Introduction: The Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme is responsible for the synthesis of prostaglandin which is responsible for inflammation and pain. Celecoxib a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor was first used as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug in 1999. Celecoxib is as effective as NSAIDs but causes less ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract, hence it is commonly used. It has been widely used in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. We present 3 cases of temporary psychiatric disorders associated with consumption of celecoxib,two of the patients presented with auditory hallucinations while one was diagnosed to be having depression. None had pre-existing psychiatric disorders or consumed alcohol or substance of abuse. All 3 patients recovered from their temporary psychiatric disorders after stopping celecoxib.Discussion: It is important to be aware of the psychiatric side effects when prescribing the drug for prolonged periods

Objective: This paper reports the result of an analysis of data of brief therapy for out-patients with panic disorder reffered by physicians in a busy specialist hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Methods: The patients were randomly assigned into different groups of SSRI (Specific Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants i.e. escitalopram, setraline, or fluoxetine. All patients received cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). The therapy was aimed for a maximum of twelve sessions. There were 33 patients in the escitalopram group, 31 patients in the setraline group, and 31 patients in the fluoxetine group. Results: the result shows that all the groups were similar in the severity and scores for pre-treatment but for post-treatment, there were significant differences among them. Conclusion: All groups showed significant improvements in all modalities of measurements. However, the escitalopram and setraline groups showed faster overall improvement compared to the fluoxetine group.

Chronic non-communicable diseases are the new emerging epidemic, and they are thought to challenge only rich countries; cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are now the leading cause of death and disability in low-income and middle-income countries, where they killed almost 8 million people younger than 60 years in 2013. Therefore, there is a need to develop a valid and reliable tool to measure the beliefs that influence people’s general behaviour, and a used to measure beliefs about chronic disease perceived susceptibility. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the use of perception questionnaire among the young Iraqi adults. A total of 200 young adults participated who are free from any chronic diseases under study, and are living in Baghdad. The questionnaire, validated by an expert’s panel, translated to Arabic language, and pretested. Analyses included descriptive statistics of all the study variables, reliability estimates, and construct validity using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results showed that mean age of respondents was 30 years old, majority were males 71.5%, and EFA showed that factor loading was more than 0.4. CFA results show that Chi-square (df) = 1.213(2); p value (>0.05) = 0.297. Internal consistency reliability analysis on health-related behaviour; special practice, information seeking and perceived probability of diseases have good Cronbach’s α value of between 0.8 - 0.9. These findings revealed that validation is favourable and can be utilized on larger scale of sample to proceed with main study on chronic disease perceived susceptibility among healthy people.
perception ; validity ; chronic disease

This study evaluates the effect of a commercial brand of chicken essence (BEC) on the various parameters related to stress and cognition of human volunteers. BEC is produced by a hot-water extraction process from chicken meat under high pressure conditions. It contains concentrated amounts of proteins, amino acids and peptides such as carnosine compared to homemade traditional chicken soup. Due to the unique extraction process, it has been postulated that readily absorbed amino acids and bioactive peptides are present in BEC. In this study, we evaluated the effect of BEC in comparison with a placebo on a group of distressed medical students. Students were randomly divided into two groups and given either BEC or a placebo drink daily for two weeks. Before and after the two weeks, the students were given a series of tests to assess their level of cognitive functioning and perceived stress level while being monitored for EEG recording. The combination of these tests, namely Digit span, Arithmetic and Letter-number sequencing, generally assessed the student’s attention and working memory. The working memory performance of students who ingested essence of chicken was found to be significantly better than those who consumed placebo when data comparing baseline and after two weeks consumption were compared. This study seems to suggest that essence of chicken has positive effects on the subjects’ cognitive functions.
Chickens ; seconds ; week ; cognitive ability ; Placebos

To determine the current practices of private practitioners for the management of STIs in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, evaluation of pharmacotherapy for STIs in private clinics and to ascertain the management of STIs compared to standard guidelines. Methods: Data was collected by self-administered questionnaire for private practitioners, which gathered information on their socio-demographic as well as practice characteristics. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS for Windows version 13.0. Results: Data was collected from 78 practitioners. Most of the treatment choices mentioned for the treatment of gonorrhea were inconsistent with the guidelines. About 51.2% of practitioners did not screen their patients for HIV/AIDS. Majority of private practitioners counseled their patients about HIV/AIDS on an irregular basis. A high percentage of 59% did not inform health authorities about STI cases and 32.1% mentioned that they did not use any guidelines. Conclusions: Management of STIs by private practitioners with respect to selection of antibiotics, patient counseling and case notification leaves a lot to be desired. Current management practices can adversely impact on HIV/AIDS transmission in the country. Interventions are needed to improve the management practices of private practitioners.

Objectives: Drug addiction poses a significant threat to the health, social and economic fabric of families, communities and nations. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with drug addiction amongst Malaysian males. Methods: A population-based case control study was carried out in Johor state. Cases were defined as confirmed male drug dependents aged 15 and above. Controls were defined as those aged 15 and above who had never used illegal drugs in their lifetime. A total of 1016 cases were selected at random from a list obtained from the state anti-drug agency and 1106 controls were sampled from a population-based sampling frame. After obtaining verbal consent, they were interviewed by trained graduates. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed using StataV8.2. The final model was adjusted for smoking, age, alcohol consumption, importance of religion, ethnicity, education level and self-esteem. Results: The final model had good fit (p>0.05) and good discrimination (AUC=0.94). Compared with those aged 15-19 years, the highest risk was amongst the 20-29 years age group (adjusted OR(aOR) 7.2; 95%CI=3.8,13.7) followed by the 30-39 year age group (aOR 5.4; 95%CI=2.9, 10.2) and 40-49 year age groups (aOR 5.0;95%CI=2.6,9.8). Being an ever-smoker was highly associated with drug addiction (aOR 98.7; 95%CI=28.7, 339.5). Compared with the Chinese, Malays (aOR 7.4;95%CI=4.9,11.2) and Indians (aOR 3.8;95%CI=2.1,7.0) had a higher risk of drug addiction. Drug addiction was associated with disagreeing "that religion is important as guidance in their life" (aOR 16.2;95%CI=8.3,31.9), and a histor of alcohol consumption (aOR 7.6; 95%CI=5.6,10.4). Conclusion: In conclusion the important risk factors associated with drug addiction is smoking, ethnicity, age, education level, alcohol consumption and not giving importance to religion as guidance in their life.However an increased self-esteem (aOR 0.6;95%CI=0.4,0.5) is protective against drug addiction.

Mediastinal mature cycstic teratomas are rare germ cell tumors most commonly found in the anterior mediastinum, and constitute about 3-12% of all mediastinal tumors. They growslowly and are usually diagnosed incidentally. This is a rare presentation of a young lady with mediastinalmature cystic teratoma (dermoid cyst) presenting with chronic cough and haemoptysis.

Introduction: Elderly is a vulnerable population that is prone to sarcopenia which is associated with the loss of muscle mass, strength and function which are some of the diseases that affect the elderly. The association between environmental factors with sarcopenia should be explored as it has the potential to influence the health and disability of a person. At present, limited research is conducted to investigate the association that could be attributed to the complex interaction between human and environmental interactions. Hence this review is conducted to identify the environmental factors associated with sarcopenia. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science and manual search following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria. We used articles that had been written in English and relevant articles were then screened, duplicates were removed, eligibility criteria were applied, and studies that met the criteria were reviewed. The keywords environmental factors, pollutants food environment, neighbourhood environment, locality and sarcopenia were included. Results: Initial search generated 934 publications and 12 articles were included after the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. In this review, environmental factors associated with sarcopenia are divided into 3 themes that comprises of food environment (availability and physical access, economic access and food quality and safety), neighbourhood environment and pollutants. Conclusion This systematic review revealed an association between the food environment, neighbourhood environment and pollutants with sarcopenia. The findings are salient as they could aid policymakers in formulating the necessary strategy to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with sarcopenia, especially with the increase in the ageing population globally.

The risk factors associated with mental health among adolescents are usually described by researchers at an individual level. Neighbourhood factors and health have opened a new insight into the field of epidemiology. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a newly developed Neighbourhood Factors on Mental Health Questionnaire among Malaysian adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia using a newly developed questionnaire which comprised of two main domains and seven items. Exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure the instrument’s construct validity and reliability. A total of 106 adolescents participated in this research. The majority of adolescents were 13 years old (40.6%), female (55.7%), Malays (68.9%), have parents who only studied until secondary school (66.0%) and lived in flats (32.1%). Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was significant (Chi-square = 258.361, p<0.001) and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was 0.820. The final model of the instrument contained two domains, the neighbourhood physical environment and neighbourhood social environment factors. Factor loadings for all items were satisfactory ranging from 0.591 to 0.870. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.810. The Neigbourhood Factors on Mental Health Questionnaire was found to be a valid and reliable instrument. It can be used to assess neighbourhood physical and social factors that can influence mental health of adolescents in Malaysia.​