Sedative, Cognitive Impairment and Anxiolytic Effects of Acute Mitragyna Speciosa in Rodents

Mitragyna speciosa, a plant from Rubiaceae family, was reported to have an opium-like effect and their coca-like stimulative ability to combat fatigue and enhance tolerance to hard work. There are lack of information regarding to the effect of Mitragyna speciosa on cognitive and behavioural performances. Therefore the project was conducted to observe the effect of Mitragyna speciosa on cognitive behavior of rats and mice. Mitragyna speciosa in methanol extract form and aqueous extract form with same dosage distributions were used; 10 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, and 100 mg/kg. Four tests were conducted to observe the behavioural changes of the animal namely locomotor, cognitive performances, anxiety and rotarod performance. Results showed that all dosage of treatment reduced locomotor and impaired cognitive performance significantly. Study showed that Mitragyna speciosa induce sedative effect in dose dependant manner. Interestingly, Mitragyna speciosa increased the time spent in open arm of plus maze indicating low anxiety level of the rodent, As conclusion, Mitragyna speciosa caused sedative effect, impairment in working memory, and possess anxiolytic properties.     

Evaluation of tissue kallikrein activity on survival time after acute coronary artery ligation in hypertensive rats

It is known that the tissue kallikrein-kinin system is located in the cardiac tissue, and the lack of this system in the cardiac tissue might induce cardiac dysfunctions. In this study, we investigated the potential role of tissue kallikrein and Trasylol, an inhibitor of tissue kallikrein, on survival time with acute left coronary artery ligation for 15 min in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Tissue kallikrein (8 and 16 microg/kg, i.v.) treatment caused significant (P<0.05) increases in the survival time of SHR as compared with the saline-treated control SHR. Trasylol pretreatment abolished (P<0.05) the beneficial effect on tissue kallikrein on survival time. The ligation of coronary artery resulted in significant (P<0.05) reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) of SHR compared with the saline-treated control SHR. The tissue kallikrein treatment caused greater (P<0.001) reduction in the SBP, DBP and HR of SHR, when the mean values were compared between before coronary artery ligation and after coronary artery ligation. Trasylol (6 microg/kg) treatment antagonized the effects of tissue kallikrein associated with survival time, SBP, DBP and HR. These findings may suggest that tissue kallikrein is able to act as a cardioprotective agent as demonstrated by the increase in survival time of SHR with acute coronary artery ligation. The significance of these observations is discussed.     

Human adenovirus type 7 outbreak in Police Training Center, Malaysia, 2011

In March 2011, an outbreak of acute respiratory disease was reported at the Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Police Training Centre. Approximately 100 trainees were hospitalized and 5 were admitted to the intensive care unit. Three of these 5 trainees died. Human adenovirus type 7 was identified as the etiologic agent.     

The epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage and infections in Malaysia

In Malaysia, various aspects of the epidemiology of pneumococcal carriage and disease remain largely unclear due to the lack of supporting data. Although a number of relevant studies have been documented, their individual discrete findings are not sufficient to inform experts on pneumococcal epidemiology at a national level. Therefore, in this review we aim to bring together and systematically evaluate the key information regarding pneumococcal disease epidemiology in Malaysia and provide a comprehensive overview of the data. Major aspects discussed include pneumococcal carriage, disease incidence and prevalence, age factors, invasiveness of pneumococci, serotypes, molecular epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility. Penicillin resistance is increasingly prevalent and studies suggest that the majority of pneumococcal serotypes causing pneumococcal disease in Malaysia are covered by currently available conjugate vaccines. Continued surveillance is needed to provide a better understanding of pneumococcal epidemiology in Malaysia.     

A new symmetrical tetramer oligostilbenoid containing tetrahydrofuran ring from the stem bark of Dryobalanops lanceolata

A new tetramer oligostilbenoid possessing tetrahydrofuran ring, malaysianol C (1), was isolated from the acetone extract of the stem bark of Dryobalanops lanceolata, together with four known oligostilbenoids nepalensinol E (2), ?-viniferin (3), laevifonol (4), and ampelopsin F (5). The structures of isolated compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectral evidence. The antibacterial activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated using resazurin microtitre-plate assay, whereas the cytotoxic activity was tested using MTT assay. The plausible biogenetic routes of the isolated compounds are also discussed.     

Beverage Intake and the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: The SECOST

The contribution and impact of beverage intake to total nutrient and energy intake may be substantial. Given the link between lifestyle, diet, and the risk of pregnancy complications, this study investigated the association between the quantity and types of beverages with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. The study included 452 women from the Seremban Cohort Study (SECOST). The mean energy by beverage intake was 273 ± 23.83 kcal/day (pre-pregnancy), 349 ± 69.46 kcal/day (first trimester) and 361 ± 64.24 kcal/day (second trimester). Women significantly increased intake of maternal milks and malted drinks, but significantly reduced the intake of carbonated drinks and other drinks from before until the second trimester of pregnancy. For chocolate drinks, carbonated drinks, and soy milk, women increased intake from pre-conception to the first trimester, but reduced their intake from the first to the second trimester. While higher intake of cultured-milk drinks was associated with an increased risk of GDM, higher fruit juice intake was associated with a lower risk of GDM. However, these associations were only observed for intake prior to pregnancy and during the first trimester. Further research is needed to corroborate these findings and investigate the contributions of different beverages to overall diet quality as well as adverse health outcomes during pregnancy.     

Prevalence of glycemic variability and factors associated with the glycemic arrays among end-stage kidney disease patients on chronic hemodialysis

Glycemic variability (GV) confers a significantly higher risk of diabetic-related complications, especially cardiovascular. Despite extensive research in this area, data on end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients on chronic hemodialysis are scarce. This study aims to determine the magnitude of GV among ESKD (diabetic vs nondiabetic) patients and its associated factors on hemodialysis days (HDD) and non-hemodialysis days (NHDD) where postulation of a higher GV observed among diabetic on HDD.We recruited 150 patients on hemodialysis, 93 patients with type 2 diabetic (DM-ESKD), and 57 with nondiabetic (NDM-ESKD). The GV indices (standard deviation [SD] and percentage coefficient variant [%CV]) were obtained from 11-point and 7-point self-monitoring blood glucose (fasting to post-meal) (SMBG) profiles on HDD and NHDD. The GV indices and its associated factors of both DM-ESKD and NDM-ESKD were analyzed to compare HDD vs NHDD.Mean blood glucose on HDD was 9.33 [SD 2.7, %CV 30.6%] mmol/L in DM-ESKD compared with 6.07 [SD 0.85, %CV 21.3%] mmol/L in NDM-ESKD (P = <.01). The DM-ESKD group experienced significantly above target GV indices compared to NDM-ESKD on both HDD and NHDD, particularly in the subgroup with HbA1c 8–10% (P = <.01). Presence of diabetes, older age, hyperlipidemia, HbA1c, ferritin levels, and albumin were identified as factors associated with GV.DM-ESKD patients have above-target GV indices, especially on HDD, therefore increasing their risk of developing future complications. We identified high HbA1c, older age group, presence of hyperlipidemia, ferritin levels, and albumin as factors associated with GV indices that may be used as surrogate markers for GV. Since these groups of patients are vulnerable to CVD mortality, urgent attention is needed to rectify it.