Nutritional assessment and obesity in Down syndrome children and their siblings in Saudi Arabia

To assess the nutritional status and prevalence of obesity among children with Down syndrome [DS]. The study group comprised pre-pubertal children, with clinically and cytogenetically proven DS. Healthy siblings, closest in age to the DS children, were used as a control group. Body weight, height, body mass index [BMI], triceps skinfold thickness [TSFT], and macro- and micronutrient intakes were measured in both groups. The study was conducted in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between February and May 2011. Children with DS were shorter than their siblings, but had comparable weights. The DS children had higher BMIs and higher TSFTs, compared with their siblings. The prevalence of overweight and obesity differed significantly between the DS and control groups. The DS children had significantly lower intakes of fat, protein, retinol, riboflavin, and potassium compared with their siblings. Obesity appears to be a prominent feature among Saudi DS children

Physician as a manager: personal and managerial characteristics, Saudi Arabia

The emergence of physicians' roles in key administrative positions within many King Saudi Arabia health care organizations has represented a major change in the medical profession over the last two decades. This have created a need for physicians who are willing to assume a high level of responsibility for managing evolving health care organizations. The study explores the perception of physician managers regarding their work, personal and managerial characteristics. The data for this study were obtained from a sample of 200 physicians working in management positions in different health care organizations in Riyadh. Physicians were selected at random with probability proportional to size from a list containing managers in all health care organization to participate in the study. Our results indicated that physician managers lack administration skills. No formal training in medical administration and management because management principles are not integrated in the medical context and the majority were experienced in management for less than four years. Very few possess the technical competencies such as strategic planning, financial and economics knowledge. Boredom with medical practice, improvement of personal position and encouragement from others are related to being older, having more years in medicine and interest in medicine is reduced. The finding also supported the notion that physician manager can maintain stable levels of loyality to professional interest and organization. This dual commitment is related to work-related characteristics involving sharing his time favorably to management job and to patient care. To improve their management skills physicians can benefit from management education programs such as those offered by King Saud University

effect of dietary supplementation of N-acetyl-L-cysteine on glutathione concentration and lipid peroxidation in cigarette smoke-exposed rats fed a low-protein diet

The aim of the study is to investigate the modulatory effects of dietary supplementation of N-acetyl-L-cysteine [NAC] on glutathione [GSH] concentration in liver and lung, and lipid peroxidation in cigarette smoke-exposed rats fed a low-protein diet. Rats were divided randomly into 4 dietary groups; 8 per group. The control group [Group 1] was fed a normal-protein diet and received room air as a sham-smoke exposure. Group 2 was fed a normal-protein diet, Group 3 was fed with a low-protein diet and Group 4 was fed with a low-protein diet supplemented with NAC, and exposed to the smoke of 10 cigarettes/hour/day until the end of the experiment [4 weeks] period. Glutathione in liver and lung and serum albumin level were measured. Also, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS] were measured, as an indication of oxidative stress. The study was conducted in the College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the year 2003. Smoke-exposed rats fed with the low-protein diet had significantly lower hepatic GSH concentration compared to other dietary groups. Moreover, NAC supplementation to the low-protein diet, in the smoke-exposed rats, significantly increased hepatic GSH concentration compared to the corresponding animals fed the same amount of protein, but without NAC supplementation. No reduction in lung GSH concentration occurred in cigarette-smoke rats fed a low-protein diet supplemented with NAC. Cigarette smoking significantly increased the level of TBARS in serum in all dietary groups compared to the control. However, the elevation in the TBARS level was higher in the low protein dietary group. The results show no significant reduction in the lung and hepatic GSH concentration in cigarette smoke-exposed rats fed a normal-protein diet compared with the corresponding control rats fed a same level of protein. The study indicates the efficiency of NAC supplementation in scavenging free-radicals and enhancing GSH concentration in smoke-exposed rats fed a low-protein diet