Impact of pharmacovigilance on adverse drug reactions reporting in hospitalized internal medicine patients at Saudi Arabian teaching hospital

To determine the incidence, diversity of [ADRs], and impact of pharmacovigilance on reporting. This prospective and retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between January to December 2011 in 600 patients of ADR. Data regarding age and gender distribution of the patients, incidence rate, drugs, body systems/organs involved in ADR, time of occurrence of adverse drug reactions, total number of drugs administered, and impact of pharmacovigilance on finding the incidence rate of ADR were recorded. Comparison of the 2 data was carried out to determine the impact of pharmacovigilance. Incidence rate of ADRs in retrospective study was 3.1% and 5.5% in the prospective study. The highest incidence of ADR [retrospective 15% and prospective 14.5%] was observed in both groups in patients receiving more than 10 drugs. The frequency of ADR in relation to age in both groups was highest in patients of age >60 years; it was 52.7% in retrospective study and 54.5% in prospective study. Antibiotics were the more frequently involved in ADR, [48.5% in prospective study and 36.9% in retrospective study]. The system most commonly involved in ADR was gastrointestinal tract 47.4% in retrospective study and 57.6% in prospective study. None of the ADR proved to be fatal. Low incidence of hospitalized ADR in our study [5.5%] is due to lack of awareness in healthcare professionals in reporting ADR. Undoubtedly, pharmacovigilance brought more patients with ADR to record

Effects of heney on stress-induced ulcers in rats

The effects of honey on stress-induced ulcers were examined in rats. Stress was induced by using the Strain and Water Immersion technique [6 hours]. Ulcer incidence and severity were quantified by an ulcer index.A honey solution, which consisted of 40% honey in water, was administered orally in dose volumes of I, 3, 5, 7 and 14 ml/kg, 20 mm before stress induction in 48 hr-fasting rats. Control rats received equivalent volumes of a Honey Control Solution [HCS]. The systemic effects of honey on stress induced ulcers were examined by intraperitoneal injection of honey [3.5 ml/kg] 10 mm. before stress induction. The effect of a honey solution on gastro-intestinal tract motility was examined by using a charcoal meal incorporated with honey or HCS. Results show that intraluminal honey administration lowers the incidence of stress-induced ulcers by 15% relative to that of control rats who received saline [X2 = 3.1, P =.07]. Rats pretreated with a honey solution [3, 5, 7 and 14 ml/kg] showed a significantly lower ulcer index than HCS-pretreated rats [P <.05]. Incorporation of honey into a charcoal meal lowers G.I.T. stress-induced hypermotility by 37.8% of matched control received saline incorporated charcoal meal. It was concluded that intraluminal administration of honey decreases the severity of stress-induced ulcers in rats

Effect of schistosomiasis mansoni on open-field exploratory behaviour in mice

The response of mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni to a novel environment has been investigated in an attempt to study the effects of the disease on brain cognitive function by using Opto-Varimix instrument and Autotrack computer program. Two to 18 weeks infected mice showed lower ambulatory activities than their matched controls with the largest reduction occurring between weeks 6 to 10. Maximum effects were observed in week 8. The first 5 minutes of ambulatory activities, designated as the "first session", were 22.5% lower in infected mice as compared with controls. The decline in the first session activities of infected mice was slower than the controls. Infected mice showed fewer stereotype movements with maximum reduction in week 16 of infection. There was no correlation between mice ambulatory activities or stereotype movements and infection duration. The importance of these findings in relation to the course of the disease and the underlying mechanism[s] are discussed

Effects of a Muslim-style fast on blood sugar and hepatic glycogen levels in rats

Effects of a Muslim-like fasting scheme on blood glucose and liver glycogen was determined in rats. The fasting scheme consisted of periodic [12h] simultaneous food and water deprivation during the night, with free access to them in the day, for 1, 3, 10 or 21 days. Totally fasting rats showed lower fasting blood sugar than control rats [deprived of food only]. Glucose levels in totally fasting rats decreased as fasting days increased, they were 5.2 +/- 0.3, 5.05 +/- 0.2, 4.2 +/- 0.1 and 3.95 +/- 0.2 mmol/1 in 1, 3, 10 and 21 days of periodic total fasting. The glucose levels 4 hours after food in totally fasting rats were significantly higher than their matched fasting levels p