Kanser payudara kekal sebagai salah satu punca utama morbiditi dan kematian berkaitan kanser di seluruh dunia. Kepelbagaian molekul dan genetiknya yang kompleks menjadi cabaran besar dalam membangunkan rawatan yang berkesan. Terapi konvensional seperti kemoterapi, terapi hormon, dan ubat sasaran sering menghadapi rintangan seperti kerintangan terhadap ubat dan kebolehan tumor untuk berulang. CRISPR/Cas9, satu teknologi penyuntingan gen yang revolusioner, telah muncul sebagai alat yang berpotensi untuk memajukan rawatan kanser payudara. Ulasan ini meneroka bagaimana CRISPR boleh digunakan untuk merawat kanser payudara dengan menumpukan kepada tiga aspek utama: menyasarkan onkogen bagi menghentikan pertumbuhan tumor, memulihkan fungsi gen penindas tumor yang sering dinyahfungsi akibat mutasi, dan mengatasi rintangan terhadap ubat. Selain itu, kami membincangkan inovasi terkini dalam sistem penghantaran CRISPR yang meningkatkan ketepatan dan kecekapannya. Walau bagaimanapun, seperti mana-mana teknologi canggih, terdapat cabaran yang perlu ditangani, termasuk kesan luar sasaran dan pertimbangan etika berkaitan penyuntingan genom. Dengan ketepatan CRISPR, penyelidik kini sedang membangunkan strategi terapeutik baharu yang boleh menjadikan rawatan kanser payudara lebih berkesan dan disesuaikan dengan individu. Seiring dengan perkembangan bidang ini, CRISPR berpotensi untuk mengubah landskap rawatan kanser payudara, memberikan harapan kepada pesakit untuk terapi yang lebih tepat.

Kemunculan teknologi penyuntingan genom, terutamanya CRISPR/Cas9, telah mengubah dan merevolusikan landskap bidang genetik dan biologi molekul dengan begitu drastik. Sistem CRISPR/Cas9 diadaptasi daripada sistem adaptasi imuniti bakteria, menggunakan enzim Cas9 yang dipandu oleh sgRNA untuk penyingkiran gen atau penyuntingan genom secara jitu. Walau bagaimanapun, cabaran seperti kesan luar sasaran (off-target effects) telah mendorong pembangunan beberapa varian Cas9 seperti dCas9. dCas9 diubah suai untuk tidak memiliki sebarang aktiviti endonuklease dan kini dCas9 telah digunakan untuk pelbagai aplikasi yang melangkaui fungsi tradisional CRISPR/Cas9 sebagai kaedah pengeditan genom. Selain itu, teknologi terkini penyuntingan perdana (prime editing) telah menggabungkan enzim Cas9 yang diubahsuai bersama enzim transkriptase berbalik (reverse transcriptase) untuk meningkatkan lagi tahap keberkesanan penyuntingan genom secara jitu. Walaupun wujud kerisauan terhadap pertimbangan etika dan kebimbangan terkait keselamatan, namun teknologi ini menjanjikan dampak yang besar di dalam menangani penyakit genetik serta aplikasi dalam bidang perubatan jitu (precision medicine). Memahami dan mengoptimumkan potensi CRISPR/Cas9 dan teknologi penyuntingan perdana menandakan bermula era baharu dalam bidang penyelidikan berkaitan biologi dan perubatan, dan seterusnya menyediakan satu platform untuk penyuntingan genom yang tepat dan pengawalseliaan proses transkripsi gen.

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) could possibly cause mild to severe health effects such as diarrhea, weakness, intestinal blood loss, and impaired cognitive development and growth. In Malaysia, previous studies depicted a high prevalence rate of STH was due to poor hygiene practice and low efficacies of anthelminthic drugs. This study was conducted to investigate hand hygiene practice and WASH criteria’s (Water, sanitation and hygiene) related to STH infection among two indigenous tribes in Peninsular Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was carried out to study the relationship among STH infection compared to water quality, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. A total of 190 individuals from two indigenous villages participated in the study, with ages ranging from 5 to 60 years old. In addition, Pearson’s Chisquare (X2) test was utilized to test the relationship among STH with demographic socioeconomic and behavioral factors. The confidence interval (CI) of 95% is used to estimate the precision of the odds ratio (OR). Multivariate logistic regression models were also used to identify the risk factors associated with STH infections. The overall findings indicated a prevalence rate of 72% for STH, and distributed mainly among children aged < 12 years. Furthermore, multivariate analyses using logistic regression revealed chronic health problems, incorrect hand washing, and walking bare footed were associated with STH infection. Overall results indicated high prevalence of STH among the indigenous villagers, which aligns with the published literature and proves to be a problem need to be addressed as neglected disease. Interestingly, there was a significant relationship between the presences of chronic diseases and STH infection, which prompted other questions the awareness needs to be educated and the simple and low-cost intervention on the proper way of hand washing may help to reduce STH infection in these indigenous communities.

Introduction: Gestational diabetes (GDM) has significant maternal and foetal implications. screening allows active interventions which significantly improves pregnancy outcomes. Despite World Health Organization (WHO), FIGO and National Institute of clinical Excellence (NIcE) recommendations for universal screening especially among high risk population; Malaysia currently adopts a selective risk based screening for GDM. Objective: the objective is to audit the effectiveness of the current practice of selective risk based screening in detection of GDM in Malaysia. Methodology: this is a retrospective cohort study based on the National Obstetric Registry (NOR) which comprises of 14 major tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. the study period was from 1st January 2011 till 31st December 2012 and a total of 22,044 patients with GDM were analysed. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the crude odd ratio. Results: the incidence of GDM in Malaysia is 8.4%. Maternal age of ≥25, booking bMI ≥27kg/m2, booking weight ≥80kg and previous hypertension are non-significant risk of developing GDM in Malaysia. Parity 5 and more was only associated with an odds-ratio of 1.02 (95% confidence Interval: 0.90-1.17) as compared to parity below 5. the association of women with previous stillbirth with GDM was not significant. conclusion: current risk based screening for GDM based on maternal age, booking bMI, weight and hypertension is inappropriate. An ideal screening tool should precede disease complications, which is the novel objective of screening. Universal screening for GDM in Malaysia may be a more accurate measure, especially with regards to reducing maternal and foetal complications.
Diabetes, Gestational