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  1. Fulltext Usable Mobile App for Community Education on Colorectal Cancer: Development Process and Usability Study
    Mohamad Marzuki MF, Yaacob NA, Bin Yaacob NM, Abu Hassan MR, Ahmad SB
    JMIR Hum Factors, 2019 Apr 16;6(2):e12103.
    PMID: 30990454 DOI: 10.2196/12103
    BACKGROUND: Participation in colorectal cancer screening is still low among Malaysians despite the increasing trend of incidence, with more than half of the new cases being detected in the advanced stages. Knowledge improvement might increase screening participation and thus improve the chances of disease detection. With the advancement of communication technology, people nowadays prefer to read from their mobile phone using a Web browser or mobile apps compared with the traditional printed material. Therefore, health education and promotion should adapt this behavior change in educating the community.

    OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to document the process of designing and developing a mobile app for community education on colorectal cancer and assess the usability of the prototype.

    METHODS: The nominal group technique (NGT) was used for the content development of the mobile app. NGT involving community educationists and clinicians combined with community representatives as the target users identified relevant health information and communication strategies including features for a user-friendly mobile app. The prototype was developed using framework Ionic 1, based on the Apache Cordova and Angular JS (Google). It was published in the Google Play store. In total, 50 mobile phone users aged 50 years and above and who had never been diagnosed with any type of cancer were invited to download and use the app. They were asked to assess the usability of the app using the validated Malay version of System Usability Scale Questionnaire for the Assessment of Mobile Apps questionnaire. The One-sample t test was used to assess the usability score with a cut-off value of 68 for the usable mobile app.

    RESULTS: The Colorectal Cancer Awareness Application (ColorApp) was successfully developed in the local Malay language. The NGT discussion had suggested 6 main menus in the ColorApp prototype, which are Introduction, Sign and Symptoms, Risk Factors, Preventive Measures, Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, and immunochemical fecal occult blood test kit. A total of 2 additional artificial intelligence properties menus were added to allow user-ColorApp interaction: Analyze Your Status and ColorApp Calculator. The prototype has been published in the Google Play store. The mean usability score was 72 (SD 11.52), which indicates that ColorApp is a usable mobile app, and it can be used as a tool for community education on colorectal cancer.

    CONCLUSIONS: ColorApp mobile app can be used as a user-friendly tool for community education on colorectal cancer.

    Matched MeSH terms: Occult Blood
  2. Fulltext Quintuplex PCR to detect antibiotic resistance genes in Streptococcus pneumoniae
    Navindra Kumari Palanisamy, Parasakthi Navaratnam, Shamala Devi Sekaran
    Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2016;1:22-28.
    Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important bacterial pathogen, causing respiratory infection. Penicillin resistance in S. pneumoniae is associated with alterations in the penicillin binding proteins, while resistance to macrolides is conferred either by the modification of the ribosomal target site or efflux mechanism. This study aimed to characterize S. pneumoniae and its antibiotic resistance genes using 2 sets of multiplex PCRs. Methods: A quintuplex and triplex PCR was used to characterize the pbp1A, ermB, gyrA, ply, and the mefE genes. Fifty-eight penicillin sensitive strains (PSSP), 36 penicillin intermediate strains (PISP) and 26 penicillin resistance strains (PRSP) were used. Results: Alteration in pbp1A was only observed in PISP and PRSP strains, while PCR amplification of the ermB or mefE was observed only in strains with reduced susceptibility to erythromycin. The assay was found to be sensitive as simulated blood cultures showed the lowest level of detection to be 10cfu. Conclusions: As predicted, the assay was able to differentiate penicillin susceptible from the non-susceptible strains based on the detection of the pbp1A gene, which correlated with the MIC value of the strains.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Culture
  3. Liraglutide in Children and Adolescents with Type 2 Diabetes
    Tamborlane WV, Barrientos-Pérez M, Fainberg U, Frimer-Larsen H, Hafez M, Hale PM, et al.
    N Engl J Med, 2019 Aug 15;381(7):637-646.
    PMID: 31034184 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1903822
    BACKGROUND: Metformin is the regulatory-approved treatment of choice for most youth with type 2 diabetes early in the disease. However, early loss of glycemic control has been observed with metformin monotherapy. Whether liraglutide added to metformin (with or without basal insulin treatment) is safe and effective in youth with type 2 diabetes is unknown.

    METHODS: Patients who were 10 to less than 17 years of age were randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, to receive subcutaneous liraglutide (up to 1.8 mg per day) or placebo for a 26-week double-blind period, followed by a 26-week open-label extension period. Inclusion criteria were a body-mass index greater than the 85th percentile and a glycated hemoglobin level between 7.0 and 11.0% if the patients were being treated with diet and exercise alone or between 6.5 and 11.0% if they were being treated with metformin (with or without insulin). All the patients received metformin during the trial. The primary end point was the change from baseline in the glycated hemoglobin level after 26 weeks. Secondary end points included the change in fasting plasma glucose level. Safety was assessed throughout the course of the trial.

    RESULTS: Of 135 patients who underwent randomization, 134 received at least one dose of liraglutide (66 patients) or placebo (68 patients). Demographic characteristics were similar in the two groups (mean age, 14.6 years). At the 26-week analysis of the primary efficacy end point, the mean glycated hemoglobin level had decreased by 0.64 percentage points with liraglutide and increased by 0.42 percentage points with placebo, for an estimated treatment difference of -1.06 percentage points (P<0.001); the difference increased to -1.30 percentage points by 52 weeks. The fasting plasma glucose level had decreased at both time points in the liraglutide group but had increased in the placebo group. The number of patients who reported adverse events was similar in the two groups (56 [84.8%] with liraglutide and 55 [80.9%] with placebo), but the overall rates of adverse events and gastrointestinal adverse events were higher with liraglutide.

    CONCLUSIONS: In children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes, liraglutide, at a dose of up to 1.8 mg per day (added to metformin, with or without basal insulin), was efficacious in improving glycemic control over 52 weeks. This efficacy came at the cost of an increased frequency of gastrointestinal adverse events. (Funded by Novo Nordisk; Ellipse ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01541215.).

    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Glucose/analysis; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/blood
  4. Gynura procumbens leaf improves blood glucose level, restores fertility and libido of diabetic-induced male rats
    Khaidatul Akmar Kamaruzaman, Mahanem Mat Noor
    Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:1471-1477.
    Gynura procumbens (GP) has been widely used in traditional medicine due to its ability in treating various types
    of diseases. This study was carried out to determine the effects of GP on blood glucose level, fertility and libido of
    streptozotocin-induced male rats. A total of 42 male rats were randomly sorted into six groups; normal, negative and
    positive controls and three treated groups with different dosages of GP aqueous extract (GPAE); 150, 300 and 450 mg/kg.
    Each group was treated via oral feeding for 14 consecutive days. The rats were sacrificed on day 15 for further analysis.
    Administration of GPAE significantly lowered the fasting blood glucose (FBG) level and increased the plasma testosterone
    level of diabetic-induced rats compared to the positive and negative control groups. There was also a significant increase
    in the sperm quality as well as the fertility of GPAE treated groups compared to the negative and positive control groups.
    Sexual behaviour analysis demonstrated that GPAE is able to facilitate the expression of sexual behaviour significantly;
    increased mounting frequency and reduced mounting latency. These lines of evidence suggested that GPAE can act as
    antihyperglycaemic, profertility and libido agents. However, its mechanism(s) remains unresolved.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Glucose
  5. Fulltext Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards dengue fever among patients in Hospital Taiping
    Mohammed Abdelfatah Alhoot, Mohammed Faez Baobaid, Abdelqader MA, Lavannya Rangas Paran, Bavani Kannaiah, Kavitha Balasingam, et al.
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17(3):66-75.
    Dengue fever is the most common vector-borne disease and major concern issues in Malaysia. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate factors influencing knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding dengue fever among patients in Hospital Taiping. A total of 300 patients were incorporated into a descriptive, public based cross-sectional study. The questionnaires were formulated to include several questions on demographic data, knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning dengue fever. Most of the respondents were from the age group of more than 35 (43.3%). The largest representations of the participants were Malay (59.3%), married (65.7%), SPM is the highest education level (53.3%), and 60.7% of the participants were conscious about dengue fever eruption. Television/radio was voted as the frequent source of information (97.3%). There is no significant relationship between knowledge score and socio-demographic factors. However, around 57.0% of the respondents believe that abdominal pain is not a symptom of dengue fever and 32% convinced that blood transfusion can transmit dengue. No significant correlation was found between attitude and practice score to socio-demographic characters. However, a good practice towards dengue fever is associated with good knowledge (65.4 %) nevertheless it did not influence their attitude. Moreover, the attitude seems to be poor regardless of knowledge level (44.0%). Therefore, more prevention practices to raise the awareness of population toward dengue fever such as health campaigns and health education in school level should be initiated. These activities will aid in fertilizing better attitude and prevention practice towards dengue fever and bring down its incidence in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Transfusion
  6. Fulltext Colorectal cancer screening using immunochemical fecal occult blood test
    Tan MC, Ng OC, Yap RYP, Pan Y, Chieng JY
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17(1):33-37.
    Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening has been shown to decrease the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the immunochemical fecal occult blood test (i-FOBT) in diagnosing CRC were assessed among the patients in a tertiary referral hospital in Malaysia. A total sample of 814 patients aged 16 to 85 years old who performed i-FOBT and endoscopic screenings was obtained. The patients were recruited for a retrospective investigation. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were derived for the CRC screenees. Out of the 814 patients screened using i-FOBT, half of them were above 59 years old (49.6%), and 36% had positive i-FOBT. Gender distribution was almost equal, where 53.4% of the patients were female, and 46.6% were male. Majority of the patients were Malays (56.6%), followed by Chinese (24.0%), Indians (16.5%), and others (2.9%). Among the 71 patients referred for colonoscopy, 57.7% and 42.3% corresponded to positive and negative i-FOBT cases, respectively. Polyps were found to be most common among the patients (25.6%), 7.0% were found positive for invasive CRC, and 35.2% had normal colonoscopic findings. There was a significant association between colonoscopic finding and positive i-FOBT (p=0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for CRC detection were 66.7%, 43.0%, 9.8%, and 93.3%, respectively. The results indicate that i-FOBT is a useful tool in the detection of abnormalities in the lower gastrointestinal tract and therefore serves as a cornerstone for potential large-scale screening programmes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Occult Blood
  7. Total nucleated cell count and cd34+ cell is reduced in preeclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies: viable affix criteria for cord blood banking
    Mohd Razif Mohd Idris, Fazlina Nordin, Fadilah Abd Wahid S, Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2491-2499.
    The aim of this study to determine the numbers of CD34+ cells and total nucleated cell (TNC) in umbilical cord blood (UCB)
    collected from pregnant mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and preeclampsia (PE), following statistical
    analysis of both maternal and perinatal factors which affect UCB parameters. Most of studies explored the influence of
    obstetric factors on the number of UCB cell collection and only a few looked at the effects on UCB haematopoietic stem
    cell (UCB-HSC) of common disorders complicating pregnancy. A total of 112 UCB samples (32 PE, 42 GDM and 38 nondiseased) were collected. CD34+ cell and NC count were enumerated using FACS Calibur. The TNC and CD34+ cells were
    significantly reduced in both PE and GDM groups as compared to the control group. The PE group shows significantly
    lower birth weight and higher BP which led to a lower UCB volume and CD34+ count. Gestational age shows significant
    correlation with nucleated cell count (NCC) and TNC. GDM group shows significantly lower systolic BP, NCC and TNC count,
    including low placental weight and birth weight. Conclusively, some obstetrics factors have significant influences to the
    numbers and quality of UCB-HSC in both PE and GDM groups, which could guide in the selection criteria for CB banking.
    Matched MeSH terms: Fetal Blood
  8. To compare ESR and CRP as predictors of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients in Hospital Seremban. [Abstract]
    Gun SC, Loh YL, Das Gupta E
    APLAR Journal of Rheumatology, 2006;9 Suppl 1:A185.
    Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease. Predictors of disease activity include presence of joint inflammation, blood investigations such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and c-reactive protein (CRP). ESR is said to be imprecise as it is affected by aging, female sex, obesity, pregnancy, anaemia and polycythaemia. But it is inexpensive and easy to perform. CRP is produced as an acute phase reactant by the liver in response to interleukin 6 and other cytokines. CRP is more specific but costs more than ESR. Both tests are done in the rheumatology clinic of Hospital Seremban. Objective: To compare the usefulness of ESR and CRP as a predictor of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Method: This was a retrospective study. The medical records of 248 RA patients who attended the rheumatology clinic, Hospital Seremban between 1 January 2004 and 31 Dec 2004 were reviewed. The following data were obtained: joint swelling and tenderness, other clinical features which indicate inflammation secondary to infection or trauma and inflammation of soft tissue, ESR, CRP, FBC and UFEME. Results: Data was analysed and the results showed that a total number of 248 patients were seen. There were 13 defaulters. Of the 248 patients there were 929 patients' visits. Of the total number of patients' visits where patients clinically had active disease, 80.2% had raised ESR while 88.8% had raised CRP. As for visits where patients had quiescent disease clinically, 57.3% had normal ESR and 36.5% had normal CRP. Conclusion: CRP is more sensitive but less specific than ESR. This suggests that we still should use both tests as they complement each other. ESR can serve as a countercheck for CRP and vice versa.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Sedimentation
  9. Fulltext Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Montmorillonite-Reinforced Polypropylene/Rice Husk Hybrid Nanocomposites
    Majeed K, Ahmed A, Abu Bakar MS, Indra Mahlia TM, Saba N, Hassan A, et al.
    Polymers (Basel), 2019 Sep 25;11(10).
    PMID: 31557811 DOI: 10.3390/polym11101557
    In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the use of natural fibers as potential reinforcing fillers in polymer composites despite their hydrophilicity, which limits their widespread commercial application. The present study explored the fabrication of nanocomposites by melt mixing, using an internal mixer followed by a compression molding technique, and incorporating rice husk (RH) as a renewable natural filler, montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay as water-resistant reinforcing nanoparticles, and polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) as a compatibilizing agent. To correlate the effect of MMT delamination and MMT/RH dispersion in the composites, the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites were studied. XRD analysis revealed delamination of MMT platelets due to an increase in their interlayer spacing, and SEM micrographs indicated improved dispersion of the filler(s) from the use of compatibilizers. The mechanical properties were improved by the incorporation of MMT into the PP/RH system and the reinforcing effect was remarkable as a result of the use of compatibilizing agent. Prolonged water exposure of the prepared samples decreased their tensile and flexural properties. Interestingly, the maximum decrease was observed for PP/RH composites and the minimum was for MMT-reinforced and PP-g-MAH-compatibilized PP/RH composites. DSC results revealed an increase in crystallinity with the addition of filler(s), while the melting and crystallization temperatures remained unaltered. TGA revealed that MMT addition and its delamination in the composite systems improved the thermal stability of the developed nanocomposites. Overall, we conclude that MMT nanoclay is an effective water-resistant reinforcing nanoparticle that enhances the durability, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of composites.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Platelets
  10. Fulltext Self-reported hypoglycaemia in insulin-treated patients with diabetes mellitus: Results from the Singapore cohort of the International Operations Hypoglycaemia Assessment Tool study
    Tan NC, Goh SY, Khoo EY, Dalan R, Koong A, Khoo CM, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2019 Jul 22.
    PMID: 31328239 DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2019081
    INTRODUCTION: Hypoglycaemia constitutes a significant barrier to achieving glycaemic control with insulin in both Type 1 (T1DM) and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The International Operations Hypoglycaemia Assessment Tool (IO HAT) study was designed to determine the incidence of hypoglycaemia in insulin-treated patients with T1DM and T2DM.

    METHODS: The IO HAT study retrospectively and prospectively assessed the incidence of hypoglycaemia in patients with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus in nine countries. This sub-analysis included patients from Singapore with T1DM or T2DM who were aged ≥ 21 years and had completed two self-assessment questionnaires (SAQ1 and SAQ2).

    RESULTS: Of the 50 T1DM and 320 T2DM patients who completed the SAQ1, 39 T1DM and 265 T2DM patients completed SAQ2; 100% and 90.9%, respectively, experienced at least one hypoglycaemic event prospectively. The incidence rates of any hypoglycaemia were 49.5 events per patient-year (EPPY) and 16.1 EPPY for T1DM and T2DM patients, respectively, in the four-week prospective period. Hypoglycaemia rate did not differ in terms of HbA1c level. The vast majority of T1DM or T2DM patients (92.0% and 90.7%, respectively) knew the overall definition of hypoglycaemia before study participation, although over half of the patients (T1DM 54.0%, T2DM 51.9%) defined hypoglycaemia based only on symptoms.

    CONCLUSION: High proportions of insulin-treated patients with diabetes mellitus in Singapore reported hypoglycaemic events prospectively, showing that they had underreported hypoglycaemic episodes retrospectively. Patient education can help in improving hypoglycaemia awareness and its management in the region.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Glucose
  11. Fulltext Denaturing gradient-gel electrophoresis screening of familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 in a mixed Asian cohort: two cases of arginine3500-->tryptophan mutation associated with a unique haplotype
    Choong ML, Koay ES, Khoo KL, Khaw MC, Sethi SK
    Clin Chem, 1997 Jun;43(6 Pt 1):916-23.
    PMID: 9191540
    The Arg-to-Trp substitution at codon 3500 in the apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 gene is established as a cause of familial defective apo B-100 (FDB), a functional mutation, resulting in reduced LDL receptor binding and manifest hypercholesterolemia. In a search for similar mutations in 163 Malaysians, we screened the putative receptor-binding region (codons 3456-3553) of the apo B-100 gene by PCR amplification and denaturing gradient-gel electrophoresis. Four single-base mutations were detected and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Two females, a Chinese and a Malay, had the same CGG3500-->TGG mutation, resulting in an Arg3500-to-Trp substitution. This is the second published report of such an independent mutation involving the same codon as the established Arg3500-to-Gln mutation. The two other mutations detected, CTT3517-->CTG and GCC3527-->GCT, resulted in degenerate codons with no amino acid substitutions. All four mutations were associated with a unique apo B haplotype, different from those found in Caucasian FDB patients but concurring with that previously reported for two other Asians with FDB.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cholesterol/blood; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II/blood; Cholesterol, LDL/blood
  12. Fulltext Wearable IoT Smart-Log Patch: An Edge Computing-Based Bayesian Deep Learning Network System for Multi Access Physical Monitoring System
    Manogaran G, Shakeel PM, Fouad H, Nam Y, Baskar S, Chilamkurti N, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2019 Jul 09;19(13).
    PMID: 31324070 DOI: 10.3390/s19133030
    According to the survey on various health centres, smart log-based multi access physical monitoring system determines the health conditions of humans and their associated problems present in their lifestyle. At present, deficiency in significant nutrients leads to deterioration of organs, which creates various health problems, particularly for infants, children, and adults. Due to the importance of a multi access physical monitoring system, children and adolescents' physical activities should be continuously monitored for eliminating difficulties in their life using a smart environment system. Nowadays, in real-time necessity on multi access physical monitoring systems, information requirements and the effective diagnosis of health condition is the challenging task in practice. In this research, wearable smart-log patch with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors has been designed and developed with multimedia technology. Further, the data computation in that smart-log patch has been analysed using edge computing on Bayesian deep learning network (EC-BDLN), which helps to infer and identify various physical data collected from the humans in an accurate manner to monitor their physical activities. Then, the efficiency of this wearable IoT system with multimedia technology is evaluated using experimental results and discussed in terms of accuracy, efficiency, mean residual error, delay, and less energy consumption. This state-of-the-art smart-log patch is considered as one of evolutionary research in health checking of multi access physical monitoring systems with multimedia technology.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Pressure
  13. Fulltext Computerized Morphometric Analysis of Eryptosis
    Jacob SS, Prasad K, Rao P, Kamath A, Hegde RB, Baby PM, et al.
    Front Physiol, 2019;10:1230.
    PMID: 31649550 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01230
    Eryptosis is the suicidal destruction-process of erythrocytes, much like apoptosis of nucleated cells, in the course of which the stressed red cell undergoes cell-shrinkage, vesiculation and externalization of membrane phosphatidylserine. Currently, there exist numerous methods to detect eryptosis, both morphometrically and biochemically. This study aimed to design a simple but sensitive, automated computerized approach to instantaneously detect eryptotic red cells and quantify their hallmark morphological characteristics. Red cells from 17 healthy volunteers were exposed to normal Ringer and hyperosmotic stress with sodium chloride, following which morphometric comparisons were conducted from their photomicrographs. The proposed method was found to significantly detect and differentiate normal and eryptotic red cells, based on variations in their structural markers. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for each of the markers showed a significant discriminatory accuracy with high sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve values. The software-based technique was then validated with RBCs in malaria. This model, quantifies eryptosis morphometrically in real-time, with minimal manual intervention, providing a new window to explore eryptosis triggered by different stressors and diseases and can find wide application in laboratories of hematology, blood banks and medical research.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Banks
  14. Physical examination and basic haematological findings in a selected group of migrant workers in Malaysia
    Chia YC
    JUMMEC, 2002;7:40-43.
    The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and extent of diseases present among migrant workers. A total of 809 migrant workers were examined. The mean BMI (Body Mass Index) was 22.3 kg/m2. Only 4.9% of the respondents had blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg. Generally the migrant workers examined were healthy, except for subjects with abnormal eosinophilia coutns, which may indicate occult parasitic infestation. Non-communicable disease in particular hypertension and diabetes mellitus are not major problems among migrant workers. Perhaps the target to aim at are the illegal migrant workers where more illness could be detected.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Pressure
  15. Stroke in pregnancy
    Liew BS, Ghani AA, You X
    Med J Malaysia, 2019 Jun;74(3):246-249.
    PMID: 31256185
    Stroke is uncommon among young adults. However, the incidence of stroke among young women increases with pregnancy during peripartum and postpartum periods. The relative risk of suffering from haemorrhagic stroke was three times higher than ischemic stroke during these periods when compared with antenatal period. Neuroimaging should be prioritized in order to establish diagnosis and to facilitate treatment in a patient with suspected acute stroke. Prophylaxic anticoagulants should be used in high risk patients. Treatments of acute stroke in pregnant women include anti-platelet and thrombolytic agents. Further studies should be carried as there is lack of high level of evidences to formulate clear guideline for the management of stroke during pregnancy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Platelets
  16. Erectile dysfunction (ED), lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and testosterone deficiency (TD): Men's major concern (MMC) - An important portal for promoting men's health?
    Tan WP, Fong ZV, Tong SF, Low WY, Tan HM
    Journal of Men's Health, 2011;8:S81-S83.
    DOI: 10.1016/S1875-6867(11)60029-8
    Background: Men's major concern (MMC) is a common quality of life issue affecting the aging male population. This paper examines the association between MMC and cardiometabolic diseases in Malaysian men in an urban setting.
    Methods: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted in an urban area involving 1046 men, aged over 40 years and above, who were randomly selected using the electoral roll in Selangor Malaysia. Participants were assessed by trained doctors using structured questionnaire which included medical history, IIEF-5 to assess men's erectile dysfunction and IPSS score to assess prostatic symptoms. Clinical assessments including blood pressure, weight, height and waist circumference were performed. In addition, biochemical assessments for fasting blood glucose and lipid profile were done.
    Results: The response rate was 62.8%. The mean age of the participants was 55.8±8.4 (range: 41-93) years. Around two fifth of the participants (39.8%) had no MMC, 28.4% were diagnosed with 1 MMC, 9.9% with 2MMCs and 1.2% with 3MMCs. Increasing number of MMCs were significantly associated with increasing rate of cardiometabolic diseases (No MMC = 26.2%, 1 MMC = 43.4%, 2 MMCs = 63.5% and 3 MMCs = 69.2%) (P < 0.01) and metabolic syndrome based on Asian criteria (No MMC = 21.5%, 1 MMC = 39.0%, 2 MMCs = 49.1%, 3 MMCs = 62.5%) (P < 0.01). Participants with one or more MMC significantly showed a higher proportion of undiagnosed diabetes as well as reported diabetes (No MMC = 1.7%, 1 or more MMCs = 3.6%) when compared to participants without MMC (P ≤ 0.01).
    Conclusions: Men's Major Concerns (e.g., ED, LUTS and TD) were associated with cardiometabolic diseases and collectively, they could be used as an important portal to men's health. © 2011 WPMH GmbH.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Pressure
  17. Fulltext A brief review on ACE I/D gene polymorphism and blood pressure response to exercise training
    Hazwani Ahmad Yusof, Abdul Rashid Aziz, Nor Farah Mohamad Fauzi, Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed
    Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2018;14(201):179-189.
    MyJurnal
    Exercise has been suggested as the best and the most affordable way for managing blood pressure. The insertion/ deletion of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) I/D gene polymorphism had been reported to be linked with sev- eral diseases such as hypertension and diabetic nephropathy. Several studies showed that blood pressure response to exercise training for health management also vary among individuals with different genotypes of ACE I/D gene poly- morphism. A study of 9 months of endurance exercise training at 75 to 85 % of VO2max showed that the decrease of resting blood pressure in I allele carriers wass greater than D allele carriers. In contrast, other study discovered that adult women with D allele had greater reduction in resting blood pressure than those with I allele, following a 12-week combined aerobic and resistance exercise training. Despite the inconsistencies of some findings, it has remained unknown if the ACE I/D gene polymorphism would also influence blood pressure response to isometric handgrip training that had been found to be superior to the dynamic resistance exercise training in controlling and preventing high blood pressure. Thus, this article was to review the literature on ACE I/D gene polymorphism and blood pressure response to exercise training that could serve as the basis for future research to identify individuals who will lower resting blood pressure the most with exercise training program for health management.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Pressure
  18. Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier: A Review on Drug Delivery Strategies for Treatment of the Central Nervous System Diseases
    Mansor NI, Nordin N, Mohamed F, Ling KH, Rosli R, Hassan Z
    Curr Drug Deliv, 2019;16(8):698-711.
    PMID: 31456519 DOI: 10.2174/1567201816666190828153017
    Many drugs have been designed to treat diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), especially neurodegenerative diseases. However, the presence of tight junctions at the blood-brain barrier has often compromised the efficiency of drug delivery to target sites in the brain. The principles of drug delivery systems across the blood-brain barrier are dependent on substrate-specific (i.e. protein transport and transcytosis) and non-specific (i.e. transcellular and paracellular) transport pathways, which are crucial factors in attempts to design efficient drug delivery strategies. This review describes how the blood-brain barrier presents the main challenge in delivering drugs to treat brain diseases and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of ongoing neurotherapeutic delivery strategies in overcoming this limitation. In addition, we discuss the application of colloidal carrier systems, particularly nanoparticles, as potential tools for therapy for the CNS diseases.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood-Brain Barrier
  19. Models for skin and brain penetration of major components from essential oils used in aromatherapy for dementia patients
    Agatonovic-Kustrin S, Chan CKY, Gegechkori V, Morton DW
    J Biomol Struct Dyn, 2020 May;38(8):2402-2411.
    PMID: 31204906 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2019.1633408
    Aromatherapy with essential oils (EOs) has been linked to improvement of cognitive function in patients with dementia. In order to act systemically, active EO components must be absorbed through the skin, enter the systemic circulation, and cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). Thus, the aim of this work was to develop quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs), to predict skin and blood barrier penetrative abilities of 119 terpenoids from EOs used in aromatherapy. The first model was based on experimentally measured skin permeability for 162 molecules, and the second model on BBB permeability for 138 molecules. Each molecule was encoded with 63 calculated molecular descriptors and an artificial neural network was used to correlate molecular descriptors to permeabilities. Developed QSAR models confirm that EOs components penetrate through the skin and across the BBB. Some well-known descriptors, such as log P (lipophilicity), molecular size and shape, dominated the QSAR model for BBB permeability. Compounds with the highest predicted BBB penetration were hydrocarbon terpenes with the smallest molecular size and highest lipophilicity. Thus, molecular size is a limiting factor for penetration. Compounds with the highest skin permeability have slightly higher molecular size, high lipophilicity and low polarity. Our work shows that a major disadvantage of novel multitarget compounds developed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is the size of molecules, which cause problems in their delivery to the brain. Therefore, there is a need for smaller compounds, which possess more desirable physicochemical properties and pharmacokinetics, in addition to targeted biological effects.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood-Brain Barrier
  20. Does Colectomy Improve Type 2 Diabetes?
    Punchai S, Wilson RL, Meister KM, Nor Hanipah Z, Vangoitsenhoven R, Schauer PR, et al.
    Obes Surg, 2020 06;30(6):2429-2433.
    PMID: 31898042 DOI: 10.1007/s11695-019-04346-w
    Gastrectomy and gastric bypass improve type 2 diabetes (T2DM), potentially through alterations in intestinal hormones and the microbiome. The aim of this study was to analyze whether colorectal resections result in improvement of T2DM. A total of 171 patients with T2DM who underwent colectomy for benign diseases were studied with a median postoperative follow-up of 3 years (interquartile range [IQR] 1-5). The median BMI and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at baseline and post-colectomy were 30.3 kg/m2 (IQR 26.6-34.6) versus 30.4 kg/m2 (IQR 26.2-35) (p = 0.1), and 6.7% (IQR 6.2-7.5) versus 6.5% (IQR 6.5-7.1) (p = 0.5), respectively. The proportion of patients taking diabetes medications at baseline versus post-colectomy did not differ significantly. Changes in BMI, HbA1c, and status of diabetes medications were not statistically different between the subtypes of colorectal resection. Our experience suggests that colectomy for benign colorectal diseases is not associated with long-term changes in body weight or glycemic control.
    Matched MeSH terms: Blood Glucose
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