Anti-hepatitis B activities of Myanmar medicinal plants: a narrative review of current evidence.

Hepatitis B is one of the major burdens for health services and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality from cirrhosis of liver and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current treatment strategies using nucleos(t)ide analogue reverse-transcriptase inhibitors or interferons are targeted for the long-term suppression of hepatitis B DNA. However, functional cure of hepatitis B infection (HBsAg clearance) was difficult to attain with such treatments. Therefore, new treatment strategies or innovative treatments are urgently needed. The new treatments should focus on the potential therapeutic targets such as covalently closed circular DNA which may be important for the HBsAg clearance. Plant based medicines have been used in different traditional medicine practices and these natural products/compounds serve as a good source of information or clues for use in drug discovery and design. Many natural products were found to be effective against hepatitis B virus and some even have better therapeutic activities than currently used compounds. This review summarizes the current evidence of Myanmar medicinal plants in basic and clinical research which shows promising potential for the development of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of hepatitis B.

Adverse Drug Reactions in Selected Wards of the Yangon General Hospital and Yangon Specialty Hospital During the First Quarter of 2019: An Active Pharmacovigilance Study in Myanmar.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies in Europe and the USA have reported a high prevalence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but data on local ADRs in Myanmar are sparse. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to study ADRs in patients admitted to selected wards of Yangon General Hospital (YGH) and Yangon Specialty Hospital (YSH), Myanmar. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study in three hospital wards during the first quarter of 2019. Suspected ADRs were carefully investigated in a face-to-face interview with each patient and via review of clinical records. Patients transferred to other wards or discharged were followed-up by the researchers until day 28 after admission. ADRs were divided into those that (1) led to the admission and (2) occurred during the hospital stay or after discharge (up to day 28 after admission). RESULTS: A total of 65 ADRs were identified, with 47 (29.4%) of 160 patients experiencing at least one ADR. Among these, 16 (24.6%) had led to hospital admission and 49 (75.4%) occurred in 31 patients during their hospital stay. Of 160 patients, 21 had taken at least one herbal remedy and six of these developed an ADR. Five ADR-drug associations (hypokalaemia with methylprednisolone, increased transaminase levels with standard antituberculosis drugs, upper gastrointestinal bleeding with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, constipation with tramadol, and increased transaminase levels with herbal remedies) represented 18 (27.7%) of the 65 ADRs in this study. According to the Schumock and Thornton preventability scale, more than half of these ADRs (35 [53.9%]) were preventable. CONCLUSION: The present study highlights the existence of ADRs among patients attending these hospitals. The implementation of active pharmacovigilance in hospitals could be a helpful first step to improving the awareness of unwanted effects of medicines and patient safety, as well as a way to strengthen the national pharmacovigilance system in countries such as Myanmar.

Effect of Probiotics for the Prevention of Acute Radiation-Induced Diarrhoea Among Cervical Cancer Patients: a Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study.

Radiotherapy is the mainstay treatment of cervical cancer and the most common acute side effect is radiation-induced diarrhoea (RID), which can affect up to 80% of the patients. The most frequently used probiotics for the RID in previous studies with somewhat positive results are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of a probiotic containing live Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 plus Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 for the prevention of acute (RID) among cervical cancer patients. Patients receiving external beam pelvic radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy were randomized into probiotic or placebo groups and were double-blinded. The probiotic group received the capsules containing 1.75 billion lyophilized live bacteria to be taken one capsule three times daily beginning from the first day until the end of radiotherapy, and the placebo group received identically appearing capsules containing starch with the same schedule. Every patient received the standard dietary recommendations. The patients were assessed daily during radiotherapy and follow-up weekly for 3 weeks after radiotherapy. Total 54 patients were analyzed. The incidence of diarrhoea was reduced in the probiotic group than the placebo group (53.8 and 82.1%, p < 0.05). The mild-to-moderate and severe diarrhoea were significantly reduced in the probiotic group (p < 0.05). The use of loperamide as an anti-diarrhoeal medication was significantly reduced in the probiotic group than the placebo group (p < 0.01). The difference in grade 2 abdominal pain and episodes of abdominal pain in days were also significant (p < 0.001). Therefore, supplementation of probiotic is an easy and effective way to reduce the incidence and severity of RID in cervical cancer patients.