Ankylosing spondylitis is a rather uncommon condition in the UAE. Over a period of 10 years. 28 hospital-based patients diagnosed as having AS were retrospectively studied. They included 17 Arabs and 11 Asians. The onset of AS in most patients in this study was in adulthood (mean age at onset was 27.7 years in Arabs and 28.75 years in Asians). HLA B27 was positive in 56 and 81% in these two populations, respectively (P > 0.05). Analysis of these figures, however, along with previous relevant published data, could indicate that Arabs with AS are less likely to be B27-positive than Asians. Among the Arab patients there was not a single case from the local community, which could be attributed to the extremely low rate of B27 phenotype in their normal population. The interracial variations in the frequency of clinical features were statistically insignificant, therefore indicating some degree of similarity in the form and disease expression in both groups. AS is characterized as being predominantly axial in the majority of our patients. Extraspinal (oligo-poly) arthropathy involved mainly hips and knees, and there have been fewer extra-articular manifestations compared with other series published.
Three hundred fifty-eight educated women, 172 with secondary school education (49%) and 186 (51%) with higher education, were consented for the study. Eighty-five percent were Arab females with an average age of 28.8 years. They expressed their knowledge on osteoporosis on one-one interview. A score of two or more correct items would qualify the respondents to indicate the source(s) of their knowledge. Highly educated women had significantly less 0-1 score (37/186, 20%) than the other subgroup (74/172, 44%, p = 0.001). They, on average, expressed 2.5 items of knowledge vs. 1.69 by the other subgroup (p = 0.002). A total of 245 females, then, became eligible to indicate the source of knowledge. Osteoporosis as a "disease of menopause women" (84%) followed by "disease of easily fractured bones" (64.5%) were the highest in the list in their perception collectively and individually. Items relevant to lifestyle habits, complications, and disease associations were identically not acknowledged. They, however, significantly differed in their response to two items: "a disease of low bone density" and the "role of immobilization and low exercise." Highly educated women appeared more respondent than the other group (p = 0.008 and p = 0.05, respectively). Both were dependent on the "visual media," "relatives," and the "medics" as main sources of information. "Reading books" and "listening to radio programs" on osteoporosis were never considered. The highly educated Arab females have excelled over others with secondary education in terms of frequency and averaging the items of knowledge on osteoporosis. They, however, were not different in the way they perceived osteoporosis as well as in indicating their sources of knowledge. The results reemphasize the lack of an international standard in the understanding of osteoporosis among different populations of females.
The pattern and longevity of dressing style should not be used as pretext for the hypovitaminosis D before other factors are being examined or considered.
The aim of this study was to characterize the autoantibody profile of Arabs with lupus nephritis (LN). Therefore, the records of 42 Arabs with classical systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were reviewed. Twenty one (50%) with LN and 21 without. Most patients with LN have developed their nephropathy within the first five years of the disease. Only C3 hypocomplementemia achieved statistically significant correlation in nephritic patients and anti ribonucleoprotein (RNP) antibodies in non-nephritic patients. The difference in anti double stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies was insignificant (P=0.107), as both groups had markedly high prevalence of these antibodies. In addition, there was no significant negative association between detectable rheumatoid factor (RI) and patients with LN. We also examined the spectrum of specific entities of antibodies that had previously been reported in association with LN in other series (anti Smith (Sm), RNP and SS-A without anti SS-B, anti SS-A and SS-B, anti RNP and Smith, anti RNP and dsDNA and anti RNP and SS-A antibodies). None has shown any correlation with renal disease, P=1.00, P=0.591, P=0.613, P=0.195 and P=0.148, respectively. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that Arab patients with LN do not exhibit a distinctive serological profile, nonetheless it provides useful information to studies of SLE in different ethnic or racial groups.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.