Osama A. Alkhamees

Effect of rutin on diabetic-induced erectile dysfunction: Possible involvement of testicular biomarkers in male rats.

The present study aimed to investigate effects of rutin on diabetic‐induced impairments of sexual behaviour, spermatogenesis and oxidative testicular damage. Diabetes was induced by a single injection of STZ (65 mg/kg) in male adult Wistar rats. Two weeks later, rutin (50 and 100 mg kg−1 day−1) was treated to normal and diabetic rats for 5 weeks. Sexual behaviour of the animals was observed by taking stimulus females. At the end of the study, sperm count, motility and viability were recorded. Serum levels of glucose, inflammatory markers and testosterone were also estimated. In penile tissue, cGMP levels were measured, while lipid peroxidation and antioxidant molecules and enzyme activities were determined. Finally, histopathological changes were evaluated in a cross‐section of testis. Diabetic‐induced alterations in male sexual behaviour and sperm count, motility and viability were markedly corrected following 5 weeks of rutin treatment to the diabetic animals. Rutin also attenuated the inhibited serum testosterone and penile cGMP content, while improved diabetic‐associated inflammation and testicular lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress. Histopathological evaluation revealed damaged testicular tissues in diabetic rats, which was protected following rutin treatment. In conclusion, treatment with rutin improved sexual functionality and also protects against diabetic‐induced testicular damage.

Rapid and easy molecular authentication of medicinal plant Zingiber officinale Roscoe by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)-based marker

The Zingiber genus, which includes the herbs known as gingers with maximal therapeutic properties, is well known for its medicinal importance as a purificant of body. Some morphological similar members of the genus are available but differ in their pharmacological and therapeutic properties. So there is an existing demand in herbal drug industry for an authentication system for gingers in order to facilitate their commercial use as genuine phytoceuticals. To this end, the objective of the present study was to develop a novel loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)-based marker for authentication of the commercially important Zingiber officinale Roscoe from the closely related species. The twelve rhizome samples of these plants were collected from different geographical locations in India and analyzed with randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). A prominent DNA fragment in RAPD that is common to all accessions was eluted, cloned and sequenced. Based on the DNA sequences four specific LAMP primers (two inner and outer primers) were in house designed for LAMP based marker. LAMP reaction was performed by using designed specific LAMP primer and total DNA extracted from Z. officinale as template. The developed LAMP-based markers were tested in several non-Zingiber species. The LAMP was observed for approximately 30 min at DNA concentrations of 10 to 15 ng. The resulting amplicon was visualized by adding SYBR Green-I to the reaction tube without using further technique as gel electrophoresis, to shorten reaction time considerably, since the assay method is simple, sensitive and rapid, for identifying and authentication of Z. officinale Roscoe.

Anti-osteoporotic effects of an antidepressant tianeptine on ovariectomized rats.

In the current investigation, the potential alleviating effects of tianeptine against bone loss induced in ovariectomized (OVX) rats was determined. Two weeks following a bilateral ovariectomy operation, tianeptine treatment (12.5 and 25mg/kg/twice/d) was initiated and continued for twenty-eight consecutive days. Changes in serum and urinary bone turnover biomarkers and osteoclastogenesis-inducing factors were estimated. The femoral bone mineral content was estimated using inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometry. Morphometric alterations of distal femoral bones were observed in the cortical and trabecular structures using micro-CT. Finally, femur bones were assessed for histopathological changes. The lack of estrogen significantly increased the levels of bone turnover biomarkers and inflammatory mediators. Mineral concentrations in the femoral bones were reduced in the OVX group. Furthermore, the femoral bone micro-architecture determined using micro-CT and histopathology were significantly altered by estrogen deficiency. Tianeptine, particularly the higher dose, corrected the elevated levels of bone metabolic products and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Tianeptine also improved mineral concentrations in femoral bones and the disturbed morphometric and histopathological features in OVX rats. In conclusion, tianeptine alleviated the osteoporotic changes in OVX animals, which may be via inhibition of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress and osteoclastogenesis-provoking factors, suggesting attenuation of bone matrix degradation and osteoclast stimulation.

Exciting new ideas in medical education emerged from SIMEC 2012

There has been a rapid change and important development in medical education in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the past 10 years (Bin Abdulrahman 2011; Telmesani et al. 2011). The number of medical schools has been doubled to 31 over the past 5 years (Bin Abdulrahman 2011; Bin Abdulrahman et al. 2012). Almost, all recently found medical schools establish medical education departments, which have resulted in significant progress in staff development and quality assurance. Furthermore, a national frame-work for a competence specification for Saudi medical graduates was developed in order to ensure the delivery of equivalent standards between medical schools throughout the country while guaranteeing the schools’ autonomy at the same time (Zaini et al. 2011). The Saudi Society for Medical Education (SSME) and the Saudi Deans Committee (SDC) have actively involved in medical education in Saudi Arabia and among their exciting contributions and achievements is the establishment of the Saudi International Medical Education Conference (SIMEC), which is the official international medical education conference of SSME and SDC (Bin Abdulrahman et al. 2012). SIMEC is one of the largest international meetings in medical education dedicated to reporting and discussing recent developments and research in the medical education. SIMEC 2012 was the third conference to be held in Saudi Arabia and was hosted by the College of Medicine at Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh from 22 to 26 April 2012. This meeting covered all aspects of medical education in five major themes; namely: Theme 1: Trends in curriculum planning and development; Theme 2: Teaching and learning: the teacher’s toolkit and contexts for learning; Theme 3: What is a good assessment and written performance assessment?; Theme 4: Accreditation/International dimensions of medical education and Theme 5: Innovating in medical education. More than 30 leading international medical education experts from 15 countries shared their experiences in medical education with more than 1500 participants from Saudi Arabia and other countries. An interesting, innovative feature of the meeting was the presentation of electronic posters (e-posters). The presenters were asked to upload their e-posters prior to the meeting, which were available electronically for display on several boards throughout the meeting. The technology allowed any one poster to be examined on a board and for additional information to be immediately retrieved relating to the content of the poster, for example additional text, illustrations or video. Of the vast array of e-posters, short communications and other forms of research presented at the meeting, many interesting ideas truly stood out. This article aims to review the most intriguing and thought provoking ideas presented at the SIMEC 2012, mentioning how these ideas may influence or impact medical education in the near future. Among the short communications presented was the findings of ‘‘Prevalence of Harassment and Discrimination among Residents in Saudi Hospitals’’ by Naif Fnais and his research team. Such an important issue was not addressed before in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and the findings of the study stand out as the most eye opening. The researchers carried out a multi-institutional observational retrospective cross-sectional survey on residents from all residency training programs in the National Guard Hospitals in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, from 27 July to 20 August 2010. In addition, to racial and gender discrimination, several forms of harassment were studied including verbal, sexual, physical and academic. The results of this survey show that 84% of participants have experienced one form or another of harassment within Saudi Hospitals. Verbal abuse and gender discrimination were the most frequently experienced forms of harassment and discrimination (61.5% and 58.29%, respectively). Surprisingly, sexual harassment was also commonly reported (19.34) with the majority of complaints from females. Another striking finding was that 22.4% of the participants want to pursue another career (Fnais et al. 2012). This type of working environment is counter productive and the authors stress the need to continue their study to find the cause of such harassment. It is however, important to note that the study did not state what was defined as harassment and did not provide explanations of harassment in the perspective of the residents. Furthermore, an important limitation of the study is the differences the residents have in their perception with regards to harassment and discrimination. In a country such as Saudi Arabia, which has males and females separated from working environments at a young age, it is important to understand what these individuals believe to be harassment, and whether

A Descriptive Review of the Prevalence and Usage of Traditional and Complementary Medicine among Saudi Diabetic Patients

Diabetes mellitus represents a major burden in Saudi Arabia where seven million (20% of population) are living with diabetes. This article reviews the literature on usage of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) therapies among Saudi diabetic patients, focusing in particular on identifying the prevalence as well as discussing their safety and efficacy. Three databases (PubMed, Cochrane, and ScienceDirect) were searched prior to December 10, 2017, for articles published in peer-reviewed journals that reported primary data on the use of traditional and complementary medicine therapies among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia. Six studies were selected according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria. In conclusion, the prevalence of use of T&CM therapies among diabetics in Saudi Arabia was 32.18%. This review identified that the most used T&CM therapy among diabetics was herbal treatment. The most used herbs were fenugreek, black seeds, neem, myrrh, helteet, harmel, and aloes. There is insufficient or little evidence to support the efficacy of the most identified herbs and therapies. This review is raising the safety concerns about the used herbs and complementary therapies which were commonly used without any medical consultation.

Cupping Therapy (Al-Hijamah) Points: A Powerful Standardization Tool for Cupping Procedures?

Background: Cupping (Al-Hijamah) therapy is a traditional complementary and alternative medicine practice used in diverse diseases with the variable outcome since ancient times. The precise selection of cupping points is a core component of cupping therapy techniques and one of the important determinant factors concerning the outcome of a disease and safety of the patient. Objective: The aim of this narrative overview is to critically describe various cupping points and their tentative selection criteria that help cupping practitioners in applying cups accurately on the afflicted skin surface. Methods: Electronic searches of certain databases and scientific publishing websites were made using Boolean Operators and keywords, and based on exclusion/inclusion criteria and consensus 40 full pertinent English articles of the last five years (2013-2017) were included by two independent reviewers. Review Article Qureshi et al.; JOCAMR, 4(3): 1-13, 2017; Article no.JOCAMR.39269 2 Results: The theme of cupping points is complex controversial and often puzzling, and connected to a variety of determining tentative criteria and factors and have their prime roots in Prophetic Islamic medicine and Traditional medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Modern medicine. Conclusion: The cupping (Al-Hijamah) therapy techniques with precise selection of cupping points on the afflicted skin surface (i.e., sites of pain) tend to produce good therapeutic response without any major adverse events in patients with specific diseases. This study calls for further research in order to uniformly define and classify cupping therapy points concerning individual specific diseases, prevention of diseases and promotion of health at global level.

Top 10 most used drugs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2010–2015

Medications usage has become a significant part of contemporary life. Many studies indicate that there is an excessive use and a considerable waste of medicines. This descriptive study aims at identifying the most used medicines in Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2015 according to the statistics of specialized companies in the field. Comparison of the most commonly used drugs with those in the United States aims at clarifying similarities and differences. The results showed that the use of antibiotics and analgesics still accounted for the bulk, followed by proton pump inhibitors and anti-diabetics respectively, then anti-hyperlipidemic agents and erectile dysfunction treatments. The causes of this overuse vary according to the studies concerned between the self-medications and the over-prescription of the medication and the failure of the diagnostic and treatment procedures (malpractice). The recommendations are the strict application of prescribed and non–prescribed dispensing systems and the further establishment and application of national guides in the diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases. The repetition of such studies is useful in reviewing health policies and regulations related to health practice in general and pharmacological policies in particular.