Differences in Brain Waves and Blood Pressure by Listening to Quran-e-Kareem and Music

Background: Quranic recitation and music do not share any features in terms of content besides the use of melodies, but it is a common belief, that both have positive effect on reducing blood pressure and anxiety level of patients. This research investigates and compares the effects of listening to Quranic recitation and soft music on human brain waves especially Alpha and Beta waves by electroencephalogram (EEG) using Power-Lab.Material and Methods: A clinical trial was carried out in the Physiology Department of Islamabad Medical and Dental College. There were 22 participants, divided into two groups (A and B) with 11 participants in each group. Group A included students with ages 20-25 years and Group B comprised of teaching faculty between 40-60 years. All the study participants were Urdu-speaking, Pakistani Muslims having normal hearing. Sample selection was based on non-random convenient sampling. Paired T-test was used to compare means of Alpha and Beta waves amplitude, with p value < 0.05 considered as statistically significant.Results: Listening to Quranic recitation results in greater amplitude of Alpha waves in both younger and older age groups (p=0.01). The cross comparisons of systolic blood pressure at rest and after music for Group A showed significant results (p=0.04) indicating that soft music increases systolic blood pressure in younger people. Diastolic blood pressure comparison proves that it decreases by Tilawat in older age-groups (p<0.05).Conclusion: EEG showed that Quran generates comparatively higher amplitudes of Alpha than Beta waves, which reflects the calmness and relaxation of the participants while listening to Quranic recitation. Furthermore, there was a mild reduction in diastolic blood pressure in older subjects after listening to Quranic recitation

Effect of Oral intake of Stevia Leaf Powder on Body Weight – An Experimental study

Introduction: The steviol glycosides are found  in the stevia leaf. These glycosides possess sweetening properties as well as they have antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycemic, and anti-hypertensive effects. This study was conducted to  find out the effect of Stevia leaf on body weight in obese Sprague Dawley male rats. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was carried out on 90 Sprague Dawley male rats. Group1(normal control) was given a standard diet for the entire study period, while the remaining sixty rats were given a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks to induce obesity. The obese rats were randomly assigned to group 2 (Obese Control) and Group 3 (obese + Stevia) and given HFD for another 6 weeks. The stevia leaf powder was added to the diet of group 3. Diet intake was noted for all the groups. Rats were weighed on the first day of every week, for six weeks, and then at the end of the study period.      Results: Body weights of rats in each group, at the start and end of the 6-week intervention period, when compared, showed a significant increase in group 1 (p=0.001), and group 2 (p = 0.001), while group 3 showed a non-significant increase (p = 0.248). The percentage increase in body weight for groups 1, 2, and 3 was 4.8, 9.3, and 1.1, respectively. Graphically, the weekly increase in average body weights of the three experimental groups showed maximum values for group 2. Conclusions: Stevia leaf possesses weight-reducing effects which may be due to inhibition of appetite, reduction in food intake, and consequent weight loss. Keywords: Obesity, weight loss, Natural non-nutritive sweeteners, Stevi

Infodemics and its Effect on Mental Health of Medical Students of IMDC during COVID-19 Pandemic

IntroductionGlobally rising the number of daily COVID-19 cases has triggered the incredible surge in the information (and misinformation) regarding COVID-19. This misinformation was about numbers of cases, inaccurate guidelines, advertisement of unapproved treatments, and remedies as cures. The increasing prevalence of depression and anxiety was found to be linked directly to the misinformation catered from social media. The study aims to explore the mental health of medical students due to a surge in information and misinformation regarding Covid-19.Materials and MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted online from August 2020 to January, 2021. 227 MBBS students of IMDC (1st year to final year with age range 19-25 years) were invited to participate in an online survey through Google docs. Those who were on medication for anxiety and depression were excluded from the study. The use of the data for research purposes was explained and written consent in the first section of the online survey was given to all participants before filling the questionnaire which was divided into 3 sections. The first part was about Demographic information. The second part consisted of 5 questions about info-media use and the third part consisting of 12 questions about mental health including stress-related and behavioral changes, somatic symptoms, emotional disturbance, and cognitive functioning during the covid-19 pandemic. Ethical Approval was taken from the ethical committee of IMDC. A Chi-square test was applied to calculate the significance of qualitative variables and determine the prevalence of mental health.ResultsThe total number of students who participated in this survey were 227 (28.2% males and 71.8% females). Among types of info-media, Whats-app was used most frequently by MBBS students. Different questions were asked regarding Info-media usage and mental health. A significant association was found between gender (Both males and females) and feelings of fear and worry (p-value 0.004**), feeling socially isolated(p= 0.005**), difficulty in communicating with people (p = 0.021*), feeling confused in decision making as time progressed( 0.008**), lack of interest in studying or difficulty in concentration during this time (p 0.037*) and effect on memorizing ability (0.000)**.MBBS students who were regularly using Info-media showed a significant disturbance in mental health problems including stress-related and behavioral changes and somatic symptoms. They were found to be significantly fearful and worried (p-value 0.010*), had difficulty in communicating with people regarding covid-19(p-value 0.021*), and also felt a change in appetite-valuable 0.030*). No serious mental health problem was found related to cognitive functioning. ConclusionIn conclusion, our findings show that there is a high prevalence of mental health problems, which were positively associated with frequent use of info-media during the COVID-19 outbreak

Alanine Transaminase levels in Patients of Dengue Fever in the Suburbs of Islamabad

Introduction: Hepatic dysfunction is a highly varied condition that can show up as minor damage with elevated levels of transaminases, or appear as extensive damage and failure of liver cells. Thus, in order to reduce associated morbidity and mortality, this ailment should be diagnosed at the earliest possible so that appropriate therapy can be instituted. Our study was carried out to observe hepatic damage in patients with dengue fever (DF) by measuring alanine transaminase levels. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of three months duration was carried out in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital affiliated with Islamabad Medical & Dental College, Pakistan. The sampling technique was Non-Random consecutive sampling and 118 patients were included in our study. Serum Alanine Transaminase (ALT) (normal = 7-56 IU/L), serum Aspartate Transaminase (AST) (normal = 10-40 IU/L) were determined and ultra-sound abdomen was performed. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS Version 24. The Chi-square test was used to observe the relationship between categorical variables. Phi, Cramer’s V, Pearson’s, and Spearman’s Correlation tests were used to study the association of age and gender with ALT levels. Results: There were 72% males (n=85) and 28% females (n=33). Patients were grouped according to age and mean ALT (95+86 IU/L) and AST (134.7+ 98 IU/L) levels were calculated in the different age groups. These levels were found to be significantly raised (P=0.00) in the age groups of 9-18 years and 19-25 years as compared to the other age groups. Moreover, males had high ALT levels as compared to females, however, a significant difference was not observed. There was also no association seen of gender with raised ALT levels (P=0.564), Phi & Cramer’s V=0.56, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient=0.320.Conclusions: ALT and AST levels were elevated above the normal in our sample indicating hepatic involvement

Effect of chronic restraint stress on body weight of male Sprague Dawley rats

Background:  Stress disturbs body weight and food intake, but the core mechanisms are not well understood.    Study design:  Experimental     Materials and Methods:  The study was conducted in  National  Institute  of  Health  (NIH),  Islamabad Sixty male Sprague Dawley rats (mean wt 250 ± 50 grams) were used and divided into 2 groups.   Each group comprised of 30 rats.   Group I was taken as control. Group II was exposed to chronic stress.  Results:  The comparison of weight gain by the different groups disclosed that there was a significant decrease in weight gain of rats exposed to the chronic stress as compared to control group.     Conclusion:  Chronic restraint stress has a detrimental effect on body weight.