Methods: The Iraqi Anti-Diabetic Medication Adherence Scale (IADMAS) consists of eight items. The face and content validity of the IADMAS were established via an expert panel. For convergent validity, the IADMAS was compared with the Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ). For concurrent validity, the IADMAS was compared with glycosylated hemoglobin. A total of 84 patients with types 2 diabetes were recruited from a diabetes center in Baghdad, Iraq. Test-retest reliability was measured by readministering the IADMAS to the same patients 4 weeks later.
Results: Only 80 patients completed the study (response rate: 95%). Reliability analysis of the IADMAS showed a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.712, whereas that of the MAQ was 0.649. All items in the IADMAS showed no significant difference in the test-retest analysis, indicating that the IADMAS has stable reliability. There was no difference in the psychometric properties of the IADMAS and the MAQ. The sensitivity and specificity of the IADMAS were higher than that of the MAQ (100% vs 87.5% and 33.9% vs 29.7%, respectively).
Conclusion: The IADMAS developed in this study is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing antidiabetic medication adherence among Iraqi patients.
Design: Anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) was performed to induce OA in thirty-three male New Zealand white rabbits and were randomly divided into three groups: Channa, glucosamine, and control group. The control group received drinking water and the Channa and glucosamine groups were orally administered with 51.4 mg/kg of Channa extract and 77.5 mg/kg of glucosamine sulphate in drinking water, respectively, for eight weeks and then sacrificed. The articular cartilage was evaluated macroscopically and histologically using semiquantitative and quantitative methods. Serum cartilage oligomeric matric protein (COMP), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) enzyme, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were also determined.
Results: Macroscopic analysis revealed that Channa group have a significantly lower severity grade of total macroscopic score compared to the control (p < 0.001) and glucosamine (p < 0.05) groups. Semiquantitative histology scoring showed that both Channa and glucosamine groups had lower severity grading of total histology score compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In comparison with the control, Channa group had lower histopathological changes in three compartments of the joint compared to glucosamine group which had lower histological scoring in two compartments only. The cartilage thickness, area, and roughness of both Channa (p < 0.05) and glucosamine (p < 0.05) groups were superior compared to the control group. However, the Channa group demonstrated significantly less cartilage roughness compared to the glucosamine group (p < 0.05). Serum COMP levels were lower in both Channa (p < 0.05) and glucosamine (p < 0.05) groups compared to the control group.
Conclusion: Both oral administration of Channa extract and glucosamine exhibited chondroprotective action on an ACLT OA-induced rabbit model. However, Channa was superior to glucosamine in maintaining the structure of the cartilage.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine and contrast the perceptions of MS patients, neurologists, and palliative care physicians towards providing palliative care for patients with MS in Malaysia.
METHODS: 12 MS patients, 5 neurologists, and 5 palliative care physicians participated in this qualitative study. Each participant took part in a semi-structured interview. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analysed using an iterative thematic analysis approach.
RESULTS: Patients and neurologists mostly associated palliative care with the end-of-life and struggled to understand the need for palliative care in MS. Another barrier was the lack of understanding about the palliative care needs of MS patients. Palliative care physicians also identified the scarcity of resources and their lack of experience with MS as barriers. The current referral-based care pathway itself was found to be a barrier to the provision of palliative care.
CONCLUSIONS: MS patients in Malaysia face several barriers in accessing palliative care. Overcoming these barriers will require improving the shared understanding of palliative care and its role in MS. The existing care pathway also needs to be reformed to ensure that it improves access to palliative care for MS patients.