On behalf of the journal management team, I thank our readers who have inspired us to take the newly conceived project of publishing a scientific journal from BMANA. I profusely thank our authors for their tremendous enthusiasm in submitting the articles and meeting all the deadlines.

Why Journal of BMANA? Despite numerous medical journals, we felt the need for a platform to exchange medical and scientific information amongst the physicians and scientists working in the USA and Bangladesh. The journal will cross the ethnic boundary and reach a broader audience as we progress.

The Covid 19 still is an ugly reminder in our life. An invited editorial of Dr. Chowdhury H. Ahsan highlights the tricky aspect of separating ACS from ACS-MIMICs in Covid-19 patients and discusses the pragmatic approach to treating individual cases in a complex medical environment. Dr. Rumi A Khan did an excellent review of what was done right or wrong during the Covid-19 pandemic and what we learned from the misadventures.

A compelling theme on cardiovascular diseases and their prevention spontaneously emerged in this issue. Authors reported unique cases. Dr. Azizul Hoque wrote a state-of-the-art review emphasizing early initiation and aggressive lowering of LDL-C to achieve sustained benefits in cardiovascular outcomes and discussed novel lipid therapy targeting PCSK9 protein. Groundbreaking randomized clinical trials radically changed the care of acute ischemic stroke patients; Dr. Yahia Lodi contributed a world-class review discussing the clinical trials and future directions.

Drs. Subir Das & Deen Mohammad & colleagues from NINS & H, Dhaka, contributed a well-designed retrospective study on the outcomes of thrombolytics in ischemic stroke patients for the first time in a cohort of Bangladeshi patients. Drs. Nassar & Munira et al. reviewed the prevalence of adrenal insufficiency in cardiogenic shock patients and its impact on outcomes.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is predicted to become a significant cause of morbidity and mortality and a leading indication of liver transplantation. Dr. Malek reviewed the relevant literature and provided therapeutic guidance on this topic. While NAFLD is due to the increased prevalence of obesity, paradoxically, malnutrition is still a huge problem in many parts of the world. Drs. Parag Palit and Tahmeed Ahmed et al. discussed the gut microbiome and the emerging role of probiotics in treating malnutrition. 

A wide array of topics has enriched this issue. A perspective on palliative care (Dr. Maleka Ahmed), a review of Sarcoidosis (Dr. Monsoon Rashid), and a clinical research-derived management algorithm for Sickle cell anemia (Gazi et al.) are great reads. The clinical cases are unique and highly educational.

We are delighted to have physicians and scientists from ICDDR, B contributing valuable articles on tuberculosis prevention and probiotics' role in malnutrition to this journal. An analytic report from Hope foundation on maternal health during Covid 19 and a perspective of Shamim et al. on cleft lip repair in Bangladesh show the diversity of the articles submitted in this issue.

Covid-19 has taken away many of our BMANA friends and colleagues who were fighting at the forefront against the pandemic. We gratefully remember their contribution and pray for their eternal peace. A perspective written by Dr. Aboo Nassar shows the horrors of Covid infection and his unbelievable journey through the illness.

I thank BMANA central executive committee for trusting us with the responsibility of starting this journal. I cannot thank enough past BMANA presidents, notably Drs. Rafique Ahmed, Chowdhury H. Ahsan, and Riaz Chowdhury for their constant intellectual and logistical support to materialize this arduous project.

I look forward to your active participation and support for this journal.

Sincerely,

Iqbal Munir MD, PhD
Chief of Endocrinology & Metabolism
Chair, Institutional Review Board
Riverside University Health System Medical Center
Clinical Professor,
UCR School of Medicine
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of BMANA