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Background:The pandemic of corona virus disease [COVID]-19 had its great impacts on global health due to the increasing both morbidity and mortality. In addition, being quarantined is linked with high stress levels, insomnia, irritability and trauma-related disorders particularly in vulnerable populations. Therefore, there is a need to assess accurately and timely the magnitude of psychological health outcomes in those having exposure to COVID-19 pandemic.The Aim: The current work aimed to assess the perceived stress level among a group of Egyptian women and to explore the potential contributing factors for that during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional survey targeted educated women from different Egyptian governorates, and of different socioeconomic standards. The total sample was 286 women who were recruited by non-probability snowball sampling and through a semi-structured, online questionnaire comprising socio-demographic data, the validated Arabic version of Cohen Perceived Stress Scale 10 [PSS]. Possible contributing factors of the perceived stress due to COVID-19 were also inquired.Results: total females who responded to the questionnaire were 286 with mean age of 46.5± 11.0 years. During the quarantine period, the total score of the perceived stress scale was 17.1±5.37, and both high and moderate levels of stress were recorded among 73.4% of the studied sample. Stress level was significantly influenced by disruptions of social communication with friends and families, "getting basic needs for health and safety are unmet then ", conflicts between mother and her children represented as a load", being younger women [below 50 years], and "feel stressed due to inability for social gatherings". Conclusion:COVID -19 pandemic has its obvious psychological impact on females, and many factors were contributing to such situation, which put the spotlight on the importance of taking these impacts into consideration when designing policies to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Background: Hearing loss is considered to be one of the most common factors of moderate to severe disability specially in the developing countries. Ototoxicity is inner ear damage due to usage of chemical substances, which can lead to either reversable or permanent hearing loss and/or vestibular loss. Ototoxic hearing impairment can impact the quality of life by many ways; therefore, we should be very careful when it comes to choose drug therapy to minimize the risk. Aim of the work:To identify the commonly implicated ototoxic medications among the adult Egyptian population and to study its presenting features.Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study, that involved review for the medical notes of all adult patients, who attended the Audio-Vestibular Unit with otological problems between January 2014 and December 2018. A total of 1110 medical folders were reviewed, and data were manually extracted. Results:The prevalence of ototoxic medication among the adult attendees was 26.6%. The most common manifestation was hearing impairment, as it was reported in 83.2% of the cases. Tinnitus came second by 70% followed by vertigo in 31%. Aspirin was the most common drug used [44.7%] of the patients, followed by aminoglycoside in 15% of our study sample, then the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDS] in 14.3%. Conclusion:Audiometric screening is critical to capture the true prevalence of hearing loss. Baseline audiometric and vestibular function test should be performed before prescribing any ototoxic medication especially in patients with other associated risk factors.

Background: Immune dysregulation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The CD4+CD25 high FoxP3+ subset of regulatory T cells plays an essential role in preventing autoimmunity and maintaining immune homeostasis. Negative regulation of JAK/STAT signaling is controlled by Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCs3) proteins. SOCs is produced at lower levels in RA. Our aim was to evaluate the expressional dysregulation of SOCs3 and FoxP3 genes in RA patients in relation to disease activity Subjects and methods: We have recruited 90 patients with RA and 60 healthy controls in case control study. Whole blood samples were collected from RA patients and healthy subjects. The measurement of FoxP3 and SOCs3 gene expression was performed by real-time PCR (qPCR). Results: Patients with RA had significant decreased expression levels of FoxP3 and SOCs3 genes in comparison with controls (P<0.001) in addition to the insignificance correlation of both genes with disease activity in RA patients Conclusion: FoxP3 and SOCs3 genes showed a significant defects in rheumatoid arthritis patients with no significant difference in disease activity.