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This study enrolled 50 patients who were attending the internal medicine and immunology out-patient clinic of Beni-Suef University Hospital. They were classified into three groups: 20 patients with RA, 20 patients with SLE, and 10 healthy controls. All studied persons were subjected to complete clinical evaluation, laboratory investigations, and detection of mutation in the TLR4 (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) gene by PCR technique. ResultsNo individual in the RA patients group, the SLE patients group, or control population was identified carrying the Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms; in other words, all RA patients, SLE patients, and controls were with the same wild genotype. ConclusionThe similarity in genotype between the patients group and control population concluded that these two missense polymorphisms do not contribute to RA and SLE in a group of Egyptian population.

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Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene plays a pivotal role in folate metabolism. Several genetic variations in MTHFR gene as MTHFR-C677T and MTHFR-A1298C result in decreased MTHFR activity, which could influence efficient DNA methylation and explain susceptibility to different cancers. The etiology of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is obscure and little is known about individual's susceptibility to CML. In order to assess the influence of these genetic polymorphisms on the susceptibility to CML and its effect on the course of the disease among Egyptians, we performed an age-gender-ethnic matched case-control study. The study included 97 CML patients and 130 healthy controls. Genotyping of MTHFR-C677T and -A1298C was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The results showed no statistical difference in the distribution of MTHFR-C677T and -A1298C polymorphic genotypes between CML patients and controls. The frequency of MTHFR 677-TT homozygous variant was significantly higher in patients with accelerated/blastic transformation phase when compared to those in the chronic phase of the disease. In conclusion, our study revealed that MTHFR-C677T and -A1298C polymorphisms could not be considered as genetic risk factors for CML in Egyptians. However, MTHFR 677-TT homozygous variant might be considered as a molecular predictor for disease progression.

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. There was general agreement that BMI surveillance was an epidemiologic tool for the assessment of obesity in different populations. The aim of this study is to screen community awareness about body measurement, and to examine actual body weight with self-perception of body image. Methods: This study was a community-based survey conducted in Fayoum Governorate. We used multistage stratified random sampling to select the study household with a number of participants (582). We developed a self-administrated structured questionnaire. Anthropometric assessment weight, height and waist circumference were measured, and BMI was calculated. Results: Our results showed that the prevalence of obesity was 88.7% more in female than male. More than half of the participants knew their weight and height. Overall, 40.6% of women and 38.8% of men misclassified their own weight status by BMI. There was a statistical significant difference between knowing weight and height, and their accurate results (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Our results showed that the majority of the Fayoum population was obese. Implementation of health promotion and health education in the community should use effective nutrition education in the mass-media to raise awareness of appropriate body weight and healthy lifestyle.