There Is No Health Without Mental Health: The Middle East and North Africa

Al Qanun, the medical encyclopedia of Ibn Sina or Avicenna (CE 1037), devotes a whole section to mental illness. His focus on mental ill-health goes way beyond that of the earlier Greco-Roman scholars. Similarly, Ishaq Ibn Imran, an Arab Iraqi physician of the tenth century, is credited with writing the earliest existing treatise devoted entirely to depression. The Middle East and North Africa have, undoubtedly, made considerable contributions to the foundations of our knowledge concerning mental ill-health. A continuation of this focus, however, has never been more necessary. In recent decades, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders have all reached epidemic levels in many parts of the world, and the Middle East and North Africa – MENA – region has not been spared. Major depressive disorder (depression) is now a leading cause of disability globally, and this is also true for many MENA nations. Anxiety and other mental health disorders are also among the leading causes of disability for many MENA nations, significantly contributing to the region’s burden of disease. All of these psychological complaints have a relatively early age of onset, with some of the most substantial and recent increases in prevalence observed among adolescents. This chapter explores the regional research literature on adolescent mental health. Numerous search engines (ScienceDirect, PubMed, PsycInfo) were used for this scoping review, identifying relevant literature between the years 1970 and 2020 in MENA populations. It is, however, not the aim of this chapter to provide an exhaustive systematic review, but rather to highlight some of the literature that best tells the region’s unique story. The chapter pays close attention to depression and eating disorders – conditions which most typically begin in adolescence. The aforementioned conditions can become chronic and costly sources of disability and distress. The relatively youthful population is a reason why such mental health problems should be a priority for the region. This review highlights that and advocates for prevention as a key strategy

Role of ceramide in diabetes mellitus: evidence and mechanisms

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease with multiple complications that causes serious diseases over the years. The condition leads to severe economic consequences and is reaching pandemic level globally. Much research is being carried out to address this disease and its underlying molecular mechanism. This review focuses on the diverse role and mechanism of ceramide, a prime sphingolipid signaling molecule, in the pathogenesis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and its complications. Studies using cultured cells, animal models, and human subjects demonstrate that ceramide is a key player in the induction of β-cell apoptosis, insulin resistance, and reduction of insulin gene expression. Ceramide induces β-cell apoptosis by multiple mechanisms namely; activation of extrinsic apoptotic pathway, increasing cytochrome c release, free radical generation, induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress and inhibition of Akt. Ceramide also modulates many of the insulin signaling intermediates such as insulin receptor substrate, Akt, Glut-4, and it causes insulin resistance. Ceramide reduces the synthesis of insulin hormone by attenuation of insulin gene expression. Better understanding of this area will increase our understanding of the contribution of ceramide to the pathogenesis of diabetes, and further help in identifying potential therapeutic targets for the management of diabetes mellitus and its complications

Similarities and Differences in the Glycosylation Mechanisms in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

Recent years have witnessed a rapid growth in the number and diversity of prokaryotic proteins shown to carry N- and/or O-glycans, with protein glycosylation now considered as fundamental to the biology of these organisms as it is in eukaryotic systems. This article overviews the major glycosylation pathways that are known to exist in eukarya, bacteria and archaea. These are (i) oligosaccharyltransferase (OST)-mediated N-glycosylation which is abundant in eukarya and archaea, but is restricted to a limited range of bacteria; (ii) stepwise cytoplasmic N-glycosylation that has so far only been confirmed in the bacterial domain; (iii) OST-mediated O-glycosylation which appears to be characteristic of bacteria; and (iv) stepwise O-glycosylation which is common in eukarya and bacteria. A key aim of the review is to integrate information from the three domains of life in order to highlight commonalities in glycosylation processes. We show how the OST-mediated N- and O-glycosylation pathways share cytoplasmic assembly of lipid-linked oligosaccharides, flipping across the ER/periplasmic/cytoplasmic membranes, and transferring “en bloc” to the protein acceptor. Moreover these hallmarks are mirrored in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Like in eukaryotes, stepwise O-glycosylation occurs on diverse bacterial proteins including flagellins, adhesins, autotransporters and lipoproteins, with O-glycosylation chain extension often coupled with secretory mechanisms

The Psychological Impact of Isolation on Hospitalised Patients with COVID-19 Infection in the UAE

Infection prevention and control measures for COVID-19 may include immediate admission to an isolation facility for the infected. However, the mental health impact of this isolation worldwide is not fully documented. This study aims to contribute to global data on the psychological impact of COVID-19 and to be the first study to assess psychological distress among hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in the UAE. Using a cross-sectional study design on 132 hospitalised patients, we found that 90% of participants scored within the normal levels for psychological distress. The length of stay was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and those aged 41–60 years had lower levels of psychological distress compared to the 31–40 years group. Our results contributed to global data on the psychological impact of COVID-19 and may help to identify those at risk for psychological distress due to COVID-19 hospitalisation for targeted prevention and future pandemic preparedness plans

Child maltreatment and neglect in the United Arab Emirates and relationship with low self-esteem and symptoms of depression

Objectives: To our knowledge, this study is the first in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to investigate the prevalence of child maltreatment in relation to depressive symptoms and self-esteem.Study design: Exposure to physical maltreatment, emotional abuse and neglect was evaluated in 518 adolescents (86% response rate) randomly selected from schools in Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to measure self-esteem and depressive symptoms by using multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results: The mean age of study participants was 14.3 years. Emotional abuse was the most frequent form of maltreatment (33.9%), physical abuse (12.6%) and neglect (12.1%) followed. Male sex was a positive predictor of physical abuse (OR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.18-3.77), whilst higher maternal level of education was protective (OR = 0.40; 95% CI 0.19-0.86). Daily screen time (OR = 2.77; 95% CI 1.17-6.56) and tobacco smoking (OR = 1.86; 95% CI 1.09-3.18) positively predicted emotional abuse. Emotionally maltreated and neglected participants were less likely to report high level of self-esteem and more likely to report symptoms of depression.Conclusions: Child maltreatment in the UAE is of a similar magnitude to what reported in other countries around the world and significantly associated with low self-esteem and depressive symptoms