Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 307 in total

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  1. Fulltext Facilitating a transition from compulsory detention of people who use drugs towards voluntary community-based drug dependence treatment and support services in Asia
    Tanguay P, Kamarulzaman A, Aramrattana A, Wodak A, Thomson N, Ali R, et al.
    Harm Reduct J, 2015 Oct 16;12:31.
    PMID: 26470779 DOI: 10.1186/s12954-015-0071-0
    Evidence indicates that detention of people who use drugs in compulsory centers in the name of treatment is common in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The expansion of such practices has been costly, has not generated positive health outcomes, and has not reduced supply or demand for illicit drugs. United Nations agencies have convened several consultations with government and civil society stakeholders in order to facilitate a transition to voluntary evidence- and community-based drug dependence treatment and support services. In an effort to support such efforts, an informal group of experts proposes a three-step process to initiate and accelerate national-level transitions. Specifically, the working group recommends the establishment of a national multisectoral decision-making committee to oversee the development of national transition plans, drug policy reform to eliminate barriers to community-based drug dependence treatment and support services, and the integration of community-based drug dependence treatment in existing national health and social service systems.In parallel, the working group recommends that national-level transitions should be guided by overarching principles, including ethics, human rights, meaningful involvement of affected communities, and client safety, as well as good governance, transparency, and accountability. The transition also represents an opportunity to review the roles and responsibilities of various agencies across the public health and public security sectors in order to balance the workload and ensure positive results. The need to accelerate national-level transitions to voluntary community-based drug dependence treatment and support services is compelling--on economic, medical, sustainable community development, and ethical grounds--as extensively documented in the literature. In this context, the expert working group fully endorses initiation of a transition towards voluntary evidence- and community-based drug dependence treatment and support services across the region, as well as the steady scale-down of compulsory centers for drug users.Components of voluntary community-based drug dependence treatment and support services are being implemented in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. However, significant technical and financial support will be required to be allocated from national budgets and by international development agencies in order to complete the transition and reduce the reliance on detention of people who use drugs in Asia.
  2. Multiple systemic embolisms with septicemia after gastric variceal obliteration with cyanoacrylate
    Tan YM, Goh KL, Kamarulzaman A, Tan PS, Ranjeev P, Salem O, et al.
    Gastrointest Endosc, 2002 Feb;55(2):276-8.
    PMID: 11818941
  3. Disseminated nocardiosis with bilateral intraocular involvement in a renal allograft patient
    Tan SY, Tan LH, Teo SM, Thiruventhiran T, Kamarulzaman A, Hoh HB
    Transplant Proc, 2000 Nov;32(7):1965-6.
    PMID: 11120022
  4. Zoonotic Brugia pahangi filariasis in a suburbia of Kuala Lumpur City, Malaysia
    Tan LH, Fong MY, Mahmud R, Muslim A, Lau YL, Kamarulzaman A
    Parasitol Int, 2011 Jan;60(1):111-3.
    PMID: 20951228 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2010.09.010
    Five local Malaysian patients with clinical manifestations consistent with lymphatic filariasis were referred to our medical centre between 2003 and 2006. Although no microfilariae (mf) were detected in their nocturnal blood samples, all were diagnosed to have lymphatic filariasis on the basis of clinical findings and positive serology results. PCR on their blood samples revealed that two of the patients were infected with Brugia pahangi, an animal filarial worm hitherto not known to cause human disease in the natural environment. All the patients were successfully treated with anti-filarial drugs: four patients were treated with a combination of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and albendazole, and one with doxycycline. Four of them were residents of Petaling Jaya, a residential suburbia located 10 km southwest of Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia. The fifth patient was a frequent visitor of the suburbia. This suburbia has no history or record of B. malayi infection. The most likely vector of the worm was Armigeres subalbatus as extensive entomological surveys within the suburbia revealed only adult females of this mosquito species were infected with B. pahangi larvae. Wild monkeys caught in the suburbia were free from B. pahangi mf, but domestic cats were mf positive. This suggests that infected cats might be the source of the zoonotic infection in the suburbia.
  5. Tuberculin skin testing among healthcare workers in the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Tan LH, Kamarulzaman A, Liam CK, Lee TC
    Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2002 Oct;23(10):584-90.
    PMID: 12400887
    To determine the occupational risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) and to examine the utility of tuberculin skin testing in a developing country with a high prevalence of bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccination.
  6. Fulltext Preventing tuberculosis in healthcare workers of the radiology department: a Malaysian perspective
    Tan L, Kamarulzaman A
    Biomed Imaging Interv J, 2006 Jan;2(1):e3.
    PMID: 21614220 MyJurnal DOI: 10.2349/biij.2.1.e3
    Tuberculosis (TB) is a well recognised occupational hazard for healthcare workers (HCWs). Concerns on the safety of healthcare settings in Malaysia was raised following a report of 25 HCWs working in 11 general hospitals in Malaysia who were infected with TB in 2004 being publicised in the media recently. As the disease burden in general is high in Malaysia, due attention should be given to this disease in our healthcare facilities including the radiology department, an often neglected area in TB infection control programmes. This article focuses on the key control measures that can be implemented in radiology departments in a developing country with limited resources.
  7. Plasma interleukin-18 levels are a biomarker of innate immune responses that predict and characterize tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
    Tan HY, Yong YK, Andrade BB, Shankar EM, Ponnampalavanar S, Omar SF, et al.
    AIDS, 2015 Feb 20;29(4):421-31.
    PMID: 25565499 DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000000557
    Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) is a substantial problem in HIV/TB coinfected patients commencing antiretroviral therapy (ART). The immunopathogenesis of TB-IRIS includes increased production of proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines, including interleukin-18, which is a signature cytokine of the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat pyrin containing protein-3 inflammasome. We compared plasma levels of interleukin-18 and other biomarkers of monocyte/macrophage activation in the prediction and characterization of TB-IRIS.
  8. Tuberculosis (TB)-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in TB-HIV co-infected patients in Malaysia: prevalence, risk factors, and treatment outcomes
    Tan HY, Yong YK, Lim SH, Ponnampalavanar S, Omar SF, Pang YK, et al.
    Sex Health, 2014 Dec;11(6):532-9.
    PMID: 25200957 DOI: 10.1071/SH14093
    Background Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) is an important early complication of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in countries with high rates of endemic TB, but data from South-East Asia are incomplete. Identification of prevalence, risk factors and treatment outcomes of TB-IRIS in Malaysia was sought.

    METHODS: A 3-year retrospective study was conducted among TB-HIV co-infected patients treated at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Simple and adjusted logistic regressions were used to identify the predictors for TB-IRIS while Cox regression was used to assess the influence of TB-IRIS on long-term CD4 T-cell recovery.

    RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-three TB-HIV patients were enrolled, of whom 106 had received both anti-TB treatment (ATT) and ART. The median (IQR) baseline CD4 T-cell count was 52 cells μL(-1) (13-130 cells μL(-1)). Nine of 96 patients (9.4%) developed paradoxical TB-IRIS and eight developed unmasking TB-IRIS, at a median (IQR) time of 27 (12-64) and 19 (14-65) days, respectively. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, only disseminated TB was predictive of TB-IRIS [OR: 10.7 (95% CI: 1.2-94.3), P=0.032]. Mortality rates were similar for TB-IRIS (n=1, 5.9%) and non-TB-IRIS (n=5, 5.7%) patients and CD4 T-cell recovery post-ART was not different between the two groups (P=0.363).

    CONCLUSION: Disseminated TB was a strong independent predictor of TB-IRIS in Malaysian HIV-TB patients after commencing ART. This finding underscores the role of a high pathogen load in the pathogenesis of TB-IRIS; so interventions that reduce pathogen load before ART may benefit HIV patients with disseminated TB.

  9. Fulltext Aberrant Inflammasome Activation Characterizes Tuberculosis-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome
    Tan HY, Yong YK, Shankar EM, Paukovics G, Ellegård R, Larsson M, et al.
    J Immunol, 2016 05 15;196(10):4052-63.
    PMID: 27076678 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1502203
    Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) complicates combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in up to 25% of patients with HIV/TB coinfection. Monocytes and IL-18, a signature cytokine of inflammasome activation, are implicated in TB-IRIS pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated inflammasome activation both pre- and post-cART in TB-IRIS patients. HIV/TB patients exhibited higher proportions of monocytes expressing activated caspase-1 (casp1) pre-cART, compared with HIV patients without TB, and patients who developed TB-IRIS exhibited the greatest increase in casp1 expression. CD64(+) monocytes were a marker of increased casp1 expression. Furthermore, IL-1β, another marker of inflammasome activation, was also elevated during TB-IRIS. TB-IRIS patients also exhibited greater upregulation of NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasome mRNA, compared with controls. Analysis of plasma mitochondrial DNA levels showed that TB-IRIS patients experienced greater cell death, especially pre-cART. Plasma NO levels were lower both pre- and post-cART in TB-IRIS patients, providing evidence of inadequate inflammasome regulation. Plasma IL-18 levels pre-cART correlated inversely with NO levels but positively with monocyte casp1 expression and mitochondrial DNA levels, and expression of IL-18Rα on CD4(+) T cells and NK cells was higher in TB-IRIS patients, providing evidence that IL-18 is a marker of inflammasome activation. We propose that inflammasome activation in monocytes/macrophages of HIV/TB patients increases with ineffective T cell-dependent activation of monocytes/macrophages, priming them for an excessive inflammatory response after cART is commenced, which is greatest in patients with TB-IRIS.
  10. Fulltext Immunological profiles of immune restoration disease presenting as mycobacterial lymphadenitis and cryptococcal meningitis
    Tan DB, Yong YK, Tan HY, Kamarulzaman A, Tan LH, Lim A, et al.
    HIV Med, 2008 May;9(5):307-16.
    PMID: 18400078 DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2008.00565.x
    A proportion of HIV patients beginning antiretroviral therapy (ART) develop immune restoration disease (IRD). Immunological characteristics of IRD were investigated in a cohort of HIV patients beginning therapy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  11. A Competency Framework for Health Research Ethics Educational Programs: Results from a Stakeholder-Driven Mixed-Method Process
    Tackett S, Jenn Ng C, Sugarman J, Daniel EGS, Gopalan N, Tivyashinee, et al.
    Ethics Hum Res, 2023;45(3):29-39.
    PMID: 37167475 DOI: 10.1002/eahr.500166
    Educational programs are integral to building health research ethics (HRE) capacity, but no outcomes framework exists to guide them. We empirically developed a competency framework for health research ethics education-the Framework for Research Ethics Studies Competencies and Outcomes (FRESCO)-using mixed methods, including group concept mapping and a survey of international experts. FRESCO includes seven competency domains: (1) Foundational Knowledge; (2) Laws, Regulations, Guidelines, and Policies for Research Oversight; (3) Ethical-Issue Identification, Analysis, and Resolution; (4) Engagement, Communication, and Advocacy; (5) Lifelong Learning, Education, Research, and Scholarship; (6) Coordination, Stewardship, and Responsiveness in HRE Systems; and (7) Impartiality, Honesty, and Responsibility. These domains are detailed in 27 subdomains. Survey respondents rated FRESCO's relevance to HRE highly. FRESCO can be adapted and implemented in educational programs to refine recruitment and selection processes, educational and assessment methods, and performance measures to ensure that HRE educational programs have their intended effects.
  12. Fulltext Developing a competency framework for health research ethics education and training
    Tackett S, Sugarman J, Ng CJ, Kamarulzaman A, Ali J
    J Med Ethics, 2022 Jun;48(6):391-396.
    PMID: 33811112 DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2021-107237
    Health research ethics (HRE) training programmes are being developed and implemented globally, often with a goal of increasing local capacity to assure ethical conduct in health-related research. Yet what it means for there to be sufficient HRE capacity is not well-defined, and there is currently no consensus on outcomes that HRE training programmes should collectively intend to achieve. Without defining the expected outcomes, meaningful evaluation of individual participants and programmes is challenging. In this article, we briefly describe the evolution of formal education in HRE, articulate the need for a framework to define outcomes for HRE training programmes, and provide guidance for developing HRE competency frameworks that define outcomes suited to their contexts. We detail critical questions for developing HRE competency frameworks using a six-step process: (1) define the purposes, intended uses and scope of the framework; (2) describe the context in which practice occurs; (3) gather data using a variety of methods to inform the competency framework; (4) translate the data into competencies that can be used in educational programmes; (5) report on the competency development process and results and (6) evaluate and update the competency framework. We suggest that competency frameworks should be feasible to develop using this process, and such efforts promise to contribute to programmatic advancement.
  13. Defining Malaysia's health research ethics system through a stakeholder driven approach
    Tackett S, Ng CJ, Sugarman J, Daniel EGS, Gopalan N, Tivyashinee T, et al.
    Dev World Bioeth, 2024 Jun;24(2):74-83.
    PMID: 36861660 DOI: 10.1111/dewb.12396
    The need to understand the systems that support ethical health research has long been recognized, but there are limited descriptions of actual health research ethics (HRE) systems. Using participatory network mapping methods, we empirically defined Malaysia's HRE system. 13 Malaysian stakeholders identified 4 overarching and 25 specific HRE system functions and 35 actors internal and 3 external to the Malaysian HRE system responsible for those functions. Functions requiring the most attention were: advising on legislation related to HRE; optimizing research value to society; and defining standards for HRE oversight. Internal actors with the greatest potential for more influence were: the national network of research ethics committees; non-institution-based research ethics committees; and research participants. The World Health Organization, an external actor, had the largest untapped potential for influence overall. In summary, this stakeholder-driven process identified HRE system functions and actors that could be targeted to increase HRE system capacity.
  14. Fulltext HIV-1 drug resistance mutations among antiretroviral-naive HIV-1-infected patients in Asia: results from the TREAT Asia Studies to Evaluate Resistance-Monitoring Study
    Sungkanuparph S, Oyomopito R, Sirivichayakul S, Sirisanthana T, Li PC, Kantipong P, et al.
    Clin Infect Dis, 2011 Apr 15;52(8):1053-7.
    PMID: 21460324 DOI: 10.1093/cid/cir107
    Of 682 antiretroviral-naïve patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in a prospective, multicenter human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) drug resistance monitoring study involving 8 sites in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Thailand, the prevalence of patients with ≥1 drug resistance mutation was 13.8%. Primary HIV drug resistance is emerging after rapid scaling-up of antiretroviral therapy use in Asia.
  15. Mycobacterial antibody levels and immune restoration disease in HIV patients treated in South East Asia
    Sumatoh HR, Oliver BG, Kumar M, Elliott JH, Vonthanak S, Vun MC, et al.
    Biomark Med, 2011 Dec;5(6):847-53.
    PMID: 22103621 DOI: 10.2217/bmm.11.79
    Immune restoration disease (IRD) associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis parallels the reconstitution of a pathogen-specific Th1 response. However, it is not clear whether humoral responses to M. tuberculosis antigens also rise, or whether antibody levels predict IRD. Here, humoral immunity to M. tuberculosis antigens was investigated in four Asian cohorts.
  16. End compulsory drug treatment in the Asia-Pacific region
    Stoicescu C, Lataire Q, Peters K, Amon JJ, Kamarulzaman A, Ali R, et al.
    Lancet, 2022 01 29;399(10323):419-421.
    PMID: 35032436 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00003-4
  17. High prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in Asia (an ANSORP study)
    Song JH, Jung SI, Ko KS, Kim NY, Son JS, Chang HH, et al.
    Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2004 Jun;48(6):2101-7.
    PMID: 15155207
    A total of 685 clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from patients with pneumococcal diseases were collected from 14 centers in 11 Asian countries from January 2000 to June 2001. The in vitro susceptibilities of the isolates to 14 antimicrobial agents were determined by the broth microdilution test. Among the isolates tested, 483 (52.4%) were not susceptible to penicillin, 23% were intermediate, and 29.4% were penicillin resistant (MICs >/= 2 mg/liter). Isolates from Vietnam showed the highest prevalence of penicillin resistance (71.4%), followed by those from Korea (54.8%), Hong Kong (43.2%), and Taiwan (38.6%). The penicillin MICs at which 90% of isolates are inhibited (MIC(90)s) were 4 mg/liter among isolates from Vietnam, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan. The prevalence of erythromycin resistance was also very high in Vietnam (92.1%), Taiwan (86%), Korea (80.6%), Hong Kong (76.8%), and China (73.9%). The MIC(90)s of erythromycin were >32 mg/liter among isolates from Korea, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Isolates from Hong Kong showed the highest rate of ciprofloxacin resistance (11.8%), followed by isolates from Sri Lanka (9.5%), the Philippines (9.1%), and Korea (6.5%). Multilocus sequence typing showed that the spread of the Taiwan(19F) clone and the Spain(23F) clone could be one of the major reasons for the rapid increases in antimicrobial resistance among S. pneumoniae isolates in Asia. Data from the multinational surveillance study clearly documented distinctive increases in the prevalence rates and the levels of antimicrobial resistance among S. pneumoniae isolates in many Asian countries, which are among the highest in the world published to date.
  18. Fulltext Know your epidemic, know your response: understanding and responding to the heterogeneity of the COVID-19 epidemics across Southeast Asia
    Sohn AH, Phanuphak N, Baral S, Kamarulzaman A
    J Int AIDS Soc, 2020 07;23(7):e25557.
    PMID: 32623817 DOI: 10.1002/jia2.25557
  19. Fulltext Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection and the molecular characteristics of MRSA bacteraemia over a two-year period in a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia
    Sit PS, Teh CS, Idris N, Sam IC, Syed Omar SF, Sulaiman H, et al.
    BMC Infect Dis, 2017 04 13;17(1):274.
    PMID: 28407796 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-017-2384-y
    BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an established pathogen that causes hospital- and community-acquired infections worldwide. The prevalence rate of MRSA infections were reported to be the highest in Asia. As there is limited epidemiological study being done in Malaysia, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of MRSA infection and the molecular characteristics of MRSA bacteraemia.

    METHODS: Two hundred and nine MRSA strains from year 2011 to 2012 were collected from a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia. The strains were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, detection of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Patient's demographic and clinical data were collected and correlated with molecular data by statistical analysis.

    RESULTS: Male gender and patient >50 years of age (p 

  20. Fulltext Use of Smartphone to Seek Sexual Health Information Online Among Malaysian Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM): Implications for mHealth Intervention to Increase HIV Testing and Reduce HIV Risks
    Shrestha R, Lim SH, Altice FL, Copenhaver M, Wickersham JA, Saifi R, et al.
    J Community Health, 2020 02;45(1):10-19.
    PMID: 31375976 DOI: 10.1007/s10900-019-00713-x
    In settings where stigma and discrimination toward men who have sex with men (MSM) are high or illegal, like in Malaysia, innovative methods to anonymously reach them are urgently needed. The near ubiquitous availability of mobile technology, including smartphones, has the potential to open new frontiers (such as mHealth) to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The extent to which MSM use mHealth tools for HIV and STI prevention in the Malaysia context, however, is unknown. A cross-sectional online survey in 622 Malaysian MSM was conducted between July and November 2017. Participants were recruited via advertisements on mobile apps frequently used by MSM. In addition to demographic, smartphone access and utilization, and other information were assessed using logistic regression to determine factors associated with the use of a smartphone to search for online sexual health information. Nearly all (99.2%) participants owned a smartphone, with 63% reported having used one to seek sexual health information, including HIV/STIs. Overall, 96% used smartphones to find sexual partners, with high levels of HIV risk behavior reported. Independent correlates of smartphone use to seek online sexual health information included older age (aOR 0.943, p = 0.005), higher education (aOR 2.14, p = 027), recent (past year) HIV testing (aOR 3.91, p = 0.026), and seeking sexual partners using geosocial networking apps (aOR 5.58, p = 0.006). These findings suggest high smartphone use by high-risk MSM to seek sexual health information and suggests that mHealth strategies may be an effective strategy to engage MSM in HIV prevention activities.
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