stabilized the interactions of these compounds with VEGFR-2. These compounds showed favourable drug-like properties and possess no significant toxicity. Therefore, the findings of this study indicate that the compounds derived from R. serpentina can be considered for the development of antiangiogenic drug candidates by targeting VEGFR-2.

BackgroundGlucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD, EC 1.1.1.49) deficiency is caused by one or more mutations in the G6PD gene on chromosome X. An association between enzyme levels and gene haplotypes remains to be established.MethodsIn this study, we determined G6PD enzyme levels and sequenced the coding region, including the intron-exon boundaries, in a group of individuals (163 males and 86 females) who were referred to the clinic with suspected G6PD deficiency. The sequence data were analysed by physical linkage analysis and PHASE haplotype reconstruction.ResultsAll previously reported G6PD missense changes, including the AURES, MEDITERRANEAN, A-, SIBARI, VIANGCHAN and ANANT, were identified in our cohort. The AURES mutation (p.Ile48Thr) was the most common variant in the cohort (30% in males patients) followed by the Mediterranean variant (p.Ser188Phe) detectable in 17.79% in male patients. Variant forms of the A- mutation (p.Val68Met, p.Asn126Asp or a combination of both) were detectable in 15.33% of the male patients. However, unique to this study, several of such mutations co-existed in the same patient as shown by physical linkage in males or PHASE haplotype reconstruction in females. Based on 6 non-synonymous variants of G6PD, 13 different haplotypes (13 in males, 8 in females) were identified. Five of these were previously unreported (Jeddah A, B, C, D and E) and were defined by previously unreported combinations of extant mutations where patients harbouring these haplotypes exhibited severe G6PD deficiency.ConclusionsOur findings will help design a focused population screening approach and provide better management for G6PD deficiency patients.