Background: Self-medication (SM) is a growing phenomenon worldwide that has recently been classified as one of the most serious public health problems. SM can result in an incorrect self-diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, potential adverse reactions, interactions, and the masking of more sinister disease. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of SM practices amongst healthcare professionals and the general population in Saudi Arabia and to identify the sociodemographic contributing factors to this practice. Methods: A total of 540 participants were enrolled in this study. Participants were asked to complete the study questionnaire comprising two sections to gather demographic information and to collect data regarding SM practice. Results: The prevalence of SM practice among the study participants was 78.6%, and it was the highest among the middle age groups of (21–40 years) 82% compared to the younger and older age groups. The observed prevalence was higher in the female participants (53.7%) and those who live alone. Type of education did not affect the attitude of SM (p = 0.374); however, level of education strongly affected the prevalence of the SM, with higher incidence among university graduates (p < 0.001). Analgesics with antipyretics properties were the most self-medicated drugs. Patients considering their illnesses minor was the main reason behind the high prevalence of this practice. Among healthcare professions the highest prevalence of SM was found among pharmacists (95%), followed by physicians, nurses, and other medical practitioners. Conclusion: The general population should be better educated and made conscious about the consequences, risks, and side effects of SM. Awareness campaigns may prove to be useful in this matter, allowing the patient to consider the appropriateness of this practice. Individuals in the age group of 21–40 years, females, and those who live alone should be considered priority target populations in the design and implementation of SM awareness projects.

P2Y12 inhibitors show different bleeding-related safety profiles in premarketing trials. However, little is known about their potential safety from spontaneous reporting systems and postmarketing data. To describe and evaluate the bleeding-related adverse events associated with use of P2Y12 inhibitors utilizing data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. We identified adverse events reports listing clopidogrel, prasugrel, or ticagrelor as the primary suspected agent in the FAERS database from the 1st quarter of 2014 to the 4th quarter of 2016. Using MedDRA version 20.0, we identified search terms for bleeding-related adverse events, within which we filtered for gastrointestinal bleeding and intracranial bleeding. We identified 2,252, 2,450, and 549 adverse event reports attributed to clopidogrel, ticagrelor, and prasugrel use, respectively. Prasugrel had the highest proportional reporting ratio (PRR) (4.63; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 4.21 - 5.10) and reporting odds ratio (ROR) (7.46, 95% CI: 6.30 - 8.83) for bleeding followed by clopidogrel (PRR: 4.56; 95% CI: 4.34 - 4.78; ROR: 7.21; 95% CI: 6.63 - 7.84) and ticagrelor (PRR: 2.79; 95%CI: 2.61 - 2.98; ROR: 3.42; 95% CI: 3.12 - 3.74). Within intracranial bleeding events, both ticagrelor and prasugrel had a similarly higher incidence of fatal events than clopidogrel. Meanwhile, the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding events leading to hospitalization was highest with clopidogrel. Reports on bleeding differed among P2Y12 inhibitors with respect to type and outcome. Although FAERS is subject to significant limitations, our results show that the safety profiles of P2Y12 inhibitors in the spontaneous reporting system did not differ from the results of premarketing studies. .

Objectives: to assess the safety profile of Gastrointestinal (GIT), renal, and pancreatic effects of GLP-1 and dual receptor agonists. Methods: Disproportionality analyses were performed on FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) data following each drug’s approval for weight management. Signals were identified using Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR) and Reporting Odds Ratio (ROR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Among GIT AEs, semaglutide (n = 12,321; 1.65%) showed the strongest signals (PRR 3.97, ROR 14.21), exceeding liraglutide (n = 5972, 0.45%, PRR 2.76, ROR 5.01) and tirzepatide (n = 4056, 3.48%, PRR 1.64, ROR 1.90). For renal and pancreatic outcomes, liraglutide demonstrated the highest overall signal (PRR 4.91, ROR 5.35), particularly for acute pancreatitis (PRR 18.9, ROR 19.4) and pancreatic carcinoma (PRR 18.6, ROR 19.5). Semaglutide showed stronger associations with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) (PRR 5.86, ROR 5.9) and acute kidney injury (AKI) (PRR 1.25, ROR 1.25). Tirzepatide demonstrated weaker or absent signals across most outcomes. Conclusions: This study revealed that semaglutide was most associated with GIT events, while liraglutide showed stronger renal and pancreatic signals. Novel associations with DKA and AKI were observed, warranting clinical vigilance. Findings should be cautiously interpreted given surveillance limitations, emphasising the need for large-scale real-world studies to confirm safety profiles.

Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists are increasingly prescribed for weight loss, but concerns remain regarding adverse events beyond gastrointestinal, renal, and pancreatic effects. Understanding these risks is essential to guide safe clinical application and public health policy. The study aims to characterize psychiatric risks, administration-related adverse events, and patterns of inappropriate use associated with semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide for weight management. Methods: Disproportionality analysis using proportional reporting ratios and reporting odds ratios was conducted to detect significant signals in adverse event reports within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System, identifying semaglutide, liraglutide, or tirzepatide as drugs used for weight loss while excluding gastrointestinal, renal, and pancreatic adverse events. Results: Among 40,253 adverse event reports (68.6% female; median ages: semaglutide, 62 years; liraglutide, 59 years; tirzepatide, 53 years), semaglutide demonstrated the strongest disproportionality signal for psychiatric adverse events, notably anxiety (PRR 1.34, 95% CI 1.18–1.51), depression (PRR 1.83, 95% CI 1.62–2.07), and suicidal ideation (PRR 3.44, 95% CI 2.98–3.97). Tirzepatide showed markedly higher signals for injection-site reactions (PRR 7.98, 95% CI 7.8–8.18) and inappropriate use, including incorrect dosing and off-label administration (PRR 5.98, 95% CI 5.9–6.06). Conclusions: In real-world use, semaglutide is disproportionately associated with psychiatric adverse events, whereas tirzepatide demonstrates higher rates of injection-site complications and misuse. Liraglutide presents a comparatively lower risk profile. These findings underscore the need for vigilant psychiatric monitoring, patient education on injection technique and dosing, and stronger regulatory oversight to reduce misuse of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss.

Background/Objectives: Conventional anticancer drugs often exhibit limited solubility and bioavailability due to unfavorable physicochemical properties and inherent physiological barriers. To overcome these persistent challenges, nanocarriers have been developed to enhance drug bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Among these, lipid and polymeric nanocarriers (LP-NCs) have emerged as particularly promising candidates for anticancer drug delivery. These systems can be engineered for targeted delivery and tailored to respond to specific stimuli, thereby enhancing their therapeutic potential. A notable advancement in this field is the development of smart light-responsive LP-NCs, which demonstrate superior performance over conventional nanocarriers by enabling controlled drug release in response to external light stimuli. Methods: This study presents a meta-analysis based on a curated selection of publications from multiple scientific databases and literature sources. The objective was to evaluate whether light-responsive LP-NCs offer superior anticancer drug bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy compared with their conventional counterparts. The primary outcome measure was the pharmacokinetic parameter area under the curve (AUC), derived from in vivo animal studies. Results: The analysis revealed a significant increase in AUC for light-responsive LP-NCs, indicating improved drug bioavailability and prolonged systemic exposure. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential of LP-NCs as a promising strategy for enhancing targeted anticancer drug delivery. This approach could pave the way for more effective therapeutic interventions and warrants further investigation in future research and clinical trials.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy . In 2018, Bevacizumab was approved by FDA for use with chemotherapy as treatment for women with advanced OC. Objective: assessing the response, survival, and toxicity of Bevacizumab in patients who used it as Neoadjuvant or adjuvant with systemic therapy compared with cases who received only post-operative chemotherapy. Design: an interventional prospective case-control study. included patients with AOCs presented to Assiut University hospitals from 2018 until 2021. Intervention(s): group A: 15 patients underwent primary surgical resection then received adjuvant treatment , group B: 17 patients received NACT then underwent surgical resection followed by adjuvant therapy. and control group(C): 19 patients received only post-operative chemotherapy without Bevacizumab and were reviewed retrospectively. Primary outcome: disease free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Secondary outcome: toxicity of Bevacizumab Results: Comparisons between groups A and B revealed no significant differences regarding DFS, OS and toxicity. At one-year post-treatment there was a significantly lower CA-125 values in patients who used Bevacizumab (A&B) than conventional chemotherapy (group C). The 3 years OS was 25% for Groups (A&B) and only 5% for Group C. Conclusions: bevacizumab improved response rate and overall survival without significant increase in side effects. Using it as adjuvant and as neo-adjuvant produced comparable success rates: taking in consideration that the neo-adjuvant use was applied to more advanced or irresectable cases: this means that bevacizumab could give this group an outcome similar to the primarily operable cases; larger studies are needed to confirm our findings.