Search

Wound is defined as the damage to biological tissues including skin, mucous membranes and organ tissues. The acute wound heals in less than 4 weeks without complications, while a chronic wound takes longer than 6 weeks to heal. Wound healing occurs in 4 phases, namely, coagulation, inflammatory, proliferative and remodeling phases. Triclosan and benzalkonium chloride are commonly used as skin disinfectants in wound healing. However, they cause allergic contact dermatitis and antibiotic resistance. Medicinal plants are widely studied due to the limited availability of wound healing agents. The present review included six commonly available medicinal plants in Malaysia such as Aloe barbadensis Miller, Carica papaya Linn., Centella asiatica Linn., Cymbopogon nardus Linn., Ficus benghalensis Linn. and Hibiscus rosa sinensis Linn. Various search engines and databases were used to obtain the scientific findings, including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed Central and Research Gate. The review discussed the possible mechanism of action of medicinal plants and their active constituents in the wound healing process. In addition, their application in nanotechnology and wound dressings was also discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Menstruation is a natural phenomenon considered an important indicator of women's health, reflecting their endocrine function. Women in low middle income countries face substantial menstrual hygiene management challenges. Data on the knowledge of dysmenorrhea and health-related practices among Malaysian women are scarce. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea among Malaysian women in Kuala Lumpur and its association with socio-demographic factors, knowledge level, and general practices. A cross-sectional study was carried out among Malaysian women in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 362 unmarried women, nulliparous and aged between 18 and 25 years old, were included in this study. Participants were conveniently recruited through online platforms as well as face to face using a self-administered questionnaire with five sections consisting of demographics, menstrual characteristics, Working ability, Location, Intensity, Days of pain, Dysmenorrhea (WaLIDD) score for diagnosing and assessing the severity of dysmenorrhea as well as an evaluation of respondents' general knowledge and practices towards dysmenorrhea. The collected data were analysed using the SPSS tool, a descriptive statistic was used to report demographic characteristics. Inferential statistics was used to report the differentiation, association, and correlations of the variables. The prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea was 73.2%. It was found that the majority of the respondents had poor knowledge (60%) and poor practices (61.88%) of dysmenorrhea. The most common preventive practices among the respondents were using dietary supplements, and herbs, taking a rest and exercising. The findings also indicated that dysmenorrhea among the respondents was significantly associated with family history of dysmenorrhea (p = 0.002), monthly income (p = 0.001), and knowledge level (p = 0.001). Dysmenorrhea has a high prevalence among women in Malaysia in Kula Lumpur driven by low knowledge and lack of evidence-based practices among these women. Thus, it is critical for Government and healthcare authorities to promote education related to women health among Malaysian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common and severe malignant gynaecological tumours affecting women worldwide. It remains a global health burden especially in low- and middle-income countries. In Malaysia, CC is classified as the second most common cancer affecting women following breast cancer. The survival rate of CC in Malaysia is the lowest in Malays, followed by Indians and Chinese. This indicates several factors including age and ethnicity may significantly affect the survival rate among CC patients. Persisting infection with high-risk subtypes of the human papilloma virus (HPV) is the main aetiologic factor for the development of CC in addition to other factors that are involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Genetic modifications such as loss of heterozygosity, mutation and amplification as well as epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone acetylation have been reported to contribute to CC. Besides, local microbiota and environmental factors including smoking, diet and oxidative stress have been associated with the development and progression of CC. Hormonal dysregulation in CC patients and animal models suggest the role of hormones in cervical carcinogenesis. Increased understanding of CC offers the hope to limit the burden of disease and effective prevention programmes is particularly important as the disease is highly preventable. This article aims to discuss and provide a comprehensive overview on the pathogenesis of CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The secondary metabolites of endemic plants from the Rutaceae family, such as Burkillanthusmalaccensis (Ridl.) Swingle from the rainforest of Malaysia, has not been studied. Burkillanthusmalaccensis (Ridl.) Swingle may produce antibacterial and antibiotic-potentiating secondary metabolites. Hexane, chloroform, and methanol extracts of leaves, bark, wood, pericarps, and endocarps were tested against bacteria by broth microdilution assay and their antibiotic-potentiating activities. Chromatographic separations of hexane extracts of seeds were conducted to investigate effective phytochemicals and their antibacterial activities. Molecular docking studies of werneria chromene and dihydroxyacidissiminol against SARS-CoV-2 virus infection were conducted using AutoDock Vina. The methanol extract of bark inhibited the growth of Staphylococcusaureus, Escherichiacoli, and Pseudomonasaeruginosa with the minimum inhibitory concentration of 250, 500, and 250 µg/mL, respectively. The chloroform extract of endocarps potentiated the activity of imipenem against imipenem-resistant Acinetobacterbaumannii. The hexane extract of seeds increased the sensitivity of P. aeruginosa against ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. The hexane extract of seeds and chloroform extract of endocarps were chromatographed, yielding werneria chromene and dihydroxyacidissiminol. Werneria chromene was bacteriostatic for P.aeruginosa and P.putida, with MIC/MBC values of 1000 > 1000 µg/mL. Dihydroxyacidissiminol showed the predicted binding energies of −8.1, −7.6, −7.0, and −7.5 kcal/mol with cathepsin L, nsp13 helicase, SARS-CoV-2 main protease, and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain S-RBD. Burkillanthusmalaccensis (Ridl.) Swingle can be a potential source of natural products with antibiotic-potentiating activity and that are anti-SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examined the barriers and facilitators to the provision of consumer medication information leaflets (CMIL) by community pharmacists in Malaysia and assessed the relationship between the participants' characteristics and provision of CMIL. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional self‐administered questionnaire survey conducted among pharmacists working in randomly selected community pharmacies in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and the State of Selangor, Malaysia. Multiple response analysis was conducted to examine the barriers and facilitators. Chi‐square test was used to assess the relationship between the participants' characteristics and provision of CMIL. IBM SPSS Statistics version 23 software was used for all statistical analysis. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Key findings: A total of 162 participants were involved in the study. Response rate was 77.5% (162 out of 209) and completion rate 100%. The two most frequently reported barriers to non‐provision of CMIL were because the customer has taken the medicine previously (29.4%) and the customer receives all the information they need verbally (20.0%). The two most frequently reported facilitators to the provision of CMIL were because the community pharmacists felt they have a duty of care to inform the customer about their medicine (16.3%) and the customer has a right to information about their medicine (15.6%). There was a significant association between the provision of CMIL and participants educational level (P = 0.005) and awareness of CMIL (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The key barriers to the provision of CMIL by the community pharmacists appeared to be related to attitudinal factors, while key facilitators appeared to be related to the professional obligations of the community pharmacists. Increased awareness and educational strategies would be important in improving the provision of CMIL by community pharmacists in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Malaysia, all pharmacy graduates are required to undergo a one-year Provisionally Registered Pharmacist (PRP) training in either private or public premises. Due to lack of a comprehensive, nationwide study that covers both public and private of training for the PRP, including government hospital, private hospital, government health clinic, community pharmacy, manufacturing pharmaceutical industry, non-manufacturing pharmaceutical industry, research, and development (academia), a nationwide study is conducted. This study aims to assess the course satisfaction and perception of Malaysian Provisionally Registered Pharmacist towards their training in different settings. A crosssectional nationwide study was conducted among Malaysian PRP who started their PRP training at least 6 months ago and those who finished their PRP training within the past 2 years using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 255 PRPs participated in the survey. On the basis of the response received, most of the respondents felt that the oneyear training period was sufficient. More than 30% of the respondents from government sectors opined that the logbook is too complicated and some logbook requirements are hard to achieve. Most of the respondents are required to do extended hours except for the pharmaceutical industry. In conclusion, most of the respondents were satisfied with the PRP training in Malaysia. However, there is still some inconsistency of quality in PRP training programs in different settings such as the lack of important facilities on certain premises. The findings of this study indicate some suggestions and factors that affect PRP's job satisfaction. Hence, this can be used as an indicator for further improvement of current PRP training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]