Background/Aim:The aim of the study was to investigate gender differences in obesity and related behavior among adolescent school boys and girls in southwestern Saudi Arabia.Patients and Methods:A cross-sectional study on a stratified sample of 1,249 adolescent boys and 620 adolescent girls, was conducted in southwestern Saudi Arabia. They were interviewed and examined for weight and height using standardized techniques.Results:The prevalence of obesity and overweight in the present study amounted to 23.2% among boys and 29.4% among girls. The following significant risk factors were identified; being a female [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) =1.372, 95% confidence interval (CI) =1.099-1.753] and lack of class physical exercise (aOR =1.452, 95% CI =1.149-2.117).Conclusion:Obesity among adolescents is a public health problem in Southwestern Saudi Arabia. The problem is more prevalent among girls. Thus, there is a need for a national programme in the country to prevent and control obesity among adolescents.

The three modalities of treatments proved to be effective clinically and histopathologically in treating both types of striae, which were well tolerated by the patients with minimal, transient side effects and our study results gave us guidelines for their clinical application.

The repeated chemotherapy of schistosomiasis has resulted in the emergence of drug-resistant schistosome strains. The development of such resistance has drawn the attention of many authors to alternative drugs. Many medicinal plants were studied to investigate their antischistosomal potency. The present work aimed to evaluate antischistosomal activity of crude aqueous extract of ginger against Schistosoma mansoni. Sixteen mice of C57 strain were exposed to 100 ± 10 cercariae per mouse by the tail immersion method; the mice were divided into two groups: untreated group and ginger-treated one. All mice were sacrificed at the end of 10th week post-infection. Worm recovery and egg counting in the hepatic tissues and faeces were determined. Surface topography of the recovered worms was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Histopathological examination of liver and intestine was done using routine histological procedures. The worm burden and the egg density in liver and faeces of mice treated with ginger were fewer than in non-treated ones. Scanning electron microscopical examination revealed that male worms recovered from mice treated with ginger lost their normal surface architecture, since its surface showed partial loss of tubercles' spines, extensive erosion in inter-tubercle tegumental regions and numerous small blebs around tubercles. Histopathological data indicated a reduction in the number and size of granulomatous inflammatory infiltrations in the liver and intestine of treated mice compared to non-treated mice. The results of the present work suggested that ginger has antischistosomal activities and provided a basis for subsequent experimental and clinical trials.

In this article, two strains of mice BALB/C and C57 were infected with Egyptian strain of Schistosoma mansoni. BALB/C mice appeared to harbor fewer parasites than did C57 mice. The hepatic and intestinal tissues of C57 mice were loaded with more eggs than that of BALB/C mice. Regardless the strain of mice, the number of eggs per gram of liver tissues was higher than in the intestinal tissues. Some biochemical parameters were measured in the liver of infected and non-infected mice; a significant decrease in the activities of alkaline phosphatase, catalase, glutathione-s-transferase, glutathione, and total lipids of infected mice compared to their matched control were observed. However, there was a significant increase in malondialdehyde level of infected mice compared to their matched group. Detailed discussion on the parasitological and biochemical differences between the two strains was presented.