Relationship of serum inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthase with exercise in healthy adult males and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: The importance of physical activities in the control of diabetes mellitus disorder is well known but its correlation with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in diabetic patients needs to be assessed. The aim of the study is to examine inducible and endothelial nitric oxide synthase in healthy adult male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in relation to exercise. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that has been performed in the Department of Physiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Subjects were divided into Group 1: control (n=79), and Group 2: T2DM (n=85). Each group was subdivided into three subcategories: sedentary, moderate activity, and active subjects. Serum nitric oxide (NO), iNOS, eNOS, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), nitrates, and nitrites, were compared between different groups. RESULTS: We observed significant differences in iNOS in diabetic patients compared to the control [29.1 (2.8) vs. 22.4 (1.4), p=0.050] with a significant decrease in eNOS when compared to the control group [79.5 (4.8) vs. 101.8 (5.7), p=0.003]. In the control group, eNOS showed significant differences (increase) between subgroups; sedentary, moderate, and active control subjects [77.4 (9.2), 114.7 (9.3), and 105.6 (9.5), p=0.026]. It also showed insignificant differences between subgroups in iNOS [23.4 (2.5), 24.2 (2.2), and 20.4 (2.4), p=0.520]. In addition, hsCRP showed a decrease with exercise but with no statistically significant difference between the groups [4.0 (0.5), 3.3 (0.3), and 2.9 (0.4), p=0.271]. In the diabetic patients' group, a significant difference (decrease) between subgroups in iNOS [43.5 (4.8), 20.8 (3.9), and 19.8 (4.6), p<0.001] and hsCRP [5.7 (0.5), 3.8 (0.4), and 3.6 (0.5), p=0.006] was detected. In addition, eNOS showed a decrease with exercise but with no statistically significant difference between groups [82.9 (7.8), 74.6 (7.9), and 81.7 (10.2), p=0.741]. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with T2DM have shown significantly low eNOS and high iNOS levels. Furthermore, regular exercise can significantly decrease iNOS in patients with T2DM. Therefore, the importance of exercise for diabetic patients has to be emphasized to prevent long-term complications related to diabetes mellitus.

Knowledge, attitude and practices of schoolteachers toward epilepsy and students with epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate and evaluate teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward students with epilepsy and to determine the association between selected demographic factors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was approved by the ethical committee of King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted at the department of physiology, King Saud University, from October 2020 until October 2021. The data was collected through anonymous online self-administered 44-item questionnaires. The sampling technique used was Snowball sampling from ten randomly selected schools in Riyadh. RESULTS: The total sample size was 456 participants. The mean age of the respondents was 41.5 ± 8.52, and a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. The mean years of experience of the respondents is 16.14 ± 8.85. Almost all teachers knew that epilepsy is a neurological disorder (97.8%). However, females were more likely to know the cause of epilepsy (p=0.003). The majority of public-school teachers (80.2%) thought that epileptic students have normal intelligence (p=0.004). A considerable proportion of public-school teachers (82.8%) do not mind having a student with epilepsy in their classes (p=0.012). The vast majority of schoolteachers (95.4%) have not had any training on how to deal with an epileptic student during a seizure. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that schoolteachers have very good knowledge about epilepsy but poor practice towards it. Well-directed training programs are needed to qualify teachers in providing first aid to epileptic students during seizures.