Biotin, coenzyme Q10, and their combination ameliorate aluminium chloride-induced Alzheimer's disease via attenuating neuroinflammation and improving brain insulin signaling.

Insulin is important for brain function and neuronal survival. Insulin signaling is initiated by the phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) at tyrosine (pTyr) residue. However, IRS-1 is inhibited by phosphorylation at serine (pSer). In Alzheimer's disease (AD), oxidative stress and accumulation of amyloid beta (Aß) induce neuroinflammation, which augments pSer-IRS-1 and reduces pTyr-IRS-1 disturbing insulin signaling pathway. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and biotin possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and, in this study, their impact on insulin signaling is investigated in an aluminium chloride (AlCl3 ) model of AD. AD was induced by oral administration of AlCl3 (75 mg/kg) for 60 days. Biotin (2 mg/kg), CoQ10 (10 mg/kg), and their combination were supplemented concomitantly with AlCl3 for 60 days. Memory test and histological examination were performed. Brain levels of lipid peroxides, antioxidants (reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase), inflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 [IL-6], IL-1, and nuclear factor κB), and phosphorylated Akt (survival kinase) as well as protein levels of Aß, IRS-1 (pTyr and pSer), and caspase-3 (apoptotic marker) were determined. AlCl3 resulted in impaired memory, significant increase in Aß, lipid peroxides, inflammatory markers, caspase-3, and pSer-IRS-1, with significant reduction of the antioxidants, pTyr-IRS-1, and p-Akt reflecting Aß-induced inflammation and defective insulin signaling. Histological examination revealed focal aggregations of inflammatory cells and neuronal degeneration. The biochemical deviations and histological changes were attenuated by the concomitant treatment with biotin and, to greater extent, with CoQ10 and the combination. In conclusion, biotin and CoQ10 could protect against AD via attenuating inflammatory response and enhancing insulin signaling.

Impact of Educational Intervention on Compliance of Health Care Workers Towards Chemotherapy Handling Guidelines.

Background: Chemotherapy safety guidelines have been enacted to minimize their side effects on healthcare providers when handling medications. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of an educational intervention on healthcare workers' compliance with chemotherapy safety guidelines. Methods: In this study, we used a quasi-experimental, pre-post testing design. It was conducted in the Oncology center at King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All healthcare workers involved in the preparation and administration of chemotherapy medications in KSUMC were invited. We evaluated Educational intervention to ensure the compliance of healthcare workers with standard safety guidelines through a questionnaire with 29 questions in total. Results: Fifty-two participants were eligible in this study. Overall, the score for mean compliance with workplace guidelines among the participants increased from 17.62∓0.78 to 18.17∓0.80 out of 19. Multiple liner regression indicates that there are no variables among the included variables predicting a change in post-intervention. Conclusion: This study indicates that educational intervention is the only effect of compliance in the included sample. Education safety training could improve healthcare workers' knowledge and consequently improve their compliance in the preparation and administration of chemotherapy medication.