Arbutin prevents alterations in mitochondrial and lysosomal enzymes in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction: An in vivo study.

The present study demonstrated the protective effects of arbutin (ARB) on hyperlipidemia, mitochondrial, and lysosomal membrane damage and on the DNA damage in rats with isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction (MI). Rats were pretreated with ARB (25 and 50 mg/kg body weight (bw)) for 21 days. After pretreatment with ARB, MI was induced by subcutaneous injection of ISO (60 mg/kg bw) for two consecutive days at an interval of 24 h. The levels of TC, TG, and FFA were increased and decreased the level of PL in the heart tissue of ISO-induced MI rats. Very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were increased while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was decreased in the plasma of ISO-administered rats. A heart mitochondrial fraction of the ISO rats showed a significant decrease in the activities of mitochondrial enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase. The activities of lysosomal enzymes (ß-glucosidase, ß-glucuronidase, α-galactosidase, ß-galactosidase, cathepsin-B, and cathepsin-D) were increased significantly in the heart tissue homogenate of disease control rats. In ISO-induced MI, rat's significant increase in the percentage of tail DNA and tail length, and a decrease in the level of head DNA were also observed. ARB administration to MI rats brought all these parameters to near normality, showing the protective effect of ARB against MI in rats. The results of this study demonstrated that the 50 mg/kg bw of ARB shows higher protection than 25 mg/kg bw against ISO-induced damage.

The impact of music guided deep breathing exercise on blood pressure control - A participant blinded randomised controlled study.

INTRODUCTION: As pharmacological treatment of hypertension has become a burden worldwide, the study looked into nonpharmacological ways of reducing blood pressure. The objective was to determine if music guided, slow and deep breathing will reduce the blood pressure among patients with hypertension in eight weeks. METHODS: A participant blinded, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial was conducted in which the participants in the intervention group (IG) practiced deep breathing exercise guided by sound cues and those in the control group (CG) listened to the music. The primary end point was reduction in blood pressure at eight weeks. RESULTS: 87 patients, 46 males and 41 females with mean age of 61.1 years were recruited and 93.1% of them successfully completed the study. There was significant reduction in systolic and diastolic Blood Pressure from baseline by 8 weeks in both groups. The reduction in Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the control arm was 10.5mmHg compared to 8.3mmHg (p<0.001) in intervention group. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reduction in control and intervention groups were 5.2 mmHg (p<0.001) and 5.6 mmHg (p<0.001) respectively. The absolute difference in SBP reduction from baseline in IG & CG was -2.2 (95%CI: -7.8 to 3.5) and DBP was -0.4 (95%CI: -2.9 to 3.6). However, blood pressure reduction between the two groups was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Both listening to music and deep breathing exercise were associated with a clinically significant reduction in SBP and DBP. However, deep breathing exercise did not augment the benefit of music in reducing BP.

Journey of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in a Developing Country over 5 Years (2010 - 2015).

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection with serious medical, sexual, and relationship consequences. HPV vaccine protection is available globally but unfortunately vaccine uptake is inconsistent everywhere. From this study, it was observed that the awareness of cervical cancer, HPV virus and HPV vaccination in Malaysia is high, at 83.1%, 73.9% and 73.3% of respondents, respectively. However, a considerably low percentage had undergone HPV vaccination (8.6%) compared to those who had experienced a Pap smear (32.9%). Awareness between cervical cancer and HPV virus and vaccination was low. Health care providers and the governing bodies have to play a vital role in disseminating holistic information on the vaccine and the importance of getting vaccinated to the public more vigorously in Malaysia.

A Pilot Randomized Control Cross over Study Evaluating the Effectiveness and Safety of Mechanical Percussor Compared with Conventional Chest Physiotherapy in Adults with Productive Cough.

INTRODUCTION: Conventional Chest Physiotherapy (CCPT) remains the mainstay of treatment for sputum mobilization in patients with productive cough such as bronchiectasis and "Chronic Obstructive Airway Disease" (COPD). However CCPT is time consuming requires the assistance of a physiotherapist and limits the independence of the patient. Mechanical percussors which are electrical devices used to provide percussion to the external chest wall might provide autonomy and greater compliance. We compared safety and efficacy of a mechanical chest percusser devised by Formedic Technology with conventional chest percussion. METHODS: Twenty patients (mean age 64years) were randomly assigned to receive either CCPT or mechanical percussor on the first day and crossed over by "Latin square randomisation" to alternative treatment for 6 consecutive days and the amount of sputum expectorated was compared by dry and wet weight. Adverse events and willingness to use was assessed by a home diary and a questionnaire. RESULTS: There were 13 males and 7 females, eight diagnosed as bronchiectasis and 12 COPD. The mean dry weight of sputum induced by CCPT (0.54g ± 0.32) was significantly more compared with MP (0.40g + 0.11); p-value = 0.002. The mean wet weight of sputum with CCPT (10.71g ± 8.70) was also significantly more compared with MP (5.99g ± 4.5); p-value < 0.001. There were no significant difference in adverse events and majority of patients were willing to use the device by themselves. CONCLUSION: The mechanical percussor although produces less sputum is well tolerated and can be a useful adjunct to CCPT.

Influence of a targeted educational intervention on evidence-based practice in two Malaysian maternity units: the SEA ORCHID project in Malaysia.

We conducted a before and after study to determine whether an educational intervention to build capacity in the understanding and implementation of evidence could result in improved outcomes for mothers and babies in obstetric and neonatal units of two Malaysian hospitals. Twelve practices and thirteen associated outcomes were selected based on clear evidence from the Cochrane Library. There were significant improvements in most practices with little change in outcomes. In the short term a targeted intervention to build capacity in the understanding and implementation of evidence results in an improved process of care without adverse outcomes.