The Effectiveness of Oral Mini-Pulse Methylprednisolonein - the Treatment of Alopecia Areata in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: Systemic corticosteroid is used to treat alopecia areata, but it is associated with side effects. Mini-pulse therapy is thought to be effective but able to reduce side effects. AIM: The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of oral mini-pulse methylprednisolone in the treatment of alopecia areata. METHODS: Patients received methylprednisolone 16 mg orally for 2 consecutive days every week. RESULTS: After 3 months, among patients, 40% recovered well, and 55.6% recovered fairly. After 6 months, 82.2% recovered well, 17.8% recovered fairly. No adverse events were detected, and the recurrence rate was low (2.2%). CONCLUSION: Oral mini-pulse methylprednisolone therapy is an effective and safe therapeutic option for alopecia areata without side effects, and the time of the treatment is short

Efficacy of Oral Isotretinoin in Combination with Desloratadine in the Treatment of Common Vulgaris Acne in Vietnamese Patients

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of oral isotretinoin used alone and in combination with desloratadine in the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris. METHODS: A comparative clinical trial was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of oral isotretinoin alone and in combination with desloratadine in the treatment of 62 moderate acne vulgaris patients. Patients were randomised into two groups with 31 patients in each group. Each studied group's patient took 20 mg isotretinoin and 5 mg desloratadine per day. In the control group, patients took only 20 mg isotretinoin per day. The treatment time was 16 weeks. The evaluation and follow-up were done at week 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 of the treatment. RESULTS: The studied group had a better curative rate than the control group (45.2% versus 22.6%). The average number of inflammatory lesions in the studied group was significantly lower than the control group (0.19 versus 0.94). The mean GAGS score of the studied group was significantly lower than the control group (3.71 versus 6.52). Acne outbreaks rate of the studied group was lower than the control group (in week 2: 22.6% versus 45.2% and in week 4: 16.1% versus 38.7%, respectively). The rate of itchy was lower in the studied group. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris, oral isotretinoin in combination with desloratadine is more effective and has fewer side effects than using isotretinoin alone

Efficacy of Oral Isotretinoin in Combination with Desloratadine in the Treatment of Common Vulgaris Acne in Vietnamese Patients

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of oral isotretinoin used alone and in combination with desloratadine in the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris. METHODS: A comparative clinical trial was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of oral isotretinoin alone and in combination with desloratadine in the treatment of 62 moderate acne vulgaris patients. Patients were randomised into two groups with 31 patients in each group. Each studied group's patient took 20 mg isotretinoin and 5 mg desloratadine per day. In the control group, patients took only 20 mg isotretinoin per day. The treatment time was 16 weeks. The evaluation and follow-up were done at week 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 of the treatment. RESULTS: The studied group had a better curative rate than the control group (45.2% versus 22.6%). The average number of inflammatory lesions in the studied group was significantly lower than the control group (0.19 versus 0.94). The mean GAGS score of the studied group was significantly lower than the control group (3.71 versus 6.52). Acne outbreaks rate of the studied group was lower than the control group (in week 2: 22.6% versus 45.2% and in week 4: 16.1% versus 38.7%, respectively). The rate of itchy was lower in the studied group. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of moderate acne vulgaris, oral isotretinoin in combination with desloratadine is more effective and has fewer side effects than using isotretinoin alone

The Efficacy of a Two-Fold Increase of H1-Antihistamine in the Treatment of Chronic Urticaria - the Vietnamese Experience

BACKGROUND: Chronic urticaria, a mast cell-driven condition, is common, debilitating and hard to treat. H1-antihistamines are the first line treatment of chronic urticaria, but often patients do not get satisfactory relief with the recommended dose. European guidelines recommend increased antihistamine doses up to four-fold. AIM: We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of increased H1-antihistamine doses up to two-fold in Vietnamese chronic urticaria patients. METHODS: One hundred and two patients with chronic urticaria were recruited for treatment with levocetirizine (n = 52) or fexofenadine (n = 50). Treatment started at the conventional daily dose of 5 mg levocetirizine or 180 mg fexofenadine for 2 weeks and then increased to 10 mg levocetirizine or 360 mg fexofenadine for 2 weeks if patients did not have an improvement in symptoms. At week 0, week 2 and week 4 wheal, pruritus, size of the wheal, total symptom scores, and associated side-effects were assessed. RESULTS: With the conventional dose, the total symptom scores after week 2 decreased significantly in both groups compared to baseline figures, i.e. 7.4 vs 2.3 for levocetirizine group and 8.0 vs 2.6 for fexofenadine group (p < 0.05). However, there were still 26 patients in each group who did not have improvements. Of these 26 patients, after having a two-fold increase of the conventional dose, 11.5% and 38.5% became symptom-free at week 4 in levocetirizine group and fexofenadine group, respectively. At week 4 in both groups, the total symptom scores had significantly decreased when compared with those at week 2 (2.8 ± 1.5 versus 4.7 ± 1.6 in levocetirizine group; 2.1 ± 1.9 versus 5.1 ± 1.4 in fexofenadine group). In both groups, there was no difference in the rate of negative side effects between the conventional dose and the double dose. CONCLUSION: This study showed that increasing the dosages of levocetirizine and fexofenadine by two-fold improved chronic urticaria symptoms without increasing the rate of negative side effects

Size-dependent magnetic responsiveness of magnetite nanoparticles synthesised by co-precipitation and solvothermal methods

The dependence of the magnetic responsiveness on magnetite nanoparticle size has been studied. Monodisperse magnetite nanoparticles of 10 nm diameter were prepared by an ultrasonically enhanced co-precipitation procedure. A carboxyl-functionalised solvothermal approach was applied to synthesise magnetite nanoparticles with an average size of 30 nm. The particle sizes and their distribution have been determined by analysing TEM images and considering nanoparticle formation mechanisms. The magnetic characterisation revealed an inverse dependence between the magnetite nanoparticle size and its ability to respond to external magnetic fields, which was explained by the decrease of magnetic dipoles inside the tailing-away crystal of the magnetite nanoparticles. Negligible hysteresis with a small value of 5 Oe was found for the 10 nm nanoparticles, while the larger value of 80 Oe was determined for the 30 nm nanoparticles. Keywords: Fe3O4, Magnetite nanoparticles, Co-precipitation, Solvothermal, Magnetic responsiveness-particle size relationshi

Household Financial Burden and Poverty Impacts of Cancer Treatment in Vietnam

Purpose. This paper aims to analyze the household financial burden and poverty impacts of cancer treatment in Vietnam. Methods. Under the “ASEAN CosTs in ONcology” study design, three major specialized cancer hospitals were employed to assemble the Vietnamese data. Factors of socioeconomic, direct, and indirect costs of healthcare were collected prospectively through both individual interviews and hospital financial records. Results. The rates of catastrophic expenditure based on the cut-off points of 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% of household’s income were 82.6%, 73.7%, 64.7%, and 56.9%, respectively. 37.4% of the households with patient were impoverished by the treatment costs for cancer. The statistically significant correlates of the impoverishment problem were higher among older patients (40–60 years: 1.77, 95% CI 1.14–2.73; above 60 years: 1.75, 95% CI 1.03–2.98); poorer patients (less than 100% national income: 29, 95% CI 18.6–45.24; less than 200% national income: 2.89, 95% CI 1.69–4.93); patients who underwent surgery alone (receiving nonsurgery treatment: 2.46, 95% CI 1.32–4.59; receiving multiple treatments: 2.4, 95% CI 1.38–4.17). Conclusions. Lots of households were pushed into poverty due to their expenditure on cancer care; more actions are urgently needed to improve financial protection to the vulnerable groups

Characterization and Optimization of Culture Conditions for Aurantiochytrium sp. SC145 Isolated from Sand Cay (Son Ca) Island, Vietnam, and Antioxidative and Neuroprotective Activities of Its Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Mixture

Aurantiochytrium is a heterotrophic marine microalga that has potential industrial applications. The main objectives of this study were to isolate an Aurantiochytrium strain from Sand Cay (Son Ca) Island, Vietnam, optimize its culture conditions, determine its nutritional composition, extract polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the free (FFA) and the alkyl ester (FAAE) forms, and evaluate the antioxidation and neuroprotection properties of the PUFAs. Aurantiochytrium sp. SC145 can be grown stably under laboratory conditions. Its culture conditions were optimized for a dry cell weight (DCW) of 31.18 g/L, with total lipids comprising 25.29%, proteins 7.93%, carbohydrates 15.21%, and carotenoid at 143.67 µg/L of DCW. The FAAEs and FFAs extracted from Aurantiochytrium sp. SC145 were rich in omega 3–6–9 fatty acids (40.73% and 44.00% of total fatty acids, respectively). No acute or subchronic oral toxicity was determined in mice fed with the PUFAs in FFA or FAAE forms at different doses over 90 days. Furthermore, the PUFAs in the FFA or FAAE forms and their main constituents of EPA, DHA, and ALA showed antioxidant and AChE inhibitory properties and neuroprotective activities against damage caused by H2O2- and amyloid-ß protein fragment 25–35 (Aβ25-35)-induced C6 cells. These data suggest that PUFAs extracted from Aurantiochytrium sp. SC145 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders

Use of Essential Oils for the Control of Anthracnose Disease Caused by Colletotrichum acutatum on Post-Harvest Mangoes of Cat Hoa Loc Variety

Anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum spp. makes heavy losses for post-harvest mangoes of Cat Hoa Loc variety during storage, packaging, and transportation. The synthetic fungicides are commonly used to control the disease, but they are not safe for consumers’ health and environment. This study was aimed to investigate the use of essential oils (EOs) as the safe alternative control. Pathogen was isolated from the infected Cat Hoa Loc mangoes and identified by morphology and DNA sequencing of the ITS region. Six EOs (cinnamon, basil, lemongrass, peppermint, coriander, and orange) were chemically analyzed by GC–MS. The antifungal activity of EOs was studied in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that the isolated pathogen was Colletotrichum acutatum. Cinnamon, basil, and lemongrass EOs effectively inhibited the growth of C. acutatum in descending order of cinnamon, basil, and lemongrass. However, they (except basil oil) severely damaged fruit peels. The antifungal activity was closely related to the main compounds of EOs. Basil EOs effectively controlled anthracnose development on Cat Hoa Loc mangoes artificially infected with C. acutatum, and its effectiveness was comparable to that of fungicide treatment. Consequently, basil EOs can be used as a biocide to control anthracnose on post-harvest Cat Hoa Loc mangoes

Heterologous Expression of a Soybean Gene RR34 Conferred Improved Drought Resistance of Transgenic Arabidopsis

Two-component systems (TCSs) have been identified as participants in mediating plant response to water deficit. Nevertheless, insights of their contribution to plant drought responses and associated regulatory mechanisms remain limited. Herein, a soybean response regulator (RR) gene RR34, which is the potential drought-responsive downstream member of a TCS, was ectopically expressed in the model plant Arabidopsis for the analysis of its biological roles in drought stress response. Results from the survival test revealed outstanding recovery ratios of 52%–53% in the examined transgenic lines compared with 28% of the wild-type plants. Additionally, remarkedly lower water loss rates in detached leaves as well as enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase were observed in the transgenic group. Further transcriptional analysis of a subset of drought-responsive genes demonstrated higher expression in GmRR34-transgenic plants upon exposure to drought, including abscisic acid (ABA)-related genes NCED3, OST1, ABI5, and RAB18. These ectopic expression lines also displayed hypersensitivity to ABA treatment at germination and post-germination stages. Collectively, these findings indicated the ABA-associated mode of action of GmRR34 in conferring better plant performance under the adverse drought conditions