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PURPOSE: Evaluate the content and variability of infant motor milestone education provided to parents in popular sources. METHODS: Sources were screened for inclusion, and their motor milestone content was coded. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. RESULTS: Content from 241 websites, applications, and books was evaluated; 6984 motor milestones were extracted, representing 146 unique milestone codes across 14 categories. Books and applications had more milestone content than websites. There was variability in the milestones mentioned and their associated ages across the sources and relative to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) content. Several frequently mentioned milestones were behaviors that facilitate early learning. CONCLUSIONS: There is variability among sources in the motor milestones they provide to parents of infants. The AAP and CDC content likely has some influence on the broader content available, but there is substantial deviation from the information they provide.
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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization on March 12, 2020. Natural products and herbal medicine have been used since ancient times to relieve and treat disorders and infections, as well as increase immunity. Despite the beneficial effects of herbal medications, there are many side effects or interactions with other medications or foods that might occur. AIM: This study aims to explore the beliefs of Saudi people towards the use of herbal medicine for COVID-19 infection. METHOD: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia between January 2021 and January 2023. This survey was generated based on a deep review of the literature on COVID-19 as well as the use of medicine and herbal medicine to treat this infection. SPSS software was used to analyze the data, with a significance level of p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 1,230 individuals participated in this study. More than half (67.6%, n = 831) were females. Around 32.4% (n = 399) of the participants were aged 20-40 years. The majority were married (77.2%, n = 947), Saudi (96.5%, n = 1186), and living in central provinces (62.5%, n = 768) of the Kingdom. More than half of them (70.0%, n = 861) were bachelor's degree holders; 42.3% and 2.4% (n = 29) reported that they had been or were currently infected with COVID-19. Around 33.0% (n = 405) of the participants reported that they had used herbal products or nutritional supplements during the pandemic period to protect themselves from the disease. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that Saudi Arabia's public takes dietary supplements or herbal products to fight against the illness. We recommend that the Ministry of Health conduct more educational efforts to raise public awareness about disease transmission pathways and preventive actions. Furthermore, to guarantee patient safety, the use of herbal products should be supported by a professional counselor.
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Objectives: Worldwide, diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a major complication of diabetes mellitus. The direct renin inhibitor aliskiren is recognized as a treatment for cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients, but little is known about its potential benefits in cases of diabetic neuropathy. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of aliskiren (ALIS) and gliclazide (GLZ) and their combination therapy on peripheral neuropathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Methods: In total, 112 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. Diabetes was induced using streptozotocin (STZ), whereas the control group was treated with an equal volume of citrate buffer. The diabetic rats were divided randomly into six groups according to the proposed treatment regime: diabetic control (DC), gliclazide (GLZ), aliskiren (ALIS), ramipril (RAM), (GLZ + ALIS) and (GLZ + RAM). Behavioural responses to thermal (hot-plate) and mechanical (tail-pinch) pain were evaluated. After eight weeks of daily treatments, the animals were fasted and sacrificed. The blood samples were collected, with the serum separated and subjected to various biochemical and enzyme analyses so as to assess the effect of the treatments on diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Results: After 8 weeks, aliskiren alone and in combination with gliclazide therapy had a significant effect (P < .001) in reducing blood glucose levels and showed increased hot-plate and tail-flick latencies compared with the diabetic control group. The threshold of mechanical hyperalgesia was also significantly elevated (P < .001). Conclusions/Interpretations: These data suggest that either aliskerin alone or in combination with gliclazide can protect against the development and progression of diabetic neuropathy.