Objective: This study examined research productivity of NSAIDs in Malaysia.
Materials and Methods: This bibliometric study included all published research articles on NSAIDs from 1979 to 2018, which were conducted in Malaysia. The search databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were used. Search terms included NSAIDs and specific drug names such as ibuprofen, celecoxib, and naproxen. Growth of publication, authorship pattern, citation analysis, journal index, type of studies, and geographical distribution of institutions publishing articles on NSAIDs were measured.
Results: Overall, 111 articles were retrieved from 1979 to 2018. The annual productivity of articles throughout the study fluctuated in which the highest productivity was in 2018, 12.61% (n = 14). Majority of articles were multiple authored, 99.10% (n = 109), and University of Science Malaysia (USM) produced the highest number of articles (30 articles). Most of the articles were International Scientific Indexing-indexed, 52.25% (n = 58), and the main issue studied in most of the articles was the drug formulation of NSAIDs.
Conclusion: The growth of NSAID research in Malaysia was slow, and the majority of research involved laboratory studies. Clinical studies evaluating the clinical outcomes of NSAIDs in patients, particularly using large healthcare databases are still lacking.
METHODS: Using empirical data from Hartford, Connecticut, we deployed a stochastic block model to simulate an injection network of 1574 PWID. We used a susceptible-infected model for HCV and human immunodeficiency virus to evaluate the effectiveness of several HCV TasP strategies, including in combination with OAT and SSP scale-up, over 20 years.
RESULTS: At the highest HCV prevalence (75%), when OAT coverage is increased from 10% to 40%, combined with HCV treatment of 10% per year and SSP scale up to 40%, the time to achieve microelimination is reduced from 18.4 to 11.6 years. At the current HCV prevalence (60%), HCV TasP strategies as low as 10% coverage per year may achieve HCV microelimination within 10 years, with minimal impact from additional OAT scale-up. Strategies based on mass initial HCV treatment (50 per 100 PWID the first year followed by 5 per 100 PWID thereafter) were most effective in settings with HCV prevalence of 60% or lower.
CONCLUSIONS: Scale-up of HCV TasP is the most effective strategy for microelimination of HCV. OAT scale-up, however, scale-up may be synergistic toward achieving microelimination goals when HCV prevalence exceeds 60% and when HCV treatment coverage is 10 per 100 PWID per year or lower.
METHODS: This case/control study was conducted in 2017 includes a control (donation oocytes) and two studies (PCO and POR) groups. The ovulation induction drugs were prescribed in all groups. After the oocyte puncture, the follicular fluid was collected and CCs were isolated were cultured. RNA was extracted and cDNA was synthesized and designed the primer for the ADR-α1, 2 and ADR-β2 gene expression. The protein levels were investigated by Western Blot.
RESULTS: The results showed a high level of three adrenergic expressions in PCO women compared to the control group (p-value
Methods: Human skeletal muscle myoblast (HSMM) cells were cultured and serial passaging was carried out to obtain young and senescent cells. The cells were then treated with C. vulgaris followed by differentiation induction. The expression of Pax7, MyoD1, Myf5, MEF2C, IGF1R, MYOG, TNNT1, PTEN, and MYH2 genes and miR-133b, miR-206, and miR-486 was determined in untreated and C. vulgaris-treated myoblasts on Days 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 of differentiation.
Results: The expression of Pax7, MyoD1, Myf5, MEF2C, IGF1R, MYOG, TNNT1, and PTEN in control senescent myoblasts was significantly decreased on Day 0 of differentiation (p<0.05). Treatment with C. vulgaris upregulated Pax7, Myf5, MEF2C, IGF1R, MYOG, and PTEN in senescent myoblasts (p<0.05) and upregulated Pax7 and MYOG in young myoblasts (p<0.05). The expression of MyoD1 and Myf5 in young myoblasts however was significantly decreased on Day 0 of differentiation (p<0.05). During differentiation, the expression of these genes was increased with C. vulgaris treatment. Further analysis on myomiRs expression showed that miR-133b, miR-206, and miR-486 were significantly downregulated in senescent myoblasts on Day 0 of differentiation which was upregulated by C. vulgaris treatment (p<0.05). During differentiation, the expression of miR-133b and miR-206 was significantly increased with C. vulgaris treatment in both young and senescent myoblasts (p<0.05). However, no significant change was observed on the expression of miR-486 with C. vulgaris treatment.
Conclusions: C. vulgaris demonstrated the modulatory effects on the expression of MRFs and myomiRs during proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts in culture. These findings may indicate the beneficial effect of C. vulgaris in muscle regeneration during ageing thus may prevent sarcopenia in the elderly.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online, anonymous, voluntary survey was conducted to assess the level of knowledge and understanding about EAPs among Malaysian oncologists using SurveyMonkey® between April 2020 and June 2020. Oncologists who had enquired about EAP in the past, were invited at random to participate in the survey. Participants who did not provide consent or failed to complete the survey were excluded.
RESULTS: A total of 15 oncologists participated in the survey, from both public (46.6%) and private (46.6%) practices. Most respondents (80%) had filed between 1 to 10 EAP applications in the past 12 months. For 73.3% respondents, resources or training were not provided for EAPs from institutions. Around 53% of the respondents reported that their knowledge of EAPs and application processes including country regulations is 'good'. The majority of respondents (73.3%) reported that the educational modules on an overview of EAPs, country regulations and the EAP application process will be beneficial. Most participants received information about the existing EAPs either by reaching out to a pharmaceutical sponsor or through another health care provider and some received information about the existing EAPs through their institutions or patients/caregivers. Most of the respondents recommended that pharmaceutical companies should have readily available information related to the availability and application of EAPs for all pipeline products on their websites.
DISCUSSION: EAPs are crucial treatment access pathways to provide investigational drugs to patients who have exhausted their treatment options and are not eligible for participation in clinical trials. Malaysian oncologists have a fair understanding about the EAPs and the application processes.
CONCLUSION: Additional training and awareness are needed for Malaysian oncologists to upscale the utilisation of EAPs.
METHODS: The study involved conducting intradermal injections on four cadavers and participants using a 2 mm length, 34-gauge needle (N-Finders, Inc., South Korea). During the cadaveric study, the polynucleotide prefilled syringe was dyed green, and an anatomist performed dissections, removing only the skin layer. Ultrasonographic observations were carried out to ensure accurate intradermal injection placement.
RESULTS: In all four cadavers, the facial injections at the anterior cheek region were precisely administered intradermally at a 30-degree injection angle. However, the 90-degree injection was found just below the dermal layer upon skin layer removal.
DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that using a 2 mm needle length allows for easy and convenient intradermal injections.
METHODS: By using the results from the fourth survey of Research on Asian Prescription Patterns on antipsychotics, the rates of polypharmacy and combined medication use in each country were analyzed. Daily medications prescribed for the treatment of inpatients or outpatients with schizophrenia, including antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antiparkinson agents, were collected. Fifteen countries from Asia participated in this study.
RESULTS: A total of 3744 patients' prescription forms were examined. The prescription patterns differed across these Asian countries, with the highest rate of polypharmacy noted in Vietnam (59.1%) and the lowest in Myanmar (22.0%). Furthermore, the combined use of other medications, expressed as highest and lowest rate, respectively, was as follows: mood stabilizers, China (35.0%) and Bangladesh (1.0%); antidepressants, South Korea (36.6%) and Bangladesh (0%); anxiolytics, Pakistan (55.7%) and Myanmar (8.5%); hypnotics, Japan (61.1%) and, equally, Myanmar (0%) and Sri Lanka (0%); and antiparkinson agents, Bangladesh (87.9%) and Vietnam (10.9%). The average psychotropic drug loading of all patients was 2.01 ± 1.64, with the highest and lowest loadings noted in Japan (4.13 ± 3.13) and Indonesia (1.16 ± 0.68), respectively.
CONCLUSION: Differences in psychiatrist training as well as the civil culture and health insurance system of each country may have contributed to the differences in these rates. The concept of drug loading can be applied to other medical fields.