Cancer cells exhibit increased ROS stress and disturbed redox homeostasis which lead to ROS adaptations. ROS-dependent anticancer therapies including ROS scavenging anticancer therapy and ROS boosting anticancer therapy have shown promising results in vitro as well as in vivo. In addition, response to cancer therapy is modulated by the human microbiota which plays a critical role in systemic body functions.

Food sensitization in the first 2 years of life can identify children at high risk of subsequent allergic disease who may benefit from early life preventive strategies. However, due to potential residual confounding in the majority of studies combined with lack of follow-up into adolescence and adulthood, further research is needed.

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In both cohorts, food sensitization (with or without aeroallergen sensitization) in the first two years of life increased the risk of subsequent asthma and allergic rhinitis. These findings support the role of early life food sensitization in the atopic march and suggest trials to prevent early onset have the potential to reduce the development of allergic airways disease.

Food sensitization prevalence is highest in infancy and declines after 12 months of age. Boys with early-life eczema have the highest prevalence of milk and egg sensitization. Food sensitization at 12 months can predict children at greater risk of adolescent sensitization and probable food allergy at 12 and 18 years.

Background Having a reliable source for health information is vital to build a strong foundation of knowledge, especially with the current revolution of the internet and social media, which raises many concerns regarding harmful effects on the health of the public. However, there are no studies on how the Saudi Arabian population seeks health information. Details about the most used and trusted sources of health information among the public will help health authorities and public awareness accounts on social media to effectively disseminate health information. Objective To investigate the types of sources accessed by the Saudi Arabian population while seeking health information, as well as their level of trust in the sources and to assess the impact of these sources on their perception of medical knowledge and health decision-making. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to meet the objectives. The study population included both men and women who were aged 16 years or more and visited primary care clinics at King Khalid University Hospital. Four hundred and thirteen participants were sampled using the simple random method, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (IBM Corp, Armonk, New York, USA). Results A total of 413 participants were included in this study, and of these, 99 (24.0%) were males and 206 (49.9%) had a bachelor’s degree. Doctors were chosen as the first source of information by 87.6% (283/323) of the participants, and they were completely trusted by most of the population (326/411, 79.3%). The second most commonly used source was pharmacists (112/194, 57.7%), and they were partially trusted by 41.4% (159/384) of the participants. Internet searches, social media, and traditional medicine were not prioritized by most of the participants as the first or second source of health information. The majority of the participants did not trust information obtained from social media, and WhatsApp was the most untrusted source. Almost half of the respondents (197/413, 47.7%) acknowledged that various sources of information can often help them understand their health problems. However, the majority disagreed on substituting a doctor’s prescription with information obtained from the internet or a friend or relative. Conclusions Although physicians were preferred and highly trusted, internet sources appeared to impact the medical knowledge of the population. The population still preferred to use internet search to obtain health information prior to a doctor’s visit.

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BackgroundInfection with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be one of the leading healthcare issues in Pakistan, affecting over 6 million people. The existence of HBsAg mutants is well documented in many countries. In Pakistan, HBV screening in the majority of the blood banks is performed by Rapid Detection Devices or ELISA tests. These tests are designed to detect HBsAg, but may not detect the mutant HBsAg. Failure to detect the HBsAg mutant may result in the transmission of HBV infection from donor to recipient. Hence, there is a need to identify a HBsAg assay which can detect mutants in a country where simple and conventional HBsAg assays with varying sensitivity and specificity are used to detect HBV infections.Material and methodsThree routinely used diagnostic tests (Rapid Detection Devices, ELISA and CLIA) for HBsAg were compared with the LIAISON® XL Murex HBsAg Quant Assay to determine the prevalence of HBV mutants in the Pakistani blood donor population.The samples of blood donors from different cities of Pakistan were collected. The testing was performed using SD Bioline rapid assay (n = 1500), ELISA (n = 1500), and Abbott ARCHITECT®CLIA system (n = 1500) at the centers where the donations were collected. All samples (n = 4500) were re-tested for comparative analysis on the LIAISON® XL Murex HBsAg Quant assay (DiaSorin S.p.A.). PCR testing was performed as a gold standard on all discordant samples.Results119/4500 (2.64%) of the samples were positive for antibodies against HBsAg. The sensitivity of SD Bioline Rapid, GB HBsAg ELISA, Abbott ARCHITECT® and LIAISON® XL Murex HBsAg Quant assay was 17.24%, 43.75%, 90.91%and 100% respectively. The specificity of SD Bioline Rapid, GB HBsAg ELISA, Abbott ARCHITECT® and LIAISON® XL Murex HBsAg Quant Assay was 98.82%, 99.59%, 100% and 100%, respectively.ConclusionLIAISON® XL Murex HBsAg Quant assay is a highly sensitive, specific and accurate screening assay for detecting wild type as well as mutant HBsAg.