Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is the most prevalent human pathogen in Pakistan and is the major cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in infected patients. It has shifted from being hypo-endemic to being hyper-endemic. There was no information about the origin and evolution of the local variants. Here we use newly developed phyloinformatic methods of sequence analysis to conduct the f...

The present review aims to highlight the magnitude of iron status of Pakistani population and possible remedies to address iron deficiency among vulnerable groups. A computer-based search was carried out on "PubMed", "Google Search" and "Sciencedirect.com" to retrieve relevant scientific literature published in the last two decades. The search yielded 193 articles, of which 64 were culled and f...

OBJECTIVE To study the diameter of coronary arteries in a cohort of adult Pakistani population and to compare these with the diameters of Caucasians mentioned in the literature. METHODS A study of 220 adult patients referred to National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (NICVD) for diagnostic coronary angiography between May 2000 to December 2000. RESULTS The mean diameter of Right Corona...

Introduction: Changes in posture, blood physiology, weight increase, changes musculotendinous strength, and joints ligaments laxity are only some of the physical that occur during pregnancy. According to several studies, pregnancy-related back discomfort affects 25% 75% women. The primary goal this research is provide a comprehensive picture women's musculoskeletal issues pregnancy identify mos...

OBJECTIVE To develop a sonographic birth weight estimation model for Pakistani population and to validate the published models in the same population. METHODS Data was collected for pregnant women who presented to Radiology Department of Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi from January 2007 to July 2008 and had undergone ultrasound estimation of foetal weight within 4 days prior to a term de...

BACKGROUND Mitochondrial DNA mutation and hormonal imbalance is involved in the pathogenesis of early onset diabetes but data is lacking in Pakistani population. The study was planned to delineate the clinical presentation of early onset diabetes with possible hormonal and genetic etiological factors and aascertain the possible etiological role of insulin and glucagon in these patients either o...

PURPOSE To measure the morphology of the proximal femur in a Pakistani population. METHODS Standardised anteroposterior pelvic radiographs of 116 male and 20 female healthy volunteers aged 20 to 50 (mean, 33) years were taken. Morphologic dimensions of the proximal femur were measured, including canal flare index (CFI), morphological cortical index (MCI), femoral head offset, femoral head dia...

Hearing impairment is common among the elderly and it compromises communication with resultant poor psychological functioning in affected individuals of all ages. To describe, age gender, literacy and residency status associated with self reported hearing difficulty in adults and its prevalence in Pakistan, we used data from the National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP) 1990-94; with written pe...