Advertisement of medical products on social media has become increasingly common, and is associated with increased online shopping in pursuit of self-medication. Such practice highlights the influence of social media advertising on individual use of
medicinal products without consultation with health care professionals.
Objectives: To better understand the practice of online self-medication and investigate its prevalence in Palestine, this study specifically assessed the probable reasons, extent of use, and source of advice for online self-medication among university students in Palestine. In addition, the study evaluated factors that influence online self-medication in this population, such as gender, age, knowledge in medical specialty, and perception of online products.
Methods: This study was conducted using a "paper pretested questionnaire" prepared in the Arabic language and self-administered to 700 students from three public universities in Palestine (Al-Najah, Al-Quds, and Bethlehem Universities). The study was conducted over three months (Nov. 2019 – Jan. 2020) and included university students of all years from both medical and nonmedical faculties. Data were collected, coded, entered, analyzed, and summarized using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. Descriptive results were expressed as frequency, percentage, and mean±SD.
Results: Female (87.6%), younger (20-29 years), and medical (57.4%) students tended to use online self-medication more than their peers. Respondents practiced online self-medication to save time (50.4%) and money (49.8%), and a majority (65.7%) reported using online products without consulting physician or pharmacist.
Nearly a third of respondents (29.6%) reported that they did not have any instructions on how to use products, and a significant number experienced side effects from the products they used (p-value <0.001). The internet was the most commonly reported source for self-medication (45.3%), particularly sponsored advertising campaigns on websites (16.7%). In terms of product type, skin care products (76.7%) were the most commonly used, followed by hair products (72.2%), and vitamins (58.8%). In addition, cream and ointments were the most frequently used dosage forms (71.3%). The majority of respondents (64.1%) described their experience as “bad” and “not healthy”; half (50.9%) reported having side-effects and a third (33.6%) stopped using the products because of side effects. Statistical analysis showed that the difference in usage between genders was significant for vitamins, traditional herbs, weight loss products, hair products, skin products, nail products, and food supplements (p-value <0.05). In addition, the relation between specialty domain and product use was significant for hair products, food supplements, traditional herbs, and herbal mixtures (p-value <0.05). The relationship between reading information and experiencing side effects was significant with a p-value of 0.000. Finally, the relationship between side effects and product re-use was significant (p-value <0.05)
Conclusions: Online self-medication is a common practice of young Palestinian university students; this constitutes a health problem, and intervention is needed to minimize risk. We emphasize the important role of health care professionals in educating the community, especially the youth (<30 years), regarding online medication practices that may have harmful side effects.
Uric acid (UA) has a role in pathogenesis of several metabolic abnormalities including insulin resistance (IR) and their related disorders. The aim of this report is to review the available evidences that reveal the association between UA, IR and rel
ated disorders via both noninsulin and insulin-based IR indices.
METHODS: The published literature was surveyed using Google Scholar and PubMed entering the terms Obesity, UA, IR, Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), Gestational Diabetes (GDM), Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
RESULTS: UA had substantial positive relationships with IR, as well as obesity, MetS, DM, GDM, and PCOS. Evidently UA with a role in oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and induction of inflammation may cause IR in totality, the major factor in development of MetS and related diseases. Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), insulin based IR index, correlated positively with UA. Moreover, specifically triglyceride to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C), visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), triglyceride to fasting glucose (TyG) index are noninsulin-based IR indices of positive correlations with UA. MetS score for IR (MetS-IR), a non-insulin based IR index, had significantly proportional correlations with MetS components as well as UA level. UA to HDL-cholesterol ratio (UHR) was a pronounced statistical predictor of MetS and diabetes control. UA positively associated with hyperinsulinemia and IR in prediabetes.
CONCLUSION: Succinctly UA can be an emerging biochemistry marker of predictive role in IR, MetS and related anomalies. More hyperuricemia related studies are warranted to be oriented from being correlational to mechanistic
This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hypogonadism among β-Thalassemia Major (β-TM) adolescent patients, and the role of iron chelation therapy (ICT) in its prevention. Data was collected from 60 β-TM patients and 35 controls aged 1
3─ 30 years through a questionnaire and a review of medical history to collect sociodemographic characteristics, transfusion regimen, chelating history and pubertal status. Complete blood count, serum ferritin, and pituitary-gonadal function tests were analyzed 1–2 weeks after blood transfusion. Logistic regression, independent t-test, and chi-square test were used to analyze our results and the significance was tested at p≤ 0.05. The overall prevalence of hypogonadism among β-TM patients was 75%, the mean of serum ferritin was 6704.83± 2849 ng/ml and all patients had serum ferritin above 2000 ng/ml indicating a severe iron overload. Low hemoglobin level (p=0.006), high ferritin level (p=0.018), high blood transfusion per year (24-blood transfusions) (p=0.007), and poor compliance to iron chelation therapy programs (p=0.001), were detected had significant partial effect in hypogonadism. In conclusion, hypogonadism is highly prevalent among Gaza strip β-TM patients. Its presence being associated with lower hemoglobin values, iron overload, high blood transfusion and low compliance of iron chelation therapy
This study aims to provide GC-FID and GC-MS analyses of the essential oil of dried aerial parts of Ecballium elaterium L. grown in Jordan and examining its cytotoxicity capacity. Methods: Essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation using Clevenge
r apparatus. MTT assay method was used to investigate the plant's in vitro antiproliferative activity against MCF-7, Caco-2 and Panc-1 cancer cell lines in addition to normal fibroblast cells. Results: E. elaterium hydrodistilled oil yielded thirty one components, accounting for 76.3% of the total oil content. High contents of nonterpenoidal compounds, sesquiterpenes, and monoterpene characterized the volatile fractions with hinesol (17.2%), the principal compound, benzaldehyde (12.3%) and E-β-ionone (7.8%) as the major constituents. E. elaterium ethanolic extract showed good activity against MCF-7 and Caco-2 cells (IC50 values=29.67 μg/mL and 17.64 μg/mL, respectively). Moreover, all extracts were safe on normal human cells. In conclusion: Evaluation of E. elaterium volatile oil has been conducted for the first time in Jordan; also various extracts were tested for the first time against Panc-1 cells. Furthermore, based on the obtained results, ethanol extract of E. elaterium may be advocated as candidate for breast and colorectal cancers management.
The human equilibrative nucleoside transporters (hENTs) are important proteins that allow nucleosides and nucleobases permeation into the cell. hENT 1 is a promising target against heart and Huntington’s diseases as its inhibition mediates cardiac- a
nd neural protection effects, respectively. However, the current hENT1 inhibitors have significant off-target effects and poor pharmacological profile, hence there is need for new novel inhibitors. Therefore, we developed a computational protocol that identified and selected inhibitors of hENT1 in an efficient and specific manner. First, several pharmacophores were created using a set of known inhibitors. Consequently, the best inhibitor pharmacophore exhibited as high selectivity and specificity rates as 92% and 88%, respectively. Furthermore, another pharmacophore was validated for the oppositely acting type of the hENT1 molecules (i.e. permeants) to act as an extra refinement step in our search for hENT1 inhibitors. Interestingly, employing the inhibitor pharmacophore as a filter-in along with the permeant pharmacophore as a filter-out resulted in up to two-fold enhancement of docking-based virtual screening results of hENT1 inhibitors. This in silico approach can prove very useful in the development of new cardio- and neuroprotective hENT1 inhibitors.
The aim of this study is to evaluate Jordanian Women's opinions, beliefs, and practices towards using different medicinal plants for postpartum health problems care.
Method: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 300 mothers aged 18
years and above. A structured valid and reliable questionnaire was used for collecting personal, medical and nutritional related data including: gestational weight gain characteristics, the effect of delivery and breast feeding on postpartum weight gain and herbal tea consumption for the management of different postpartum health problems such as postpartum colic, flatulence, spasm, maternal bleeding, lactation and weight gain. The above data where collected through a personal interview by the trained investigators.
Results: Around 45% of participants were overweight or obese with average post-pregnancy BMI of 25.1±4.94 kg/m2. Majority of participants (84%) used one or more medicinal plants after delivery to control their postpartum health problems. The participants may seek herbal help mainly for maternal purposes such as decreasing post-delivery colic, flatulence and spasm (52.9%), treating maternal postpartum bleeding (41.7%) and lactation enhancement (41.0%). Conversely, only 9.0% of participants used herbals for weight control. The most commonly used herbals were cinnamon (49.0%), sage (42.0%), and anise (38.0%).
Conclusions: The potential risk of medicinal plant self-medication is high for managing postpartum complications that need a professional evidence-based practice recommendation
An ethnobotanical study was carried out among the population riverine of the Izarène forest to enhance and safeguard ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants used in traditional pharmacopeia for the treatment of dermatological diseases. Using 480 ques
tionnaire sheets, ethnobotanical field surveys were conducted during two campaigns (2013 to 2015). The determination of the different survey media was carried out using stratified probability sampling techniques. The ethnobotanical data were analyzed through the calculation of quantitative indices, such as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Family Importance Value index (FIV), Fidelity Level (FL),
Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and the use-value of the Plant Part (PPV). The results show 62 useful plant species, belonging to 34 botanical families. The Lamiaceae family was the most represented (8 species, FIV= 0.037). The highest Relative Citation Frequency (RFC) (0.137) was recorded for Olea europaea L. Concerning the diseases treated, cosmetic use has the highest ICF (0.96), the leaf was considered to be the most used part of the plant (PPV=0.34) and the majority of the remedies were prepared under the form of a poultice. The results obtained could constitute a basis for further studies for the valorization of medicinal plants used against dermatological diseases through biological and phytochemical studies of the inventoried plants.
Many T2D use CAO as a laxative. We did not find sufficient research to explain CAO's potential effect on the levels of HbA1c in T2D patients. This study will study this effect. Rats (n=80) were divided into eight groups (n=10). Five groups (n=50) wer
e injected with streptozotocin intravenously to induce T2D. One group was given CAO with empagliflozin, and the second was assigned CAO only daily. The third was assigned CAO every two days, with empagliflozin, which was given daily. A fourth was assigned CAO alone daily. Also, the fifth was given empagliflozin alone. In the healthy groups, one group was given CAO, and the other was given empagliflozin. Also, the last healthy group was not assigned any drug. CAO's result on HbA1c in healthy rats was noted to decrease when delivered alone for eight weeks. HbA1c of the diabetic groups showed no significant difference (P-value<0.05) when comparing the rats given CAO with empagliflozin, and the rats were given CAO only. There was also no noticeable effect among the groups of rats given CAO daily and every two days. This study explains that CAO does not lead to a significant difference in HbA1c levels in diabetic rats, even it did for healthy rats, and if given alone, CAO could affect HbA1c levels if given over a long period. Also, CAO has a noticeable impact on experimental rats that co-administered Empagliflozin on HbA1c levels, and that Empagliflozin effect is not significantly affected if taken with CAO.
Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) is an important tree species that is known to posses anthelmintic, contraceptive, antimicrobial, antidiabetic and sedative properties. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify various compounds present in the
leaf extract of neem and to enlist various biological activities of these compounds through literature survey. Methodology: Extract of neem was obtained by soaking 100 g dry powdered leaves in 1000 mL methanol followed by filtration. This was successively fractioned using n-hexane and chloroform. Results: GC-MS analysis of the chloroform fraction was performed and 7 compounds namely 2-pentanol, acetate (9.72%); decane (8.96%); 11-oxa-dispiro[4.0.4.1]undecan-1-ol (6.56%); nonanoic acid, 9-(3-hexenylidenecyclopropylidene)-, 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethyl ester, (Z,Z,Z)- (7.13%); quinoline-4-carboxamide, 2-phenyl-N-n-octyl- (9.79%); nonacosane (44.27%) and tetratriacontane (13.43%) were identified. Conclusion: Literature survey showed that the identified compounds possessed antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiviral properties.
Pregnancy is a stressful physiological period, where some women may suffer from some degree of anxiety. Our aim is to study the prevalence of anxiety among pregnant women attending routine antenatal care clinics.
Methodology: This was a cross sectio
nal study for pregnant women coming for their routine antenatal care at Jordan University Hospital, during the period from October 1st to 27th, 2019.They were interviewed while waiting for their turn by a trained 6th year medical student using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7) questionnaire.
Results: A total of 200 women were interviewed with a mean age of 30 ± 5.3years, ranges between (18 and 45years). Their gravidity mean was 3.3±2.9 (ranges from 0-22) and their mean parity was 1.6 ± 1.4. 59 women (29.5%) had previous history of miscarriage. Number of miscarriages ranged from 1 to 12 with a mean of 2.5 ± 3.3.In our study, 66 (33.0%) women had moderate and 42 (21.0%) had severe symptoms. For women with history of previous miscarriages, there was no significant correlation with anxiety, except for those with recurrent miscarriages (p-value= 0.019).
Conclusions: Recurrent miscarriage can affect women's psychological well-being; with an increase in the possibility of experiencing anxiety. Implementing mental health assessment in antenatal care has long-lasting benefits for both mother and infant.
