Prevalence and predictors of seizure in patients with Alzheimer’s disease at a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and predictors of seizures in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at a Saudi tertiary hospital.Methods: A retrospective, matched case-control study was conducted using the electronic medical records of patients with AD who had an unprovoked seizure, from October 2015 to May 2018.Results: Nineteen cases and 195 controls were identified. Statistically significant risk factors for an unprovoked seizure in patients diagnosed with AD were hypertension (p = 0.001), autoimmune disease, stroke and TIA (p = 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified hypertension (OR = 2.89; p = 0.009) and autoimmune disease (OR = 19.6; p = 0.045) as predictors of unprovoked seizure in AD patients.Conclusion: The occurrence of unprovoked seizures is more likely in severe cases of AD. In addition, the risk of seizure in patients with AD increases with two co-morbid conditions, hypertension, and autoimmune disease. However, further studies are required to determine the underlying mechanism of the association between the two risk factors and AD

Smart information desk system with voice assistant for universities

This article aims to develop a smart information desk system through a smart mirror for universities. It is a mirror with extra capabilities of displaying answers for academic inquiries such as asking about the lecturers’ office numbers and hours, exams dates and times on the mirror surface. In addition, the voice recognition feature was used to answer spoken inquiries in audio responds to serve all types of users including disabled ones. Furthermore, the system showed general information such as date, weather, time and the university map. The smart mirror was connected to an outdoor camera to monitor the traffics at the university entrance gate. The system was implemented on a Raspberry Pi 4 model B connected to a two-way mirror and an infrared (IR) touch frame. The results of this study helped to overcome the problem of the information desk absence in the university. Therefore, it helped users to save their time and effort in making requests for important academic information

Ibuprofen and NSAID use in COVID-19 infected patients is not associated with worse outcomes: a prospective cohort sudy

Introduction Ibuprofen disappeared from the pharmacy shelves during the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, a while later, information circulated that ibuprofen should be avoided as it could worsen COVID-19 symptoms. The aim of our study was to assess the association of acute and chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with worse COVID-19 outcomes. Methods We did a prospective cohort study between April 12 and June 1, 2020. Adults consecutively diagnosed with COVID-19 were included. Information on NSAID use was collected through a telephone questionnaire, and patients were followed up for COVID-19 infection outcomes, including death, admission, severity, time to clinical improvement, oxygen requirement and length of stay. Results Acute use of ibuprofen was not associated with a greater risk of mortality relative to non-use (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.632 [95% CI 0.073–5.441; P = 0.6758]). Chronic NSAID use was also not associated with a greater risk of mortality (adjusted HR 0.492 [95% CI 0.178–1.362; P = 0.1721]). Acute ibuprofen use was not associated with a higher risk of admission compared to non-NSAID users (adjusted odds ratio OR 1.271; 95% CI 0.548–2.953). NSAID users did not have a significantly longer time to clinical improvement or length of stay. Conclusion Acute or chronic use of ibuprofen and other NSAIDs was not associated with worse COVID-19 disease outcomes

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Program’s Residents in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) focuses on stimulating the body’s ability to heal itself through energy alignment, herbal supplementation, and other balancing techniques. AIM: The objective of the study was to investigate and compare the Knowledge Attitude Practice (KAP) of CAM among program’s residents in Tabuk region. METHODS: A cross-sectional CAP study was conducted among program’s residents in Tabuk region. All program’s residents of all specialties in Tabuk region were included in the study. Data were collected by predesigned electronic questionnaire covering the needed items. Collected data were coded and analyzed using SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA. The Chi-square test was used as a test of significance and p = 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Most (95.8%) of the participants have heard about CAM, 25% have used CAM in treatment before, and 72.3% of them reported beneficial outcome, 25.7% strongly agree and 48.6% agree that CAM is a useful complement to pharmacological medicine, 38.2% believed that the results of CAM are usually due to the placebo effect, and 52.1% recommended using CAM. On the other hand, 79.9% have knowledge about acupuncture, 54.9% spiritual healing and herbal medicine, 43.1% massage, 41% yoga, 70.8% bloodletting cupping, and 56.3% about cauterization. More than third (38.2%) of the participants agreed that the use of herbal products is a valid form of drugs which can be used for the treatment of variety of diseases, 48.6% agreed that CAM is a useful complement to pharmacological medicine, while 36.1% strongly agreed that CAM treatments are not tested in a scientifically recognized manner. CONCLUSION: In our study, the majority of program’s residents in Tabuk region agree that CAM is a useful complement to pharmacological medicine and recommended using CAM while reasonable percentage of them believed that the results of CAM are usually due to the placebo effect

Impact Of Bariatric Surgery on Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To assess the occurrence of GERD after bariatric surgery and surgery impact on GERD. Methods: This research employs a cross-sectional study design to investigate the impact of bariatric surgery on Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) among individuals who have undergone various types of bariatric surgeries. Results: The study included 302 participants. The most frequent weight among them was more than 96 kg (n= 130, 43%) followed by 76-85 kg (n= 51, 16.9%). The most frequent height among study participants was 1.61-1.70 m (n= 100, 33.1%) followed by 1.51-1.60 m (n= 99, 32.8%). The most frequent body mass index (BMI) value among study participants was more than 35 kg/m2 (n= 126, 41.7%) followed by 25-29.9 kg/m2 (n= 67, 22.2%). The most frequent age among study participants was 26-36 years (n= 104, 34.4%) followed by 15-25 years (n= 83, 27.5%). The most frequent gender among study participants was Female (n= 162, 53.6%) followed by Male (n= 140, 46.4%). Participants were asked about the type of obesity surgery. The most frequent was Gastric sleeve (n=222, 73.5%), followed by Gastric bypass (n=33, 10.9%).   Conclusion: Study results showed that most of the study participants are extremely obese according to their BMI. The most common obesity surgery type was a Gastric sleeve followed by a Gastric bypass. The most of participants were a non-smoker. Most of them had weight loss. In addition, most of the study participants had good social connection

Critical Analysis of the Saudi Commercial Arbitration Law Position on the Appointment of Women As Arbitrators: Obstacles and Solutions

This thesis explores the evolution of the Saudi Commercial Arbitration law and the legal challenges related to recognising and enforcing commercial arbitral awards. Moreover, it sheds light on international treaties concerning commercial arbitration law and the role of women, especially the ones to which Saudi Arabia is a signatory. The role of women in the Saudi judicial system has become more visible and effective. Currently, they are licensed lawyers and legal academics. Nonetheless, one of the issues the thesis examines regarding Saudi arbitration law is that it remains unclear whether women are legally allowed to become arbitrators. The law remains silent, which makes it subject to interpretation. Some interpretations limit arbitration to men, while others open it up to women. The thesis suggests that the involvement of women as arbitrators has to be legally clarified to avoid unnecessary confusion and put forth the requirements for arbitration licenses for women. That way, the Saudi commercial arbitration law clarifies that the parties to arbitrate on in the Kingdom can choose an arbitrator regardless of gender. It concludes by offering a prescription which spans from repealing and replacing the current commercial arbitration law to amending article fourteen of the law to clarify the issue, to triggering the international treaties on arbitration to which Saudi is a signatory by clarifying that the gender of an arbitrator is not restricted in Islamic law. Therefore, the Saudi commercial arbitration law recognises the role of women in arbitration. Any of the three proposals can serve the purpose and assist the Saudi commercial arbitration law to become more inclusive as it aspires to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision

Deep Margin Elevation: Current Concepts and Clinical Considerations: A Review

Dietschi and Spreafico first proposed deep margin elevation (DME) in 1998 to address the multiple clinical problems associated with sub-gingival margins, where sub-gingival margins will be repositioned coronally using composite resin restorations. Given that dentistry is directing towards conservatism, its use is currently trending. Materials and Methods: a search was performed through PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar search engines to obtain relevant articles with no time restriction. Results: With biological width taken into consideration, well-defined and polished sub-gingival restorations are compatible with periodontal health. Marginal integrity in the DME technique seems to be affected by the type of adhesive, restoration, and incremental layering of the restoration. Regarding fracture resistance, DME has no significant effects. Conclusion: The DME technique seems to be a minimally invasive alternative to surgical crown lengthening (SCL) and orthodontic extrusion (OE) with respect to biological width. Well-controlled clinical trials are limited in this field; further long-term follow-up studies emphasizing the periodontal outcomes and prevention of complications are needed

Prevalence of bone loss surrounding dental implants as detected in cone beam computed tomography: a cross-sectional study

Objectives The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of crestal, and apical bone loss (CBL & ABL) associated with dental implants in CBCT scans. The second objective was to assess the radiographic stage of implant disease and the visible predisposing factors. Materials and Methods The CBCT scans that were taken from January 2015 to January 2022 in King Saud Medical City were screened to examine the marginal and periapical condition of dental implants. Information related to demographic variables, stage of bone loss, and radiographically evident predisposing factors were collected. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. Results In total, 772 implant scans were analyzed. The prevalence of crestal bone loss and apical bone loss around the implants were 6.9% and 0.4% respectively. The amount of bone loss was moderate in 52.8% of cases of CBL and 100% mild in cases of ABL. The risk factors for CBL were patient age (p < 0.001), implant location (p < 0.001), bone loss in proximal teeth (p < 0.001), and adjacent edentulous sites (p < 0.001). The risk factors for ABL were adjacent periapical infection (p < 0.001) and endodontic therapy (p = 0.024). Conclusion The prevalence of CBL and ABL was low. The CBCT can be used as a diagnostic tool for studying the prevalence of bone loss associated with peri-implant disease and relevant risk factors. The implantation of CBCT to evaluate the success and the prognosis of dental implants or the treatment of peri-implant diseases can be further considered in future research

Experience of and Attitudes toward Research among Pharmaceutical Sciences and PharmD Students in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes toward, experience of, and perceived barriers to conducting research among Pharmaceutical Sciences and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students in pharmacy colleges in Saudi Arabia. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire distributed electronically between July and August 2016 to a convenient sample of Pharmaceutical Sciences and PharmD students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographic information, and perceptions, experience, and knowledge of conducting research. Results: Of the 245 respondents, most (73.5%) agreed that research is important. Sixty percent agreed that conducting research should be mandatory for PharmD students. However, the majority disagreed that research experience should be a criterion for acceptance on a residency program. Of the PharmD students, 73.8% believed that research projects would improve their ability to work and think independently, whereas only 58% of Pharmaceutical Sciences students agreed (p = 0.03). More PharmD students than Pharmaceutical Sciences students believed that they would learn from research experience (65.2% vs. 40.7% [p = 0.00]) and publishing or presenting research work (61.6% vs. 39.5% [p = 0.26]). The students’ major motivations to perform research were that it is a mandatory requirement of the curriculum (43.7%), is a positive addition to one’s résumé (22.4%), and facilitates acceptance to a residency program (18.8%). Lack of time and training courses were the most commonly cited barriers to conducting research. Regarding knowledge about performing research, PharmD students had a slightly better average score than Pharmaceutical Sciences students (38.6 vs. 37.28 [p = 0.49]) in an objective assessment of knowledge. Conclusion: Overall, PharmD and Pharmaceutical Sciences students share a positive perception of the importance of research. However, their general knowledge about conducting research is low; thus, more training on time management and research processes is recommended. Keywords: Attitude, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Doctor of Pharmacy, Researc

Flexural Strength of Recently Advanced Lithium Disilicate Glass-ceramic CEREC Tessera: An In-vitro Study

Introduction: Ceramic materials are quickly becoming the preferred materials for indirect restorations. The improvements in digital impression technology and manufacturing processes have led to the broad spectrum use of Computer-aided Design/Computer-aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in the fabrication of indirect restorations. Aim: To assess the biaxial flexural strength of the CAD/CAM Advanced Lithium Disilicate (ALDS) glass-ceramic CEREC Tessera and compare it with that of LDS IPS e.max CAD. Materials and Methods: An in-vitro study was conducted at the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from September 2022 to September 2023 to assess the flexural strength of advanced LDS (CEREC Tessera; Dentsply Sirona) in comparison with LDS (IPS e.max CAD; Ivoclar Vivadent). A total of 10 specimens of each material were tested for flexural strength using an Instron universal machine. The data were analysed using a t-test with a significance level of α=0.05. Results: A significantly lower mean flexural strength was observed in the ALDS group compared to the LDS group, with a p-value of 0.00008. Conclusion: The LDS exhibited greater flexural strength than advanced LDS