MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plasma samples were collected prevaccination, 2 weeks and 6 months post-vaccination and tested for total immunoglobulin levels using ELISA method.
RESULTS: A small percentage of HCW (2.2%, 15/677) had elevated anti-S antibody levels in their pre-vaccination plasma samples (median 20.4, IQR 5.8), indicating that they were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to vaccination. The mRNA vaccine significantly increased anti-S levels of both previously infected and uninfected individuals to saturation levels (median 21.88, IQR.0.88) at 2 weeks postsecond dose of the vaccine. At 6 months post-vaccination, the antibody levels appeared to be maintained among the recipients of the mRNA vaccine. However, at this time point, anti-S antibody levels were lower in individuals given inactivated vaccine (median 20.39, IQR 7.31, n=28), and interestingly, their antibody levels were similar to anti-S levels in pre-vaccination exposed individuals. Antibody levels were not different between the sexes.
CONCLUSION: Anti-S levels differ in individuals given the different vaccines. While further study is required to determine the threshold level for protection against SARSCoV- 2, individuals with low antibody levels may be considered for boosters.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among individuals aged > 18 years old in Malaysia from December 2021 to May 2022. The survey was distributed both online and in public settings. The survey comprised of respondents' sociodemographic, perception of physical attractiveness, knowledge and attitude towards medical aesthetic practices. The factors influencing respondents' attitudes towards medical aesthetic practices in the country were analysed using binary logistic regression, with the significance level set at P<0.05.
RESULTS: A total of 382 respondents participated in this study with average age of 30.81 (±9.38) years, ranging from 18 to 68 years. The majority were women (77.5%), Malay (53.7%) and Muslim (57.1%). Although most respondents had no prior experience in medical aesthetic treatment (68.1%), 76.2% respondents demonstrated good knowledge and 70.2% had positive attitude towards these services. Additionally, 53.9% of the respondents highly valued the importance of physical attractiveness. The Buddhists and Hindus exhibited more positive attitude than the Muslims. Conversely, those who placed higher importance on physical attractiveness were 0.5 times less likely to develop a positive attitude towards medical aesthetic services.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, despite limited experience in medical aesthetic treatments and practice, most Malaysians possess good knowledge and positive attitudes towards medical aesthetics, indicating a growing interest and potential willingness to consider these services for enhancing their appearance.
METHODS: The study included 899 adult patients ( ≥ 18 years) with confirmed diagnosis of first-ever acute ischemic stroke enrolled in the Malaysian National Stroke Registry (NSR) from January 2009 to December 2019. The primary outcome was mortality within 90 days post-stroke (266 events [29.6%]). The prognostic model was developed using logistic regression (75%, n = 674) and internally validated (25%, n = 225). Model performance was assessed using discrimination (area under the curve (AUC]) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test [HL]).
RESULTS: The final model includes factors associated with increased risk of mortality, such as age (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 1.06 [95% confidence interval, CI 1.03, 1.10; p
METHODS: Fifty-nine chemo-naive patients receiving either olanzapine or aprepitant were randomly recruited and completed the EQ-5D-5L before and day 5 after HEC. HRQoL utility scores were analyzed according to the Malaysian valuation set. The economic evaluation was conducted from a healthcare payer perspective with a 5-day time horizon. Quality-adjusted life days (QALD) and the rate of successfully treated patients were used to measure health effects. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is assessed as the mean difference between groups' costs per mean difference in health effects. A one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to assess variations that might affect outcomes.
RESULTS: Aprepitant and olanzapine arms' patients had comparable baseline mean HRQoL utility scores of 0.920 (SD = 0.097) and 0.930 (SD = 0.117), respectively; however, on day 5, a significant difference (P value = .006) was observed with mean score of 0.778 (SD = 0.168) for aprepitant and 0.889 (SD = 0.133) for olanzapine. The cost per successfully treated patient in the aprepitant arm was 60 times greater than in the olanzapine arm (Malaysian Ringgit [MYR] 927 vs MYR 14.83). Likewise, the cost per QALD gain in the aprepitant arm was 36 times higher than in the olanzapine arm (MYR 57.05 vs MYR 1.57). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of MYR -937.00 (USD -200.98) per successfully treated patient and MYR -391.84 (USD -85.43) per QALD gained for olanzapine compared with the aprepitant-based regimen.
CONCLUSIONS: An olanzapine-based regimen is a cost-effective therapeutic substitution in patients receiving HEC in Malaysia.
METHOD: A cross-sectional comparative study design was used for evaluating 695 PILs (312 multinational, 383 local) across various therapeutic classes (antibiotics, anti-hypertensives, anti-diabetics, NSAIDs, and antidepressants). PILs were assessed against 31 criteria encompassing general information, dosage, indications, administration, interactions, safety information, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, storage, adverse effects, and pregnancy/breastfeeding details. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, and odds ratios were included in statistical analysis.
RESULT: Several criteria results showed excelling of Multinational PILs over local PILs. Significant differences favouring multinational PILs were observed in providing information on inactive ingredients (p = 0.024), adult-specific dosing (p = 0.0001), renal and hepatic dose adjustments (p = 0.018, p = 0.007 respectively), dosing in haemodialysis patients (p = 0.036), drug-drug interactions (p = 0.029), black box warnings (p = 0.027), clinical effects of toxicity (p = 0.045), and reporting adverse drug reactions (p = 0.04).
CONCLUSION: Multinational and local PILs, both performed well in providing basic information on active ingredients, brand names, contraindications, pregnancy, and lactation details. However, disparities among various aspects including inactive ingredient, specific dosing, dose adjusments and drug interactions between PILS of multinational and local pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan highlights the necessity for regulatory measures and industry initiatives to standardize PIL content. For ensuring patient safety and enhancing the quality of medication use it is essential to improve the comprehensiveness and clarity of PILs.
METHOD: This study systematically reviewed articles from 2013 to 2024 across five prominent databases; PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct, EMBASE, Cochrane library and DOAJ. The study eligibility criteria include original studies assessing using gastric cancer cell lines and articles utilizing extracted andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata or standard andrographolide source treatment. The following exclusion criteria were articles written in a different language, review articles, book chapters, conference articles, scientific reports. Duplicated articles were removed using Mendeley software.
RESULT: Out of 93 articles, six were relevant, primarily focusing on in vitro analyses with gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines.
CONCLUSION: These studies indicate that andrographolide can hinder the cell cycle, suppress cell proliferation, alleviate oxidative stress, and induce apoptosis by prompting gastric cancer cells to undergo self-destruction, which is a crucial mechanism for controlling and eliminating cancerous growths.