MyMedR

Displaying all 5 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext A case series of hereditary congenital cataract

Nurul Faaiqah Jainuddin, Azlindarita Aisyah Mohd Abdullah, Visvaraja Subrayan, Norlina Ramli, Nurliza Khaliddin

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(2):336-338.
MyJurnal

Congenital cataract is a major cause of preventable blindness in children. It can be either hereditary or non-hereditary. In this case series, we present three cases of congenital cataract with a strong family history. The grandparents
and parents of these patients had cataract diagnosed in late childhood whilst the patients in this case series were
diagnosed with congenital cataract earlier. There was no history of consanguineous marriage in any of the families.
These cases show that, in the presence of a strong family history, a child will present with congenital cataract earlier
in their life. Hence, babies from such families should be screened at birth and at regular intervals within the first
year of life to enable early diagnosis and subsequent surgical intervention to reduce the incidence and burden of
amblyopia.

Matched MeSH terms: Grandparents
Fulltext Grandparents - Grandchildren Relationship in Iran, 2017

Momtaz YA, Vidouje MM, Foroughan M, Sahaf R, Laripour R

Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health, 2018;14:296-303.
PMID: 30972129 DOI: 10.2174/1745017901814010296

Introduction: With the continuing growth of aged populations, it is imperative to find ways to maintain and improve the quality of life in old age. It has been documented that grandparents-grandchildren relationship is significantly contributed to quality of life of older adults. This study was conducted to identify the status and associated factors of grandparents-grandchildren relationship in a sample of Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 377 community dwelling older adults 60 years and over living in Kashan, Iran. A multistage proportional random sampling technique was applied to obtain the sample. The grandparent -grandchildren relationship was measured by a researcher-developed 16-item scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and AMOS 23.
Results: The mean age of the respondents was 70.42(SD = 8.20) years. About 62% of the respondents were female and 60.7% were married. The average score of grandparents-grandchild relationship was 67.60(SD = 12.47). The multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant model (F (11, 365) = 19.05, P < 0.001), where information communication technology of grandparents, geographical distance between grandparents and grandchildren, and the quality of relationship between grandparents and parents of grandchildren were the most important predictors of the grandparents-grandchildren relationship.
Conclusion: The findings from the current study showed that status of grandparents-grandchildren relationship is moderate to high and influenced by some factors. It is, therefore, suggested that policymakers pay more attention to strengthening grandparent-grandchild relationship by providing educational programs for families and encouraging the elderly to learn and use information communication technology.

Matched MeSH terms: Grandparents
Grandmothers as gatekeepers? The role of grandmothers in influencing health-seeking for mothers and newborns in rural northern Ghana

Gupta ML, Aborigo RA, Adongo PB, Rominski S, Hodgson A, Engmann CM, et al.

Glob Public Health, 2015 Oct;10(9):1078-91.
PMID: 25635475 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2014.1002413

Previous research suggests that care-seeking in rural northern Ghana is often governed by a woman's husband or compound head. This study was designed to explore the role grandmothers (typically a woman's mother-in-law) play in influencing maternal and newborn healthcare decisions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 35 mothers of newborns, 8 traditional birth attendants and local healers, 16 community leaders and 13 healthcare practitioners. An additional 18 focus groups were conducted with stakeholders such as household heads, compound leaders and grandmothers. In this region, grandmothers play many roles. They may act as primary support providers to pregnant mothers, care for newborns following delivery, preserve cultural traditions and serve as repositories of knowledge on local medicine. Grandmothers may also serve as gatekeepers for health-seeking behaviour, especially with regard to their daughters and daughters-in-law. This research also sheds light on the potential gap between health education campaigns that target mothers as autonomous decision-makers, and the reality of a more collectivist community structure in which mothers rarely make such decisions without the support of other community members.

Matched MeSH terms: Grandparents/psychology*
Fulltext Focus group discussions on female genital cutting

Siti Nur Afiqah Zahari, Yufu Iguchi, Abdul Rashid

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):18-18.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is a sensitive issue as this topic is always associated with religion and culture in Malaysia. In the past, FGC is performed by the traditional midwives. However, this practice has been med-icalized nowadays. This study aimed to understand the reasons of performing FGC, the decision making, the practice and the future of FGC among rural community in Northern Malaysia. Methods: Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted on three groups of young women aged 18-45, older women aged 45 and above and a group of married adult men. All of them were Malay Muslims who were conveniently selected from a rural village in Northern Malay-sia. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the FGD focusing on the reasons, decision making, the practice and the future of FGC. Data was collected until saturation of information was achieved. These participants were chosen based on their willingness to take part in the discussion and also based on their personality of being talkative and able to give feedback to the questions. Results: The result of the interviews revealed that religion is the reason of practicing FGC. All of the participants from each FGD prefer to go to the doctor in the clinic compared to the traditional midwives. The men in this FGD mentioned that they rarely involved in the decision making of the FGC and only the mother or the grandmother to take the responsibility to decide. Conclusion: Generally, majority Malay Muslims community from the rural areas in Northern Malaysia believed that FGC is compulsory in Islam and they prefer to go to the doctors to perform FGC.

Matched MeSH terms: Grandparents
Fulltext High Dose of Intravenous Allogeneic Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (CLV-100) Infusion Displays Better Immunomodulatory Effect among Healthy Volunteers: A Phase 1 Clinical Study

Chin SP, Mohd-Shahrizal MY, Liyana MZ, Then KY, Cheong SK

Stem Cells Int, 2020;2020:8877003.
PMID: 33061992 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8877003

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) express growth factors and other cytokines that stimulate repair and control the immune response. MSCs are also immunoprivileged with low risk of rejection. Umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UCMSCs) are particularly attractive as an off-the-shelf allogeneic treatment in emergency medical conditions. We aim to determine the safety and efficacy of intravenous allogeneic infusion of UCMSCs (CLV-100) by Cytopeutics® (Selangor, Malaysia) in healthy volunteers, and to determine the effective dose at which an immunomodulatory effect is observed. Methodology. Umbilical cord samples were collected after delivery of full-term, healthy babies with written consent from both parents. All 3 generations (newborn, parents, and grandparents) were screened for genetic mutations, infections, cancers, and other inherited diseases. Samples were transferred to a certified Good Manufacturing Practice laboratory for processing. Subjects were infused with either low dose (LD, 65 million cells) or high dose (HD, 130 million cells) of CLV-100 and followed up for 6 months. We measured cytokines using ELISA including anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), interleukin 10 (IL-10), pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6), and the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α).
Results: 11 healthy subjects (LD, n = 5; HD, n = 6; mean age of 55 ± 13 years) were recruited. All subjects tolerated the CLV-100 infusion well with no adverse reaction throughout the study especially in vital parameters and routine blood tests. At 6 months, the HD group had significantly higher levels of anti-inflammatory markers IL1-RA (705 ± 160 vs. 306 ± 36 pg/mL; p = 0.02) and IL-10 (321 ± 27 vs. 251 ± 28 pg/mL; p = 0.02); and lower levels of proinflammatory marker TNF-α (74 ± 23 vs. 115 ± 15 pg/mL; p = 0.04) compared to LD group.
Conclusion: Allogeneic UCMSCs CLV-100 infusion is safe and well-tolerated in low and high doses. Anti-inflammatory effect is observed with a high-dose infusion.

Matched MeSH terms: Grandparents