The lack of treatment options for COVID-19 has raised many concerns among populations worldwide, which has led to many attempts to find alternative options to prevent the transmission of the disease or to alleviate the progression of the infection, including focusing more on preventive measures (to prevent transmission to other individuals) and the use of natural products and herbal extracts to increase immunity and decrease the probability of getting infected. This study explored the knowledge of the population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) about COVID-19 preventive measures and their belief about the consumption of herbal products for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. A total of 5,258 individuals participated in this study. Participants’ knowledge about the appropriate COVID-19 preventive measures in terms of handwashing procedures, self-quarantine and social distancing was moderate, with a mean score of 5.5 (SD: 1.7) out of 10 (representing around 55.0% of the total score). About 22.1% (n = 1,161) of the participants reported that they have used herbal products or nutritional supplements during the pandemic period, to protect themselves from the disease. Social media and the Internet (39.4%, n = 372) were the main motivators for the participants to try herbal products. Vitamin C was the most commonly used food supplement to increase immunity and reduces the chance of contracting COVID-19. Our study demonstrated that the general population in Saudi Arabia has a moderate level of knowledge about COVID-19 transmission and preventive measures. A considerable proportion of the population reported the use of herbal products or food supplements in order to protect themselves from the disease. Policymakers are suggested to provide further educational campaigns that increase population knowledge about the disease transmission routes and preventive measures. In addition, the use of herbal products should be evidence-based to ensure patient safety.

Hydrogels being a drug delivery system has great significance particularly for topical application in cutaneous open wound. Its specific physicochemical properties such as non-adhesiveness, moisture retention, exudate absorption, and gas permeability make them ideal as a drug delivery vehicle for wound healing application. Further, curcumin (a natural bioactive) was selected as a therapeutic agent to incorporate into the hydrogel system to design and develop nanogel pharmaceutical products for wound healing. Although, curcumin possesses remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-infective activity along with hastening the healing process by acting over the different stages of the wound healing process, but its poor biopharmaceutical (low aqueous solubility and skin penetrability) attributes hamper their therapeutic efficacy for skin applications. The current investigation aimed to develop the curcumin-loaded nanogel system and evaluated to check the improvement in the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin through a nanomedicine-based approach for wound healing activity in Wistar rats. The curcumin was enclosed inside the nanoemulsion system prepared through a high-energy ultrasonic emulsification technique at a minimum concentration of surfactant required to nanoemulsify the curcumin-loaded oil system (Labrafac PG) having droplet size 56.25 ± 0.69 nm with polydispersity index 0.05 ± 0.01 and negatively surface charge with zeta potential −20.26 ± 0.65 mV. It was observed that the impact of Smix (surfactant/co-surfactant mixture) ratio on droplet size of generated nanoemulsion is more pronounced at lower Smix concentration (25%) compared to the higher Smix concentration (30%). The optimized curcumin-loaded nanoemulsion was incorporated into a 0.5% Carbopol^® 940 hydrogel system for topical application. The developed curcumin nanoemulgel exhibited thixotropic rheological behavior and a significant (p < 0.05) increase in skin penetrability characteristics compared to curcumin dispersed in conventional hydrogel system. The in vivo wound healing efficacy study and histological examination of healed tissue specimen further signify the role of the nanomedicine-based approach to improve the biopharmaceutical attributes of curcumin.

Powder blend homogeneity is a critical attribute in formulation development of low dose and potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) yet a complex process with multiple contributing factors. Excipient characteristics play key role in efficient blending process and final product quality. In this work the effect of excipient type and properties, blending technique and processing time on content uniformity was investigated. Powder characteristics for three commonly used excipients (starch, pregelatinised starch and microcrystalline cellulose) were initially explored using laser diffraction particle size analyser, angle of repose for flowability, followed by thorough evaluations of surface topography employing scanning electron microscopy and interferometry. Blend homogeneity was evaluated based on content uniformity analysis of the model API, ergocalciferol, using a validated analytical technique. Flowability of powders were directly related to particle size and shape, while surface topography results revealed the relationship between surface roughness and ability of excipient with high surface roughness to lodge fine API particles within surface groves resulting in superior uniformity of content. Of the two blending techniques, geometric blending confirmed the ability to produce homogeneous blends at low dilution when processed for longer durations, whereas manual ordered blending failed to achieve compendial requirement for content uniformity despite mixing for 32 minutes. Employing the novel dry powder hybrid mixer device, developed at Aston University laboratory, results revealed the superiority of the device and enabled the production of homogenous blend irrespective of excipient type and particle size. Lower dilutions of the API (1% and 0.5% w/w) were examined using non-sieved excipients and the dry powder hybrid mixing device enabled the development of successful blends within compendial requirements and low relative standard deviation.

Aims: The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not easy as there is no direct test that exists to establish such a diagnosis. Increasing community and healthcare professional knowledge of the ASD spectrum is crucial because it will encourage parents of ASD children to seek screening and diagnosis from a specialist, allowing for better early detection and treatment. This study explored the knowledge of the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding ASD and assessed variables associated with an accurate understanding of ASD. Methods: A total of 769 participants were involved in this cross-sectional study, which was conducted in Saudi Arabia between November 2021 and February 2022 using an online survey tool to explore the knowledge of the general population in Saudi Arabia regarding typical child development and ASD. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors affecting participants’ knowledge of autism. Results: Overall, the study participants showed a weak level of knowledge about autism with a mean score of 5.9 (SD: 3.1), comprising 34.7% of the total maximum obtainable score. Participants with a middle income category of 5000–7500 SR are less likely to be knowledgeable about autism compared to others (OR: 0.60 (95% CI: 0.39–0.92)) (p-value = 0.020). Conclusion: The participants in our study showed limited knowledge about autism. Government funds should be made available to facilitate educational services for ASD children. More funding and resources should be allocated by the government to provide assistance for children with special needs, and changes in public facilities are required to meet the demands of ASD patients. Through an informed educational effort, various media platforms should assist in improving the community’s understanding of ASD and their attitude toward ASD patients. Educational campaigns should focus on enhancing the public’s knowledge about ASD treatment and etiology.

Aims The emergence of the COVID‐19 global pandemic, with a high transmission and mortality rate, has created an extraordinary crisis worldwide. Such an unusual situation may have an undesirable impact on the mental health of individuals which, in turn, may influence their outcomes. This study aimed to explore the influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the psychological disposition of residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross‐sectional study using an online survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia between 27 March and 27 April 2020. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder‐7 (GAD‐7) were used to assess depression and anxiety. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of these. Results A total of 2081 individuals participated in the study. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among the study participants was 9.4% and 7.3% respectively. Non‐Saudi residents, individuals aged 50 years and above, divorced people, retired people, university students and those with an income between 2000 and 10 000 SR were at higher risk of developing depression. Saudi individuals, married people, the unemployed and those with a high income (>10 000 RS) were at higher risk of developing anxiety. Conclusion We found that there is a wide range of Saudi residents who are at higher risk of developing mental illness during the current COVID‐19 pandemic. Policymakers and mental healthcare providers are advised to provide continuous monitoring of the psychological consequences during this pandemic and provide the required health support.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practices of the general public in the Middle Eastern countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted between the 19th of March and the 6th of April 2020 in three Middle Eastern countries (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait) to explore the knowledge and practices of the Middle Eastern population regarding COVID-19. A previously developed questionnaire was adapted and used for this study. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of COVID-19 knowledge. Results: A total of 1208 participants (members of the public) participated from the three countries (Jordan = 389, Saudi Arabia = 433, and Kuwait = 386). The majority of participants (n = 810, 67.2%) were females aged 30 to 49 years (n = 501, 41.5%). Participants had moderate overall COVID-19 knowledge, with a mean (SD) score of 7.93 (±1.72) out of 12 (66.1%). Participants had better knowledge about disease prevention and control (83.0%), whereas the lowest sub-scale scores were for questions about disease transmission routes (43.3%). High education level was an important predictor of greater COVID-19 knowledge scores (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Further public education is needed to address the relatively low level of education regarding the transmission of COVID-19 in the Middle Eastern countries. Policymakers are recommended to develop informative COVID-19 related campaigns that specifically target young people (university students), unemployed individuals, and those with lower levels of education.