METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted over 6 months in the two main tertiary centres for CAH patients in Malaysia. Participants including 59 female-raised CAH patients (mean age ± SD = 16.3 ± 4.2 years, range 10-28 years) compared to 57 age-matched female diabetic patients (mean age ± SD = 16.5 ± 3.4 years, range 10-26 years). Socio-demographic and medical profiles was obtained through semi-structured interviews. HRQOL of participants were evaluated utilising validated, Malay translated questionnaires which were age appropriate: Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL v4.0) scales for Child (8-12) and Adolescent (13-18) and Medical Outcome Survey 36-item Short Form version. These were then compared to the diabetic controls.
RESULTS: The CAH participants consisted of children (ages 10-12 years, n = 12), adolescents (ages 13-17 years, n = 29) and adults (≥ 18 years, n = 18). The majority were Malays (64.4%) and had salt-wasting CAH (67.8%). There were no significant differences between the total mean score of the HRQOL of the combined children and adolescents CAH group (total mean score ± SD = 81.6 ± 17.9, 95% CI = 75.6-87.6) when compared to age-matched diabetic patients (total mean score ± SD = 80.8 ± 11.0, 95% CI = 77.0-84.5, P = 0.81, effect size = 0.05); no significant difference between the adult CAH and diabetic controls in the physical [median score (IQR) CAH vs diabetics; 49.3 (11.4) vs. 50.2 (6.1), P = 0.60, effect size = 0.09] and the mental composite scores [median score (IQR) CAH vs. diabetics; 47.8 (14.1) vs. 50.0 (10.8), P = 0.93, effect size = 0.01].
CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL of the Malaysian CAH cohort were comparable to the diabetic controls.
METHOD: Communities living in 20 hotspot and 20 non-hotspot areas in Selangor were chosen in this study where 406 participants were randomly selected to answer questionnaires distributed at their housing areas. Total marks of each categories were compared using t-test.
RESULT: Results show that there were significant mean differences in marks in Knowledge (p value: 0.003; 15.41 vs. 14.55) and Attitude (p value: < 0.001; 11.41 vs. 10.33), but not Practice (p value 0.101; 10.83 vs. 10.47) categories between communities of non-hotspot and hotspot areas. After considering two confounding variables which are education level and household income, different mean marks are found to be significant in Knowledge when education level acts as a covariate and Attitude when both act as covariates.
CONCLUSION: Overall results show that people living in non-hotspot areas had better knowledge and attitude than people living in hotspot areas, but no difference was found in practice. This suggests that public health education should be done more frequently with people with a low education background and low household income, especially in hotspot areas to fight dengue outbreak and make dengue cases decrease effectively.
METHOD: The co-cultured cells of 2:1 ADSCs-to-NCs ratio were encapsulated in alginate constructs in one of three concentrations (1.0%, 1.2% and 1.5%) and cultured under serum free conditions for 7 days. Cell viability, cell proliferation, immunohistochemical, gycosaminogylycans (GAG) synthesis, and gene expression were examined.
RESULTS: Overall, the 1.2% alginate concentration group was relatively effective in chondrocytic differentiation in comparable to other groups. The cell morphology, cell viability, and cell proliferation revealed initial chondrogenic differentiation by the formation of cell clusters as well as the high permeability for exchange of solutes. The formation of newly synthesis cartilage-specific extracellular matrix in 1.2% group was demonstrated by positive immunohistochemical staining of collagen type II. The co-cultured cells in 1.2% group highly expressed COL II, ACP and SOX-9, compared to 1.0% and 1.5% groups, denote the retention of cartilaginous-specific phenotype by suppressing the undifferentiation stem cell markers of SOX-2 and OCT-4. The study showed 1.2% group was less likely to differentiate towards osteogenesis by downregulating hyperthrophy chondrocytic gene of COL X and osseous marker genes of OSC and OSP.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that variations in the alginate concentration of co-cultured ADSCs and NCs influenced the chondrogenesis. The remarkable biological performance on chondrogenic differentiation in regulating the concentration of alginate 3D culture provides new insights into the cell cross-talk and demonstrates the effectiveness in regenerative therapies of cartilage defects in tissue engineering.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cost evaluation refers to 2011, the year in which the observation was conducted. Direct costs incurred by hospitals including the drug acquisition, materials and time spent for clinical activities from prescribing to dispensing of home medications were evaluated (MYR 1=$0.32 USD). As reported to be significantly different between two regimens (96.1% vs 81.0%; p=0.017), the complete response rate of acute emesis which was defined as a patient successfully treated without any emesis episode within 24 hours after LEC was used as the main indicator for effectiveness.
RESULTS: Antiemetic drug acquisition cost per patient was 40.7 times higher for the granisetron-based regimen than for the standard regimen (MYR 64.3 vs 1.58). When both the costs for materials and clinical activities were included, the total cost per patient was 8.68 times higher for the granisetron-based regimen (MYR 73.5 vs 8.47). Considering the complete response rates, the mean cost per successfully treated patient in granisetron group was 7.31 times higher (MYR 76.5 vs 10.5). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) with granisetron-based regimen, relative to the standard regimen, was MYR 430.7. It was found to be most sensitive to the change of antiemetic effects of granisetron-based regimen.
CONCLUSIONS: While providing a better efficacy in acute emesis control, the low incidence of acute emesis and high ICER makes use of granisetron as primary prophylaxis in LEC controversial.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: Adolescent girls at secondary schools in the Klang Valley, Malaysia.
POPULATION: 729 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years.
METHOD: A questionnaire survey using Menorrhagia Questionnaire and Paediatric Quality of Life-Teen Report Ages 13-18 (PedsQL).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self reports of menstrual bleeding patterns, morbidities and effect on quality of life.
RESULTS: The prevalence of menstrual problems among adolescents was 63.9% in the Klang Valley. Adolescents with menstrual problems had significant lower mean total score of PedsQL (70.23±13.53 vs 76.36±14.93, p=0.001), physical health summary score (74.10±16.83 vs 79.00±15.86, p<0.001) and psychosocial health summary score (68.05±14.27 vs 73.21±13.09, p=0.001) compared with those without menstrual problem. Adolescents experiencing heavy menses bleeding had the lowest physical and emotional function. Those with oligomenorrhoea had the lowest social function, whereas those with dysmenorrhoea had the lowest school function. Cigarette smoking, alcohol and medical illness had lower health-related quality of life, whereas taking oral contraceptive pills for menstrual problems was associated with higher scores in these adolescents.
CONCLUSION: Menstrual problems among adolescents have a significant impact on their quality of life. It is probably wise to screen them at the school level, to identify those with low functional scores and to refer them for proper management at a tertiary adolescent gynaecology centre.
Materials and Methods: Three months old Sprague Dawley male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: (I) control group; (II) alcohol (3g/kg) + normal saline; (III) alcohol (3g/kg) + olive oil; (IV) alcohol (3g/kg) + alpha-tocopherol (60mg/kg) and (V) alcohol (3g/kg) + palm vitamin E (60mg/kg). The treatment lasted for three months. Following sacrifice, the right tibia was subjected to bone biomechanical test while the lumbar (fourth and fifth lumbar) and left tibia bones were harvested for bone mineral measurement.
Results: Alcohol caused reduction in bone biomechanical parameters (maximum force, ultimate stress, yield stress and Young's modulus) and bone minerals (bone calcium and magnesium) compared to control group (P<0.05). Palm vitamin E was able to improve bone biomechanical parameters by increasing the maximum force, ultimate stress and Young's modulus (P<0.05) while alpha-tocopherol was not able to. Both alpha-tocopherol and palm vitamin E were able to significantly increase tibia calcium and magnesium content while only alpha-tocopherol caused significant increase in lumbar calcium content (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Both palm vitamin E and alpha-tocopherol improved bone mineral content which was reduced by alcohol. However, only palm vitamin E was able to improve bone strength in alcohol treated rats.