Pharmacy education and practice in 13 middle eastern countries

The Arab world has influenced the art and science of pharmacy for centuries. Pharmacy education and practice is continuing to evolve in the Arabic-speaking traditional Middle East countries, although relatively little information has been published in the English press. Our goal was to providea high-level synopsis of conditions in this region. We selected 13 countries for review. Information was obtained by reviewing the available published literature and individual university and program web sites, as well as contacting with program or country representatives. Seventy-eight active pharmacy schools in 12 countries were identified. At least 14,000 students (over 75% from Egypt) are admitted into baccalaureate degree programs every year. The 5-year baccalaureate degree remains the first professional degree to practice. While changes in pharmacy education have been relatively rapid over the past decade, the advancement of pharmacy practice, particularly in the private sector, appears to be slower. Hospital pharmacists often possess an advanced degree and tend to have a higher level of practice compared to that of community pharmacists. Despite the adversities that face academics and practitioners alike, there is a strong desire to advance the science and practice of pharmacy in the Middle East

Country activities of Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD): focus presentations at the 11th GARD General Meeting, Brussels

© Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) is a voluntary network of national and international organizations, institutions and agencies led by the World Health Organization (WHO), working towards the vision of a world where all people breathe freely (1). GARD is supporting WHO in successfully implementing the WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 2013–2020. The GARD report on GARD activities is published on a regular basis. Collaboration among GARD countries is critical for sharing experiences and providing technical assistance to developing countries based on each country’s needs (2). The annual GARD meeting is a unique opportunity for assembling all of the GARD participants from developed and developing countries: European countries, North and South American Countries, China, Vietnam as well as Eastern Mediterranean, and African countries. Coordinator for Management of NCDs in the WHO Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention (Cherian Varghese) is present at this meeting. The annual meeting of GARD is a forum for exchanging opinions in order to improve care for chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and to achieve the GARD goal—a world where all people breathe freely. Experts—in collaboration with WHO—are helping developing countries to achieve their projects regarding teaching, research and programming for CRD. Each year, there is a poster presentation session on country activities. Each participant is able to present his/her country activities that have been achieved since the last meeting. This is followed by discussion. In this paper, we summarize the posters presented during the 11th GARD general meeting. We hope that this will give readers of the GARD section an opportunity to learn for their countries. We can find all posters on the link: https://gard-breathefreely.org/resources-poster/.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gastroesophageal Reflux in Children with Refractory Asthma

Objectives: To investigate the association between clinical and macroscopic findings of GER and severity of refractory asthma (statistical study).Methods: A prospective study in a university-based practice of 75 children who were diagnosed with refractory asthma because they exhibited no satisfactory response for at least three months of treatment. Medical history, physical examination, spirometrical measurements and prick skin test were conducted on all patients. Endoscopic and macroscopic evaluations for esophagitis were performed on all patients regardless of the presence of GER symptoms.Results: Endoscopy was done for 75 children with refractory asthma. GER was symptomatic in 65% of all patients with no statistical significance (p>0.05) and the most frequent symptom was abdominal pain (67%). The frequency of these symptoms was 50% in mild asthma, 58% in moderate asthma and 72% in severe asthma with no statistical significance (p>0.05). The frequency of macroscopic esophagitis was 71%, distributed in three asthmatic groups as in order of 75% in mild asthma, 58.3% in moderate asthma and 76.6% in severe asthma (p>0.05). Regarding the relationship between GER and nocturnal attacks or spasmodic cough, the frequency of the latest was 66.7%. The differences have no statistical significance regarding GER symptoms (p>0.05), but they are statistically significant regarding the reflux esophagitis (p<0.05). Also endoscopic reflux was as frequent as76.3% in non allergic patients, and this result is statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusion: In spite of the fact that there was no relationship between the severity of asthma and the symptoms of GER, or its endoscopic findings, the frequency of GER in asthmatic children was higher than its frequency in other children

IgG from patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and/or systemic sclerosis binds to vascular smooth muscle cells and induces cell contraction.

International audienceOBJECTIVES: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterised by remodelling of pulmonary arteries with enhanced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) contraction, migration and proliferation. The authors investigated the presence of antibodies to human VSMCs in the serum of patients with systemic sclerosis with or without PAH and idiopathic PAH (iPAH). METHODS AND RESULTS: Antibodies to VSMCs were detected by immunofluorescence in sera from healthy controls and patients with scleroderma without PAH, scleroderma-associated PAH and iPAH. Serum IgG from these patients induced contraction of VSMCs in a collagen matrix in contrast with IgG from healthy controls. Several protein spots of interest and target antigens were identified by two-dimensional immunoblotting and MS, including stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 and α-enolase. Finally, antibodies to stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 were detected by ELISA in sera from 84%, 76% and 24% of patients with scleroderma without PAH, scleroderma-associated PAH and iPAH, respectively, compared with only 3% of healthy controls. CONCLUSION: The authors have identified IgG that binds to VSMCs in the serum of patients with scleroderma and iPAH. These antibodies may be pathogenic by modulating vascular contraction. The target antigens of these antibodies are stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 and α-enolase