The Impact of Pharmacist Medication Reviews on Geriatric Patients: A Scoping Review.

Medication review is an intervention with the potential to reduce drug-related problems (DRPs) in the elderly. This study aimed to determine the effect of pharmacists' medication reviews on geriatric patients. This study accessed two online databases, MEDLINE Complete and Scopus, and examined all studies published in English between 2019 and 2023, except for reviews. The studies included (1) participants over 65 years of age and (2) medication reviews conducted by pharmacists. The titles, abstracts, and full texts were reviewed for data extraction to determine whether the studies satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Forty-four of the initial 709 articles were included in this study. The articles included discussions on the incidence rates of DRPs and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) (n=21), hospitalization (n=14), medication adherence (n=9), quality of life (QoL) (n=8), and falls (n=7). Pharmacist medication reviews were associated with a reduced incidence of DRPs and PIMs, and improved adherence to medications. Patients' overall QoL is also increasing. However, pharmacist medication reviews were not strongly associated with decreased hospitalization or falls. A pharmacist's medication review may be a feasible intervention for reducing the incidence rates of DRPs and PIMs, regardless of whether it is performed as a sole intervention or supplemented with other interventions. The intervention was also effective in increasing medication adherence and QoL.

Exploratory study on student perception on the use of chat AI in process-driven problem-based learning.

INTRODUCTION: With the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, it is imperative to investigate its influence on education and the resulting impact on student learning outcomes. This includes exploring the potential application of AI in process-driven problem-based learning (PDPBL). This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of students towards the use of ChatGPT) build on GPT-3.5 in PDPBL in the Bachelor of Pharmacy program. METHODS: Eighteen students with prior experience in traditional PDPBL processes participated in the study, divided into three groups to perform PDPBL sessions with various triggers from pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, and clinical pharmacy fields, while utilizing chat AI provided by ChatGPT to assist with data searching and problem-solving. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the impact of ChatGPT on students' satisfaction, engagement, participation, and learning experience during the PBL sessions. RESULTS: The survey revealed that ChatGPT improved group collaboration and engagement during PDPBL, while increasing motivation and encouraging more questions. Nevertheless, some students encountered difficulties understanding ChatGPT's information and questioned its reliability and credibility. Despite these challenges, most students saw ChatGPT's potential to eventually replace traditional information-seeking methods. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that ChatGPT has the potential to enhance PDPBL in pharmacy education. However, further research is needed to examine the validity and reliability of the information provided by ChatGPT, and its impact on a larger sample size.

Depression, anxiety, and stress among university students in Selangor, Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemics and their associated factors.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to assess the impacts of COVID-19 pandemics among university students in Malaysia, by identifying the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among them and their respective predictors. METHODOLOGY: An online cross-sectional study was conducted via non-probabilistic convenience sampling. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, COVID-19 related influences. Mental health status was assessed with depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21). RESULTS: 388 students participated this study (72.4% female; 81.7% Bachelor's student). The prevalence of moderate to severe depression, anxiety and stress among university students are 53.9%, 66.2% and 44.6%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found that the odds of depression were lower among students who exercise at least 3 times per week (OR: 0.380, 95% CI: 0.203-0.711). The odd ratio of student who had no personal history of depression to had depression, anxiety and stress during this pandemic was also lower in comparison (OR: 0.489, 95% CI: 0.249-0.962; OR: 0.482, 95% CI: 0.241-0.963; OR: 0.252, 95% CI: 0.111-0.576). Surprisingly, students whose are currently pursuing Master study was associated with lower stress levels (OR: 0.188, 95% CI: 0.053-0.663). However, student who had poorer satisfaction of current learning experience were more likely to experience stress (OR: 1.644, 95% CI: 1.010-2.675). LIMITATIONS: It is impossible to establish causal relationships between variables on mental health outcomes, and there is a risk of information bias. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of mental health issues among university students is high. These findings present essential pieces of predictive information when promoting related awareness among them.

Novel 2-Benzoyl-6-(2,3-Dimethoxybenzylidene)-Cyclohexenol Confers Selectivity toward Human MLH1 Defective Cancer Cells through Synthetic Lethality.

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency has been associated with a higher risk of developing colorectal, endometrial, and ovarian cancer, and confers resistance in conventional chemotherapy. In addition to the lack of treatment options that work efficaciously on these MMR-deficient cancer patients, there is a great need to discover new drug leads for this purpose. In this study, we screened through a library of commercial and semisynthetic natural compounds to identify potential synthetic lethal drugs that may selectively target MLH1 mutants using MLH1 isogenic colorectal cancer cell lines and various cancer cell lines with known MLH1 status. We identified a novel diarylpentanoid analogue, 2-benzoyl-6-(2,3-dimethoxybenzylidene)-cyclohexenol, coded as AS13, that demonstrated selective toxicity toward MLH1-deficient cancer cells. Subsequent analysis suggested AS13 induced elevated levels of oxidative stress, resulting in DNA damage where only the proficient MLH1 cells were able to be repaired and hence escaping cellular death. While AS13 is modest in potency and selectivity, this discovery has the potential to lead to further drug development that may offer better treatment options for cancer patients with MLH1 deficiency.

Anti-angiogenic and cytotoxicity studies of some medicinal plants.

Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor formation and proliferation. The development of anti-angiogenic agents to block new blood vessel growth will inhibit metastasis and induce apoptosis of the cancer cells. Nine medicinal plants, Strobilanthes crispus, Phyllanthus niruri, Phyllanthus pulcher, Phyllanthus urinaria, Ailanthus malabarica, Irvingia malayana, Smilax myosotiflora, Tinospora crispa and blumea balsamifera were screened for anti-angiogenic properties using the rat aortic ring assay. Of these, the methanol extracts of Phyllanthus species and Irvingia malayana exhibited the highest activity. At 100 microg/mL, P. pulcher, P. niruri, P. urinaria and I. malayana recorded an inhibition of 78.8 %, 59.5 %, 56.7 % and 46.4 %, respectively, against rat aortic vascular growth. Their activities were further investigated by the tube formation assay involving human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) on Matrigel. I. malayana, P. niruri and P. urinaria showed a significant decrease of 45.5, 37.9 and 35.6 %, respectively, whilst P. pulcher showed a much lower decrease of 15.5 % when compared with that of the rat aortic ring assay. All the plant extracts were evaluated for cytotoxicity on a panel of human cancer cell lines using the MTT assay. None of them displayed acute cytotoxicity. The HPLC of P. niruri, P. urinaria and P. pulcher indicated the extracts contained some identical chromatographic peaks of lignans. Further fractionation of I. malayana yielded betulinic acid reported in this plant for the first time and at 100 microg/mL it exhibited a 67.3 % inhibition of vessel outgrowth and 46.5 % inhibition of tube formation.