Background: Consumption and abuse of alcohol remains a significant cause of concern worldwide. Furthermore, there is evidence of the association between chronic alcohol use and reduced life expectancy. Objectives: To study the effects of Garcinia binucao extract (GBE) supplementation on lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster, in the presence or absence of chronic alcohol exposure. Methods: D. melanogaster was mass cultured and given GBE supplementation in high (1 mg/mL) and low (200 µg/mL) sublethal doses. D. melanogaster flies were divided into groups - with and without chronic alcohol exposure, and their respective lifespans were monitored. Results: In D. melanogaster without alcohol exposure, mean lifespan was highest in the control flies (38.15 days), followed by high-dose GBE (34.42 days), low-dose GBE (33.24 days), and DMSO (22.29 days). In D. melanogaster chronically exposed to alcohol, the longest mean lifespan was observed in flies treated with high-dose GBE (33.80 days), followed by low-dose GBE (33.63 days), the DMSO group (30.30), and the control group (29.65 days), but the differences were not statistically significant. Comparing groups with and without chronic alcohol exposure, the mean lifespan of the control group chronically exposed to alcohol significantly decreased by 9.51 days (p < 0.05). In GBE treatment groups, mean lifespan significantly decreased by 0.82 days in high-dose set-up (p < 0.05), and significantly increased by 0.39 days in the low-dose set-up (p < 0.05) upon chronic alcohol exposure. Conclusion Garcinia binucao extract supplementation ameliorated the observed reduction in lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster chronically exposed to alcohol.
Drosophila melanogaster ; Longevity

Pediatric intracerebral hemorrhage is a rare condition among children. We discuss the case of a 7-year-old Filipino male with generalized tonic seizures and diagnosed to have both SARS-CoV-2 infection and hypertension secondary to renal arterial stenosis. The occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage in children, though commonly caused by arteriovenous malformations, may be secondary to an acute hypertensive episode. In this case, the presence of COVID-19 in the patient may have been contributory to the development of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage due to its direct endothelial effects, as well as its dysregulatory action on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.
COVID-19 ; Hypertensive Crisis ; Renal Artery Obstruction

IMMUNE MODULATORY EFFECT OF HYPERTHERMIA DURING TREATMENT OF RECURRENT, METASTATIC OR LOCALLY ADVANCED SOLID ORGAN MALIGNANCIES Background: The use of hyperthermia as an adjunct to improve conventional therapies in multimodal cancer treatment is supported by an increasing body of research. The underlying biological contribution of hyperthermia in modulating the cells of the immune system has been a growing area of interest. This study aims to evaluate the immune modulatory effect of locoregional hyperthermia given with standard of care treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic solid malignancies. Secondary endpoints were tolerability, change in pain score and quality of life, and tumour control rate. Methods: A single-centre prospective study, conducted from December 2019 to December 2021 at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, recruited 30 patients with solid organ malignancy at baseline. Alongside standard cancer treatment, patients also received hyperthermia treatment for 2 hours, two or three times a week for up to 16-weeks using REMISSION1ºC hyperthermia-induction device. Flow cytometry for lymphocyte enumeration and immunophenotyping was done on blood samples collected from patients at 4 different time points (Baseline, week 1 post hyperthermia, week 1 post standard therapy, week 4. Results: In the analysis of lymphocyte subsets, an increase in CD8+ central memory T cells between baseline and week 1 post hyperthermia (Mean: Baseline 3.854, Week 1A 5.818; P = 0.013) was noted. An increase of CD4+ effector memory T cells between baseline and week 4 post hyperthermia in conjunction with standard therapy (Mean: Baseline 33.60, Week 4 39.34; P = 0.022) was recorded. There was also a marked increase in the percentage of CD8+ T cell expressing checkpoint inhibitory marker PD-1 post week 1 hyperthermia treatment (Mean: Baseline 7.439, week 1A 9.757; P = 0.048) as well as post standard treatment (Mean: Baseline 7.439, Week 1B 9.222; P = 0.033) from baseline. Conclusion: Hyperthermia produced significant effects on the immune cell profiles of cancer patients on treatment. The subset of CD4 effector memory T cells increased significantly, although there was also sign of increased T cells exhaustion. These findings serve as a stepping stone for further research in exploring the mechanisms of hyperthermia in immune modulation and also its translation into clinical practice.

Background: Due to the high prevalence and incidence of leprosy in the Philippines, there is a continuing need to detect and document the occurrence of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia in non-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficient leprosy patients receiving multidrug therapy (MDT) in Southern Philippines Medical Center. Methodology: This is a retrospective study through chart review of leprosy patients treated with MDT regimen at Southern Philippines Medical Center from January 2016 to December 2018. The demographic profile, clinical characteristics, hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations before and after initiation of MDT, the presence of symptoms of anemia, and the occurrence of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia in leprosy patients were collected. The main outcome measure for this study was the incidence rate of dapsone- induced hemolytic anemia. Statistical-based analysis were used for continuous and categorical data which were summarized using means and standard deviations, and frequencies and percentages, respectively. Results: There was a decrease in the mean hemoglobin and hematocrit levels noted in the majority of patients after initiation of MDT from baseline 143.46 g/dl and 0.44, respectively, to 94 g/dl and 0.28 on the third month of MDT. The incidence rate of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia during the 3-year period was 20 cases per 100. Conclusion The relatively high incidence rate of dapsone-induced hemolytic anemia highlights the importance of frequent monitoring of hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations in leprosy patients being treated with multidrug therapy.
Hansen&rsquo ; s disease ; leprosy ; Dapsone ; hemolytic anemia

Background: The PLASMIC score is a convenient tool for predicting ADAMTS13 activity of ＜10%.Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is widely used as a marker of haemolysis in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) monitoring, and could be used as a replacement marker for lysis. We aimed to validate the PLASMIC score in a multi-centre Asia Pacific region, and to explore whether LDH could be used as a replacement marker for lysis. Methods: Records of patients with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) were reviewed. Patients’ ADAMTS13 activity levels were obtained, along with clinical/laboratory findings relevant to the PLASMIC score. Both PLASMIC scores and PLASMIC-LDH scores, in which LDH replaced traditional lysis markers, were calculated. We generated a receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve and compared the area under the curve values (AUC) to determine the predictive ability of each score. Results: 46 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, of which 34 had ADAMTS13 activity levels of ＜10%. When the patients were divided into intermediate-to-high risk (scores 5‒7) and low risk (scores 0‒4), the PLASMIC score showed a sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 58.3%, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 86.8% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 87.5%. The PLASMIC-LDH score had a sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 33.3%, with a PPV of 80.5% and NPV of 80.0%. Conclusion Our study validated the utility of the PLASMIC score, and demonstrated PLASMIC-LDH as a reasonable alternative in the absence of traditional lysis markers, to help identify high-risk patients for treatment via plasma exchange.

Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Retrospective Studies

Child ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospitals, Pediatric ; Humans ; Mass Screening

Purpose: To determine psychometric properties of the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 (CBI-24) among Korean clinical nurses. Methods: A methodological design was used. Data were collected from 408 clinical nurses. Construct validity analysis was performed, including factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. Internal consistency was tested by Cronbach’s ⍺ coefficients, inter-item correlation, and corrected item-total correlation. Results: Exploratory factor analysis produced three factors: ‘empathy and supporting’, ‘knowledge and skills’, and ‘providing comfort’. In confirmatory factor analysis results, model fit indices were acceptable (x2/df=3.50, RMR=.05, RMSEA=.08, CFI=.90). The values obtained for the AVE ranged from .53 to .68, and for the CR ranged from .53 to .68. Convergent validity coefficients were noticeably greater in magnitude than discriminant validity coefficients: .53 (AVE1 value) and .68 (AVE2 value)≥.45 (r122 value) and .68 (AVE2 value) and .63 (AVE3 value)≥.61 (r232 value). Internal consistency (Cronbach’s ⍺) of CBI-K was .95. Conclusion The CBI-K was shown to have acceptable construct validity and good internal consistency. Study findings imply that CBI-K could be a useful instrument for clinical administrators and nursing researchers to assess caring behaviors among Korean clinical nurses. Utilization of CBI-K might contribute to the building of empirical knowledge and the understanding of caring behaviors from nurses’ perspectives.