Perspectives on COVID-19 Vaccines and Its Hesitancy Among Jordanian Population.

Background Since the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governments are putting significant resources into ending the pandemic. Vaccination arises as the best solution to get back to our everyday lives. However, we are now facing vaccine hesitancy, which is a critical problem. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between December 15, 2020, and March 1, 2021, using a validated online-based questionnaire; participants were compared using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program based on multiple factors. Results A total of 1607 participants throughout Jordan have responded to the questionnaire, among which 880 (54.8%) have bachelor's degrees, 236 (14.7%) have a high educational level (master and doctoral), and 491 (30.5%) have a diploma or less. Although this is a non-probable sample, it is not a representative sample as, according to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), only 33.6% of the Jordan population have a tertiary education. Overall, 892 (55.5%) of the studied subjects had the intention to take the vaccine, distributed as follows: 156 (66.1%) of the high educational participants wanted to take the vaccine, compared to 512 (58.2%) of those who have bachelor's degree and 224 (45.6%) of those who have diploma or less (p < 0.001). Reading scientific articles talking about the vaccines and their effects (55.6%, p < 0.001), knowing the mechanism of action (45.2%, p = 0.007), getting proper medical advice (27.2%, p < 0.001), encouraged by the increasing number of infections and deaths (39.7%, p < 0.001), and the number of people who received the vaccine (16.1%, p < 0.001) were the most critical factors that played a role in taking the vaccine by all of the studied groups. Male gender (OR = 2.02; 95% CI = 1.54-2.64; p < 0.001), high income of more than 1000 JDs (1400 USD) (OR = 3.23; 95% CI = 2.21-4.71; p < 0.001), having an educational level of either high education (OR = 3.39; 95% CI = 2.07-5.55; p < 0.001) or bachelor degree (OR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.25-2.24; p = 0.001), and being encouraged by the increasing number of infections and deaths caused by COVID-19 (OR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.46-2.66; p < 0.001) were all significantly associated with the willingness to take the vaccine. Conclusion As the world rushes toward vaccination to end the pandemic, efforts are needed to end this phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy by enlightening people with the precise knowledge regarding the vaccine's mechanism of action, side effects, and efficacy focusing mainly on people with lower educational levels.

Paroxysmal and Non-Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in Middle Eastern Patients: Clinical Features and the Use of Medications. Analysis of the Jordan Atrial Fibrillation (JoFib) Study.

(1) Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia causing an increased risk of mortality and morbidity. It is classified into paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal AF depending on the duration and frequency of the episodes. (2) Aims: Our goal was to investigate and compare the clinical profiles, risk of co-morbidities, the use of oral anticoagulation, and outcomes of patients with paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal AF in inpatient and outpatient settings. (3) Methods: Data were extracted from 28 different hospitals and centers in Jordan with a total of 2160 patients enrolled in the study using an observational non-interventional study model. The clinical features and the use of oral anticoagulants were compared in patients with paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal AF. (4) Results: Paroxysmal AF was documented in 35.6% (769) of the patients and non-paroxysmal types in 63.9% (1380); in addition, the type of AF was unknown in 11 (0.5%) patients. Our results showed that non-paroxysmal AF patients tend to be older with more co-morbidities and higher CHA2DS2-VASC and HAS-BLED scores. They also have higher rates of hypertension and diabetes. Anticoagulant, antiarrhythmic, and diuretic agents, overall, were used more in non-paroxysmal AF than paroxysmal AF. Hospital admissions were also more frequent in non-paroxysmal AF due to various factors, some of which are heart failure, bleeding risk, and COPD. (5) Conclusions: Non-paroxysmal AF is more common among Jordanian AF patients. The prevalence of comorbidities and the use of different types of therapies, especially anticoagulants, were higher in these patients.

Memantine improves memory and hippocampal proliferation in adult male rats.

Neurogenesis occurs during the embryological development of the brain. However, it is universally accepted that in all adult mammalian brains, there are two sites of high-density cell division: the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles (SVZ) and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline agent which results in cognitive deterioration and memory impairment, whereas memantine (MEM) is an NMDA receptor antagonist which is approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Many studies have revealed MEM's positive impact on memory and demonstrated that it stimulates neuronal division in the hippocampus. This study aimed to assess the effect of MEM on spatial memory and neural proliferation in the hippocampus in adult male rats treated with DOX. For this purpose, forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups of ten rats each according to the agent: control, MEM (2.5 mg/kg), DOX (2 mg/kg), and DOX with MEM. The rats were given seven intraperitoneal injections every other day. We tracked the rat's weights to assess the weight-reducing effects of the drugs. In order to test spatial memory, the rats were subjected to the novel location recognition (NLR) task 30 minutes after the last injection. Additionally, Ki67 immunohistochemistry was performed to examine hippocampal proliferation. The results showed a significant reduction in discrimination index (DI) in the DOX-treated group compared to MEM- (p < 0.001) and MEM with DOX-treated groups (p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in Ki67-positive cells in the MEM-treated group compared to the saline-treated group. Treatment with DOX impaired hippocampal proliferation compared to treatment with MEM or saline. The co-administration of MEM with DOX ameliorated the decline in hippocampal proliferation compared to treatment with DOX alone. There was a significant weight reduction in the DOX group in comparison to the control group, but MEM attenuated DOX-induced weight loss. Rats treated with DOX displayed a drop in memory, hippocampal proliferation, and weight compared to the MEM-treated group, whereas the co-administration of MEM with DOX protected memory, hippocampal proliferation, and doxorubicin-induced weight loss.