Assessment of self-medication practice and the potential to use a mobile app to ensure safe and effective self-medication among the public in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Self-medication (SM) plays an essential role in maintaining a good quality of life for individuals. Previous studies suggested that efforts are still needed to ensure the safe practice of SM. The advances in technology and the internet have granted the availability of abundant and easily accessed medication information. However, identifying the reliability of information could be a challenge for the public. This study aimed to investigate the attitude toward SM, determinants of SM, and knowledge about medication in Saudi Arabia. Also, this study aimed to assess the willingness to use a mobile app that would be specifically designed to guide the practice of SM. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a form of an online survey among the public in Saudi Arabia. QuestionPro® platform was utilized to collect data from respondents for two months. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM® SPSS® statistics version 26. Results: A total of 1226 individuals completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of SM practice was 59%. The most frequent reason for not practicing SM was the concern about the drug safety issues (38%). Significant statistical associations were identified between SM and several demographic variables, e.g., age, gender, education, health insurance, and having a chronic illness. Most respondents (82.7%) were aware of the necessity of improving SM practice. Knowledge about different aspects of SM (e.g., proper drug selection and administration) was evaluated based on the consumer's perspective. Our data showed that overall knowledge about SM was limited for many consumers. The assessment of the participant's willingness to use a SM app indicated that 47.6% were interested in using such app. This willingness was significantly associated with the consumer's attitude toward SM and being a chronically ill patient. Conclusion: SM is a common practice in Saudi Arabia. However, public awareness about SM is limited. So, implementing new strategies to enhance knowledge and ensure the safety of SM is important. A large proportion of participants were interested to use a SM app, which would improve SM practice. Therefore, we recommend developing a SM-oriented app to be used by the public in Saudi Arabia.

Elevated plasma level of the glycolysis byproduct methylglyoxal on admission is an independent biomarker of mortality in ICU COVID-19 patients.

Biomarkers to identify ICU COVID-19 patients at high risk for mortality are urgently needed for therapeutic care and management. Here we found plasma levels of the glycolysis byproduct methylglyoxal (MG) were 4.4-fold higher in ICU patients upon admission that later died (n = 33), and 1.7-fold higher in ICU patients that survived (n = 32),compared to uninfected controls (n = 30). The increased MG in patients that died correlated inversely with the levels of the MG-degrading enzyme glyoxalase-1 (r2 = - 0.50), and its co-factor glutathione (r2 = - 0.63), and positively with monocytes (r2 = 0.29). The inflammation markers, SSAO (r2 = 0.52), TNF-α (r2 = 0.41), IL-1ß (r2 = 0.25), CRP (r2 = 0.26) also correlated positively with MG. Logistic regression analysis provides evidence of a significant relationship between the elevated MG upon admission into ICU and death (P < 0.0001), with 42% of the death variability explained. From these data we conclude that elevated plasma MG on admission is a novel independent biomarker that predicts mortality in ICU COVID-19 patients.

In the Telencephalon, GluN2C NMDA Receptor Subunit mRNA is Predominately Expressed in Glial Cells and GluN2D mRNA in Interneurons.

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are widely distributed in the brain with high concentrations in the telencephalon where they modulate synaptic plasticity, working memory, and other functions. While the actions of the predominate GluN2 NMDAR subunits, GluN2A and GluN2B are relatively well understood, the function of GluN2C and GluN2D subunits in the telencephalon is largely unknown. To better understand the possible role of GluN2C subunits, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) together with multiple cell markers to define the distribution and type of cells expressing GluN2C mRNA. Using a GluN2C-KO mouse as a negative control, GluN2C mRNA expression was only found in non-neuronal cells (NeuN-negative cells) in the hippocampus, striatum, amygdala, and cerebral cortex. For these regions, a significant fraction of GFAP-positive cells also expressed GluN2C mRNA. Overall, for the telencephalon, the globus pallidus and olfactory bulb were the only regions where GluN2C was expressed in neurons. In contrast to GluN2C, GluN2D subunit mRNA colocalized with neuronal and not astrocyte markers or GluN2C mRNA in the telencephalon (except for the globus pallidus). GluN2C mRNA did, however, colocalize with GluN2D in the thalamus where neuronal GluN2C expression is found. These findings strongly suggest that GluN2C has a very distinct function in the telencephalon compared to its role in other brain regions and compared to other GluN2-containing NMDARs. NMDARs containing GluN2C may have a specific role in regulating L-glutamate or D-serine release from astrocytes in response to L-glutamate spillover from synaptic activity.