Introduction: Adequate, nutritive and safe foods are crucial for growth and healthy living. Adolescents are vulnerable to food insecurity. This study was aimed at determining the demographic factors, food security status, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and body weight status of adolescents in Mentakab, Pahang, Malaysia. Methods: This study involved 160 households that comprised pairs of mothers and children aged 13-17 years. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the mothers to assess their demographic and food security status (Radimer/Cornell Hunger and Food Insecurity Instrument). Meanwhile, the children answered a self-administered HRQOL questionnaire (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, PedsQL). Body weight and height were measured to obtain the body mass index (BMI). Results: About 48.8% of the adolescents were from households with food insecurity. The number of school-going siblings, occupation status of mother, occupation status of father, household income and house ownership status were predictors of food security status (p<0.05). After controlling for covariates, the HRQOL score and BMI were higher in adolescents from food-secure households than adolescents from food- insecure households (p<0.01). Conclusion: The prevalence of food insecurity was high and multifactorial. Food insecurity was further associated with HRQOL and BMI. Food assistance programmes are recommended to directly alleviate food insecurity. Concurrently, monetary and educational aids are advocated to reduce the economic burden, especially in low-income households.

Introduction: Immunosuppressive state due to haematological malignancies and chemotherapy may cause disruption to wound healing despite optimum conventional treatment and standard wound dressing. Non-healing wounds are predisposed to infection whereas chemotherapy dose reductions or interruptions are associated with poor survival. Background: Mononuclear cells contain progenitor cells including haematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells and fibroblasts which facilitate wound healing through cytokines, growth factor secretions, cell-cell interactions and provision of extracellular matrix scaffolding. Clinical applications of autologous mononuclear cells therapy in wound healing in non-malignant patients with critical limb ischaemia have been reported with remarkable outcome. Methods: We report three patients with haematological malignancies undergoing chemotherapy, who received autologous mononuclear cells implantation to treat non-healing wound after optimum conventional wound care. The sources of mononuclear cells (MNC) were from bone marrow (BM), peripheral blood (PB) and mobilised PB cells (mPB-MNC) using granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF). The cells were directly implanted into wound and below epidermis. Wound sizes and adverse effects from implantation were assessed at regular intervals. Results: All patients achieved wound healing within three months following autologous mononuclear cells implantation. No implantation adverse effects were observed. Conclusions: Autologous mononuclear cells therapy is a feasible alternative to conventional wound care to promote complete healing in non-healing wounds compounded by morbid factors such as haematological malignancies, chemotherapy, diabetes mellitus (DM), infections and prolonged immobility.

Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) leaf extracts have been widely used by cancer patients in Malaysia and local practiceclaims a cure to cancer. There were several studies done to determine the cytotoxicity potency of C. nutans extracts onvarious types of cells. However, there is still lacking on the knowledge regarding the combination effect of C. nutanswith anticancer drugs. Thus, the study was carried out to determine the cytotoxicity potency of C. nutans extracts andpaclitaxel (PTX) alone and, in combination on MDA-MB-231 cells. The cells were treated with 100% ethanol extract ofC. nutans (CNE) and water extract of C. nutans (CNA), PTX and combination of both extracts and PTX for 72 hours andthe cytotoxic activity was determined using SRB assay. Result showed that CNE had little cytotoxic activity, whereas CNAshowed no cytotoxic activity on MDA-MB-231 cells. For combination treatment of C. nutans extracts and PTX, only CNEshowed significant enhanced PTX-induced cytotoxicity (p < 0.05), meanwhile CNA inhibited PTX-induced cytotoxicitysignificantly (p < 0.05). As a conclusion, CNE was able to increase PTX potency to inhibit the viability of MDA-MB-231cells.