Gabriela Zaharia Rusu is working as Chief Nurse in the Department for Rehabilitation Center, Israel. As a Health Coach, she uses a variety of health-promoting and evidence-based strategies to achieve growth, overall health and well-being of the patients, incorporating different aspects such as nutrition, stress and time management, chronic disease management and effective coping skills with each client, as well as providing comprehensive health assessments, conducting learning-style assessments to identify the best teaching methods for enhancing client understanding and empowerment.

 

Sung-Chen Tung is a Cognitive-Behavioral Sex Therapist and a Writer for Intimate Relationships. As the President of Chung-Hua Sexual Health Promotion Association, she aims at promoting couple’s sexual  well-being and training sex therapists. She has expertise in treatment of psychogenic sexual dysfunction by CBT approach, especially on premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction and female dyspareunia.

 

Background & Aim: Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder (GPPPD) is one of the leading causes of female sexual dysfunction but not well defined or understood and affects women’s sexual health and satisfaction. The purpose of this study were described the patients’ sexual behaviors before treatment and clinical experience of help-seeking for GPPPD, and compared effectiveness of intensive and weekly Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on GPPPD. Methodology: 27 patients meeting DSM-5 criteria for GPPPD were enrolled. 14 patients from China who undertook intensive CBT (iCBT- three 1.5 hour sessions over three days) used a comparison group and 13 patients from Taiwan who undertook weekly CBT (wCBT- four 2 hour sessions over 4 weeks). All participants responded to sex history, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Sexual Anxiety Scale (SAS) before the first session and 3-month follow-up after intervention.

Result: The subjects were 31.2 years of age on average and 4.6 years of GPPPD duration. 74.1% were severe and 96.3% were lifelong GPPPD, 60.9% had non-penetrative sex and 29.6% seek for otherwise treated before for CBT intervention. At 3 months of follow up significant improvements found in lubrication (Z=-2.314, p=0.021), sexual satisfaction (Z=-2.694, p=.007), and sexual pain (-3.606, p<0.001). 25.9% had been defined normal female sexual function (FSFI>26.55) and 92.6% had intercourse in the last 1 month. iCBT had no significant reduce in SAS (p=0.374~0.953) and wCBT (p=0.005~0.196).

Conclusion: More than half of the females with GPPPD had non-penetrative sexual behaviors. iCBT and wCBT program had significant effectiveness on reducing sexual pain and improve sexual function in GPPPD. But iCBT cannot offer cognitive restructure enough to reduce sexual anxiety.

 

Naeem Mubarak is currently pursuing PhD and his research areas include qualitative research, systematic reviews, evidence-based research, pharmacoeconomics and clinical trials.

 

Objective: To evaluate the impact of collaborative practice between Community Pharmacist (CP) and General Physician (GP) in asthma management.

Methods: An extensive search was carried out in 10 databases (PubMed, Medline/Ovid, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochran central register of controlled trials, PsycARTICLES®, Science Direct, Education Resource Information Centre, PROQuest) and grey literature using selected MeSH and keywords such as community pharmacist, general physician, and medicine use review. After screening, 23 studies were used for evidence synthesis. The risk of bias was assessed by Cochrane risk of bias tool (EPOC). Studies were included only if there was a definite evidence of collaborative practice between CPs and GPs in management of asthma, such as CPs conducting medications reviews or providing education and counseling. The studies need to report at least one of the outcomes which include clinical, humanistic and economical. Results: A total of 23 studies (6 RCTs, 4 C-RCT, 3 controlled trials, 3 case control and 7 pre-post) were included for metaanalysis. The collaboration between CP and GP has shown consistently improvements in medication use, inhalation techniques, diseases knowledge, control of asthma, and quality of life However, clinical finding on lungs functions was not significantly improved. The collaboration was shown to be value for money, but the economic outcomes lacked RCT s designs and thus the evidence may not be considered as strong as it was for clinical and humanistic outcomes. Conclusion: The findings from this review established strong evidence in approval of the positive impact of collaborative practice between CP and GP in the management of asthma.

 

Nindya Permata Bunda Surya Utami is an undergraduate student of Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FMUI) who has high interest in doing research. She is dedicated toward her study and always eager to learn new things.

 

WHO states that Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the cause of 31% of deaths worldwide reaching 17.7 million deaths per year. Causes of CVD include smoking, unbalanced food intake, low physical activity and excessive alcohol consumption. The common pathophysiology of CVD is the formation of atherosclerotic plaques which begins with endothelial dysfunction that is closely related to Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Existing treatment focus on preventing the formation of atherosclerotic plaques by lowering blood cholesterol levels and blood viscosity thereby preventing the formation of shear strength that can damage the endothelial layer. Centella asiatica (CA) is a well-known herbs used as oxidative-stress remedy. Literature review was conducted to determine its potency in preventing CVD by searching two journal databases, PubMed and EBSCOhost. The search was carried out using Boolean Operator as follows: Cardiovascular AND therapy AND Centella asiatica. Sources are not year-limited and include animal studies, RCT reports or related reviews. Based on literature review, there are various studies linking the protective effect of CA on CVD. In vivo study conducted by Ramachandran, et al. showed that in mice with DM, lipid profiles of DM mice were given asiatic acid shifted towards normalcy which reduce the risk of atherosclerotic plaque formation. RCT studies conducted by Cesarone, et al. showed that in the group given CA therapy for 12 months, there was an increase in GSM parameters and an improvement in the texture of atherosclerotic plaques which showed the formation of stable with low risk for thrombus. RCT study conducted by Luzzi, et al. on high-oxidative stress asymptomatic patients given Pycnogenol and CA extract showed an increase in the stability of atherosclerotic plaque as indicated by an increase in plaque density, decrease in the number and size of plaques. These results indicate the potential of CA as a good preventive cardiovascular therapy.

 

Fahad Hussain is working as an Assistant Professor at Department of Pharmacy in Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh. He is also working as the Editor of few health and pharmacy related publications.

 

Acacia nilotica, Ocimum sanctum and Alpinia nigra are used traditionally in different ailments in rural settings of Bangladesh. These medicinal plants were studied for their total phenolic and total flavonoid contents as a partial approach to rationalize the use of them. Antioxidant activity was also determined measuring ferric reducing power assay and 1, 1’-Diphenyl-1Picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity. A. nilotica showed highest total phenolic content while O. sanctum showed highest flavonoid contents among the studied three plants. Similarly, IC50 values of the extracts of A. nilotica, O. sanctum and A. nigra against DPPH were 39.62, 48.81, 70.85 µg/ml, respectively. The reducing power of the extract was found to be concentration dependent and O. sanctum showed highest reducing power followed by A. nilotica. The reducing power of these two plants was fairly close to positive control ascorbic acid. Further studies are suggested such as in vivo testing and elucidation of mechanism of action of inherited bioactive compounds to support its folkloric use in the treatment of diseases.

 

Aisyah Aminy Maulidina is currently pursuing a General Practitioner degree in Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia. Her interest in research is cultivated through a research module.

 

High-fructose and cholesterol diet nowadays has increased the incidence of obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome which are the main risk factors of Non-Fatty Pancreas Disease (NAFPD), a pancreatic disease that may lead to pancreatic cancer. The pathogenesis and treatment of NAFPD is currently not well understood yet, but studies show that NAFPD is a reversible state which can be treated by modifying its underlying risk factors. The use of simvastatin in managing pancreatic disease, although was shown to reduce cancer risk and increase survival of patients with pancreatic cancer, raises concerns as simvastatin was recently found to induce diabetes and worsen hyperglycemia and A1c levels in pre-existing diabetes. A. indica Linn. is known to have flavonoids and polyphenols which may decrease serum LDL level and increase serum HDL level. A. indica Linn may also, in contrast to simvastatin, control post-prandial hyperglycemia. A study on mice induced with high fructose and a high cholesterol diet shows that A. indica Linn., with or without combination of simvastatin, helped reverse fatty formation in the pancreas. This article reviews the potential use of Acalypha indica Linn. extract as an alternative approach to modify the risk factors underlying NAFPD.