METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to December 2017 and involved female patients with breast cancer. The QoL scores and domains were determined using the EuroQol EQ-5D-5L, and were presented as the utility value and visual analog scores, respectively.
RESULTS: We recruited a total of 173 women, aged 33-87 years. The median VA score was 80.00 (interquartile range [IQR] 70.00-90.00); the median utility value was 0.78 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.65-1.00. Women who did not take traditional medicine had a higher utility index score of 0.092 (95% CI 0.014-0.171), and women with household income of RM3000-5000 had a higher utility index score of 0.096 (95% CI 0.011-0.180).
CONCLUSION: Traditional medicine consumption and household income were significantly associated with lower QoL. The pain/discomfort domain was the worst affected QoL domain and was related to traditional medicine use and household income. Addressing pain management in patients with breast cancer and the other factors contributing to lower QoL may improve the QoL of breast cancer survivors in the future.
METHODS: Plant extracts from hot water infusion were tested for the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and enzyme inhibition through Folin-ciocalteu assay, aluminium chloride method and xanthine oxidase inhibition assay, respectively. Simplex-centroid mixture design was applied in this study and 13 polyherbal formulations were generated by Design Expert Software.
RESULTS: Linear, special cubic and quadratic models were selected to describe the interaction effect between polyherbal formulations and their responses. Low IC50 value (13.90 μg/mL) of xanthine oxidase activity was found in the binary combination of O. stamineus and S. rebaudiana and this probably related to its high phenolic and flavonoid contents as xanthine oxidase inhibition and phytochemicals were correlated.
CONCLUSIONS: The suggested optimal formulation was comprised of 44.26 % O. stamineus and 55.74 % S. rebaudiana and it could be developed as an alternative treatment for gout.
METHODS: Raw and cooked extracts of the giant freshwater prawn were prepared. The IgE reactivity pattern was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting technique with the sera of 20 skin prick test (SPT) positive patients. The major allergen identified was then characterized using the proteomics approach involving a combination of two-dimensional (2-DE) electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics tools.
RESULTS: SDS-PAGE of the raw extract showed 23 protein bands (15-250 kDa) but those ranging from 40 to 100 kDa were not found in the cooked extract. From immunoblotting experiments, raw and cooked extracts demonstrated 11 and 5 IgE-binding proteins, respectively, with a molecular mass ranging from 15 to 155 kDa. A heat-resistant 36 kDa protein was identified as the major allergen of both extracts. In addition, a 42 kDa heat-sensitive protein was shown to be a major allergen of the raw extract. The 2-DE gel fractionated the prawn proteins to more than 50 different protein spots. Of these, 10 spots showed specific IgE reactivity with patients' sera. Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis led to identification of 2 important allergens, tropomyosin and arginine kinase.
CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that the availability of such allergens would help in component-based diagnosis and therapy of prawn allergies.