To assess self-medication practices and to evaluate the impact of obtaining medical knowledge on self-medication among medical and pharmacy students at Jordan University of Science and Technology. This was a cross-sectional study. A well-validated questionnaire that included 3 sections about self-medication was administered to the subjects after introducing the term "self-medication" verbally. 1,317 students had participated in the study and were subgrouped according to their academic level into seniors and juniors. Compared to the general population rate of 42.5%, self-medication practice was reported by (1,034, 78.5%) of the students and most common amongst pharmacy students (n = 369, 82.9%) compared to Pharm.D. (n = 357, 77.9%) and medical students (n = 308, 74.4%) (p = 0.009). There was no significant difference between juniors and seniors (557, 79.1% vs. 477, 77.8%, p = 0.59, respectively). Headache (71.2%) and common cold (56.5%) were frequent ailments that provoked self-medication. Analgesics (79.9%) and antibiotics (59.8%) were frequently used to self-treat these aliments. Reasons for self-medication included previous disease experience (55.7%); minor aliments (55.3%); and having enough medical knowledge (32.1%). Medicines were used according to instructions obtained mainly from the leaflet (28.8%); pharmacist (20.7%); and university courses (19.7%). Senior students were more aware of the risk of self-medication than junior students. The majority of students frequently advise other people about self-medication (83.6%). Self-medication was common among students irrespective to their level of medical knowledge. Obtaining medical knowledge increased the students' awareness of the risk of self-medication which may result in practicing responsible self-medication. However, medical teaching institutions need to educate students about the proper use of medicines as a therapeutic tool.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an inflammatory condition caused by hepatic lipid accumulation that is associated with insulin resistance, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Although statins should be used with caution in liver diseases, they are increasingly investigated as a possible treatment for NAFLD. The present study recreated an in vitro model of NAFLD using HepG2 cells exposed to oleic acid (OA), which was used to quantify OA-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells treated with various concentrations of simvastatin. In addition, the effect of simvastatin on HepG2 cell morphology and microparticle generation as a marker of cell apoptosis was assessed. OA-induced lipid accumulation was quantified by Oil Red O staining and extraction for optical density determination. Stained lipid droplets were visualized using phase contrast microscopy. Furthermore, HepG2 cell-derived microparticles were counted by flow cytometry subsequent to staining for Annexin V. HepG2 cells treated with 0–1 mM OA showed dose-dependent lipid accumulation. Treatment of HepG2 cells with increasing concentrations of simvastatin followed by treatment with 1 mM OA showed that low simvastatin concentrations (4–10 µM) were able to reduce lipid accumulation by ~40%, whereas high simvastatin concentrations (20 and 30 µM) induced apoptotic changes in cell morphology and increased the production of Annexin V+ microparticles. This suggests that low simvastatin doses may have a role in preventing NAFLD. However, further investigations are required to confirm this action in vivo and to determine the underlying mechanism by which simvastatin reduces hepatic steatosis.

Menopause is a natural important transition in women’s life. Having adequate knowledge and perception about menopause at a young age is critical for women to cope better with its associated consequ...

Objective: To assess dairy Ca intake and investigate its relationship with insomnia and other common co-morbidities including anxiety, depression and musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among university students.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: University, Irbid, Jordan.Participants: Male and female individuals (n 1000), aged 20·87 ± 2·69 years.Results: Low dairy Ca intake (<1000 mg/d) was reported by 96·5 % of participants, and moderate to severe insomnia reported by 15·6 % of participants. Abnormal anxiety and depression scores were reported by 26·2 and 18·0 % of participants, respectively. MSP was reported by 42·9 % of participants. Participants with moderate to severe insomnia had lower dairy Ca, higher anxiety and depression scores and higher measures of MSP compared to participants with no insomnia (P-values < 0·05). Dairy Ca was weakly inversely correlated with Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score, depression score and measures of MSP (P-values < 0·05). Regression analysis indicated that insomnia was predicted by low dairy Ca, anxiety, depression, MSP and smoking (P-values < 0·05). Both anxiety and depression were predicted by increased ISI score (P-values < 0·05), while depression alone was predicted by low dairy Ca (P-value < 0·01). MSP was predicted by increased ISI and anxiety scores (P-values < 0·05).Conclusions: Low dairy Ca was highly prevalent and associated with insomnia and depression among university students. Individuals should be advised to increase dietary Ca intake to achieve the recommended daily amount. Further research is required to investigate a potential causal relationship between low Ca and both insomnia and its related co-morbidities.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) identifies subjects with increased risk of cardiovascular disease when they have a combination of insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and elevated triglycerides (TGs). Increasing evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency could be associated with diabetes and MetS. The aim is to assess if 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) is correlated with cardiovascular risk components of MetS. Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 124 diabetic patients with MetS according to International Diabetes Federation definition. 25-OHD was measured using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Fasting insulin, lipid profile, glucose, and hemoglobin-A1c (HbA1c) were determined using routinely standard laboratory methods. Insulin resistance was assessed using homeostatic model assessment (HOMA). Results: 59.68% and 27.42% of patients have vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, respectively. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was significantly higher in patients with vitamin D deficiency compared to patients with sufficient vitamin D ( P < 0.05). Serum log (25-OHD) was inversely correlated with SBP, HbA1c, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), TGs, and total cholesterol and directly correlated with pancreatic β cell function (HOMA-β) ( P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis has shown that SBP can be predicted from log (25-OHD) (B = −9.388, P < 0.05), while HbA1c, LDL-C, TGs, total cholesterol, and HOMA-β cannot be predicted from log (25-OHD), ( P > 0.05). Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency was very prevalent among patients with MetS. 25-OHD was inversely correlated with glycemic control and cardiovascular risk components of MetS except HDL-C, insulin resistance, and obesity. SBP was the only cardiovascular risk component that can be predicted from vitamin D concentrations.