MyMedR

Changes in blood pressure after Messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccination

Ch'ng CC, Ong LM, Wong KM

Med J Malaysia, 2022 Nov;77(6):768-770.

The SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) vaccination began in Malaysia in March 2021 among frontliners and healthcare workers. Everyone at our hospital received the tozinameran (BNT162b2) Messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine. Although hypertension has not been mentioned explicitly as an adverse event, concerns were raised after some healthcare staff observed an increase in their blood pressures. In response to that, the hospital began collecting vital signs during second-dose appointments. Vital signs were measured before, immediately after and 15-30 minutes postvaccination. We report our findings from the institution-wide effort to monitor changes in blood pressure among its staff and respond to any possible unwanted events.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Maslinic acid exerts anticancer effects by targeting cancer hallmarks

Ooi KX, Poo CL, Subramaniam M, Cordell GA, Lim YM

Phytomedicine, 2023 Feb;110:154631.

PMID: 36621168 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154631

BACKGROUND: Natural products have long been regarded as a source of anticancer compounds with low toxicity. Evidence revealed that maslinic acid (MA), a widely distributed pentacyclic triterpene in common foodstuffs, exhibited pronounced inhibitory effects against various cancer cell lines. Most cancer cells thrive by acquiring cancer hallmarks, as coined by Hanahan and Weinberg in 2000 and 2011.

PURPOSE: This represents the first systematic review concerning the anticancer properties of MA as these cancer hallmarks are targeted. It aims to summarize the antineoplastic activities of MA, discuss the diverse mechanisms of action based on the effects of MA exerted on each hallmark.

METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the search terms "maslinic," "cancer," "tumor," and "neoplasm," to retrieve articles from the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus published up to September 2022. Study selection was conducted by three reviewers independently from title and abstract screening until full-text evaluation. Data extraction was done by one reviewer and counterchecked by the second reviewer.

RESULTS: Of the 330 articles assessed, 40 papers met the inclusion criteria and revealed that MA inhibited 16 different cancer cell types. MA impacted every cancer hallmark by targeting multiple pathways.

CONCLUSION: This review provides insights regarding the inhibitory effects of MA against various cancers and its remarkable biological properties as a pleiotropic bioactive compound, which encourage further investigations.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Overcoming Therapeutic Inertia as the Achilles' Heel for Improving Suboptimal Diabetes Care: An Integrative Review

Chew BH, Mohd-Yusof BN, Lai PSM, Khunti K

Endocrinol Metab (Seoul), 2023 Feb;38(1):34-42.

PMID: 36792353 DOI: 10.3803/EnM.2022.1649

The ultimate purpose of diabetes care is achieving the outcomes that patients regard as important throughout the life course. Despite advances in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, psychoeducational programs, information technologies, and digital health, the levels of treatment target achievement in people with diabetes mellitus (DM) have remained suboptimal. This clinical care of people with DM is highly challenging, complex, costly, and confounded for patients, physicians, and healthcare systems. One key underlying problem is clinical inertia in general and therapeutic inertia (TI) in particular. TI refers to healthcare providers' failure to modify therapy appropriately when treatment goals are not met. TI therefore relates to the prescribing decisions made by healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. The known causes of TI include factors at the level of the physician (50%), patient (30%), and health system (20%). Although TI is often multifactorial, the literature suggests that 28% of strategies are targeted at multiple levels of causes, 38% at the patient level, 26% at the healthcare professional level, and only 8% at the healthcare system level. The most effective interventions against TI are shorter intervals until revisit appointments and empowering nurses, diabetes educators, and pharmacists to review treatments and modify prescriptions.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Statin Therapy in COVID-19: Inhibition of NETosis

Kow CS, Ramachandram DS, Hasan SS

J Gen Intern Med, 2023 Mar;38(4):1077.

PMID: 36414801 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-022-07964-w

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Independent monitoring for the pandemic accord: a non-negotiable provision

Hanbali L, Lehtimaki S, Hannon E, McNab C, Schwalbe N

Lancet, 2023 Feb 18;401(10376):553.

PMID: 36736333 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00126-5

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Disseminated melioidosis with sternoclavicular joint abscesses

Chang CY

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop, 2023;56.

PMID: 36995784 DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0033-2023

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Risk Prediction and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease in People Living with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Ooi YG, Sarvanandan T, Hee NKY, Lim QH, Paramasivam SS, Ratnasingam J, et al.

Diabetes Metab J, 2024 Mar;48(2):196-207.

PMID: 38273788 DOI: 10.4093/dmj.2023.0244

People with type 2 diabetes mellitus have increased risk of chronic kidney disease and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Improved care delivery and implementation of guideline-directed medical therapy have contributed to the declining incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in high-income countries. By contrast, the global incidence of chronic kidney disease and associated mortality is either plateaued or increased, leading to escalating direct and indirect medical costs. Given limited resources, better risk stratification approaches to identify people at risk of rapid progression to end-stage kidney disease can reduce therapeutic inertia, facilitate timely interventions and identify the need for early nephrologist referral. Among people with chronic kidney disease G3a and beyond, the kidney failure risk equations (KFRE) have been externally validated and outperformed other risk prediction models. The KFRE can also guide the timing of preparation for kidney replacement therapy with improved healthcare resources planning and may prevent multiple complications and premature mortality among people with chronic kidney disease with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus. The present review summarizes the evidence of KFRE to date and call for future research to validate and evaluate its impact on cardiovascular and mortality outcomes, as well as healthcare resource utilization in multiethnic populations and different healthcare settings.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Reply to Darlow and Gray: Censorship is exclusion

Clark CJ, Al-Gharbi M, Baumeister RF, Bleske-Rechek A, Buss D, Ceci S, et al.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2024 May 21;121(21):e2404156121.

PMID: 38739797 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2404156121

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Letter to the editor regarding primary idiopathic constipation: could it be mediated through lack of thirst? A novel observation

Garg P, Clemente N, Mahak G, James KCW

J Gastrointest Surg, 2024 Jul;28(7):1220-1221.

PMID: 38740255 DOI: 10.1016/j.gassur.2024.05.004

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Examining the evidence between screen time and night eating behaviour with dietary intake related to metabolic syndrome: A narrative review

Sa'ari AS, Hamid MRA, 'Ain Azizan N, Ismail NH

Physiol Behav, 2024 Jun 01;280:114562.

PMID: 38641187 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114562

Screen time (ST) on digital devices has increased in recent decades due to digital development. Furthermore, constant engagement with digital devices alters sleep patterns, leading to nocturnal eating behaviour among users. These phenomena are therefore of great concern, as digital device addiction and night eating are associated with unhealthy food intake, increasing the metabolic syndrome (MetS) risks. The purpose of this review was to examine the evidence of the influence of ST and night eating behaviour (NEB) on dietary intake and its association with MetS based on previous literature. Prolonged ST and NEB have an association with excessive intake of energy from overconsumption of high-sugar and high-fat foods. However, the relationship between digital content and its influence on food intake is inconsistent. A higher MetS risk was found in individuals with longer ST due to a sedentary lifestyle, while positive energy balance and a shift in circadian rhythm contributed to night eaters. ST and NEB presented with a significant influence on food intake in adults. Additionally, unhealthy food intake due to excessive consumption of empty-calorie foods such as sweet and fatty foods due to addiction to electronic devices and eating at night has a detrimental effect on metabolic function. Therefore, improving food intake by reducing ST and night binges is essential to reduce the risk of MetS.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Doping yesterday, today, tomorrow: A challenge for the clinical laboratory

Verna R

Malays J Pathol, 2024 Apr;46(1):1-10.

PMID: 38682840

This work highlights the role of the clinical laboratory, in the early detection of the use of substances prohibited for doping. This is because most people who practice sports today are non-professional athletes and amateurs, in particular young kids. These persons are not subjected to anti-doping controls but are at risk for their health. Endocrinologists and laboratory tests, by detecting evidence of such usage can help protect their health. Anti-doping testing require specific instruments for qualitative and quantitative chemistry, to meet regulations of official competitions but are impossible to be used in every person because of high cost. A particular role the clinical laboratory can acquire in the future is through its molecular biology sections, when genetic doping will probably be a reality and quantitative chemistry will be unable to detect it. A brief history of doping is provided to understand the reasons of its spread. Although doping has great resonance nowadays, it is not a recent problem. It was common among ancient Greek wrestlers and Romans, who used mixtures of herbs and stimulants. Ancient Greece started the Olympic Games and winners assumed great esteem, akin to demi-god status. Therefore, any attempt to improve athletic performance was a norm, also because the damage caused by the substances used was not known at that time. The use became so widespread that soldiers also used drugs to better combat during recent wars, and doping was practiced by athletes, actors and musicians in attempts to obtain better performance results. Today, doping has been refined so as not to be discovered and there is a continuous race between those who promote new substances and those who, like the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), were created to defend the health of athletes and comply with regulations of competitions. The clinical laboratory plays a fundamental role in identifying the use of prohibited substances, especially in competitions not classified as official, which are the majority and involve thousands of amateurs. In this paper a series of laboratory tests are proposed in this perspective, at low cost without the need of qualitative/quantitative chemical analyses required by the sport jurisdictions. Finally, a glance into genetic doping illustrates a likely future and imminent practice.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Guillain-Barré syndrome

Payus AO, Jan TH, Raymond AA

Clin Med (Lond), 2020 Nov;20(6):e281.

PMID: 33199345 DOI: 10.7861/clinmed.Let.20.6.6

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Splenic abscesses complicating acute septicemic melioidosis

Chang CY

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop, 2023;56:e03942023.

PMID: 37792846 DOI: 10.1590/0037-8682-0394-2023

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Pteropine Orthoreovirus (PRV7S) does not Establish Persistent Infection in NP460 Cells but with Inflammatory Response Triggered

Loh MKA, Siew ZY, Leong PP, Koh RY, Chye SM, Wong ST, et al.

Biomed Environ Sci, 2023 Sep 20;36(9):886-891.

PMID: 37803902 DOI: 10.3967/bes2023.114

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Medicinal and mechanistic overview of artemisinin in the treatment of human diseases

Posadino AM, Giordo R, Pintus G, Mohammed SA, Orhan IE, Fokou PVT, et al.

Biomed Pharmacother, 2023 Jul;163:114866.

PMID: 37182516 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114866

Artemisinin (ART) is a bioactive compound isolated from the plant Artemisia annua and has been traditionally used to treat conditions such as malaria, cancer, viral infections, bacterial infections, and some cardiovascular diseases, especially in Asia, North America, Europe and other parts of the world. This comprehensive review aims to update the biomedical potential of ART and its derivatives for treating human diseases highlighting its pharmacokinetic and pharmacological properties based on the results of experimental pharmacological studies in vitro and in vivo. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of action, tested doses and toxic effects of artemisinin were also described. The analysis of data based on an up-to-date literature search showed that ART and its derivatives display anticancer effects along with a wide range of pharmacological activities such as antibacterial, antiviral, antimalarial, antioxidant and cardioprotective effects. These compounds have great potential for discovering new drugs used as adjunctive therapies in cancer and various other diseases. Detailed translational and experimental studies are however needed to fully understand the pharmacological effects of these compounds.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext COVID-19 infection in patients on long-term home parenteral nutrition for chronic intestinal failure

Pironi L, Jezerski D, Sobocki J, Lal S, Vanuytsel T, Theilla M, et al.

Clin Nutr ESPEN, 2023 Jun;55:212-220.

PMID: 37202049 DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2023.03.008

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To investigate the incidence and the severity of COVID-19 infection in patients enrolled in the database for home parenteral nutrition (HPN) for chronic intestinal failure (CIF) of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN).

METHODS: Period of observation: March 1st, 2020 March 1st, 2021.

INCLUSION CRITERIA: patients included in the database since 2015 and still receiving HPN on March 1st, 2020 as well as new patients included in the database during the period of observation. Data related to the previous 12 months and recorded on March 1st 2021: 1) occurrence of COVID-19 infection since the beginning of the pandemic (yes, no, unknown); 2) infection severity (asymptomatic; mild, no-hospitalization; moderate, hospitalization no-ICU; severe, hospitalization in ICU); 3) vaccinated against COVID-19 (yes, no, unknown); 4) patient outcome on March 1st 2021: still on HPN, weaned off HPN, deceased, lost to follow up.

RESULTS: Sixty-eight centres from 23 countries included 4680 patients. Data on COVID-19 were available for 55.1% of patients. The cumulative incidence of infection was 9.6% in the total group and ranged from 0% to 21.9% in the cohorts of individual countries. Infection severity was reported as: asymptomatic 26.7%, mild 32.0%, moderate 36.0%, severe 5.3%. Vaccination status was unknown in 62.0% of patients, non-vaccinated 25.2%, vaccinated 12.8%. Patient outcome was reported as: still on HPN 78.6%, weaned off HPN 10.6%, deceased 9.7%, lost to follow up 1.1%. A higher incidence of infection (p = 0.04), greater severity of infection (p

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Discrepancy between clinical presentation and cerebral imaging requires further diagnostic effort

Finsterer J

Med J Malaysia, 2023 Mar;78(2):260-261.

PMID: 36988540

No abstract available.

Matched MeSH terms: Humans

Fulltext Could it be that the B.1.1.7 lineage is more deadly?

Kow CS, Hasan SS

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2022 May;43(5):678-679.

PMID: 33557960 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2021.59

Matched MeSH terms: Humans