The Benefits and Limitations of Telemedicine During COVID-19

Telehealth is effective in preventing, treating, and taking precautions to avoid spreading of coronavirus. Telehealth allows people with symptoms to stay at home by helping them to communicate with doctors through the internet. This decreases the spreading of corona virus to large number of people and hospital staff. But when it comes to treatment of patients, telemedicine does have some limitations. Medicines given through telemedicine may not be consistent to patients who have chronic disorders and makes the patients' conditions serious, which leads them to hospitalization. The most significant limitation of telemedicine is that some hospitals do not have equipment to deliver care in this manner. In the present situation of COVID-19, the existing telemedicine has to be modified for helping quick testing and to diagnose the infection to take care of the patients. Hence, some of the benefits and limitations of telemedicine have been summarized.

Design of Epitope Based Peptide Vaccine against Brucella Abortus OmpW Family Protein using Immunoinformatics

Brucella abortus is a small aerobic, non-spore-forming, non-motile intracellular coccobacilli localized in the reproductive organs of host animals and causes acute or chronic disorders. It infects approximately 200 cases per 100,000 of the population and has become endemic in many countries. OmpW family protein is an outer membrane protein involved in the initial interaction between the pathogen and its host. This study predicts an effective epitope-based vaccine against OmpW family protein of Brucella abortus using immunoinformatics tools. Sequences were obtained from NCBI and prediction tests were accomplished to analyze possible epitopes for B and T cells. Seven B cell epitopes passed the antigenicity, accessibility and hydrophilicity tests. Forty-three MHC I epitopes were the most promising, while 438 from MHC II. For the population coverage, the epitopes covered 99.97% of the alleles worldwide excluding certain MHC II alleles. We recommend invivo and invitro studies to prove its effectiveness.

Impact of Clinical Pharmacist Mediated Discharge Counseling and SMS Reminders Service on Medication Adherence in Chronic Disorders

Aims: This study aimed to assess the effect of discharge counseling with SMS reminders on medication adherence in chronic disorders. Study Design: Prospective randomized open-label trial Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the dispensing department of a secondary care referral charity hospital located in a small village. The study was conducted for a period of six months from October 2018 to April 2019. Methodology: Upon consent, a total of 364 patients were enrolled in this study and randomized into two groups viz., intervention group (n=182) and control group (n=182) respectively, with and without discharge counseling and SMS reminder on medication usage by the clinical pharmacist. The level of medication adherence was measured using a pill count and visual analog scale (VAS) methods at two follow-up visits includes baseline and final follow-up visit (gap of two months). A two-sample Wilcoxon rank‑sum (Mann–Whitney) was used to compare the statistical mean difference of medication adherence levels between two groups at each follow‑up visit. Results: The mean age of intervention and control groups were 57.1±8.55 and 58.5±8.53; most of the subjects were >60 years of age and were typically suffering from hypertension (30.2%) and diabetes (34.8%). Initially, at baseline, the values of medication adherence level (pill-count method) were closer in both intervention (82.4±7.3) and control group (81.35±6.4), whereas at follow up visits, the levels of the intervention group (93.2±6.0, 95.6±2.25) were significantly increased (p<0.0001) as compared to the control group (81.2±8.5, 80.6±8.1). Conclusion: Thus, the statistical significance infers that the clinical pharmacist-mediated discharge counseling with SMS reminders would increase medication adherence levels in chronic disorders.

Study of temperature logs of linseed, corn and chia seeds for the treatment of joint pain and inflammation

Thermal energy storage in the form of heat provides transient relief in inflammatory and traumatic, subacute and chronic disorders such as: sprains, muscle strains, muscle spasms, low back pain, cervical injuries, various forms of arthritis, arthralgia, neuralgia. Heat increases blood flow and connective tissue extensibility; it also decreases joint stiffness, pain and muscle spasm and helps relieve inflammation. The application of heat can be superficial and the intensity or duration of the physiological effects depends mainly on the temperature of the tissue, the rate of temperature elevation and the area treated. In this work a comparison of the capacity to absorb and contain sensible heat using a combination of linseed, corn and chia seeds in water is made in order to identify which combination is able to retain heat longer and to take advantage of this characteristic in the treatment of pain and inflammation.

Using Microbiome-Based Approaches to Deprogram Chronic Disorders and Extend the Healthspan Following Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences are known to program children for disrupted biological cycles, premature aging, microbiome dysbiosis, immune-inflammatory misregulation, and chronic disease multimorbidity. To date, the microbiome has not been a major focus of deprogramming efforts despite its emerging role in every aspect of ACE-related dysbiosis and dysfunction. This article examines: 1) the utility of incorporating microorganism-based, anti-aging approaches to combat ACE-programmed chronic diseases (also known as noncommunicable diseases and conditions, NCDs) and 2) microbiome regulation of core systems biology cycles that affect NCD comorbid risk. In this review microbiota influence over three key cyclic rhythms (circadian cycles, the sleep cycle, and the lifespan/longevity cycle) as well as tissue inflammation and oxidative stress are discussed as an opportunity to deprogram ACE-driven chronic disorders. Microbiota, particularly those in the gut, have been shown to affect host-microbe interactions regulating the circadian clock, sleep quality, as well as immune function/senescence and regulation of tissue inflammation. The microimmunosome is one of several systems biology targets of gut microbiota regulation. Furthermore, correcting misregulated inflammation and increased oxidative stress is key to protecting telomere length and lifespan/longevity and extending what has become known as the healthspan. This review article concludes that to reverse the tragedy of ACE-programmed NCDs and premature aging, managing the human holobiont microbiome should become a routine part of healthcare and preventative medicine across the life course.

Development of visual display and data transmission system for patients with chronic disorders of consciousness

The monitoring is integral part for patients with chronic disorders, as such cases require serious attention to save their life and predict recovery. Physiological signs such as heart rate, hemodynamic, temperature, saturation are collected from biomedical sensors to bedside monitors that medical staff could detect unexpected life-threatening conditions being around the patients. However, it is a tough job to being stuck at monitor for every person. Furthermore, such continuous supervision may lead to difficulties due to human error. Thus there is a need to capture, display all physiological changes visually and give a medical emergency about health conditions when they are out of the normal range. The main objective is the development of the optoelectronic system for visual monitoring and data transmission of patients in a coma by optical wireless communication.

Effect of health promotion programs and home visits on chronic diseases

Evidence shows that the management of chronic disorders is associated with massive expenditure and increased utilization of healthcare resources. Therefore, innovative management approaches to these conditions are encouraged to overcome these burdens and enhance the quality of care for the affected patients. Home visits and health promotion programs have been described in this context with favorable outcomes over individuals and communities. We have discussed the efficacy of home visits and health promotion programs on the outcomes of patients suffering from chronic disorders. Our findings indicated the validity of these approaches in enhancing the quality of care for patients with chronic conditions. Adequately applying these outcomes can be associated with enhanced quality of life for patients. Besides, estimates also showed that they can reduce the number of visits to the emergency department and the frequency of hospital admissions. Health promotion programs can also reduce the utilization of the different healthcare resources including medication use and the availability of healthcare providers. However, the current evidence lacks validation by proper investigations. Accordingly, we encourage further studies to be conducted to enhance the current findings adequately.

The Multifaceted Role of Curcumin in Advanced Nanocurcumin Form in the Treatment and Management of Chronic Disorders

Curcumin is the primary polyphenol in turmeric’s curcuminoid class. It has a wide range of therapeutic applications, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antibacterial, and anticancer effects against various cancers, but has poor solubility and low bioavailability. Objective: To improve curcumin’s bioavailability, plasma concentration, and cellular permeability processes. The nanocurcumin approach over curcumin has been proven appropriate for encapsulating or loading curcumin (nanocurcumin) to increase its therapeutic potential. Conclusion: Though incorporating curcumin into nanocurcumin form may be a viable method for overcoming its intrinsic limitations, and there are reasonable concerns regarding its toxicological safety once it enters biological pathways. This review article mainly highlights the therapeutic benefits of nanocurcumin over curcumin.

The Beneficial Effect of Coarse Cereals on Chronic Diseases through Regulating Gut Microbiota

In recent years, chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative disorders have been the leading causes of incapacity and death globally. Increasing evidence suggests that improvements of lifestyle habits and diet is the most commonly adopted strategy for the prevention of chronic disorders. Moreover, many dietary compounds have revealed health-promoting benefits beyond their nutritional effects. It is worth noting that diet plays an important role in shaping the intestinal microbiota. Coarse cereals constitute important sources of nutrients for the gut microbiota and contribute to a healthy gut microbiome. Furthermore, the gut microbiota converts coarse cereals into functional substances and mediates the interaction between the host and these components. In this study, we summarize the recent findings concerning functional components of cereal grains and their potential chemopreventive activity via modulating the gut microbiota.