This study is aimed at evaluating the association between Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and the primary complete blood count (CBC) parameters in confirmed positive patients. In a retrospective cross-sectional study, 384 files of patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis hospitalized at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, were chosen randomly as a study group for hematological parameters, with another 384 non-COVID-19 files of patients without history of any disease which could influence the hematological profile were selected as a control group. The gender, age, and nationality of the control group were matched with those of the study group. Anemia and thrombocytopenia prevalence was significantly higher in COVID-19 positive patients compared with negative. However, the positive cases were 3.4 times more likely to be anemic and approximately 5.3 times as likely to be thrombocytopenic, while the prevalence of leukopenia showed no statistical significance between the two groups. However, the Mean Cell Volume (MCV), Total White Blood Cell (WBC) count, lymphocyte count, and basophil count median values showed a nonsignificant difference between the two groups. Anemia and thrombocytopenia may be highly developed in severe positive cases, and therefore, further studies are recommended to validate these findings.

Introduction： Metabolism methionine and of folate play a vital function in cellular methylation reactions, DNA synthesis and epigenetic process.However, polymorphisms of methionine have received much attention in recent medical genetics research. Objectives: To ascertain whether the common polymorphisms of the MTRR (Methionine Synthase Reductase) A66G gene could play a role in affecting susceptibility to Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in Sudanese individuals. Methods: In a case-controlled study, we extracted and analyzed DNA from 200 CML patients and 100 healthy control subjects by the PCR-RFLP method. Results: We found no significant difference in age orgender between the patient group and controls. The MTRR A66G genotypes were distributed based on the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). The variation of MTRR A66G was less significantly frequent in cases with CML (68.35%) than in controls (87%) (OR = 0.146, 95% CI = 0.162–0.662, p < 0.002). Additionally, AG and GG genotypes and G allele were reducing the CML risk (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.365; 95% CI [0.179–0.746]; p = 0.006; OR = 0.292; 95% CI [0.145–0.590]; p = 0.001 and OR = 0.146; 95% CI [0.162–0.662]; p = 0.002 and OR = 2.0; 95% CI [1.3853–2.817]; respectively, (p = 0.000)). Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that heterozygous and homozygous mutant genotypes of MTRR polymorphisms were associated with decreased risk of developing CML in the Sudanese population.

Background: Dengue fever (DF) is caused by dengue virus (DENV), a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae. The DF has been reported as one of the most important arboviral diseases in many parts of the world including Sudan. DENV is a widely spreading disease that has resulted in an emerging infectious disease world-wide. Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of dengue virus in Red sea state, Sudan. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross sectional study, carried out in Eastern part of Sudan with an impartial method to determine the DENV antibodies status in Red Sea state, Sudan, Dengue Virus (DENV) antibody test was done for each sample. Blood samples were collected from each patient in a plain container, and then serum was separated and tested for (DENV) IgM by using ELISA. Results: Of the total 380 dengue cases tested 106 (27.9%) were identified as anti-dengue IgM positive. 57.1% (n=217) were females and 42.9% (n=163) were males, the highest numbers of cases; 152 (40%) from the age group between 40 years and above and least numbers of cases; 47(12.4%) from the age group of 10-19 years. 55 (14.5%) cases among age groups of less than 10 years, 73 (19.2%) from the age group 20-29 years and six 53 (13.9%) from the age group between 30-39 years of age. Conclusion: We can conclude that serotypes (IgM) of dengue virus prevalence is 27.9% in Red Sea State, Sudan and this finding indicate that the residents of the Red State are at risk of developing the disease. Also, there was significant variation between age and the occurrence of the disease. The Ministry of health should initiate dengue surveillance and commence an integrated vector control programme.

Two estrogen receptor isoforms (ERα and ERβ) have been characterized with variable and sometimes contrasting responses to estrogens, partially explained by different receptor signaling pathways in estrogen-sensitive tissues. This is a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study, aiming to evaluate the expression pattern of ERβ, employing immunohistochemical techniques using specific monoclonal antibody for ERβ, to correlate its expression with that of ERα in a Sudanese population. Two-hundred and fifty formalin-fixed paraffin-wax-embedded breast tissue blocks were used in this study. Of these, 200 were taken from breast cancer patients ascertained as study cases, and the remaining 50 were noninvolved surgical margin considered as normal breast tissue. Receptor expression was demonstrated using immunohistochemical techniques. The immune expression of ERβ was detected in 57.5% of breast cancers. It was differentially expressed in breast tissues encompassing normal, noninvasive, as well as invasive carcinoma ( P = .02). There was no evidence of a significant relationship between ERβ and ERα expression. Among the ERα-negative tumor, 60.4% expressed ERβ. The expression of ERβ among this subgroup was significantly associated with good clinicopathological parameters such as negative Her2/neu, lower grade, and negative lymph node metastasis ( P = .002). This study concludes that ERβ was commonly expressed among Sudanese patients with breast cancer, either co-expressed with ERα or expressed alone. In the ERα-negative subgroup, it was associated with better tumor outcomes suggesting ERβ should be included in the diagnostic protocol as an independent marker for favorable prognosis.

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