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Sawsan MA Abuhamdah,1,2 Abdallah Y Naser,3 Safaa Al Awawdeh4 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Al-Ain University, Abu Dhabi Campus, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 2Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; 3Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan; 4Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Sawsan MA Abuhamdah, College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University, P.O. Box: 112612, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tel +971-26133228, Fax +971-24444304, Email sawsan.abuhamdah@aau.ac.aeObjective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of the general public in Jordan towards autism. In addition, we aimed to assess their awareness of various treatment options for autism, and their attentiveness and willingness to assist.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Jordan for the period between April and May 2022 using an online questionnaire developed based on a literature review. A total of 833 individuals in Amman city completed the questionnaires assessing participant demographics, knowledge of and attitude towards ADS, awareness of management options, perception, and ability to help. Using logistic regression, the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for those who are more likely to be informed about autism were determined.Results: The participants’ overall understanding of autism spectrum disorder was poor, with a mean score of 6.2 (SD: 3.1) out of 17, or 36.5%. The participants showed a moderately positive attitude towards autism, with an average agreement of 60.9% for government support for ADS children. The items about management options auditory integration training therapy had the highest level (50.1%). Additionally, the participants showed a moderate to high level of attention and ability to help people with autism. The majority confirmed that they see the need to implement changes in public facilities to meet the needs of autistic patients (71.8%). When compared to others, females, aged below 30, single, with family income less than 500 JD, holding a bachelor’s degree, and working outside the healthcare field had a higher likelihood of knowing more about the autism spectrum condition (p ≤ 0.05).Conclusion: Our research illustrates the lack of awareness and knowledge among the Jordanian population regarding autism. To fill this gap, educational awareness programs should be conducted to promote Jordanian knowledge regarding autism and find ways in which communities, organisations, and governments can support so as to allow for early diagnoses and an appropriate treatment plan and therapy for autistic children.Keywords: attitude, autism, Jordan, knowledge, public

Objective: The burden of neurological disease-related disabilities and deaths is one of the most serious issues globally. We aimed to examine the hospitalisation profile related to nervous system diseases in Australia for the duration between 1998 and 2019., Design: A secular trend analysis using a population-based dataset., Setting: This analysis used a population-based study of hospitalised patients in Australia. Hospitalisation data were extracted from the National Hospital Morbidity Database, which collects sets of episode-level information for Australian patients admitted to all private and public hospitals., Participants: All patients who were hospitalised in all private and public hospitalisations., Primary Outcome Measure: Hospitalisation rates related to nervous system diseases., Results: Hospitalisation rates increased by 1.04 times (from 650.36 (95% CI 646.73 to 654.00) in 1998 to 1328.90 (95% CI 1324.44 to 1333.35) in 2019 per 100 000 persons, p<0.01). Overnight-stay episodes accounted for 57.0% of the total number of hospitalisations. Rates of the same-day hospitalisation for diseases of the nervous system increased by 2.10-fold (from 219.74 (95% CI 217.63 to 221.86) in 1998 to 680.23 (95% CI 677.03 to 683.43) in 2019 per 100 000 persons). Rates of overnight-stay hospital admission increased by 42.7% (from 430.62 (95% CI 427.66 to 433.58) in 1998 to 614.70 (95% CI 611.66 to 617.75) in 2019 per 100 000 persons). 'Episodic and paroxysmal disorders' were the most prevalent reason for hospitalisation, which accounted for 49.0% of the total number of episodes. Female hospitalisation rates increased by 1.13-fold (from 618.23 (95% CI 613.24 to 623.22) in 1998 to 1316.33 (95% CI 1310.07 to 1322.58) in 2019 per 100 000 persons). Male hospitalisation rates increased by 86.4% (from 682.95 (95% CI 677.67 to 688.23) in 1998 to 1273.18 (95% CI 1266.98 to 1279.37) in 2019 per 100 000 persons)., Conclusion: Hospitalisation rates for neurological disorders in Australia are high, potentially owing to the ageing of the population. Males had greater rates of hospitalisation than females., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Caffeine and taurine, which possess neuro-modulatory activity happen to be consumed together as part of the constituents of energy drinks, could have beneficial effects and prevent neuronal deterioration in Parkinson's disease (PD)., Objective: This study aimed to investigate behavioral and neurochemical effects of these two agents in an animal model of PD at two time points to evaluate possible neuro-protective or neuro-modulatory effects., Methods: Stereotaxic injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rat striatum was used to model PD-like behavior in animals. Motor behavior was assessed by a characteristic rotation behavior response to the apomorphine challenge and dopamine levels in the striatum were quantified using HPLC-ED., Results: A reduction in apomorphine induced rotations following administration of caffeine and/or taurine as compared to the untreated lesioned group (controls) was shown. Significant decreases in dopamine levels were also seen in the ipsilateral side of 6-OHDA group, this effect was not significantly reversed in caffeine and taurine treated groups. Treatments partially restored the content of DA levels in the lesioned striatum., Conclusions: Current results demonstrated beneficial effects for the combination of caffeine and taurine in PD animal model, suggesting that consumption of both agents could be a new added therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease prevention and treatment.

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) plays an important role in the progression of the Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we used a structure-based virtual screening (VS) approach to discover new BChE inhibitors. A ligand database was filtered and docked to the BChE protein using Glide program. The outcome from VS was filtered and the top ranked hits were thoroughly examined for their fitting into the protein active site. Consequently, the best 38 hits were selected for in vitro testing using Ellman's method, and six of which showed inhibition activity for BChE. Interestingly, the most potent hit (Compound 4) exhibited inhibitory activity against the BChE enzyme in the low micromolar level with an IC50 value of 8.3 µM. Hits obtained from this work can act as a starting point for future SAR studies to discover new BChE inhibitors as anti-Alzheimer agents.