AI-Guided Repurposing of FDA-Approved Anti-Leukemic Molecularly Targeted Therapies for Fatal Blast Crisis Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Integrative Genomics for Precision Medicine of Relapsed/Refractory Cancers in the Post-Pandemic Era

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the paradigm of drug repurposing, leading to the rapid identification of new uses for existing therapeutics under urgent clinical need. This success story has ignited a broader movement towards leveraging repurposing strategies for relapsed, refractory, and traditionally difficult-to-treat diseases, specifically cancers. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), although treatable in the chronic phase (CP), is usually fatal in the blast crisis phase (BC-CML), exemplifying a pressing challenge to oncology, where standard tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapies often fail, resulting in poor survival outcomes. Methods and Results: In a multi-institutional cohort of 141 CML patients, we performed WES across disease phases (123 CP-CML, 6 AP-CML, 12 BC-CML). Mutational landscapes were interrogated using the AI-driven PanDrugs2 platform to identify druggable targets and repurposable FDA-approved anti-leukemic therapies. A 54% surge in mutational burden was observed transitioning from AP-CML to BC-CM, revealing 67 recurrent pan-leukemic gene mutations. Notably, actionable alterations were found in NPM1, DNMT3A, PML, AKT1, CBL, JAK2, TET2, IDH1, and BCL2, with therapeutic opportunities using existing agents such as venetoclax, ivosidenib, decitabine, and azacitidine. Emerging vulnerabilities, including RPTOR and BCR mutations, suggest further avenues for mTOR and BTK inhibitor applications beyond traditional TKI paradigms. Conclusions: Our integrated genomic and AI-guided approach demonstrates the transformative potential of drug repurposing for BC-CML, highlighting immediate actionable options where conventional therapies fail. This strategy not only offers hope for patients with BC-CML but also paves a visionary path toward precision medicine frameworks for relapsed, refractory, and otherwise intractable cancers in the post-pandemic clinical era. Prospective multi-omics studies and tailored clinical trials are urgently warranted to expand these opportunities across the oncology landscape

Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking and Other Multiple Sclerosis Environmental Risk Factors

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Introduction:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; There are a number of well-established risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS). Other factors, however, showed conflicting or inconsistent results. Here, we examine some factors that are unique to or more practiced in Saudi Arabia (SA) and the Arab region such as waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS), face veiling, raw milk (RM) and camel milk (CM) consumption, and tuberculosis (TB) infection in addition to other traditional factors. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; This is a sex- and age-matched case-control study in which we used a structured questionnaire to examine the relation between a number of factors and exposures and the risk of MS. Three hundred MS patients and 601 controls were included. Data were analyzed across different statistical models using logistic regression adjusting for age, sex, marital status, duration of breastfeeding, age first joining school, coffee consumption, and face exposure. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Cigarette smoking (OR = 1.79, [95% CI: 1.01–3.17], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.047), WTS (OR = 2.25, [95% CI: 1.21–4.15], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.010), and CM consumption (OR = 2.50, [95% CI: 1.20–5.21], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.014) increased the risk of MS, while performing hajj (OR = 0.47, [95% CI: 0.34–0.67], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.001), TB infection (OR = 0.29, [95% CI: 0.11–0.78], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.015), face veiling (OR = 0.32, [95% CI: 0.23–0.47], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.001), and coffee consumption (OR = 0.67, [95% CI: 0.49–0.89], &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.008) appeared to be associated with decreased risk. No association was found between fast food, processed meat, soft drinks, animal milk (other than camel), or RM consumption and the risk of MS. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; The results of this case-control study confirm that different means of tobacco smoking are associated with increased risk of MS. It also sheds more light on the complex association between infections and MS. </jats:p

Prevalence of Sports Injuries before and during COVID-19 Quarantine among Adults of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Aims: This study aims to compare the incident rate of sports injuries before and during the COVID-19 quarantine among active and nonactive adults and identify and compare patterns, types and sites of sports injuries.&#x0D; Study Design: Cross-sectional study.&#x0D; Place and Duration of Study: A self-administered online survey was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between June 2020 to November 2020.&#x0D; Methodology: We conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional web-based survey on active and nonactive adults of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 537 respondents from Riyadh completed the questionnaire. The study included adults active during quarantine who are also residents of Riyadh. Residents of other cities and respondents younger than age 18 or older than 64 were excluded.&#x0D; Results: A total of 537 participants fulfilled the criteria. More than half of the respondents were aged 18 to 24 years (54.7%). Of those who did not exercise before quarantine, 42.9% (n = 91) started during quarantine, while 26.5% (n = 86) of respondents who exercised before quarantine stopped during the quarantine. Running and walking were the most common sports practiced by 70.9% of respondents during quarantine and 63.1% before the quarantine. Muscle strain/tears were the most common injuries before quarantine (26.2%), while bruises were the most common injury during quarantine (28.6%). Soccer and basketball were the most affected by quarantine.&#x0D; Conclusion: The number of active individuals had increased during quarantine. Paradoxically, the prevalence of sports injuries decreased. Soccer and basketball were the most significantly affected by a lack of participation during the quarantine; both were a common cause of sports injuries. Medical providers should investigate and support preventive measurements on sports that cause most injuries.</jats:p