METHOD: A total of 36 Malaysian community-dwelling older adults with MCI (60-75-year-old) were randomized into Biokesum® (n = 18) and placebo group (n = 18). Each subject consumed one capsule of Biokesum® (250 mg/capsule) or placebo (maltodextrin, 280 mg/capsule) twice daily for 6 months. Cognitive function and mood were assessed at baseline, 3rd, and 6th-month using neuropsychological tests (MMSE, Digit Span, RAVLT, Digit Symbol, and Visual Reproduction) and Profile of Mood State (POMS) questionnaire. Blood lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, and biomarkers (MDA, LPO, COX-2, iNOS, and BDNF) were measured at baseline and 6th month. By the end of the intervention, there were 30 compliers (Biokesum®: N = 15; Placebo: N = 15) and 6 dropouts. For brain activation assessment, 15 subsamples (Biokesum®: N = 8; Placebo: N = 7) completed N-back and Stroop tasks during fMRI scanning at baseline and 6th month. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann's area 9 and 46) was identified as a region of interest (ROI) for brain activation analysis using SPM software.
RESULTS: Two-way mixed ANOVA analysis showed significant improvements in Visual Reproduction II (p = 0.012, partial η2 = 0.470), tension (p = 0.042, partial η2 = 0.147), anger (p = 0.010, partial η2 = 0.207), confusion (p = 0.041, partial η2 = 0.148), total negative subscales (p = 0.043, partial η2 = 0.145), BDNF (p = 0.020, partial η2 = 0.179) and triglyceride (p = 0.029, partial η2 = 0.237) following 6 months of Biokesum® supplementation. Preliminary finding also demonstrated significant improvement at 0-back task-induced right DLPFC activation (p = 0.028, partial η2 = 0.652) among subsamples in Biokesum® group. No adverse events were reported at the end of the study.
CONCLUSION: Six months Biokesum® supplementation potentially improved visual memory, negative mood, BDNF, and triglyceride levels among older adults with MCI. Significant findings on brain activation at the right DPLFC must be considered as preliminary.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered on 30th August 2019 [ ISRC TN12417552 ].
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and May 2019 among the elderly aged ≥60 years old. The participants with the following criteria were included in the study: aged ≥60 years, residing in Puncak Alam and able to understand Malay or English language. Data were collected using a pre-validated questionnaire. All statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 23.
RESULTS: Overall, 336 out of 400 elderly responded to the survey, achieving a response rate of 84%. This study observed that almost 50% of the respondents were using at least one type of HDS in the past one month of the survey. Among HDS non-users, most of them preferred to use modern medicines (62.6%, 114/182). Among the HDS users, 75.3% (116/154) were using at least one type of modern medicine (prescription or over-the-counter medicine). Multivariate analysis showed that having good to excellent perceived health (adjusted OR = 2.666, 95% CI = 1.592-4.464), having felt sick at least once in the past one month (adjusted OR = 2.500, 95% CI = 1.426-4.383), and lower body mass index (adjusted OR = 0.937, 95% CI = 0.887-0.990) were associated with HDS use. It was noted that only a small percentage of HDS users (16.2%, 25/154) had informed healthcare providers on their HDS use.
CONCLUSION: The use of HDS is common among the elderly sampled. Hence, healthcare providers should be more vigilant in seeking information of HDS use for disease management in their elderly patients. Campaigns that provide accurate information regarding the appropriate use of HDS among the elderly are pertinent to prevent misinformation of the products.
METHODS: A population-based study was conducted on a total of 890 respondents who were representative of the adult population in Malaysia, i.e., aged ≥18 years old. Respondents were randomly selected using a stratified cluster method. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was estimated from calibrated serum creatinine using the CKD-EPI equation. CKD was defined as eGFR has shown that CKD has become one of the leading public health issues in Malaysia. Thus, there is an urgent need to screen for CKD and prevent its progression, associated morbidity, and mortality at the national level.
METHODS: Retrospective analysis of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), diagnosed from January 1980 till June 2018 was conducted at our centre.
RESULTS: A total of 413 IBD patients (281 UC, 132 CD) were identified. Mean crude incidence of IBD has increased steadily over the first three decades: 0.36 (1980-1989), 0.48 (1990-1999) and 0.63 per 100,000 person-years (2000-2009). In the 2010 to 2018 period, the mean crude incidence has doubled to 1.46 per 100,000 person-years. There was a significant rise in the incidence of CD, as depicted by reducing UC:CD ratio: 5:1 (1980-1989), 5:1 (1990-1999), 1.9:1 (2000-2009) and 1.7:1 (2010-2018). The prevalence rate of IBD, UC and CD, respectively were 23.0, 15.67 and 7.36 per 100,000 persons. Of all IBD patients, 61.5% (n = 254) were males. When stratified according to ethnic group, the highest prevalence of IBD was among the Indians: 73.4 per 100,000 persons, followed by Malays: 24.8 per 100,000 persons and Chinese: 14.6 per 100,000 persons. The mean age of diagnosis was 41.2 years for UC and 27.4 years for CD. Majority were non-smokers (UC: 76.9%, CD: 70.5%). The diseases were classified as follows: UC; proctitis (9.2%), left-sided colitis (50.2%) and extensive colitis (40.6%), CD; isolated ileal (22.7%), colonic (28.8%), ileocolonic (47.7%) and upper gastrointestinal (0.8%). 12.9% of CD patients had concurrent perianal disease. Extra intestinal manifestations were observed more in CD (53.8%) as compared to UC (12%). Dysplasia and malignancy, on the other hand, occurred more in UC (4.3%, n = 12) than in CD (0.8%, n = 1). Over one quarter (27.3%) of CD patients and 3.6% of UC patients received biologic therapy.
CONCLUSION: The incidence of IBD is rising in Malaysia, especially in the last one decade. This might be associated with the urbanization and changing diets. Public and clinicians' awareness of this emerging disease in Malaysia is important for the timely detection and management.
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between dietary nutrient intake and lipid levels with functional MRI (fMRI) brain activation in DLPFC among older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
Participants and methods: A total of 15 community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment, aged ≥60 years, participated in this cross-sectional study at selected senior citizen clubs in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The 7-day recall Diet History Questionnaire was used to assess participants' dietary nutrient intake. Fasting blood samples were also collected for lipid profile assessment. All participants performed N-back (0- and 1-back) working memory tasks during fMRI scanning. DLPFC (Brodmann's areas 9 and 46, and inferior, middle, and superior frontal gyrus) was identified as a region of interest for analysis.
Results: Positive associations were observed between dietary intake of energy, protein, cholesterol, vitamins B6 and B12, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and HDL-C with DLPFC activation (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that vitamin B6 intake, β=0.505, t (14)=3.29, P=0.023, and Digit Symbol score, β=0.413, t (14)=2.89, P=0.045; R2=0.748, were positively related to DLPFC activation.
Conclusion: Increased vitamin B6 intake and cognitive processing speed were related to greater activation in the DLPFC region, which was responsible for working memory, executive function, attention, planning, and decision making. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the association.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the potential of Stingless Bee Honey (SBH) to suppress lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic acute inflammation in rats and to reveal the probable mechanism of action.
METHODS: Rats received 4.6 and 9.2 g/kg SBH for 7 days followed by a single injection of LPS after which blood samples were taken 6h later.
RESULTS: LPS induced liver, kidney, heart, and lung injury, were manifested by increased serum transaminases, alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, creatinine, and urea, along with multiple histological alterations, particularly leukocyte infiltration. Pro-inflammatory cytokines were elevated in the serum, and NF-κB p65, p38 MAPK, and HMGB-1 were significantly increased in different tissues of LPS-challenged rats. SBH prevented tissue injury, ameliorated pro-inflammatory cytokines, and suppressed NF-κB p65, p38 MAPK, and HMGB-1 in rats that had received LPS. In addition, SBH diminished reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, lipid peroxidation, and oxidative DNA damage, and enhanced glutathione and Nrf2 in LPS-treated rats.
CONCLUSION: SBH prevents systemic acute inflammation by suppressing NF-κB, p38 MAPK, HMGB-1, oxidative stress, and tissue injury in rats. Thus, SBH may represent an effective anti-inflammatory nutraceutical, pending further mechanistic studies.
OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: In this study, D-glucose was conjugated with eugenol to target the cancer cells. To identify the implication of the anticancer effect, osteosarcoma (K7M2) cells were cultured and the anti-proliferative effect was performed using MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay] test in order to evaluate the viability and toxicity on cells with various concentrations of eugenol and D-glucose-eugenol conjugate in 24-hour incubation.
RESULTS: It was found that, the successful confirmation of the conjugation between D-glucose and eugenol was obtained by 1H NMR spectroscopy. MTT assay showed inhibitory concentration (IC50 value) of D-glucose-eugenol was at 96.2 μg/ml and the decreased of osteosarcoma cell survival was 48%. Conclucion: These findings strongly indicate that K7M2 cells would be affected by toxicity of Dglucose- eugenol. Therefore, the present study suggests that D-glucose-eugenol has high potential to act as an anti-proliferative agent who may promise a new modality or approach as the drug delivery treatment for cancer or chemotherapeutic agent.