AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate kratom's effects towards hematological and clinical-chemistry parameters among regular kratom users in Malaysia.
METHODS: A total of 77 subjects (n=58 regular kratom users, and n=19 healthy controls) participated in this cross-sectional study. All the surveys were conducted through face-to-face interview to elicit subject's socio-demographic characteristics and kratom use history. A full-blood test was also administered. Laboratory analysis was conducted using GC-MS to determine mitragynine content in the acquired kratom samples in order to relate mitragynine consumption with possible alterations in the blood parameters of kratom users.
RESULTS: Findings showed that there were no significant differences in the hematological and clinical-chemistry parameters of traditional kratom users and healthy controls, except for HDL and LDL cholesterol values; these were found to be above the normal reference range for the former. Similarly, long-term kratom consumption (>5 years), and quantity of daily kratom use (≥3 ½ glasses; mitragynine content 76.3-114.8mg) did not appear to alter the hematological and biochemical parameters of kratom users.
CONCLUSION: These data suggest that even long-term and heavy kratom consumption did not significantly alter the hematological and clinical-chemistry parameters of kratom users in a traditional setting.
METHODS: Treatment-naive patients with EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC were randomized one-to-one to lazertinib (240 mg/d) or gefitinib (250 mg/d). Patients with asymptomatic or stable CNS metastases were included if any planned radiation, surgery, or steroids were completed more than 2 weeks before randomization. For patients with CNS metastases confirmed at screening or subsequently suspected, CNS imaging was performed every 6 weeks for 18 months, then every 12 weeks. End points assessed by blinded independent central review and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 included intracranial progression-free survival, intracranial objective response rate, and intracranial duration of response.
RESULTS: Of the 393 patients enrolled in LASER301, 86 (lazertinib, n = 45; gefitinib, n = 41) had measurable and or non-measurable baseline CNS metastases. The median intracranial progression-free survival in the lazertinib group was 28.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.8-28.2) versus 8.4 months (95% CI: 6.7-not reached [NR]) in the gefitinib group (hazard ratio = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.20-0.89, p = 0.02). Among patients with measurable CNS lesions, the intracranial objective response rate was numerically higher with lazertinib (94%; n = 17) versus gefitinib (73%; n = 11, p = 0.124). The median intracranial duration of response with lazertinib was NR (8.3-NR) versus 6.3 months (2.8-NR) with gefitinib. Tolerability was similar to the overall LASER301 population.
CONCLUSIONS: In patients with CNS metastases, lazertinib significantly improved intracranial progression-free survival compared with gefitinib, with more durable responses.
Methods: A two-way repeated measures study was conducted on 14 healthy older adults and 14 older adults with balance impairment, who were recruited from the community in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Their walking performance was assessed using a four-metre walking test at their preferred gait speed and while walking under two further gait conditions, in randomised order: dual task walking and dual task walking with a simulated traffic light. Each participant was tested individually, with the testing taking between 15 and 20 minutes to perform, including two-minute rest periods between walking conditions. Two Kinect cameras recorded the spatio-temporal parameters using MFU gait analysis software. Each participant was tested for each condition twice. The mean parameters for each condition were analysed using a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with participant group and gait condition as factors.
Result: There was no significant between-group effect for walking speed, stride length and cadence. There were also no significant effects between gait condition and stride length or cadence. However, the effect between gait condition and walking speed was found to be significant [F(1.557, 40.485) = 4.568,P= 0.024, [Formula: see text]].
Conclusion: An audio-visual cue (simulated traffic light) was found to influence walking speed in both healthy older adults and in older adults with balance impairment. The results suggest that audio-visual cues could be incorporated into healthy lifestyle promotion in older adults with balance impairment.
METHOD: This study was conducted on 19 healthy subjects (non-habitual 8; habitual 11), non-smoking and between 21 and 30 years of age. Using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG), three areas of optical nerve head were analyzed which are vessel, tissue, and overall, each with ten pulse waveform parameters, namely mean blur rate (MBR), fluctuation, skew, blowout score (BOS), blowout time (BOT), rising rate, falling rate, flow acceleration index (FAI), acceleration time index (ATI), and resistive index (RI). Two-way mixed ANOVA was used to determine the difference between every two groups where p