Drug Prescription Knowledge and Practices among Dental Students and Interns Enrolled in Selected Yemeni Universities

Objective: To assess the drug prescription knowledge among dental students and interns in public and private Yemeni universities. Methods: A descriptive, observational study of drug prescription knowledge and practices was conducted through the distribution of self-administrated questionnaires to a total of 464 dental students and interns enrolled in four universities in Yemen in 2015. The study investigated the factors to be considered before drug prescribing, indications for prescribing antibiotics in dental situations, common antibiotics and analgesics prescribed, difficulties in writing a prescription and knowledge of the World Health Organization’s Guide to Good Prescribing. Findings were presented as descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages, and differences and associations were tested at P-values <0.05. Results: The majority of respondents were females (65.9%; 304/464), being enrolled in public universities (54.1%; 251/464) and from the fifth level of study (54.9%; 251/464). The mean respondents’ age was 23.0 ±1.3 years (range: 22–32). Presence of systemic diseases (75.0%), pregnancy status (72.2%) and presence of allergies (68.8%) were the factors most frequently considered by the respondents prior to drug prescribing. On the other hand, presence of abscesses was the most frequent reason for prescribing antibiotics (36.6%). Amoxicillin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic (74.1%), while paracetamol (58.2%) and ibuprofen (47.0%) were the most frequently prescribed analgesics. Not knowing the brand names of prescribed drugs and wrongly filled prescriptions were the most frequent errors in writing prescriptions, being reported by 79.3% and 55.3% of respondents, respectively. Regarding the factors associated with common prescribing errors, female students had significantly more errors than their male counterparts regarding the posology and knowledge of brand names. In addition, fifth-level students reported significantly fewer errors in writing a drug prescription than fourth-level students, and the interns showed fewer errors than their undergraduate colleagues. Moreover, students from public universities reported significantly more errors in knowing brand names and duration of treatment than private university students. Conclusions: Dental students enrolled at the fourth and fifth levels as well as in the internship year of dentistry have insufficient knowledge and skills in prescribing drugs used in the dental field because of the perceived gaps in clinical pharmacology courses during their study. Revising the timing and content of pharmacology courses in dental curricula is required in light of the positive aspects of those from the dental faculties worldwide, emphasizing on drug prescribing skills and preparing dental students well before the clinical levels of the study program

Inhibitory effects of the nanoscale lysate derived from xenogenic dental pulp stem cells in lung cancer models

Abstract Background Lung cancer is a highly prevalent malignancy and has the highest mortality rate among all tumors due to lymph node metastasis. Bone marrow and umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have demonstrated tumor-suppressive effects on lung cancer. This study investigated the effects of DPSC lysate on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of cancer cells were studied in vivo and in vitro. Methods The proliferation, apoptosis, and migration/metastasis were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 assay, Annexin-V and propidium iodide staining, and the transwell assay, respectively. The expression levels of apoptosis-, cell cycle-, migration-, and adhesion-related mRNA and proteins were measured by qRT-PCR and western blot. The level and mRNA expression of tumor markers carcino embryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were measured by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and qRT-PCR. Finally, a tumor-bearing mouse model was constructed to observe the tumor-suppressive effect of DPSC lysate after intraperitoneal injection. Results DPSC lysate decreased the viability of A549 cells and induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Western blot confirmed that levels of Caspase-3, Bax, and Bad were increased, and Bcl-2 protein levels were decreased in A549 cells treated with DPSC lysate. In addition, DPSC lysate inhibited the migration and invasion of A549 cells; downregulated key genes of the cell cycle, migration, and adhesion; and significantly suppressed tumor markers. Xenograft results showed that DPSC lysate inhibited tumor growth and reduced tumor weight. Conclusions DPSC lysate inhibited proliferation, invasion, and metastasis; promoted apoptosis in lung cancer cells; and suppressed tumor growth- potentially providing a cell-based alternative therapy for lung cancer treatment. Graphical Abstrac

Effects of transplanted heparin-poloxamer hydrogel combining dental pulp stem cells and bFGF on spinal cord injury repair

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of serious traumatic diseases of the central nervous system and has no effective treatment because of its complicated pathophysiology. Tissue engineering strategy which contains scaffolds, cells, and growth factors can provide a promising treatment for SCI. Hydrogel that has 3D network structure and biomimetic microenvironment can support cellular growth and embed biological macromolecules for sustaining release. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), derived from cranial neural crest, possess mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) characteristics and have an ability to provide neuroprotective and neurotrophic properties for SCI treatment. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is able to promote cell survival and proliferation and also has beneficial effect on neural regeneration and functional recovery after SCI. Herein, a thermosensitive heparin-poloxamer (HP) hydrogel containing DPSCs and bFGF was prepared, and the effects of HP-bFGF-DPSCs on neuron restoration after SCI were evaluated by functional recovery tests, western blotting, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histology evaluation, and immunohistochemistry. The results suggested that transplanted HP hydrogel containing DPSCs and bFGF had a significant impact on spinal cord repair and regeneration and may provide a promising strategy for neuron repair, functional recovery, and tissue regeneration after SCI

Thermosensitive bFGF-modified hydrogel with dental pulp stem cells on neuroinflammation of spinal cord injury

Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) induces severe neuroinflammation, which increases intermediary filaments and neurodegeneration. Previous studies have shown that a basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) contribute to a protective effect on injured neuronal cells, but the mechanism of SCI repair is still unclear. In this study, in situ heparin (HeP) hydrogel injection containing bFGF and DPSCs (HeP-bFGF-DPSCs), as well as in vitro studies of bFGF and DPSCs, proved an effective control over inflammation. The in vivo application of HeP-bFGF-DPSCs regulated inflammatory reactions and accelerated the nerve regeneration through microtubule stabilization and tissue vasculature. Our mechanistic investigation also showed that bFGF-DPSCs treatment inhibited microglia/macrophage proliferation and activation. Furthermore, HeP-bFGF-DPSCs prevented microglia/macrophage activation and reduced proinflammatory cytokine release. In this paper, we discovered that bFGF and DPSCs worked together to attenuate tissue inflammation of the injured spinal cord, resulting in a superior nerve repair. Our results indicated that a thermosensitive hydrogel delivering bFGF and DPSCs could serve as a promising treatment option for spinal cord injuries