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Background: Hubble-Bubble smoking is a common smoking practice and spreading fast among young adults even in western countries. People think it is less toxic than cigarette smoking. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of oxidative stress markers and antioxidants in the blood of Hubble-Bubble (smokers compared to controls as a sign of toxicity, since disease process is caused by abnormal antioxidant capacity. Methods: Blood samples were collected by authorized personnel from recruited healthy volunteers (28 habitual Hubble-Bubble smokers and 18 nonsmokers). The levels of oxidative stress markers (Malondialdehyde (MDA), and protein carbonyl) and antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) and lipids were measured. Results: Protein carbonyl level in HB smokers’ group (2.58 mmol/gm of protein) was significantly higher than in control group (2.58 ±0.8 vs. 2.04 ±0.8 mmol/gm of protein). While CAT level in HB smokers’ group was significantly lower than the control group (22545.4±504 vs 24772.0±344.6 mU/ml). Also, a clear difference for GPx level was found between study groups (1091.6±122 vs. 3144.9± 409mU/ml). However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding the SOD and MDA levels as well as the lipids concentration. Conclusions: HB smoking is associated with increased levels of carbonyl proteins and decreased levels of catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in the plasma, which might contribute to the several adverse health effects associated with HB smoking.

1Dept. of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Jordan 2*Dept. of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Jordan 3Dept. of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Jordan 4Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Jordan First two authors contributed equally to this study

This study was conducted with the aim of finding the prevalence rate of hypertension and the relationship between hypertension and selected socioeconomic and dietary parameters in females aged 15-49 years in a disadvantaged community in Jordan. A household survey was carried out, using a questionnaire as an instrument for interviewing subjects. About 19% of females had hypertension, ranging between 7.5% in the very young to 58% in women aged 45-49 years. Hypertension was significantly associated with almost all variables studied such as age, education, marital status, parity, obesity, and dietary patterns. Some strategies were suggested to improve the situation in the future.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of alum on human platelet aggregation. Methods: Platelet-rich plasma fractions were prepared from fresh blood drawn from a group of healthy male volunteers. Platelet aggregation was induced by various inducers. The percent aggregation was recorded in the absence and presence of various concentrations of alum. Results: Alum at concentrations less than 1.5 mg/ml inhibited platelet aggregation induced by collagen, epinephrine, ADP and thrombin in a dose-dependent manner. The IC 50 s were 0.668, 0.324, 0.250 and 0.191 mg/ml of alum, for collagen-, epinephrine-, ADP- and thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, respectively. In contrast, alum at concentrations up to 1.5 mg/ml did not inhibit ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation. Conclusion: Alum has an anti-platelet action and should be used cautiously in the treatment of intractable intravesical hemorrhage. Alum is a cheap anti-platelet drug that needs further investigation.

To determine the nicotine content of commonly used tobacco in hubble-bubble (HB) and compare it with that found in cigarettes.Analysis of nicotine content of 13 commercial brands of HB tobacco was carried out using gas chromatography over an 8 month period; November 2002 through to June 2003 at the Toxicology Laboratory, University of Jordan.A wide variation in nicotine content in all brands was noticed with an average of 8.32 mg/g tobacco, range (1.8-41.3 mg/g). The average nicotine content in each HB head (20 gm) of unflavored tobacco was (713 mg/head) and flavored tobacco has (67 mg/head). One head of unflavored tobacco has nicotine equivalent to 70 regular cigarettes. The addition of adulterations; honey, glycerin and other flavors in the process of preparing the flavored (Muasel) tobacco contributes to lowering the nicotine content in each gram of flavored tobacco. Smoking one head of flavored (Mua'sel) tobacco which contains on average one third of nicotine presented in 20 cigarettes (204 mg/pack) usually resulted in a higher plasma nicotine level by 20%.Hubble-bubble smokers are not at a lesser risk from smoking than cigarette smokers in relation to nicotine dependence. The inability of water to trap significant amounts of chemical substances present in tobacco (especially nicotine) and the danger which might result from the combustion of additives like; glycerin, honey and other flavors could be a very important factor to extrapolate the damage resulting from HB smoking.

Idiopathic headache is a stressful complaint, whose treatment is not well established. Our study is an attempt to examine the relationship between idiopathic headache and inferior turbinate cauterization as a surgical treatment, and to explain the central physiological effect of cauterization.Thirty-four patients, 15 females and 19 males complaining of idiopathic headache were treated by inferior turbinate cauterization. Cauterization of the inferior-medial aspect of the turbinate was carried out once under local anesthesia for few seconds. This study was performed between November 1993 and December 1996, a joint project of the Zarka Government Hospital, Zarka and Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.More than 82% of the patients showed significant improvement in the sense of decreased headache.Cautery of the nasal turbinate could be a novel method for treatment of idiopathic headache.

The physiological effects of cigarette smoking have been widely studied, however, little is known regarding the effects of smoking hubble-bubble. We examined the acute effects of hubble-bubble smoking on heart rate, systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide.This study was carried out in the student laboratory, School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, during the summer of 1999. In 18 healthy habitual hubble-bubble smokers, heart rate, blood pressure, and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide was measured before, during and post smoking of one hubble-bubble run (45 minutes).Compared to base line (time zero), at the end of smoking heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure, and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide were increased 16 2.4 beats per minute, 6.7 2.5 mm Hg, 4.4 1.6 mm Hg, 5.2 1.7 mm Hg, and 14.2 1.8 ppm, (mean standard error of mean, P.05).Acute short-term active hubble-bubble smoking elicits a modest increase in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure and maximum end-expiratory carbon monoxide in healthy hubble-bubble smokers.

Effects of endotoxin administration on the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of phospholamban in canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) were studied. Results obtained 4 h after endotoxin administration show that the Ca2(+)-calmodulin dependent phosphorylation of phospholamban was reduced by 17-25% (P less than 0.05). Kinetic analysis reveals that the Vmax values for Ca2+, for calmodulin, and for ATP for the Ca2(+)-calmodulin dependent phosphorylation were significantly decreased, while the S0.5 values (for Ca2+ and calmodulin) and the Km (for ATP) and Hill coefficients (for Ca2+ and calmodulin) remained unaffected during endotoxic shock. The cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of phospholamban measured in the presence of the exogenously added catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase remained unaffected. The basal/endogenous (cAMP- and Ca2(+)-independent) phosphorylation of phospholamban was significantly decreased after endotoxin administration. The half-time for the dephosphorylation of phospholamban prephosphorylated in the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin was shortened by 58% (P less than 0.01) in endotoxin shock. These data indicate that the phosphorylation of phospholamban was inhibited while the dephosphorylation was stimulated in canine cardiac SR during endotoxin shock. Since the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of phospholamban in cardiac SR plays an important role in the control of myocardial contractility, these findings may have a pathophysiological significance in contributing to the understanding of myocardial dysfunction in endotoxin shock.