METHODS: Pregnant rats were divided into three groups: control, stress, and stress treated with Tualang honey. The stress and stress treated with Tualang honey groups were subjected to restraint stress from day 11 of pregnancy until delivery. Ten week old male offspring (n = 9 from each group) were given formalin injection and their nociceptive behaviours were recorded. After 2 h, the rats were sacrificed, and their spinal cords were removed to assess oxidative stress activity and morphology. Nociceptive behaviour was analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), while the levels of oxidative stress parameters and number of Nissl-stained neurons were analysed using a one-way ANOVA.
RESULTS: This study demonstrated that prenatal stress was associated with increased nociceptive behaviour, changes in the oxidative stress parameters and morphology of the spinal cord of offspring exposed to prenatal stress; administration of Tualang honey reduced the alteration of these parameters.
CONCLUSION: This study provides a preliminary understanding of the beneficial effects of Tualang honey against the changes in oxidative stress and neuronal damage in the spinal cord of the offspring of prenatally stressed rats.
CASE REPORT: Here, we present a case of a young man who has childhood asthma with the last attack more than 10 years ago presented with symptoms suggestive of acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. As the symptoms failed to improve after standard asthma management, anaphylaxis was suspected, and he was given intramuscular adrenaline 0.5 mg which leads to symptom improvement. However, he developed another attack shortly after improvement while under observation.
CONCLUSION: The objective of this case report is to emphasise the importance of keeping anaphylaxis in mind whenever a patient has treatment-refractory asthma, and also the anticipation of biphasic reaction that warrants adequate observation period especially those who are likely to have developed it.
METHODS: This 6-month cross-sectional study adopted convenience sampling; inclusion criteria were healthy pregnant women, sexually active and living together with their partner for 3 months prior to recruitment into this study. Women who received advice to avoid sexual intercourse, with any medical illness and/or those conceived via assisted reproductive technology were excluded. Participants filled in a questionnaire consisting of demographic details and Malay Version Female Sexual Function Index Questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS 24.0; categorical data were analyzed by Chi-square and Fisher exact test.
RESULTS: One hundred pregnant women with a mean age of 31 + 4.31 years old participated. By using the cut-off FSFI score of 26.55, 81 (81%) participants were diagnosed to have sexual dysfunction. The mean FSFI score was 20.41 ± 8.45 (range 2.6-33.5; median 23.6). All the mean FSFI scores of first, second and third trimesters were low with 22.80 ± 10.67, 23.81 ± 7.18 and 18.74 ± 8.43, respectively. The mean score for desire, arousal, satisfaction and pain were significantly lower in the third trimester than earlier gestation. There was a significant difference in the incidence of difficulties in desire, arousal, lubrication, satisfaction and pain between first and second trimester combined, as compared to the third trimester of pregnancy. Trimester of pregnancy was found to have a significant association with the incidence of sexual dysfunction.
CONCLUSION: Sexual dysfunction among pregnant women is a significant burden. Despite being a common health problem, it is often neglected.
METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and PubMed databases up to February 2020 for RCTs that investigated the effect of DHEA supplementation on testosterone levels. The estimated effect of the data was calculated using the weighted mean difference (WMD). Subgroup analysis was performed to identify the source of heterogeneity among studies.
RESULTS: Overall results from 42 publications (comprising 55 arms) demonstrated that testosterone level was significantly increased after DHEA administration (WMD: 28.02 ng/dl, 95% CI: 21.44-34.60, p = 0.00). Subgroup analyses revealed that DHEA increased testosterone level in all subgroups, but the magnitude of increment was higher in females compared to men (WMD: 30.98 ng/dl vs. 21.36 ng/dl); DHEA dosage of ˃50 mg/d compared to ≤50 mg/d (WMD: 57.96 ng/dl vs. 19.43 ng/dl); intervention duration of ≤12 weeks compared to ˃12 weeks (WMD: 44.64 ng/dl vs. 19 ng/dl); healthy participants compared to postmenopausal women, pregnant women, non-healthy participants and androgen-deficient patients (WMD: 52.17 ng/dl vs. 25.04 ng/dl, 16.44 ng/dl and 16.47 ng/dl); and participants below 60 years old compared to above 60 years old (WMD: 31.42 ng/dl vs. 23.93 ng/dl).
CONCLUSION: DHEA supplementation is effective for increasing testosterone levels, although the magnitude varies among different subgroups. More study needed on pregnant women and miscarriage.