Depression and anxiety among patients with epilepsy: A cross-sectional study from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Background: It is well established that epileptic disorders are associated with a wide range of psychosocial issues that overburden the affected individuals and limit their lifestyle. This study aimed to determine the commonalities between depression and anxiety symptoms among patients with epilepsy (PWE). In addition, we assessed whether depression and anxiety rates varied depending on factors related to the disease. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2021 and March 2022 among all PWE at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital, and 147 patients who responded to the questionnaires were included for analysis (65.6% response rate). Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9), while anxiety levels were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). Demographic variables such as sex, age, marital status, and factors related to epilepsy were also recorded. Results: The results showed that 39.5% and 27.9% of participants had major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), respectively. The presence of factors that increased susceptibility to seizures was associated with a greater expression of depression (P = 0.035) and anxiety (P = 0.002) symptoms. The presence of symptoms/signs that precede seizures was associated with a higher risk of moderate and severe depression (P = 0.001) and moderate and severe anxiety (P < 0.001). Irregular use of medications was associated with a higher risk of moderate and severe depression (P = 0.037); however, lamotrigine was associated with lower rates of depression among the participants (P = 0.023). Conclusion: This study found that PWE had a higher prevalence of MDD and GAD than the general population. However, this accepted paradigm has yet to reflect a meaningful change in constructing condition-specific recommendations for PWE. Our study revealed that the presence of subjectively recognized signs of an impending ictal episode was significantly associated with a higher risk of moderate and severe depression and anxiety. Furthermore, factors that increase the susceptibility to seizures were associated with a higher risk of depression and anxiety. Irregular medication use was associated with a higher risk of moderate and severe depression. However, lamotrigine was associated with lower rates of depression among participants.

Efficacy of chitosan nanoparticles and wax coatings on maintaining post-harvest quality of "Murcott" mandarins.

Because of its high degree of biodegradability, chitosan is widely used as a component in food packaging. However, its poor physical properties, such as permeability, limit its applicability. Consequently, applying nano chitosan is regarded as the most effective solution to this issue. In the current study, we studied the effect of using different materials in the coating process on the quality of "Murcott" mandarin during cold storage. We used different concentrations of nano chitosan (50 and 100 ppm) without wax and 100 ppm nano chitosan with wax. We investigated the impact of these compounds on the chemical composition and quality of fruits. The most successful treatment for preventing weight loss from discarded fresh fruit was a combination of wax and 100 ppm nano chitosan. This combination also prevented the deterioration of vitamin C, maintained the fruit pulp, and preserved the fruit's superior taste during cold storage and shelf life. It also maintains a better total soluble solids and total acidity level than other treatments. In addition, the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the total number of antioxidants indicates no degradation of plant tissues compared to those not coated with nano chitosan. It also reduces the microbial load on the coated fruits. Consequently, this coating combination could suggest prolonging post-harvest life and increasing the marketing period of mandarin fruits.

Synthesis of Novel Chalcone-Based Phenothiazine Derivatives as Antioxidant and Anticancer Agents.

Based on reported results for the potential medicinal impact of phenothiazine core, as well as the chalcone skeleton that is widely present in many natural products, together with their reported bioactivities, the present work was aimed at combining both moieties in one molecular skeleton and to synthesize and characterize a novel series of chalone-based phenothiazine derivatives. For this purpose, 2-acetylphenothiazine was N-alkylated, followed by the Claisen-Schmidt reaction to produce the chalcones with good yield. Antioxidant activity, as evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, was assessed to determine if their antioxidant potential was comparable with ascorbic acid, and attributable to the phenothiazine core. Screening anticancer activities of the synthesized chalone-based phenothiazine derivatives against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 cells, and human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG-2 cells, compared with standard drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin, was evaluated. The results revealed that compounds 4a, 4b, 4d, 4h, 4j, 4k, 4m, 4o, and 4p were good against human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG-2 cells, and among these compounds 4b and 4k were the most effective compounds, with IC50 values of 7.14 µg/mL and 7.6 1 µg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, compounds 4a, 4b, 4k, and 4m were good against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 cells and, among these compounds, 4k and 4b were the most effective compounds, with IC50 values of 12 µg/mL and 13. 8 µg/mL, respectively. The overall results suggest that these compounds could, potentially, be further modified for the formation of more potent antioxidant and anticancer agents.

Recent developments of gallic acid derivatives and their hybrids in medicinal chemistry: A review.

The leading cause of several degenerative diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, aging, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases is oxidative stress, a consequence of overproduction and accumulation of free radicals. Naturally occurring antioxidants polyphenols have unnumbered biological activities such as antibacterial, anticancer, antiviral, antifungal, anticholesterol, and antiulcer. A naturally occurring gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid), is highly antioxidant and may play a protective role in healthy individuals by inhibiting apoptosis. Pharmacological agents containing gallic acid and of diverse therapeutic categories as antioxidants, anticancer, antimicrobial, chondro-protective effect, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, antidiabetic activity, anti-ulcerogenic, cathepsin D inhibitor, etc. have made this nucleus as an indispensable anchor for designing and development of new pharmacological agents. This review is an update on the latest development of the chemistry and the medicinal impacts of pharmacophores containing gallic acids. In addition, fused gallic acid derivatives and hybrid molecules containing different bioactive moieties in the presence of gallic acid are also presented and discussed.