A pilot placebo-controlled, double-blind, and randomized study on the cognition-enhancing benefits of a proprietary chicken meat ingredient in healthy subjects

Background: It has long been postulated that the relative abundance of specific nutrients can affect cognitive processes and emotions. Newly described influences of dietary factors on neuronal function and synaptic plasticity have revealed some of the vital mechanisms that could be responsible for the action of diet on brain health and cognitive function. Here, through a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we asked if the newly discovered chicken meat ingredient-168 (CMI-168) could be beneficial to the cognitive function in healthy adults. Methods: Normal, healthy subjects were supplemented with either placebo or CMI-168 for 6 weeks. The subjects were given a series of cognitive tests to examine their levels of cognitive functioning at the beginning and end of supplementation, as well as two weeks after termination of supplementation. The combination of these tests, namely Digit Span Backwards, Letter-Number Sequencing, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), was used to assess the subjects' attention and working memory. For all comparisons, the probability level of p < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant using repeated measure 2-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-hoc test. Results: Overall, subjects supplemented with CMI-168 showed significantly (p < 0.01) better performance in all cognitive tests after 6 weeks' supplementation compared to control and such superior performance was maintained even 2 weeks after termination of supplementation. Conclusions: The present study reveals the cognition-enhancing properties of a recently developed chicken meat ingredient, likely arising from the promotion of attention and prefrontal cortex functions

Quality of life among patients with hematological cancer in a Malaysian hospital.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of symptoms and problems in hospitalized hematological cancer patients. A cross-sectional design was carried out with 105 respondents in Ampang hospital in Kuala Lumpur. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality Of Life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) was used. Patients with a minimum response of "a little" were defined as having a symptom/problem while patients with a response of "quite a bit" were classified as having a "severe symptom/problem:". The four most prevalent symptoms/ problems identified were fatigue, financial difficulties, reduced role function and reduced social function. Multiple myeloma patients (MM) were identified as having the most symptoms/problems

Reliability and factor structure of the General Health Questionnaire-12 among university students

The 12- item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) has been translated into many languages and widely used in different settings and countries. Its reliability and psychometric properties were extensively studied in many population groups which suggested that it measures psychological distress in multidimensional construct. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the reliability and factor structure of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the GHQ-12 among university students attending a health program at a Malaysian public university. Method: The cross sectional survey was conducted on 306 undergraduate students aged between 18 to 27 years old who visited the booth set up for mental health screening at a health program. The screening was conducted using a self-administered, validated Bahasa Malaysia version of GHQ-12 questionnaire. Results: Using exploratory factor analysis, the Bahasa Malaysia version of GHQ-12 was found to have a three factor structures namely depressive symptoms, self-esteem and perceived abilities which accounted for 58% of the item variance. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was found to be high (0.84) with each factor having acceptable inter-item consistency ranging from 0.61 to 0.82. Conclusion: The findings of the study show that the Bahasa Malaysia version GHQ-12 is reliable and has good structural characteristics. It can assess a few domains of the psychological status of university students. It also helps in providing more information on the domain which may become a focus target of intervention in the prevention of mental illness

Sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV among university students

The objective of the study was to determine the proportion of sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV among university students. A set of pre tested and validated questionnaire assessing sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV was used in this cross sectional study. HIV knowledge was defined as sound when one was able to identify correctly two ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and reject three major misconceptions about HIV. Out of 300 respondents, 298 completed the questionnaire giving a response rate of 99.3%. A total of 40.9% of university students have sound HIV knowledge. The majority of those who lacked sound HIV knowledge were young (60.2%) and female (60.4%). A significant proportion still believed that HIV can be transmitted via social contact (13.8%), by sneezing or coughing (11.4%) and mosquito bites (10.1%). About 6.7% were believed wrongly that HIV can be treated by vaccine and healthy-looking people cannot have HIV

Psychiatry postgraduate training in Malaysia : training curriculum

This document is one of a number of specialty modules that form the Malaysian National Postgraduate Medical curriculum. It represents the collaboration between the Malaysian Public Universities and the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide a single, agreed programme for the training of psychiatrists throughout the country. Universities and Ministry of Health programmes may utilise the different pathways specified in this curriculum. Whilst individual universities and the MOH may adopt different approaches for the delivery of training, it is expected that the curriculum contents will broadly guide the requirements for the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours not just in clinical practice, but also in training, research and management. The curriculum has been designed to document and describe the knowledge, clinical skills, soft skills and attitudes required to practice psychiatry. This document constitutes the ONE curriculum for ALL and the authors have committed to provide a thoroughly discussed and agreed set of guidelines which, if followed, will ensure the most effective use of resources and a uniformly high standard of clinical practice in Malaysian Psychiatry. Writers The process of developing the National Postgraduate Psychiatry Curriculum involved numerous authors and contributors who were appointed and supported by the Psychiatry Specialty Committee

Psychiatry postgraduate training in Malaysia : guide for applications

This document is a guide for those applying to enter postgraduate training in psychiatry. It informs potential applicants of the entry requirements through a series of extracts from the National Postgraduate Curriculum in Psychiatry. The curriculum will be implemented after it is approved by the Malaysian Medical Council