Potential effect of fortified pan bread with Aloe vera juice on alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Background: This study was designed to investigate (1) the potential use of Aloe vera juice (AVJ) for fortification of pan bread with evaluates the sensory characteristics and the nutritive value. (2) The  possible beneficial role of 5% and 10% AVJ-fortified bread against diabetic rats.Materials and Methods: Bread fortified with 5%, 10% and 20% AVJ investigated with panel test and the highest two scores (5%, 10%) were recorded and included for biological study. Forty male Albino rats weighted 200 + 10 g were divided into 4 groups (n=10) (-) control, (+) diabetic control, 5% and 10% AVJ-fortified bread.Results: Diabetic rats resulted in significant (p<0.05) increase in liver and kidney mass, blood glucose, serum hepatic biomarkers, malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum lipid profiles except serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)while serum insulin, albumin, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) that had significant (p<0.05) reduction compared to control group. AVJ-fortified bread causes sufficient amelioration against the effects of diabetes with improving all tested biochemical parameters which were more pronounced in 10% AVJfortified group.Conclusions: Based on the results, it appeared that consumption of AVJ-fortified bread has reduced blood glucose, lipid profiles and hepatic biomarkers with eliminated oxidative stress by virtue of its antioxidant  properties.Key words: Aloe vera Juice, Fortification, Pan Bread, Lipid Profiles, Diabetes

Screening and Evaluation of Deleterious SNPs in APOE Gene of Alzheimer's Disease

Introduction. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is an important risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is present in 30–50% of patients who develop late-onset AD. Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are present in APOE gene which act as the biomarkers for exploring the genetic basis of this disease. The objective of this study is to identify deleterious nsSNPs associated with APOE gene. Methods. The SNPs were retrieved from dbSNP. Using I-Mutant, protein stability change was calculated. The potentially functional nonsynonymous (ns) SNPs and their effect on protein was predicted by PolyPhen and SIFT, respectively. FASTSNP was used for functional analysis and estimation of risk score. The functional impact on the APOE protein was evaluated by using Swiss PDB viewer and NOMAD-Ref server. Results. Six nsSNPs were found to be least stable by I-Mutant 2.0 with DDG value of >−1.0. Four nsSNPs showed a highly deleterious tolerance index score of 0.00. Nine nsSNPs were found to be probably damaging with position-specific independent counts (PSICs) score of ≥2.0. Seven nsSNPs were found to be highly polymorphic with a risk score of 3-4. The total energies and root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values were higher for three mutant-type structures compared to the native modeled structure. Conclusion. We concluded that three nsSNPs, namely, rs11542041, rs11542040, and rs11542034, to be potentially functional polymorphic

POTENTIAL EFFECT OF FORTIFIED PAN BREAD WITH ALOE VERA JUICE ON ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Background: This study was designed to investigate (1) the potential use of Aloe vera juice (AVJ) for fortification of pan bread with evaluates the sensory characteristics and the nutritive value. (2) The possible beneficial role of 5% and 10% AVJ-fortified bread against diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Bread fortified with 5%, 10% and 20% AVJ investigated with panel test and the highest two scores (5%, 10%) were recorded and included for biological study. Forty male Albino rats weighted 200 + 10 g were divided into 4 groups (n=10) (-) control, (+) diabetic control, 5% and 10% AVJ-fortified bread. Results: Diabetic rats resulted in significant (

Evaluation of the Prevalence and Correlated Factors for Decreased Bone Mass Density among Pre- and Post-menopausal Educated Working Women in Saudi Arabia

Most of the previous studies on osteoporosis have focused on post-menopausal women, and more research is needed to evaluate its prevalence in pre-menopausal women. This study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence and correlated factors for decreased bone mass density among pre- and post-menopausal women. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Applied Medical Sciences College under King Saud University. All pre- and post-menopausal women working there were invited to participate in the study. Measurement of bone mass density was done by quantitative ultrasound densitometry. One-fourth of the pre-menopausal females had osteopaenia. There was a significant correlation between having osteoporosis and increasing age, fertility period, parity, menopausal duration, gynaecological age, and presence of comorbidity, especially hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Pre-menopausal females had high prevalence of osteopaenia (24.8%), and it is recommended to implement health education campaigns demonstrating the preventive measures of osteoporosis

Stigmatisation of Obesity and its Relation to the Perception of Controllability in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: This study assessed the stigmatisation of obesity among a sample of the general population in Riyadh and its association with the perception of controllability. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during January–February 2021 and included 384 participants who were recruited through a convenience sampling method. The data were collected using a self-administrated online questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using John’s Macintosh Project Version 16.0.0. Results: Most of the participants had a low level of stigma towards obesity (72.8%), and gender and BMI were significantly associated with the level of stigma at (p = .0023) and (p = .0360) respectively. The association between the perception of controllable factors and the level of stigma was also significant (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: The data supported the hypothesis that there would be a significant association between stigmatisation on obesity and perception of controllability among the general population in Riyadh City. Regarding recommendations, the authors suggest that they should be based on joint international consensus statements for ending the stigma of obesity in different settings and categories, and should include the education of healthcare service providers and obese patients on the relationships shown in the findings. Keywords: Obesity, stigmatisation, perceptio

Knowledge and Attitude of Saudi Health Professions’ Students Regarding Patient’s Bill of Rights

Background Patient’s rights are worldwide considerations. Saudi Patient’s Bill of Rights (PBR) which was established in 2006 contained 12 items. Lack of knowledge regarding the Saudi PBR limits its implementation in health facilities. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of health professions’ students at College of Applied Medical Sciences (CAMS) Riyadh Saudi Arabia regarding the existence and content of Saudi PBR as well as their attitude toward its ineffectiveness. Method A 3-parts survey was used to collect data from 239 volunteer students participated in the study. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics using SPSS. Results Results showed that although the majority of students (96.7%) believe in the ineffectiveness of patient’s rights, half (52.3%) of them had perceptual knowledge regarding the existence of Saudi PBR and only 7.9% of them were knowledgeable about some items (1–4 items) of the bill. Privacy and confidentiality of patient was the most common known patient’s rights. Students’ academic level was not correlated to neither their knowledge regarding the bill existence or its content nor to their attitude toward the bill. The majority of the students (93%) reported that only one course within their curriculum was patient’s rights-course related. About one quarter (23.4%) of the students reported that teaching staff used to mention patient’s rights in their teaching sessions. Conclusion The Saudi health professions students at CAMS have positive attitude toward the ineffectiveness of patient’s rights nevertheless they showed limited knowledge regarding the existence of Saudi PBR and its contents. CAMS curriculums do not support the subject of patient’s rights

Body composition analysis by bioelectrical impedance and its relationship with nutritional status in older adults: a cross-sectional descriptive study

Currently, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), adults aged ≥ 60 years make up approximately 6% of the total population, and this is predicted to reach around 23% by the year 2050 (1). The expected changes in the age distribution of the population will increase the incidence and prevalence of many chronic diseases (2,3),which are known to occur more commonly in the Saudi older age group (4-6). A poor diet, in addition to sedentary lifestyle and genetics, plays a crucial role in the increased prevalence of many chronic diseases (7,8). For example, the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension in the KSA, which are known risk factors of cardiovascular disease, a major cause of death in the KSA, have reached 49.6%, 25.1%, 32.1% and 30.3%, respectively (9). With ageing, there is a loss of lean body mass (mainly skeletal muscle), an increase in fat mass (10) and a decrease in resting energy expenditure (11). With the loss of muscle comes a loss of strength, and, consequently, older adults may become less active, which contributes to further loss of muscle. On the other hand, national surveys conducted in the KSA show that overweight and obesity have reached high rates in the adult population (12-14), which indicates that KSA is now facing a serious obesity-prevalence crisis. There has, however, been less focus on lean mass, and its functional significance, in the older Saudi population. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess body composition and the relationship between body composition and nutritional status in community dwelling older adults attending primary health care centers (PHCCs) in Riyadh city, KS