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Fulltext The Effectiveness of a Wireless Modular Bed Absence Sensor Device for Fall Prevention among Older Inpatients

Subermaniam K, Welfred R, Subramanian P, Chinna K, Ibrahim F, Mohktar MS, et al.

Front Public Health, 2016;4:292.
PMID: 28119908 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00292

Falls and fall-related injuries are increasingly serious issues among elderly inpatients due to population aging. The bed-exit alarm has only previously been evaluated in a handful of studies with mixed results. Therefore, we evaluated the effectiveness of a modular bed absence sensor device (M-BAS) in detecting bed exits among older inpatients in a middle income nation in East Asia.
Fulltext Malaysian macroalga Padina australis Hauck attenuates high dose corticosterone-mediated oxidative damage in PC12 cells mimicking the effects of depression

Subermaniam K, Yow YY, Lim SH, Koh OH, Wong KH

Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Jun;27(6):1435-1445.
PMID: 32489279 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.04.042

Oxidative damage has been associated with the pathophysiology of depression. Macroalgae are equipped with antioxidant defense system to counteract the effects of free radicals. We explored the use of Malaysian Padina australis to attenuate high dose corticosterone-mediated oxidative damage in a cellular model mimicking depression. Fresh specimen of P. australis was freeze-dried and extracted sequentially with hexanes, ethyl acetate and ethanol. The extracts were screened for their phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities. Ethanol extract demonstrated the most potent antioxidant capacity and was selected for subsequent assays against high dose corticosterone of 600 µM-mediated oxidative damage in the rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The corticosterone reduced the cell viability, glutathione (GSH) level, aconitase activity, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP); and increased the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and apoptosis. However, the extent of oxidative damage was reversed by 0.25-0.5 mg/mL ethanol extract suggesting a possible role of P. australis-based antioxidants in the mitochondrial defense against constant ROS generation and regulation of antioxidant pathway. The effects were similar to that of desipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. Our findings indicate that P. australis can be developed as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant to mitigate antidepressant-like effects.
Fulltext Marine algae as emerging therapeutic alternatives for depression: A review

Subermaniam K, Teoh SL, Yow YY, Tang YQ, Lim LW, Wong KH

Iran J Basic Med Sci, 2021 Aug;24(8):997-1013.
PMID: 34804417 DOI: 10.22038/ijbms.2021.54800.12291

Depression is a complex heterogeneous brain disorder characterized by a range of symptoms, resulting in psychomotor and cognitive disabilities and suicidal thoughts. Its prevalence has reached an alarming level affecting millions of people globally. Despite advances in current pharmacological treatments, the heterogenicity of clinical response and incidences of adverse effects have shifted research focus to identification of new natural substances with minimal or no adverse effects as therapeutic alternatives. Marine algae-derived extracts and their constituents are considered potential sources of secondary metabolites with diverse beneficial effects. Marine algae with enormous health benefits are emerging as a natural source for discovering new alternative antidepressants. Its medicinal properties exhibited shielding efficacy against neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction, which are indicated to underlie the pathogenesis of many neurological disorders. Marine algae have been found to ameliorate depressive-like symptoms and behaviors in preclinical and clinical studies by restoring monoaminergic neurotransmission, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function, neuroplasticity, and continuous neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus via modulating brain-derived neurotrophic factors and antineuroinflammatory activity. Although antidepressant effects of marine algae have not been validated in comparison with currently available synthetic antidepressants, they have been reported to have effects on the pathophysiology of depression, thus suggesting their potential as novel antidepressants. In this review, we analyzed the currently available research on the potential benefits of marine algae on depression, including their effects on the pathophysiology of depression, potential clinical relevance of their antidepressant effects in preclinical and clinical studies, and the underlying mechanisms of these effects.
Fulltext Malaysian brown macroalga Padina australis mitigates lipopolysaccharide-stimulated neuroinflammation in BV2 microglial cells

Subermaniam K, Lew SY, Yow YY, Lim SH, Yu WS, Lim LW, et al.

Iran J Basic Med Sci, 2023;26(6):669-679.
PMID: 37275754 DOI: 10.22038/IJBMS.2023.67835.14842

OBJECTIVES: Neuroinflammation and microglial activation are pathological features in central nervous system disorders. Excess levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in exacerbation of neuronal damage during chronic activation of microglial cells. Padina australis, a brown macroalga, has been demonstrated to have various pharmacological properties such as anti-neuroinflammatory activity. However, the underlying mechanism mediating the anti-neuroinflammatory potential of P. australis remains poorly understood. We explored the use of Malaysian P. australis in attenuating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated neuroinflammation in BV2 microglial cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fresh specimens of P. australis were freeze-dried and subjected to ethanol extraction. The ethanol extract (PAEE) was evaluated for its protective effects against 1 µg/ml LPS-stimulated neuroinflammation in BV2 microglial cells.
RESULTS: LPS reduced the viability of BV2 microglia cells and increased the levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). However, the neuroinflammatory response was reversed by 0.5-2.0 mg/ml PAEE in a dose-dependent manner. Analysis of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) of PAEE subfractions revealed five compounds; methyl α-eleostearate, ethyl α-eleostearate, niacinamide, stearamide, and linoleic acid.
CONCLUSION: The protective effects of PAEE against LPS-stimulated neuroinflammation in BV2 microglial cells were found to be mediated by the suppression of excess levels of intracellular ROS and pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines, denoting the protective role of P. australis in combating continuous neuroinflammation. Our findings support the use of P. australis as a possible therapeutic for neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Cardioprotective effect of virgin coconut oil in heated palm oil diet-induced hypertensive rats

Kamisah Y, Periyah V, Lee KT, Noor-Izwan N, Nurul-Hamizah A, Nurul-Iman BS, et al.

Pharm Biol, 2015;53(9):1243-9.
PMID: 25853965 DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2014.971383

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) contains high antioxidant activity which may have protective effects on the heart in hypertensive rats.