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Purpose: To investigate the contractile responses of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to spasmogens after incubation with harmaline, harmine, and harmalol, which are alkaloids obtained from Peganum harmala L., a member of the Zygophyllaceae family. Methods: Contractile responses of VSMCs to norepinephrine (NE; 1 µmol/L) and potassium chloride (KCl; 60 mmol/L) were recorded in rat aortic ring preparations pre-incubated with 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 µmol/L of each alkaloid for 15 min. Responses were expressed as mean values of contractions in incubated preparations, relative to the recorded tension prior to treatment with alkaloids. Results: Pre-incubation with harmaline at concentration of 10 µmol/L significantly reduced contractile responses to NE by 69.0 ± 3.0 % (p < 0.00002), and decreased KCl-induced contraction by 34.0 ± 9.0 % (p < 0.05). Harmalol was the most effective in inhibiting contractions to KCl (48.0 ± 9.0 %, p < 0.01). However, harmalol produced relatively moderate inhibitory effects on NE-induced contractions (46.0 ± 4.0 %, p < 0.005), followed by harmine (52.0 ± 8.0 %, p < 0.02), but it did not significantly affect contractile responses to KCl. Conclusion: These results highlight the differential effects of pre-incubation with alkaloids from P. harmala and their potential effects on the prevention of VSMC spasms induced by either chemicals or stimuli that change the membrane potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Enhancing the contribution of practicing pharmacists into scientific evidence via practice-based research (PBR) is crucial in maintaining high-quality clinical practice and healthcare delivery. Involving community pharmacists in PBR can potentially can also help break barriers to the utilization of the current best evidence in everyday pharmacy practice. The impact of pharmacists' attitude towards PBR on their utilization of current best evidence in pharmacy practice is understudied. Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of community pharmacists' attitudes toward PBR on their utilization of current best evidence, barriers for conducting PBR in clinical practice were also investigated. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 169 community pharmacists working across Jordan filled a questionnaire to assess their attitudes towards PBR, barriers to PBR, and their utilization of the current best evidence in clinical practice. Results: Pharmacists in this study showed a positive attitude toward PBR (attitude mean score >3.5). A positive attitude towards PBR was associated with high utilization of the best current scientific evidence. We also investigated several barriers to PBR and their association with utilization those included; the lack of perceived benefits, lack of institutional support, and lack of self-engagements of community pharmacists to PBR. The lack of perceived benefit was found to be negatively associated with pharmacists' utilization of the current best scientific evidence. Conclusion: In this study, pharmacists' utilization of current best evidence was found to be significantly impacted by their attitude toward PBR. The current study findings highlight the importance of supporting, promoting, and facilitating PBR among community pharmacists which can potentially enhance their utilization of the current best evidence in their everyday pharmacy practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The credibility and the reliability of Internet webpages to seek medication-related information is questionable. The main objective of the current study was to evaluate perception and experience of pharmacists with the use of Internet-based medication information by their patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that was conducted to evaluate perception and experience of pharmacists with the use of Internet-based medication information by their patients. During the study period, 200 pharmacists were approached to participate in the study using a paper-based survey to assess their perceptions and current experience with the use of Internet-based medication information by their patients. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean/standard deviation for continuous variables, and frequency/percentages for qualitative variables). Also, simple linear regression was utilized to screen factors affecting pharmacists' perception scores of the use of Internet-based medication information. Results: Among 161 recruited pharmacists, the majority (n = 129, 80.1%) reported receiving inquiries from patients about Internet-based medication information within the last year. Among them, only 22.6% (n = 29) of pharmacists believed that Internet-based medication information is somewhat or very accurate. Unfortunately, only 24.2% (n = 31) of them stated that they always had enough time for their patient to discuss their Internet-based medication information. Regarding pharmacists' perception of the use of Internet-based medication information by their patients, more than half of the pharmacists (>50%) believe that Internet-based medication information could increase the patient's role in taking responsibility. On the other hand, 54.7% (n = 88) of the pharmacists believed that Internet-based medication information would contribute to rising the healthcare cost by obtaining unnecessary medications by patients. Finally, pharmacists' educational level was found to significantly affect their perception scores toward patient use of Internet-based medication information where those with higher educational level showed lower perception score (r = -0.200, P-value = 0.011). Conclusion: Although pharmacists felt that usage of Internet-based data by patients is beneficial, they also have believed that it has a negative impact in terms of rising the healthcare cost, and it promotes unnecessary fear or concern about medications. We suggest that pharmacists be trained on principles of critical appraisal to become professional in retrieval information on the Internet that might improve their delivery of healthcare information and their recommendations to patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aim was to evaluate HRQOL and to explore the variables associated with poor HRQOL among patients with dyslipidemia in Jordan. Methods: The present study utilized the EQ-5D questionnaire which evaluates HRQOL in terms of mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Responses to the five dimensions were presented using the value set, which ranges from 1 for full health to − 0.594 for severe problems in all five dimensions. Multiple linear regression analysis was implemented to identify the variables that best predicted the total EQ-5D score and hence HRQOL in the study population. Results: The mean age of the 228 participants was 60.23 (SD = 10.64). The mean of the total EQ-5D score was 0.675 (SD = 0.14). Regression analysis identified necessity for dyslipidemia medication (B = 0.18, P < 0.01) and patients with controlled lipid profile (B = 0.28, P < 0.01) were positively associated with HRQOL, while having concerns about dyslipidemia medications (B = − 0.16, P < 0.01), number of medication (B = − 0.13, P = 0.02), duration of dyslipidemia (B = − 0.22, P < 0.01), receiving high-intensity statin (B = − 0.18, P < 0.01) or statin in combination with fibrate (B = − 0.15, P < 0.01) were associated with lower HRQOL. Conclusion: HRQOL has considerable scope for improvement in patients with dyslipidemia in Jordan. Improving dyslipidemia medications' beliefs and simplifying medication regimen by prescribing less medications, particularly for patients with longer disease duration and those on statin therapy, should be considered in future management programs aim at improving HRQOL in patients with dyslipidemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study aim was to evaluate health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and to explore factors associated with poor HRQoL in patients with type 2 diabetes in Jordan. Methods: The EQ‐5D questionnaire was used to assess HRQoL in outpatients (n = 196) with type 2 diabetic during their clinic appointment at three major Hospitals in Jordan. Sociodemographic and medical data were collected from patient interviews and medical files. Multiple linear regression was performed to build a model with variables associated with poor HRQoL. Key findings: The mean score of the total EQ‐5D index of the 196 participants was 0.724. Most of the patients reported 'some problems' through the five dimensions, with the highest percentage (46.1%) related to mobility domain. Regression analysis identified women gender (β = −0.252; P < 0.01), duration of diabetes (β = −0.344; P < 0.01) number of medications (β = −0.423; P < 0.01), and insulin therapy (β = −0.205; P < 0.05) as being significantly associated with poor HRQoL. Conclusions: The quality of life for patients with type 2 diabetes in Jordan has considerable scope for improvement. Future diabetes management programs should focus on improving HRQoL, with specific attention to be given for women patients, those who have long duration of diabetes, and patients receiving multiple medications or insulin therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Medication nonadherence represents a major barrier to achieve optimal health outcomes in patients with hypertension. The study aim was to identify obstacles to medication adherence in patients with hypertension in Jordan. Methods: Socio‐demographic and clinical variables in addition to medication adherence and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed for patients attending three major hospitals in Jordan. Multiple logistic regression was carried out to identify predictors of medication nonadherence. Key findings: Of the 300 participants, 81% (n = 57) were classified as nonadherent. Both, the increase in the number of prescribed medications (OR = 0.349, CI = 0.17–1.19) and having comorbid illness (OR = 0.315, CI = 0.15–1.02) increased the risk of medication nonadherence by three times. The patients were also found six and eight times less likely to adhere to their medications if they had concerns about medications' side effects (OR = 0.165, CI = 0.09–0.95) and if they reported poor HRQoL (OR = 0.127, CI = 0.04–0.87) respectively. Conclusions: Clinical pharmacists should consider prescribing the least possible number of medications and improving patients' perceptions about the potential side effects of their medications. Furthermore, patients with comorbid diseases and those with poor HRQoL should be particularly addressed in future pharmaceutical care programs with the aim of improving medication adherence and health outcomes in patients with hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, associated factors, and management approaches of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in Jordanian women. Design and Methods: Three hundred premenopausal women completed a self‐administered questionnaire. Findings: Moderate–severe PMS was reported by 29% of women, while 14% had PMDD. Younger unmarried women had the more severe condition. Herbal remedies and no medication were the most common approaches used to manage PMS/PMDD. Implications for Nursing Practice: High rates of PMS and PMDD found in this study highlight the need to increase awareness to this condition among health providers in order to facilitate its identification, diagnosis, and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effect of circadian rhythm disruption in night-shift workers on systemic biomarkers of inflammation. METHODS Demographic data, clinical parameters and data on working patterns of 126 adult employees were documented. Serum levels of biomarkers were measured by enzymatic assay procedures. RESULTS: Night-shift workers had markedly lower anti-inflammatory IL-10 and cardioprotective adiponectin and MCP-1 compared to daytime workers. Night-shift workers' MIF, LAR, TNF-α and TNF-α/IL-10 ratio were significantly higher than those in day shift workers. Spearman's correlation showed that MIF, TNF-α, LAR and TNF-α/IL-10 ratios were positively and significantly correlated with both the duration of the night shift and total number of shifts (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, IL-10, adiponectin and MCP-1 were negatively and significantly correlated with both variables (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Night shift work may be closely associated with a higher propensity of cardiometabolic risk factors clustering. Therefore, close monitoring of shift workers' clinical status and lifestyle is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the efect of night shit working on increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) using three different predictors. Methods: One hundred and forty adult Jordanian employees were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Demographic data, anthropometric parameters, and working patterns information were documented. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was diagnosed, and atherogenic index of the plasma (AIP) and Framingham risk score were calculated. Results: Night shit workers had a signiicantly higher AIP ratio compared to daytime workers (p = 0.024). No signiicant association was observed between the two groups in term of 30-year Framingham risk score (p = 0.115). However, the duration of night shits and the number of night shits per months were found to signiicantly increase the 30-year Framingham risk (p = 0.000 and 0.012, respectively). Furthermore, the incidence of MetS among night shit workers was 15.9% (13/82) compared to 10.3% (6/58) among daytime workers (p = 0.484). Conclusions: his is the irst study to assess the association between night shit work and AIP as well as the 30-year Framingham risk score as predictors of CVDs. Night shit work was associated with an increase in AIP score compared to daytime work. Also, the duration of night shits and the number of night shits per month signiicantly increased the 30-year Framingham risk among night shit workers. hese indings suggest an association between night shit work and the risk of CVD and atherosclerosis. Our results highlight the need for interventional strategies to diminish the risk of CVD in night shit workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate factors that affect adherence in individuals at high risk of metabolic syndrome, with a focus on knowledge and attitude effect.Subjects and Methods: A sample of 900 high-risk individuals with metabolic syndrome was recruited in this cross-sectional study. During the study period, all participants filled in validated structured questionnaires to evaluate the adherence to different management options of metabolic syndrome, knowledge about the syndrome, and health-related attitude. Simple linear regression followed by multiple linear regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of knowledge, attitude, and other factors on participants' adherence to both medications and lifestyle changes.Results: Of the 900 participants, 436 (48.4%) were nonadherent to medications and 813 (90.3%) were nonadherent to lifestyle changes. Increasing age (r = 0.140, p = 0.000), the presence of hypertension (r = 0.075, p = 0.036), and a more positive attitude toward health (r = 0.230, p = 0.000) were significantly associated with increasing adherence to medications. Higher educational level (r = 0.085, p = 0.023), higher knowledge score (r = 0.135, p = 0.001), and more positive attitude toward health (r = 0.183, p = 0.000) were found to significantly increase the adherence to lifestyle changes, while central obesity (r = -0.106, p = 0.003) was found to significantly decrease the adherence to lifestyle changes.Conclusion: Patients' knowledge about metabolic syndrome and attitude to health affected adherence rates in patients at high risk of metabolic syndrome. Hence, we suggest the need to incorporate patients' educational programs into current management of metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the association between night work and 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) levels, and to evaluate effect of potential risk factors on 25OHD levels.Material and Methods: A total of 140 adult Jordanian employees were recruited. Demographic, lifestyle and working patterns data were documented through a well-structured questionnaire. Vitamin D status was assessed by measuring circulating concentrations of 25OHD.Results: Mean 25OHD level was 23.8 ng/ml. No significant difference was found in 25OHD levels between the summer and winter (p = 0.46), or between males and females (p = 0.35). The female night workers had significantly lower serum 25OHD levels compared to the female day workers (p = 0.01). No significant difference in serum 25OHD levels was found between the night and day male workers (p = 0.25). The number of night shifts/month was negatively correlated with 25OHD levels in both the males and females (p = 0.01 and p = 0.007, respectively). Age was positively correlated with 25OHD levels in both the males and females (p = 0.02 and p = 0.001, respectively). Body mass index was negatively associated with 25OHD levels in the whole sample (p = 0.03), but not within each gender group (p = 0.21 for the males and p = 0.09 for the females). Smoking had no significant association with 25OHD levels (p = 0.99 for the males and p = 0.22 for the females).Conclusions: Our results suggest that women working night shifts are at higher risk of 25OHD deficiency, and, consequently, of other health problems linked to 25OHD deficiency. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(5):859-870. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale, aims and objectives This study aimed to evaluate the awareness, attitude, knowledge and use of evidence-based medicine ( EBM) among pharmacists in Jordan. Methods A cross-sectional self-reported survey was conducted on 122 pharmacists (both hospital and community) who were asked to fill a validated structured questionnaire. Results The participants showed a positive attitude towards EBM; more than 80% thought that EBM improves patient care, improves quick knowledge update, helps to unify the quality of care provided, is a good educational tool and a convenient source of advice. But despite this positive attitude, pharmacists showed partial understanding of the technical terms used in EBM; also they relied on their own judgment, medical representatives and standard textbooks in making their decision, resources that can no longer be considered sufficiently updated and/or evidence based. Patient overload, lack of personal time and limited access to EBM sources were the most commonly identified barrier to practicing EBM. Also this study suggest that pharmacist's experience is negatively associated with EBM knowledge score ( Spearman's rho value −0.187, P-value 0.04). Conclusions In spite of the positive attitude towards EBM, this study showed numerous personal and institutional barriers towards implementing EBM in Jordan, which necessitate immediate action by all health care decision makers to formulate a national plan to overcome such barriers, and to further investigate the evidence that teaching, learning and daily application of EBM in practice can improve the quality of care and reduce the cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale, aims and objectives This study aimed to evaluate the awareness, attitude, knowledge and use of evidence-based medicine (EBM) among pharmacists in Jordan. Methods A cross-sectional self-reported survey was conducted on 122 pharmacists (both hospital and community) who were asked to fill a validated structured questionnaire. Results The participants showed a positive attitude towards EBM; more than 80% thought that EBM improves patient care, improves quick knowledge update, helps to unify the quality of care provided, is a good educational tool and a convenient source of advice. But despite this positive attitude, pharmacists showed partial understanding of the technical terms used in EBM; also they relied on their own judgment, medical representatives and standard textbooks in making their decision, resources that can no longer be considered sufficiently updated and/or evidence based. Patient overload, lack of personal time and limited access to EBM sources were the most commonly identified barrier to practicing EBM. Also this study suggest that pharmacist’s experience is negatively associated with EBM knowledge score (Spearman’s rho value −0.187, P-value 0.04). Conclusions In spite of the positive attitude towards EBM, this study showed numerous personal and institutional barriers towards implementing EBM in Jordan, which necessitate immediate action by all health care decision makers to formulate a national plan to overcome such barriers, and to further investigate the evidence that teaching, learning and daily application of EBM in practice can improve the quality of care and reduce the cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilized a validated questionnaire that aimed to assess pharmacists’ awareness and attitude towards drug repurposing for antimicrobial use. Despite the reasonable awareness, pharmacists reported unfavourable attitudes. Pharmacists with a B.Pharm. or Pharm.D. degree reported less awareness than pharmacists with a master’s or PhD degree. In contrast, pharmacists who dispensed fewer than 10 prescriptions or 10–29 prescriptions had significantly higher awareness than those who dispensed 30 prescriptions daily or more. Pharmacists who had 1–5 years of experience and those who dispensed less than 10 prescriptions daily had significantly lower attitude scores than their counterpats. The most reported facilitator was the reduced risk of antimicrobial resistance, while the most reported barrier was patient safety. Pharmacists’ perception of drug repurposing for antimicrobial needs to improve via implementing educational sessions that highlight the impact of drug repurposing on supporting the fight against antimicrobial resistance and promoting a more sustainable and resilient healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sneezing (sternutatio) is a poorly understood polysynaptic physiologic reflex phenomenon. Sneezing has exerted a strange fascination on humans throughout history, and induced sneezing was widely used by physicians for therapeutic purposes, on the assumption that sneezing eliminates noxious factors from the body, mainly from the head. The present contribution examines the various mixtures used for inducing sneezes (remedia sternutatoria) over the centuries. The majority of the constituents of the sneeze-inducing remedies are modulators of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. The TRP channel superfamily consists of large heterogeneous groups of channels that play numerous physiological roles such as thermosensation, chemosensation, osmosensation and mechanosensation. Sneezing is associated with the activation of the wasabi receptor, (TRPA1), typical ligand is allyl isothiocyanate and the hot chili pepper receptor, (TRPV1), typical agonist is capsaicin, in the vagal sensory nerve terminals, activated by noxious stimulants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term ionone is derived from "iona" (Greek for violet) which refers to the violet scent and "ketone" due to its structure. Ionones can either be chemically synthesized or endogenously produced via asymmetric cleavage of β-carotene by β-carotene oxygenase 2 (BCO2). We recently proposed a possible metabolic pathway for the conversion of α-and β-pinene into α-and β-ionone. The differences between BCO1 and BCO2 suggest a unique physiological role of BCO2; implying that β-ionone (one of BCO2 products) is involved in a prospective biological function. This review focuses on the effects of ionones and the postulated mechanisms or signaling cascades involved mediating these effects. β-Ionone, whether of an endogenous or exogenous origin possesses a range of pharmacological effects including anticancer, chemopreventive, cancer promoting, melanogenesis, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial actions. β-Ionone mediates these effects via activation of olfactory receptor (OR51E2) and regulation of the activity or expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins, pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins, HMG-CoA reductase and pro-inflammatory mediators. α-Ionone and β-ionone derivatives exhibit anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer effects, however the corresponding structure activity relationships are still inconclusive. Overall, data demonstrates that ionone is a promising scaffold for cancer, inflammation and infectious disease research and thus is more than simply a violet's fragrance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peganum harmala L., Zygophyllaceae popularly known as Wild Syrian rue, a well-known plant in folk medicine for many pharmacological uses including antispasmodic activity. Chemical composition of the plant showed that the most important constituents of this plant are betacarboline alkaloids such as harmalol, harmaline, and harmine. In this work, we aimed to evaluate the effects of these three major harmala alkaloids on induced rat ileum contractions, induced by acetylcholine, BaCl2 and KCl. Of these three harmala alkaloids, harmalol and harmaline produced a concentration-dependent spasmolytic activity, which was found to be reversible (i.e. disappeared after tissue wash-up. Both alkaloids inhibited acetylcholine and KCl-induced ileum contractions but BaCl2 -induced contractions were only inhibited by harmalol but not harmaline. Harmine did not show any inhibitory activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship (ASP) is considered a key prevention strategy in addressing the worldwide concern of accelerating antimicrobial resistance. Limited research is available regarding healthcare providers' knowledge and attitude toward antimicrobial stewardship and the barriers for its implementation. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on pharmacists and healthcare prescribers (HCPs) in different hospital sites across Jordan. A validated survey was used to evaluate HCPs and pharmacists' knowledge, and attitudes towards ASP and the barriers for its implementation. Logistic and linear regression were conducted to identify the factors associated with knowledge and attitude toward ASP, respectively. Results: A total of 603 participants, 69 (11.4%) pharmacists and 534 (88.6%) HCPs completed the study questionnaire, with a response rate of 80.4%. The overall mean knowledge about ASP was 7.16 out of 10, ranging from 0 to 10 (SD 2.22). Being a pharmacist and increased awareness/familiarity about ASP were associated with improved ASP knowledge. The overall average attitude score was = 3.8 ± 0.49 (range: 1.8–4.8). Results revealed that being a pharmacist and improved knowledge were associated with improved attitude toward ASP. Lack of specialized staff with expertise in ASP and lack of access to education and training programs were the major barriers hinder ASP implementation. Conclusion: Despite the reasonable knowledge and the positive attitude toward the ASP, several barriers were reported, particularly by the pharmacists. Therefore, promoting the presence of adequately skilled healthcare personnel, creating easily accessible online courses, and establishing a comprehensive database of ASP resources are all suggested approaches to improve the application of ASP in healthcare settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with heart failure (HF) are generally at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and having uncontrolled blood glucose. Furthermore, the prevalence of uncontrolled blood glucose in patients with HF is largely unknown. Identifying the factors associated with poor blood glucose control is a preliminary step in the development of effective intervention programs. The current cross-sectional study was conducted at two major hospitals to explore the factors associated with blood glucose control among patients with heart failure and type 2 diabetes. In addition to sociodemographic, medical records were used to collect medical information and a validated questionnaire was used to evaluate medication adherence. Regression analysis showed that poor medication adherence (OR = 0.432; 95%CI 0.204–0.912; P<0.05) and increased white blood cells count (OR = 1.12; 95%CI 1.033–1.213; P<0.01) were associated with poor glycemic control. For enhancing blood glucose control among patients with HF and diabetes, future intervention programs should specifically target patients who have high WBC counts and poor medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-CoV-2 appears to induce diverse innate and adaptive immune responses, resulting in different clinical manifestations of COVID-19. Due to their function in presenting viral peptides and initiating the adaptive immune response, certain Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles may influence the susceptibility to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, 92 COVID-19 patients from 15 different nationalities, with mild (n = 30), moderate (n = 35), and severe (n = 27) SARS-CoV-2 infection, living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were genotyped for the Class I HLA -A, -C, and -B alleles using next-generation sequencing (NGS) between the period of May 2020 to June 2020. Alleles and inferred haplotype frequencies in the hospitalized patient group (those with moderate to severe disease, n = 62) were compared to non-hospitalized patients (mild or asymptomatic, n = 30). An interesting trend was noted between the severity of COVID-19 and the HLA-C*04 (P = 0.0077) as well as HLA-B*35 (P = 0.0051) alleles. The class I haplotype HLA-C*04-B*35 was also significantly associated (P = 0.0049). The involvement of inflammation, HLA-C*04, and HLA-B*35 in COVID-19 severity highlights the potential roles of both the adaptive and innate immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. Both alleles have been linked to several respiratory diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension along with infections caused by the coronavirus and influenza. This study, therefore, supports the potential use of HLA testing in prioritizing public healthcare interventions for patients at risk of COVID-19 infection and disease progression, in addition to providing personalized immunotherapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the potential association between night-shift work and insulin resistance as well as potential serum molecular biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) progression; specifically, highly sensitive-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and oxytocin as well as homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance [HOMA-IR] index. In a cross-sectional design, demographic data, clinical parameters, and working patterns data were documented for daytime ( n = 59) and night-shift ( n = 69) working employees in Jordan University Hospital. The biomarkers serum levels were measured by enzymatic assay procedure and compared between both groups. The correlation between the duration, and the number of night shift was also evaluated. Compared with daytime workers, night-shift workers displayed higher levels of insulin resistance index [HOMA IR] = 6.90 (5.80-8.15) versus 2.76 (1.80-5.72), p < 0.0001; higher serum levels of TSP-1 (ng/mL) = 1835 (1656-1985) versus 984.0 (839.0-1000), p < 0.0001; and PAI-1 (ng/mL) = 377 (312-450) versus 208 (166-249), p < 0.0001; and lower levels of oxytocin (pg/mL) = 500 (329-917) versus 717 (523-950), p < 0.0001; respectively. Incomparably, MMP-9 (ng/mL) = 651 (398-888) versus 456 (296-662), p > 0.05 and hs-CRP (mg/mL) = 2.8 (1.6-6.2) versus 3.2 (1.7-4.7), p = 0.069 did not prove inter-shift substantial differences. In the present study, night-shift work was shown to be associated with higher levels of CVD progression biomarkers and insulin resistance. Suggestively close monitoring of night-shift workers clinical status and lifestyle is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Studies on children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) reported non-adherence in 2–54% of cases. The primary objective of this study was to assess rates of adherence to 6-MP using two different methods in children and adolescents with ALL. Secondary aim was to identify factors that influence adherence to 6-MP in children with ALL. Methods: All eligible children with ALL who are (≤ 19) years old and receive 6-MP therapy for at least 1 month were approached to participate in the study. A total of 52 children with ALL and their primary caregivers were recruited. Adherence measures included an objective method (measuring 6-MP metabolites in packed Red Blood Cells (RBCs)) and a subjective method (using parent and child self-report via the Medication Adherence Report Scale; MARS; Adherence was defined as 90% or greater). Results: Rates of adherence varied across the measurement methods. Packed RBCs sample analysis indicated forty-four patients (84.6%) to be adherent. Using the MARS questionnaires, a total of 49 children (94.2%) were classified as being adherent according to the parental MARS questionnaire scores, while all the 15 children (100%) who answered the MARS (child) questionnaire were classified as adherent. Overall adherence rate was 80.8% within the studied population. Conclusion: MARS scale was shown to overestimate adherence compared to measurement of 6-MP metabolites in the blood. A combination of both methods led to increased detection of non-adherence to thiopurine in children with ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heart Failure (HF) is a chronic disease associated with life-limiting symptoms that could negatively impact patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study aimed to evaluate HRQOL and explore the factors associated with poor HRQOL among patients with HF in Jordan. Methods: This cross-sectional study used the validated Arabic version of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire to assess HRQOL in outpatients with HF visiting cardiology clinics at two public hospitals in Jordan. Variables were collected from medical records and custom-designed questionnaires, including socio-demographics, biomedical variables, and disease and medication characteristics. Ordinal regression analysis was used to explore variables associated with poor HRQOL among HF patients. Results: Ordinal regression analysis showed that the number of HF medications (P < 0.05) and not taking a loop diuretic (P < 0.05) significantly increased HRQOL, while the number of other chronic diseases (P < 0.05), stage III/IV of HF (P < 0.01), low monthly income (P < 0.05), and being unsatisfied with the prescribed medications (P < 0.05) significantly decreased HRQOL of HF patients. Conclusions: Although the current study demonstrated low HRQOL among patients with HF in Jordan, HRQOL has a considerable opportunity for improvement in those patients. Variables identified in the present study, including low monthly income, higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes, a higher number of comorbidities, and/or taking a loop diuretic, should be considered in future intervention programs, aiming to improve HRQOL in patients with HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study was designed to assess the awareness of women of the risk factors and preventive measures of osteoporosis. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in Jordan. During the study period, a convenience sample of women were invited to participate via a survey link communicated through social media. Linear regression was used to screen independent variables affecting participants' awareness of osteoporosis, its risk factors, and preventive measures. Results: 426 women agreed to participate in this study, with a median age of 38.5 years (IQR=16.0). Results showed that women have a median awareness score of 5.0 out of 9.0 (IQR=4.0) about osteoporosis risk factors, whereas women with higher educational levels (diploma or higher) and those with medical-related degrees have a higher awareness about osteoporosis risk factors compared to others (p≤0.05). Medical websites were the primary source used to obtain information about osteoporosis by the participating women (n=236, 55.4%). Also, results showed that more than 90% of the women believed that osteoporosis is a chronic silent disease that makes your bones less dense and more fragile (n=418, 98.1%), and that bone strength may increase by taking vitamin D and calcium (n=405, 95.0%). Conclusion: This study showed that women had an intermediate level of awareness of osteoporosis and prevention measures. The importance of medical websites and social media as sources of information was also demonstrated. More public targeted campaigns are needed to promote awareness of osteoporosis, its risk factors, prevention, and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess medication adherence and to explore the factors associated with medication non-adherence among patient with HF in Jordan. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient cardiology clinics at two main hospitals in Jordan from August 2021 through April 2022. Variables including socio-demographics, biomedical variables, in addition to disease and medication characteristics were collected using medical records and custom-designed questionnaire. Medication adherence was assessed using the 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors that are significantly and independently associated with medication non-adherence. Results: Of the 427 participating patients, 92.5% had low to moderate medication adherence. Results of the regression analysis revealed that that patients who had higher education level (OR=3.36; 95% CI 1.08– 10.43; P=0.04) and were not suffering from medication-related side effects (OR=4.7; 95% CI 1.91– 11.5; P=0.001) had significantly higher odds of being in the moderate adherence group. Patients who were taking statins (OR=16.59; 95% CI 1.79– 153.98; P=0.01) or ACEIs/ ARBs (OR=3.95; 95% CI 1.01– 15.41; P=0.04) had significantly higher odds of being in the high adherence group. Furthermore, Patients who were not taking anticoagulants had higher odds of being in the moderate (OR=2.77; 95% CI 1.2– 6.46; P=0.02) and high (OR=4.11; 95% CI 1.27– 13.36; P=0.02) adherence groups when compared to patients who were taking anticoagulants. Conclusion: The poor medication adherence in the present study sheds the light on the importance of implementing intervention programs which focus on improving patients' perception about the prescribed medications particularly for patients who have low educational levels, receive an anticoagulant, and do not receive a statin or an ACEI/ ARB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system and motor functions. The biological complexity of PD is yet to reveal potential targets for intervention or to slow the disease severity. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the fidelity of blood to substantia nigra (SN) tissue gene expression from PD patients to provide a systematic approach to predict role of the key genes of PD pathobiology. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from multiple microarray data sets of PD blood and SN tissue from GEO database are identified. Using the theoretical network approach and variety of bioinformatic tools, we prioritized the key genes from DEGs. A total of 540 and 1024 DEGs were identified in blood and SN tissue samples, respectively. Functional pathways closely related to PD such as ERK1 and ERK2 cascades, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, Wnt, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and PI3K-Akt signaling were observed by enrichment analysis. Expression patterns of 13 DEGs were similar in both blood and SN tissues. Comprehensive network topological analysis and gene regulatory networks identified additional 10 DEGs functionally connected with molecular mechanisms of PD through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), autophagy, and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathways. Potential drug molecules were identified by chemical-protein network and drug prediction analysis. These potential candidates can be further validated in vitro/in vivo to be used as biomarkers and/or novel drug targets for the PD pathology and/or to arrest or delay the neurodegeneration over the years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on biocatalytic transformations of pinenes by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes reveal the formation of different oxygenated products from a single substrate due to the multistate reactivity of CYP and the many reactive sites in the pinene scaffold. Up until now, the detailed mechanism of these biocatalytic transformations of pinenes have not been reported. Hereby, we report a systematic theoretical study of the plausible hydrogen abstraction and hydroxylation reactions of α- and β-pinenes by CYP using the density functional theory (DFT) method. All DFT calculations in this study were based on B3LYP/LAN computational methodology using the Gaussian09 software. We used the B3LYP functional with corrections for dispersive forces, BSSE, and anharmonicity to study the mechanism and thermodynamic properties of these reactions using a bare model (without CYP) and a pinene-CYP model. According to the potential energy surface and Boltzmann distribution for radical conformers, the major reaction products of CYP-catalyzed hydrogen abstraction from β-pinene are the doublet trans (53.4%) and doublet cis (46.1%) radical conformer at delta site. The formation of doublet cis/trans hydroxylated products released a total Gibbs free energy of about 48 kcal/mol. As for alpha pinene, the most stable radicals were trans-doublet (86.4%) and cis-doublet (13.6%) at epsilon sites, and their hydroxylation products released a total of ~50 kcal/mol Gibbs free energy. Our results highlight the likely C-H abstraction and oxygen rebounding sites accounting for the multi-state of CYP (doublet, quartet, and sextet spin states) and the formation of different conformers due to the presence of cis/trans allylic hydrogen in α-pinene and β-pinene molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In recent years, the responsibilities of community pharmacists have changed significantly. This study aimed to assess Jordanian public satisfaction with community pharmacists' role as healthcare providers and to evaluate factors affecting their satisfaction level. Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among the Jordanian public using a convenience sampling approach between May 2022 and June 2022. A link to the self-administered questionnaire was distributed via different social media platforms to be filled by participants willing to participate to evaluate their views and satisfaction of community pharmacists' role as healthcare providers. Key findings: In this study, 710 participants agreed to participate in this study. The participants had a median age of 36.0 years and 62.3% of them were female. The most frequent reason for visiting any community pharmacy was purchasing prescription medications (83.1%). The location of the pharmacy was the most selected factor influencing the choice of a particular community pharmacy by the study participants (89.3%). Results showed that respondents had an acceptable satisfaction score about pharmacists' behaviours and roles (median score of 32.0 out of 40.0). More than 80% of the participants were satisfied with the language used by the pharmacist in discussing drug-related matters (84.9%), with the privacy maintained by the pharmacist while dealing with them (83.1%), with pharmacists' professionalism in dealing with patients (82.3%), and with the positive relationship between pharmacists and patients (81.0%). Respondents with a higher level of education showed more satisfaction towards pharmacists' services compared to those with lower levels of education (Beta = 0.088, P = 0.031). Conclusions: This study demonstrated an acceptable general satisfaction of community pharmacists while conducting their job, yet their role still mainly involves dispensing prescriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the prevalence and awareness of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in high-risk individuals attending 30 internal medicine clinics in Amman, Jordan, and also to evaluate the various factors associated with increased risk of MetS among them. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out across Amman, Jordan from October to December 2014. During the study period, 900 high-risk individuals (with hypertension, diabetes, central obesity and/or dyslipidemia) were recruited from thirty internal medicine clinics in Amman, Jordan. Data collection forms were filled based on patient interview and medical case file. Results: The prevalence of MetS among high-risk individuals was around 40 % (361/900), with around 79 % (284/361) of MetS patients unaware of their condition. Older age, lower income and family history of premature cardiovascular diseases were associated with a higher prevalence of MetS. Conclusion: Although MetS was found to be highly prevalent among high-risk individuals in this study, the awareness of the condition in this group is very poor. These findings support the need for educational programs that involve both health care providers and patients. These programs should especially target those at risk of MetS, in order to improve awareness of the concept of MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several psychosocial, sleep/circadian, and cardiometabolic disorders have intricately interconnected pathologies involving melatonin disruption. Therefore, we hypothesize that melatonin could be a therapeutic target for treating potential comorbid diseases associated with this triad of psychosocial-sleep/circadian-cardiometabolic disorders. We investigated melatonin's target prediction and tractability for this triad of disorders. The melatonin's target prediction for the proposed psychosocial-sleep/circadian-cardiometabolic disorder triad was investigated using databases from Europe PMC, ChEMBL, Open Targets Genetics, Phenodigm, and PheWAS. The association scores for melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2 with this disorder triad were explored for evidence of target–disease predictions. The potential of melatonin as a tractable target in managing the disorder triad was investigated using supervised machine learning to identify melatonin activities in cardiovascular, neuronal, and metabolic assays at the cell, tissue, and organism levels in a curated ChEMBL database. Target–disease visualization was done by graphs created using "igraph" library-based scripts and displayed using the Gephi ForceAtlas algorithm. The combined Europe PMC (data type: text mining), ChEMBL (data type: drugs), Open Targets Genetics Portal (data type: genetic associations), PhenoDigm (data type: animal models), and PheWAS (data type: genetic associations) databases yielded types and varying levels of evidence for melatonin-disease triad correlations. Of the investigated databases, 235 association scores of melatonin receptors with the targeted diseases were greater than 0.2; to classify the evidence per disease class: 37% listed psychosocial disorders, 9% sleep/circadian disorders, and 54% cardiometabolic disorders. Using supervised machine learning, 546 cardiovascular, neuronal, or metabolic experimental assays with predicted or measured melatonin activity scores were identified in the ChEMBL curated database. Of 248 registered trials, 144 phase I to IV trials for melatonin or agonists have been completed, of which 33.3% were for psychosocial disorders, 59.7% were for sleep/circadian disorders, and 6.9% were for cardiometabolic disorders. Melatonin's druggability was evidenced by evaluating target prediction and tractability for the triad of psychosocial-sleep/circadian-cardiometabolic disorders. While melatonin research and development in sleep/circadian and psychosocial disorders is more advanced, as evidenced by melatonin association scores, substantial evidence on melatonin discovery in cardiovascular and metabolic disorders supports continued R&D in cardiometabolic disorders, as evidenced by melatonin activity scores. A multiplatform analysis provided an integrative assessment of the target–disease investigations that may justify further translational research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system and motor functions. The biological complexity of PD is yet to reveal potential targets for intervention or to slow the disease severity. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the fidelity of blood to substantia nigra (SN) tissue gene expression from PD patients to provide a systematic approach to predict role of the key genes of PD pathobiology. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from multiple microarray data sets of PD blood and SN tissue from GEO database are identified. Using the theoretical network approach and variety of bioinformatic tools, we prioritized the key genes from DEGs. A total of 540 and 1024 DEGs were identified in blood and SN tissue samples, respectively. Functional pathways closely related to PD such as ERK1 and ERK2 cascades, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, Wnt, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and PI3K-Akt signaling were observed by enrichment analysis. Expression patterns of 13 DEGs were similar in both blood and SN tissues. Comprehensive network topological analysis and gene regulatory networks identified additional 10 DEGs functionally connected with molecular mechanisms of PD through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), autophagy, and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathways. Potential drug molecules were identified by chemical-protein network and drug prediction analysis. These potential candidates can be further validated in vitro/in vivo to be used as biomarkers and/or novel drug targets for the PD pathology and/or to arrest or delay the neurodegeneration over the years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Home medication delivery service is a major service for the public. It reduces overcrowding and unnecessary visits to health centers. This study aims to investigate the public perception of home delivery of medication service in Jordan and evaluate factors affecting the use of this service. Methods: The study was conducted in March 2022 using an online survey. Participants were asked to fill out a validated questionnaire to evaluate their perception of home delivery of medication service. Results: Among the 1032 adult participated in this study, the majority reported that they had heard of home delivery of medication service (n = 832, 80.6%). However, only 30.9% of them have used this service before. Results showed that 71.4% of the participants (n = 737) believe that home delivery of medication service is more convenient and accessible than in-store drug refill. In addition, 65.6% of the participants (n = 677) believed that home delivery of medication service is suitable only for refill-prescription drugs (65.0%). The main pros of the service as perceived by the study participants were to serve sick patients, elderly, and disabled people (n = 822, 79.7%). In contrast, the inability of patients to build a professional relationship with pharmacists using home delivery of medications service was the most perceived con of this service (n = 627, 60.8%). Finally, regression analysis revealed that older participants, those with chronic diseases, and those who visit community pharmacies two times or more per month revealed higher use of the service (P = < 0.05). Conclusion: This study has shown that most participants showed positive perceptions toward the home delivery of medication services. However, participants believed that this service may decrease pharmacist's patient contact time, thus affecting the quality of medication counseling. More comprehensive future studies are necessary to examine the financial aspects of such a service and its associated drawbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global and local whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 enables the tracing of domestic and international transmissions. We sequenced Viral RNA from 37 sampled Covid-19 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed infections across the UAE and developed time-resolved phylogenies with 69 local and 3,894 global genome sequences. Furthermore, we investigated specific clades associated with the UAE cohort and, their global diversity, introduction events and inferred domestic and international virus transmissions between January and June 2020. The study comprehensively characterized the genomic aspects of the virus and its spread within the UAE and identified that the prevalence shift of the D614G mutation was due to the later introductions of the G-variant associated with international travel, rather than higher local transmissibility. For clades spanning different emirates, the most recent common ancestors pre-date domestic travel bans. In conclusion, we observe a steep and sustained decline of international transmissions immediately following the introduction of international travel restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The class I and class II Human Leucocyte Antigens (HLA) are an integral part of the host adaptive immune system against viral infections. The characterization of HLA allele frequency in the population can play an important role in determining whether HLA antigens contribute to viral susceptibility. In this regard, global efforts are currently underway to study possible correlations between HLA alleles with the occurrence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Specifically, this study examined the possible association between specific HLA alleles and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 in a population from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The frequencies of HLA class I (HLA-A, -B , and -C) and HLA class II alleles (HLA-DRB1 and - DQB1); defined using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS); from 115 UAE nationals with mild, moderate, and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection are presented here. HLA alleles and supertypes were compared between hospitalized and non-hospitalized subjects. Statistical significance was observed between certain HLA alleles and supertypes and the severity of the infection. Specifically, alleles HLA-B*51:01 and HLA-A*26:01 showed a negative association (suggestive of protection), whilst genotypes HLA-A*03:01, HLA-DRB1*15:01, and supertype B44 showed a positive association (suggestive of predisposition) to COVID-19 severity. The results support the potential use of HLA testing to differentiate between patients who require specific clinical management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic created a worldwide debilitating health crisis with the entire humanity suffering from the deleterious effects associated with the high infectivity and mortality rates. While significant evidence is currently available online and targets various aspects of the disease, both inflammatory and noninflammatory kidney manifestations secondary to COVID-19 infection are still largely underrepresented. In this review, we summarized current knowledge about COVID-19-related kidney manifestations, their pathologic mechanisms as well as various pharmacotherapies used to treat patients with COVID-19. We also shed light on the effect of these medications on kidney functions that can further enhance renal damage secondary to the illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication errors remained among the top 10 leading causes of death worldwide. Furthermore, a high percentage of medication errors are classified as medication discrepancies. This study aimed to identify and quantify the different types of unintentional medication discrepancies among hospitalized hypertensive patients; it also explored the predictors of unintentional medication discrepancies among this cohort of patients.Methods: This was a prospective observational study undertaken in a large teaching hospital. A convenience sample of adult patients, taking ≥4 regular medications, with a prior history of treated hypertension admitted to a medical or surgical ward were recruited. The best possible medication histories were obtained by hospital pharmacists using at least two information sources. These histories were compared to the admission medication orders to identify any possible unintentional discrepancies. These discrepancies were classified based on their severity. Finally, the different predictors affecting unintentional discrepancies occurrence were recognized.Results: A high rate of unintentional medication discrepancies has been found, with approximately 46.7% of the patients had at least one unintentional discrepancy. Regression analysis showed that for every one year of increased age, the number of unintentional discrepancies per patient increased by 0.172 (P = 0.007), and for every additional medication taken prior to hospital admission, the number of discrepancies increased by 0.258 (P= 0.003). While for every additional medication at hospital admission, the number of discrepancies decreased by 0.288 (P < 0.001). Cardiovascular medications, such as diuretics and beta-blockers, were associated with the highest rates of unintentional discrepancies in our study. Medication omission was the most common type of the identified discrepancies, with approximately 46.1% of the identified discrepancies were related to omission. Regarding the clinical significance of the identified discrepancies, around two-third of them were of moderate to high significance (n= 124, 64.2%), which had the potential to cause moderate or severe worsening of the patient´s medical condition.Conclusions: Unintentional medication discrepancies are highly prevalent among hypertensive patients. Medication omission was the most commonly encountered discrepancy type. Health institutions should implement appropriate and effective tools and strategies to reduce these medication discrepancies and enhance patient safety at different care transitions. Further studies are needed to assess whether such discrepancies might affect blood pressure control in hypertensive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to or ingestion of turpentine can alter the scent of urine, conferring it a flowery, violet-like scent. Turpentine's effect on urine was initially noticed after its use either as medicine or as a preservative in winemaking. Regardless of the source of exposure, the phenomenon requires metabolic conversion of turpentine component(s) to ionone, the molecule mainly responsible for the scent of violets. The purpose of this study was to identify the presence of ionone in the urine of rats that received β-pinene, and thus to demonstrate that the postulated conversion occurs. We treated rats intraperitoneally with normal saline (negative control), β-ionone (positive control), low-dose β-pinene (1/3 of LD50), and high-dose β-pinene (1/2 of LD50). Urine samples were collected up to 72 h after administration of the compounds, followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry identification of the presence of ionone. β-Ionone was found in the urine of rats exposed to both low and high doses of β-pinene. In contrast, α-ionone appears unlikely to have been formed in rats exposed to either low or high doses of β-pinene. β-pinene was converted to β-ionone, followed by partial excretion in the urine of rats. β-Ionone is a minor metabolite of β-pinene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) often coexist and share genetic factors. This study aimed to investigate the common genetic factors underlying T2D and CAD in patients with CAD. A three-step association approach was conducted: a) a discovery step involving 943 CAD patients with T2D and 1,149 CAD patients without T2D; b) an eliminating step to exclude CAD or T2D specific variants; and c) a replication step using the UK Biobank data. Ten genetic loci were associated with T2D in CAD patients. Three variants were specific to either CAD or T2D. Five variants lost significance after adjusting for covariates, while two SNPs remained associated with T2D in CAD patients (rs7904519*G: TCF7L2 and rs17608766*C: GOSR2). The T2D susceptibility rs7904519*G was associated with increased T2D risk, while the CAD susceptibility rs17608766*C was negatively associated with T2D in CAD patients. These associations were replicated in a UK Biobank data, confirming the results. No significant common T2D and CAD susceptibility genetic association was demonstrated indicating distinct disease pathways. However, CAD patients carrying the T2D susceptibility gene TCF7L2 remain at higher risk for developing T2D emphasizing the need for frequent monitoring in this subgroup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Pharmacists require a baseline level of knowledge in paediatric pharmaceutical care in order to be able to adequately care for paediatric patients and counsel their families. This study aimed to explore the self-reported knowledge, attitudes and competency of final-year pharmacy students in Jordan regarding paediatric pharmaceutical care. Methods: This study took place in Jordan between November 2016 and May 2017. A 28-item questionnaire was designed and administered to 400 students from all pharmacy programmes in Jordan during their final year of training. Results: A total of 354 students agreed to take part in the study (response rate: 88.5%). Most respondents (95.2%) were aware of the term ‘paediatrics’. However, almost one-third of the respondents (30.5%) reported never having taken paediatric dose calculation courses and more than half (55.6%) were unfamiliar with the term ‘off-label medicines’. Moreover, most respondents (65.1%) had low knowledge scores (≤2 out of 5) when presented with realistic paediatric case scenarios. There were no significant differences in knowledge and attitudes between undergraduate and doctoral students or between those from public or private universities (P >0.05). Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight an alarming deficiency in paediatric pharmaceutical knowledge among final-year pharmacy students in Jordan. As such, paediatric-related content should be emphasised in the pharmacy curricula of Jordanian universities so that pharmacy students receive more formalised education and more extensive training in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of parents towards antibiotics use for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in Jordan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at 10 private outpatients’ pediatric clinics across Amman-Jordan from September to December 2013. During the study period, 1329 parents of young children who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate were interviewed, and completed a validated structured questionnaire. Results: A large proportion of parents (903, 68 %) believed that weather change was the main cause of acute URTIs in their children. Although 1098 (82.8 %) of parents were aware that the recurrent use of antibiotics leads to a decrease in effectiveness due to bacterial resistance, 859 (64.6 %) of the respondents reported that they would give antibiotics without prescription. Fathers (135, 40.2 %), were significantly more aware that URTIs follow its natural course without antibiotic administration compared to mothers (N = 327, 32.9 %), respectively (p = 0.005). Conclusion: There is a lack of adequate parental knowledge concerning the use and misuse of antibiotics in children in Jordan. National publicity campaign should be mounted to improve awareness. Furthermore, existing laws should be enforced to prevent parents from purchasing antibiotics over-the-counter (OTC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]