Abstract
Objective
To assess general perception and attitude of the public on vaccines current practices and pharmacists as immunizers in Jordan
Methods
In this study, computer-assisted personal ...interviews technique was utilized using a quantitative approach of a structured questionnaire. The survey instrument was completed with random telephonic interviews covering different geographic areas in the country of Jordan with a total sample size of 366.
Key findings
Majority of respondents had a positive perception of vaccines in general. Regarding the respondents’ perception of current vaccination status, the majority felt it is good as is or requires some enhancements. Furthermore, 53% believe pharmacists should administer vaccines. Majority strongly agree (76%) that pharmacists should be trained and certified to do so. However, 57% strongly disagree that current pharmacies in Jordan have the facilities allowing them to administer vaccines. Finally, a significant increase of 26% in public willingness to have a pharmacist immunizer after certification was observed compared to without being certified (52%).
Conclusions
Respondents support the role of vaccination as a preventative tool. However, to their opinion, contrary to the high effectiveness in paediatric vaccination in Jordan, current adult vaccination systems need to be revised and improved to increase its adult coverage. Additionally, respondents highly support the idea of allowing pharmacists to become immunizers under certain conditions regarding proper training, accredited certification and licensed administration facilities.
Objective: To describe, introduce, and assess student perceptions of a structured clinical training programme for pharmacy students that meets the expectations of advanced pharmacy practice ...experiences of Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) programmes accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
Methods: A clinical training programme was held from July to September 2019. Training included hands-on hospital rotations focusing on essential pillars of pharmaceutical care including ensuring proper medical indication, effectiveness, safety, and patient adherence (total of 160 hours). The study population included 35 senior pharmacy students from the University of Petra.
Results: Qualitative answers from students showed positive responses associated with the programme’s pre-training orientation, clinical training, preceptors involved, and student’s clinical knowledge and skills.
Conclusion: The piloted introduction of a structured clinical training programme for pharmacy students was successful. Students reported positive evaluations and perceptions of clinical training sites and staff as well as their clinical and practical skills. The main challenge students encountered was transportation to the practice site.
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the impact of caffeine (CAF), taurine (TUR), and ibuprofen (IBF) consumption on the masculine fecundity in rats and fetuses development.
Methods: The 1st group ...was kept as a normal control received distilled water. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th groups received orally 250 mg/kg, 40 mg/kg, and 270 mg/kg of TUR, CAF, and IBF, respectively. In addition, the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th groups received TUR with CAF, TUR with IBF, CAF with IBF, and TUR, CAF, IBF combination, for 45 days. Blood samples were taken to determine testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels and oxidation levels. Moreover, in testes, malondialdehyde and nitrite/nitrate were estimated. Besides, the abnormality of sperms, sperm counts, and percentage of sperm motilities was characterized. These masculines were allowed to mate with untreated masculine rats to determine the rate of pregnancy and study any malformation in their fetuses.
Results: The study revealed that each of CAF and/or IBF decreased the weights of fetuses, as well as sperm counts and motilities significantly. Besides, percentages of head and tail abnormalities were increased in CAF and/or IBF. The histopathological examination revealed the presence of marked degenerative changes in testes in CAF and/or IBF-treated groups.
Conclusion: CAF and IBF have a teratogenic effect on spermatozoa and masculine fecundity, whereas TUR almost improved undesirable impacts induced by IBF or/and CAF.
Brain amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques are one of the primary hallmarks associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Efflux pump proteins located at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) have been reported ...to play an important role in the clearance of brain Aβ, among which the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux transporter pump has been shown to play a crucial role. Thus, P-gp has been considered as a potential therapeutic target for treatment of AD. Colupulone, a prenylated phloroglucinol isolated from
Humulus lupulus
, is known to activate pregnane-X-receptor (PXR), which is a nuclear receptor controlling P-gp expression. In the present work, we aimed to synthesize and identify analogs of colupulone that are potent P-gp inducer(s) with an ability to enhance Aβ transport across the BBB. A series of colupulone analogs were synthesized by modifications at both prenyl as well as acyl domains. All compounds were screened for P-gp induction activity using a rhodamine 123 based efflux assay in the P-gp overexpressing human adenocarcinoma LS-180 cells, wherein all compounds showed significant P-gp induction activity at 5 μM. In the western blot studies in LS-180 cells, compounds
3k
and
5f
were able to induce P-gp as well as LRP1 at 1 μM. The effect of compounds on the Aβ uptake and transport was then evaluated. Among all tested compounds, diprenylated acyl phloroglucinol
5f
displayed a significant increase (29%) in Aβ transport across bEnd3 cells grown on inserts as a BBB model. The results presented here suggest the potential of this scaffold to enhance clearance of brain Aβ across the BBB and thus its promise for development as a potential anti-Alzheimer agent.
A diprenylated acylphloroglucinol was identified as a potent P-gp inducer and showing ability to increase amyloid-beta transport across BBB, thus it is a potential anti-Alzheimer lead compound.
Amyloid-Beta (ABeta) pathology is known to promote chronic inflammatory responses in the brain. It was thought previously that ABeta is only associated with Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome. ...However, studies have shown its involvement in many other neurological disorders. The role of astrocytes in handling the excess levels of ABeta has been highlighted in the literature. Astrocytes have a distinctive function in both neuronal support and protection, thus its involvement in ABeta pathological process may tip the balance toward chronic inflammation and neuronal death. In this review we describe the involvement of astrocytes in ABeta related disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and frontotemporal dementia.
Amyloid-beta (Aβ) cascade hypothesis suggests that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is related to an imbalance between the production and clearance of Aβ peptide. Sporadic AD has been related to faulty ...clearance of Aβ. Accumulation of Aβ oligomers (Aβo) has been linked to several downstream toxic effects including neuroinflammation, synaptic loss, and cellular death. Aβ transport across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is one of the primary pathways for reducing Aβ load in the brain, which work hand in hand with other parenchymal mechanisms to reduce Aβ levels including intra and extracellular degradation by a family of Aβ degrading enzymes. Established AD drugs, such as the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil, have been reported to have several additional non-cholinergic effects that alter Aβ pathology; reduce Aβ load, anti-inflammatory response, and attenuate synaptic loss. However, their limited effect only lead to minor improvements in AD symptoms without improving the prognosis of the disease. The lack of effective medical treatment for AD led to several studies focusing on establishing new therapeutic approaches to reduce Aβ pathology. We aimed to identify and characterize natural products that are capable of enhancing the BBB clearance of Aβ in addition to reducing neuroinflammation. Our first project was to investigate the role of oleocanthal (one of the active ingredients in extra-virgin olive oil; EVOO) on attenuating Aβ toxic effects on neurons and astrocytes. We developed Aβ oligomers (Aβo) induced inflammatory environment by exposing neurons and astrocytes to accumulative doses of Aβo to investigate oleocanthal effect on modulating Aβo pathological changes in neurons and astrocytes. Our findings demonstrated oleocanthal prevented Aβo-induced synaptic proteins, SNAP-25 and PSD-95, down-regulation in neurons, attenuated Aβo-induced inflammation, and restored glutamine transporter (GLT1) and glucose transporter (GLUT1) expressions in astrocytes. Results from this study support the protective effect of the EVOO-derived phenolic secoiridoid oleocanthal against AD pathology. Next, we evaluated the role of EVOO in enhancing donepezil’s effect on increasing Aβ clearance and reducing neuroinflammation in AD transgenic model, namely 5XFAD mice. The long-term consumption of EVOO in combination with donepezil is expected to enhance and expand donepezil protective mechanisms against Aβ pathology. EVOO consumption in combination with donepezil treatment significantly reduced Aβ load and related pathology; EVOO consumption with donepezil up-regulated synaptic proteins, enhanced BBB tightness and reduced neuroinflammation associated with Aβ pathology. Long-term consumption of EVOO significantly reduced Aβ pathological manifestations in addition to enhancing and expanding donepezil protective mechanisms against Aβ pathology when given concomitantly. Therefore, EVOO consumption as a medical food combined with donepezil offers an effective therapeutic approach by enhancing the non-cholinergic mechanisms of donepezil and by providing additional mechanisms to attenuate Aβ related pathology in AD patients. In the third project, the effect of Crocus sativus extract on Aβ clearance across the BBB and related pathology were evaluated in vitro and in vivo in wild-type and AD transgenic models. Available studies reported Crocus sativus exerts a positive effect against AD, however, the mechanism(s) for such effect is unknown. Therefore, here, we investigated its effect on enhancing Aβ clearance and reducing neuroinflammation. Findings from in vitro studies demonstrated that Crocus sativus extract increased the tightness and enhanced Aβ transport in our cell-based BBB model. Followed in vivo studies confirmed the effect of Crocus sativus extract on the BBB integrity and function that was associated with reduced Aβ load and related pathology in 5XFAD mice. Furthermore, Crocus sativus extract up-regulated synaptic proteins and reduced neuroinflammation associated with Aβ pathology in the brains of 5XFAD mice. Crocin, one of the major active compounds in Crocus sativus, known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect, was also tested separately in vivo. Crocin was able to reduce Aβ load and related pathologies but to a lesser extent when compared to Crocus sativus extract, which could be explained, at least in part, by the lack of crocin’s ability in enhancing Aβ clearance and reducing neuroinflammation. Findings from this project support the positive effect of Crocus sativus against AD by reducing Aβ pathological manifestations. In conclusion, in this work, the therapeutics potential of oleocanthal, EVOO, and Crocus sativus extracts was in vitro and in vivo evaluated for their effect on Aβ clearance, BBB integrity and function, neuroprotective and neuroinflammation. Oleocanthal, EVOO, and Crocus sativus extract enhanced the clearance of Aβ by inducing its transport across the BBB and enhancing its enzymatic degradation and reduced neuroinflammation, which collectively led to Aβ brain levels reduction associated with inflammation reduction and neuroprotection. Therefore, we suggest that natural products such as EVOO, oleocanthal, and Crocus sativus may have a high potential therapeutic role against AD pathology.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, panic and public scare spread among individuals including healthcare providers, and a need to design an alternative clinical training away from hospitals where there ...were many COVID-19 infections became a top priority. This study aimed to implement special clinical training for pharmacy students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical training was conducted in the University of Petra (UOP) campus clinic instead of hospitals. Campus training was from July to September 2020. The in-campus clinical training at the UOP clinic involved primary patient care concentrating on pharmaceutical care, which focuses on correct drug indication, effectiveness, safety, and adherence. A total of 15 final years pharmacy students from the faculty of pharmacy finished the post-training questionnaire. Qualitative responses from students exhibited positive answers linked to campus clinical training orientation, preceptors, and pharmacy students’ clinical knowledge and clinical skills. Students expressed positive and high appraisals of clinical training locations and medical staff/preceptors.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, panic and public scare spread among individuals including healthcare providers, and a need to design an alternative clinical training away from hospitals where there ...were many COVID-19 infections became a top priority. This study aimed to implement special clinical training for pharmacy students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical training was conducted in the University of Petra (UOP) campus clinic instead of hospitals. Campus training was from July to September 2020. The in-campus clinical training at the UOP clinic involved primary patient care concentrating on pharmaceutical care, which focuses on correct drug indication, effectiveness, safety, and adherence. A total of 15 final years pharmacy students from the faculty of pharmacy finished the post-training questionnaire. Qualitative responses from students exhibited positive answers linked to campus clinical training orientation, preceptors, and pharmacy students’ clinical knowledge and clinical skills. Students expressed positive and high appraisals of clinical training locations and medical staff/preceptors.
Keywords: Clinic; Coronavirus; COVID-19; education; pharmacy; training.
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