Minia University

About: Minia University is a education organization based out in Minya, Egypt. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 4967 authors who have published 8986 publications receiving 108384 citations.

Comprehensive aptamer-based screening identifies a spectrum of urinary biomarkers of lupus nephritis across ethnicities.

Abstract: Emerging urinary biomarkers continue to show promise in evaluating lupus nephritis (LN). Here, we screen urine from active LN patients for 1129 proteins using an aptamer-based platform, followed by ELISA validation in two independent cohorts comprised of 127 inactive lupus, 107 active LN, 67 active non-renal lupus patients and 74 healthy controls, of three different ethnicities. Urine proteins that best distinguish active LN from inactive disease are ALCAM, PF-4, properdin, and VCAM-1 among African-Americans, sE-selectin, VCAM-1, BFL-1 and Hemopexin among Caucasians, and ALCAM, VCAM-1, TFPI and PF-4 among Asians. Most of these correlate significantly with disease activity indices in the respective ethnic groups, and surpass conventional metrics in identifying active LN, with better sensitivity, and negative/positive predictive values. Several elevated urinary molecules are also expressed within the kidneys in LN, based on single-cell RNAseq analysis. Longitudinal studies are warranted to assess the utility of these biomarkers in tracking lupus nephritis. Developing noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for lupus nephritis (LN) diagnosis is an important clinical goal. Here the authors identify urinary proteins correlated with active LN and disease severity, which differ across ethnicities but collectively outperform the current clinical method.

Response to pegylated interferon alfa-2a and ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C genotype 4.

Abstract: The safety and efficacy of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) alfa-2a and ribavirin were studied among patients treated for genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C Ninety-five patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 4 were treated with PEG-IFN alfa-2a (180 µg/week) plus ribavirin (≥11 mg/kg/day) for 48 weeks The primary end point was sustained virological response, defined as non-detectable levels of HCV RNA at the end of follow up (week 72) The proportion with sustained virological response was 58/95 = 611% (95% CI = 505–709%) Side effects were generally mild, well managed by dose reductions (in 62% of patients); in only two patients were side effects sufficiently severe to require treatment interruption Ninety percent of patients adhered to treatment up to week 12, and their sustained virological response rate was higher compared to non-adherent (65% vs 22%, respectively, P = 0012) None of the patients who failed to achieve 1 log reduction of viral load by week 8 (n = 15), or 2 log reduction by week 12 (n = 17), had a sustained virological response In conclusion, sustained virological response in genotype 4 Egyptian patients treated with PEG-IFN alfa-2a and ribavirin was estimated around 60%, intermediate between sustained virological response observed in genotype 1 and genotype 2–3 patients in Western countries The early virological response (week 4 or week 8) should be investigated as a criterion to decide whether the patient may benefit from a shorter duration of therapy J Med Virol 81:1576–1583, 2009 © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc