Semaphorins are cell-membrane bound or secretory proteins that regulate cell migration, differentiation, proliferation, and morphology. Semaphorins are guidance cues that have either repulsive or attractive effects on growth cones and thus determine their direction toward or away from a target place. Moreover, they act as either chemorepellent or attractive molecules in other systems. Semaphorins were initially discovered as axon guidance molecules essential in nervous system development. However, growing evidence shows that they have a crucial role in other systems, including the immune, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems. This review highlights the immunoregulatory effects of semaphorin 3E in allergic airway inflammation.

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Cefazolin is a first-generation cephalosporin that is active against gram-positive bacteria and has modest activity against gram-negative organisms, and cefazolin is excreted by glomerular filtration. The efficacy and safety of cefazolin and cefazolin concentration in body tissues have been described. Cefazolin pharmacokinetics have been studied; six patients received cefazolin at a dose of 1 g thrice daily and one patient received cefazolin at a dose of 2 g once daily and this patient had acute kidney injury. The pharmacokinetics of cefazolin have been studied. The prophylaxis, treatment, and trials with cefazolin have been reported. The penetration of cefazolin into the cerebrospinal fluid has been studied. Cefazolin treats the meningitis caused by Staphylococcus meningitis or by methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and cefazolin may become resistant to bacteria. Cefazolin freely crosses the human placenta and poorly migrates into the breast milk. The aim of this review was to describe cefazolin efficacy and safety, tissue concentration, pharmacokinetics, prophylaxis, treatment, trials, penetration into the cerebrospinal fluid, treatment of bacterial meningitis, resistance, transfer across the human placenta, and migration into the breast milk.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has established itself as the defining global health crisis of this time. The study describes the clinical profile of hospitalized, non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients with COVID-19 in the UAE during its second wave, through January–March 2021. It also highlights the use of antibiotic stewardship principles in patients admitted with COVID-19. Methods: An observational, retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital based in the Northern Emirates of UAE. A consecutive sample of 110 acutely hospitalized patients with COVID-19 participated in the study. Pregnant women, patients who were admitted to the ICU, and those receiving antibiotics prior to admission were excluded. Data were collected from the written and electronic health records of included patients and subsequently analyzed using IBM SPSS (v25). Results: Population was 58.2% male with a mean age of 51.2 years; 69.1% had at least one comorbidity and 61.8% had severe COVID-19 disease. Mean white blood cell count was 6.03 ± 2.70 × 10⁹ cells/L with a mean C-reactive protein of 83.3 ± 14.6 mg/L. About 4.2% of the tested (20.9%) blood cultures were positive. Empiric antibiotic use was limited to 9.1% of the population. Conclusion: The UAE population admitted in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was mostly male, older with higher prevalence of comorbidities. Given the limited knowledge of the disease, the calculated clinical measures were taken to bring antibiotic use to an extraordinarily low level, not previously seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: Acanthamoeba castellanii genotype T4 is the causative agent of the progressively increasing sight-threatening Acanthamoeba keratitis and central nervous system infections. Because of the increased prevalence and the ineffectiveness of the current antiamoebic drugs, we synthesized miltefosine poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (miltefosine PLGA NP) as a potential potent and biocompatible antiamoebic drug. The advantage to use PLGA NP is to preserve the cells from the toxic effect of miltefosine drug. In particular, miltefosine PLGA nanoformulation offers a better cellular uptake and a sustained drug release compared with the free drug that presents potent cytotoxicity at high concentrations against human colon cancer cell lines. Methods: The miltefosine NP were synthesized using a double emulsion-solvent evaporation method, characterized, and then assessed for their antiamoebic activity against A. castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype. Blank PLGA NP and miltefosine were used as controls. Results: Amoebicidal assays revealed that at 25 and 50 µM, unmodified miltefosine eradicated 83% and 93% of amoebae, respectively. At these same concentrations of 25 and 50 µM, the amount of miltefosine released form PLGA NP formulation was limited to 22.6%. However, it killed 36% and 56% of the protozoa, respectively. Thus, the efficacy of PLGA NP formulation was similar to that of the unmodified miltefosine. Both miltefosine and its PLGA NP significantly inhibited the pretreated amoebae (minimum inhibitory concentration 50% = 37.23 and 55.26 µM, respectively, compared with 147.2 µM of the blank NP; P < 0.05) and reduced amoebae-mediated host cell death. The blank NP and miltefosine NP exhibited minimal cytotoxicity against colon epithelial cell lines. In contrast, the unmodified miltefosine caused 37%, 71%, and 88% of cytotoxicity at 10, 25, and 50 µM, respectively. Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest that controlling the release of miltefosine from PLGA NP for a short time was almost as effective as miltefosine alone against A. castellanii genotype T4 while reducing host cell toxicity. Hence, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using PLGA NP for the treatment of Acanthamoebic infections.

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Background: Male infertility is a global health issue that is poorly described in United Arab Emirates. Methods: In this 10-year retrospective cross-sectional study, we retrieved data of 312 male patients attending Dubai Fertility Center in United Arab Emirates between January 2011 and January 2021. We identified the type and prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities and hormonal and semen abnormalities among Emirati infertile males as compared with regional and global populations. Results: Total chromosomal abnormalities accounted for 13.9% and 8% among azoospermic Emiratis and total Emirati infertile males, respectively. Numerical chromosomal abnormalities causing male infertility were Klinefelter syndrome, 47,XXY (4.0%); Jacob syndrome, 47,XYY (0.8%); mosaic, 48,XXXY/47,XXY/46,XY (0.4%); and mosaic 47,XXY/46,XY (0.4%). Structural chromosomal abnormalities causing male infertility were Y chromosome microdeletion (1.2%), 46,XX/46,XY (0.4%), 46,XY,inv(5)(p15.1q11.2) (0.4%), and 45,XY,der(13;15)(q10;q10) (0.4%). About 59.0% of the Emirati cohort had azoospermia, whereas 28.46% were diagnosed with other conditions of spermatogenic failure as severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (7.63%), severe oligoasthenospermia (5.22%), severe oligozoospermia (4.41%), oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (3.6%), asthenozoospermia (2.4%), oligoasthenospermia (1.6%), oligozoospermia (2%), teratozoospermia (0.8%), asthenoteratozoospermia (0.4%), and aspermia (0.4%). As for male hormonal profile of the Emiratis, azoospermic males with chromosomal defects had higher testosterone abnormality (72.2% vs. 45.4%), interstitial-cell stimulating hormone abnormality (66.6% vs. 42.6%), follicle-stimulating hormone abnormality (72.2% vs. 41.5%), and inhibin B hormone abnormality (100% vs. 83.8%) as compared to azoospermic males without chromosomal abnormalities. Conclusion: This is the first study to report conclusively the profiling of chromosomal abnormality among Emirati infertile males, which falls within the regional and global range, and to highlight the critical role of genetic testing and counseling for evaluating male infertility.

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Background: This mixed-method study explored knowledge, perceptions, and practices of performance-enhancing agents (PEAs) among university students, the public, and sports club stakeholders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: A mixed-method study was conducted; a total of 353 participants (289 students and 64 members of the public) completed the web-based survey, and 34 sports club stakeholders and 6 community pharmacists were interviewed. Results: These showed that most sports club stakeholders were unfamiliar with the prohibited substances in the UAE. Moreover, some interviewees were unwilling to learn more about PEAs. Out of the participants, 72% of the students and 78% of the public had positive perceptions about prohibiting certain and harmful types of PEAs in sports and reported unfavorable views toward doping agents’ users. Regarding the personal experience with banned substance(s), 5.7% of the students and 3.2% of the public reported using them. There was a clear diversity among sports club stakeholders regarding the problem of doping in the UAE. Conclusion: There were gaps in knowledge about World Anti-Doping Agency’s role. Participants have the impression that doping is prevalent among bodybuilders, non-athletes, and young individuals in private gyms. In conclusion, there is a significant gap in knowledge of doping among university students and sports club stakeholders, highlighting the need for tailored education programs specifically designed for sports club stakeholders, and students aiming at reducing PEAs use.

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Background: β-thalassemia major (BTM) is one of the hereditary anemias that is inherited as autosomal recessive. It is complicated by iron overload in different organs including the heart, liver, and endocrine glands. This study aimed to look at the demographic of patients with BTM treated at Dubai Thalassemia Centre. Methods: Demography and clinical data for all thalassemia patients between 2 and 45 years of age were collected. Data such as age, gender, nationality, frequency of blood transfusion, and ferritin level among different groups were calculated. Results: A total of 351 patients were studied; men constituted 50.7% (n = 178) compared with women 49.3% (n = 173). Young children (2–9 years) made up 11.1% (n = 39) of the total population studied, whereas older children and adolescents (10–18 years) made 20.2% (n = 71), and adults (19–45 years) made 67.7% (241). UAE nationals constituted 38% of the total population compared with 44% in previously published studies. Also, the percentage of Emirati children has dropped significantly from prior years (46.3% to 19.9%). The mean pre-transfusion hemoglobin ranged between 9.69–10.2 g/dL in all age groups indicating a successful hyper-transfusion policy. The median Ferritin level was significantly higher among women aged 19–45 years (3255 µg/L) as compared with men (2160 µg/L; U = 5488, P = 0.034) in the same group, and this was not observed in the other groups. Conclusion: The success of the premarital screening program implemented by the UAE government was evident in the drop in the percentage of Emirati children affected by BTM in our study.

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