Challenges of teaching physiology in a PBL school.
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A problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum was introduced at McMaster University more than three decades ago. Not many schools have adopted the system despite its distinct advantages. The present paper examines the challenges of teaching physiology in a PBL curriculum and gleans through the literature supporting PBL. It appears that one of the reasons why PBL is not becoming readily acceptable is the lack of concrete reports evaluating the curricular outcomes. The suggestion (R.E. Thomas. Med Educ. 31:320-329, 1997) to standardize and internationalize all components of validated PBL curricula is quite valid. A database needs to be generated that can be easily accessed by traditional institutions to see the rationality and easy implementation of the PBL curriculum. (+info)
Relation of high blood pressure to glucose intolerance, plasma lipids and educational status in an Arabian Gulf population.
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BACKGROUND: In Bahrain and other populations of the Arabian Peninsula, glucose intolerance is associated with raised plasma total cholesterol, postmenopausal status and low educational status. These associations are not generally seen in other populations with high diabetes prevalence. A study was undertaken in order to determine if hypertension in Bahrainis is associated with the same factors as those related to glucose intolerance. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 2120 Bahrainis aged 40-69 years. RESULTS: The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension (defined as current treatment for hypertension, systolic blood pressure > or = 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure > or = 95 mmHg) rose with increasing degrees of glucose intolerance. Age- and sex-standardized prevalence of hypertension was 21% (95% CI: 19-24%) in those with normal glucose tolerance, 31% (95% CI: 27-36%) in those with impaired glucose tolerance, and 38% (95% CI: 34-42%) in those with diabetes. In a multivariate analysis adjusting for age and sex, raised blood pressure was independently associated with waist girth, plasma cholesterol, glucose intolerance, family history of hypertension and (in women) postmenopausal status. There was an inverse relationship between blood pressure and educational status that was independent of other variables. This association parallels the inverse relationship of diabetes to educational level and is consistent with low educational level being a marker for socioeconomic deprivation in early life in this population. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence rates of hypertension and diabetes in Bahrainis are manifestations of a pattern of metabolic disturbances that includes raised plasma cholesterol levels. Both hypertension and diabetes are associated with low educational status, which in this population is a marker for socioeconomic deprivation in early life. This suggests that the risk of hypertension may be set by environmental factors in early life. (+info)
Extent of use of immediate-release formulations of calcium channel blockers as antihypertensive monotherapy by primary care physicians: multicentric study from Bahrain.
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BACKGROUND: The issue of cardiovascular safety of calcium channel blockers (CCBs) has been widely debated in view of reflex increase in sympathetic activity induced by immediate release (IR) / short acting formulations. It is generally agreed that such CCBs should not be used alone in the management of hypertension. AIMS: We have determined the extent to which primary care physicians prescribe CCBs as monotherapy, especially the immediate release formulations, in the management of uncomplicated hypertension and diabetic hypertension - with an emphasis upon the age of the patients. SETTING, DESIGN AND METHODS: A retrospective prescription-based study was carried out in seven out of 18 Health Centres in Bahrain. The study involved a registered population of 229,300 representing 46% of registered individuals, and 35 physicians representing 43% of all primary care physicians. The data was collected between November 1998 and January 1999 using chronic dispensing cards. RESULTS: In all categories CCBs were the third commonly prescribed antihypertensive as monotherapy, with a prescription rate of 11.1% in uncomplicated hypertension, 18% in diabetic hypertension and 20.1% in elderly patients above 65 years of age. Nifedipine formulations were the most extensively prescribed CCBs. Almost half of the CCB-treated patients were on IR-nifedipine, whereas IR-diltiazem and IR-verapamil, and amlodipine were infrequently prescribed. CONCLUSION: Prescription of IR-formulations of CCBs as monotherapy by primary care physicians does not conform with recommended guidelines. In view of concerns about the safety of such practice, measures to change the prescribing pattern are required. (+info)
Specific HLA-DRB and -DQB alleles and haplotypes confer disease susceptibility or resistance in Bahraini type 1 diabetes patients.
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Insofar as genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes is associated with HLA class II genes, with certain allelic combinations conferring disease susceptibility or resistance, this study assessed the distributions of HLA-DR and -DQ among 107 unrelated patients with type 1 diabetes and 88 healthy controls from Bahrain, all of Arab origin. The HLA-DRB and -DQB genotypes were determined by PCR-sequence-specific priming. The following alleles showed the strongest association with type 1 diabetes among patients versus controls according to their frequencies: DRB1*030101 (0.430 versus 0.097; P < 0.001), DRB1*040101 (0.243 versus 0.034; P < 0.001), DQB1*0201 (0.467 versus 0.193; P < 0.001), and DQB1*0302 (0.229 versus 0.091; P < 0.001). When the frequencies of alleles in controls were compared to those in patients, negative associations were seen for DRB1*100101 (0.085 versus 0.014; P < 0.001), DRB1*110101 (0.210 versus 0.060; P < 0.001), DQB1*030101 (0.170 versus 0.075; P = 0.006), and DQB1*050101 (0.335 versus 0.121; P < 0.001). In addition, the DRB1*030101-DQB1*0201 (70.1 versus 22.7%; P < 0.001) and DRB1*030101-DQB1*0302 (21.5 versus 0.0%; P < 0.001) genotypes were more prevalent among patients, thereby conferring disease susceptibility, whereas the DRB1*100101-DQB1*050101 (20.5 versus 2.8%; P < 0.001), DRB1*110101-DQB1*030101 (28.4 versus 8.4%; P < 0.001), and DRB1*110101-DQB1*050101 (30.7 versus 0.9%; P < 0.001) genotypes were more prevalent among controls, thus assigning a protective role. These results confirm the association of specific HLA-DR and -DQ alleles and haplotypes with type 1 diabetes and may underline several characteristics that distinguish Bahraini patients from other Caucasians patients. (+info)
HLA class II profile and distribution of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles and haplotypes among Lebanese and Bahraini Arabs.
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The gene frequencies of HLA class II alleles were studied in 95 healthy Lebanese Arab and 72 healthy Bahraini Arab subjects. Our aim was to establish the genetic relationship between Bahraini and Lebanese Arabs in terms of HLA class II gene and haplotype frequencies and to compare these results with frequencies for other countries with populations of Caucasian and non-Caucasian descent. Subjects were unrelated and of both sexes, and HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 genotyping was done by the PCR sequence-specific primer technique. Comparative analysis of the HLA-DR and -DQ alleles revealed differences in the allelic distribution among Bahraini and Lebanese subjects. Analysis of the 25 HLA-DRB1 alleles that have been investigated showed that the DRB1*040101 and DRB1*110101 alleles were more frequent among Lebanese, whereas DRB1*030101 and DRB1*160101 alleles were more frequent among Bahrainis. Similarly, of the seven HLA-DQB1 alleles analyzed, the presence of DQB1*0201 was more frequent among Bahrainis, whereas DQB1*030101 was more frequent among Lebanese. The DRB1*160101-DQB1*050101 (0.1318 versus 0.0379%) and DRB1*030101-DQB1*0201 (0.1202 versus 0.0321%) haplotypes were more frequent among Bahrainis, while the DRB1*110101-DQB1*030101 (0.3142 versus 0.1198%) and DRB1*040101-DQB1*0302 (0.1416 versus 0.0278%) haplotypes were more frequent in Lebanese subjects. Furthermore, a high prevalence of the DRB1*040101-DRB1*110101-DQB1*0302-DQB1*030101 (12.63 versus 1.35%, P = 0.015) and the homozygous DRB1*110101-DRB1*110101-DQB1*030101-DQB1*030101 (7.37 versus 0.00%, P = 0.046) genotypes was seen among Lebanese, and DRB1*070101-DRB1*160101-DQB1*0201-DQB1*050101 (6.76 versus 0.00%, P = 0.034) was seen more frequently among Bahraini subjects. Our results underline significant differences between these two populations in HLA class II distribution, provide basic information for further studies of major histocompatibility complex heterogeneity among Arabic-speaking countries, and serve as a reference for further anthropological studies. (+info)
Susceptible and protective human leukocyte antigen class II alleles and haplotypes in bahraini type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus patients.
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Whereas the genetic risk for type 1 diabetes is linked to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II genes, the HLA association in type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes is less clear. The association between HLA class II genotypes and type 2 diabetes was examined in adult Bahrainis, an Arab population with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes. HLA-DRB1* and -DQB1* genotyping of 86 unrelated type 2 diabetes patients (age, 51.6+/-8.2 years; mean duration of diabetes, 7.7+/-7.1 years) who had a strong family history of diabetes (52 of 72 versus 0 of 89 for controls, P<0.001) and 89 healthy subjects was done by PCR-sequence-specific priming. DRB1*040101 (0.1221 versus 0.0562, P=0.019) and DRB1*070101 (0.2151 versus 0.0843, P<0.001) were positively associated, while DRB1*110101 (0.0698 versus 0.1461, P=0.014) and DRB1*160101 (0.0640 versus 0.1236, P=0.038) were negatively associated with type 2 diabetes. DRB1*040101-DQB1*0302 (0.069 versus 0.0007; P=0.004), DRB1*070101-DQB1*0201 (0.178 versus 0.0761, P=0.007), DRB1*070101-DQB1*050101 (0.125 versus 0.0310, P=0.002), and DRB1*150101-DQB1*060101 (0.0756 versus 0.0281, P=0.008) were more prevalent among patients, while DRB1*160101-DQB1*050101 (0.0702 versus 0.0349, P=0.05) was more prevalent among controls, conferring disease susceptibility or protection, respectively. In Bahrainis with type 2 diabetes, there is a significant association with select HLA class II genotypes, which were distinct from those in type 1 diabetes. (+info)
Clinical relevance of virulence genes in Campylobacter jejuni isolates in Bahrain.
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There are no data describing the genetic make-up of Campylobacter strains (an important aetiological agent of diarrhoea) circulating in the Arabian Gulf region. Here, the molecular characterization of two virulence genes in Campylobacter jejuni from Bahrain and the relationship with clinical infection are reported. Molecular screening for cytolethal distending toxin (cdtB) and invasion-associated marker (iam) genes was carried out on C. jejuni stool isolates collected from January 2002 to January 2004 in Bahrain. The molecular characterization was correlated with the patients' socio-demographic and clinical parameters. Of the 96 C. jejuni strains tested, 50 (52 %) were cdtB+/iam+, 30 (31 %) were cdtB+/iam- and 16 (17 %) were cdtB-/iam-. Sixty-nine per cent (66/96) of patients were less than 3 years old, with significantly higher detection of cdtB+/iam+ and cdtB+/iam- strains (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively) in this age group. Seventy patients (73 %) were symptomatic. In the group that were less than 3 years old, 62 and 85 % of those with cdtB+/iam+ and cdtB+/iam- strains, respectively, were symptomatic compared with 100 % for those over 3 years of age. However, the presence of cdtB-/iam- strains still resulted in clinical infection in the children under 3 years but not in the older patients. This is the first report describing the molecular characterization of virulence genes in Campylobacter isolates from this region. The findings indicate that strains of different virulence genetic make-up are circulating in the population, with children under the age of 3 years being most vulnerable. Further work on the molecular characterization, gene expression and determination of the invasive phenotypes of C. jejuni strains circulating in different regions is needed. (+info)
Detection of Helicobacter pylori cagA gene in gastric biopsies, clinical isolates and faeces.
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PURPOSE: Helicobacter pylori infection is common in the developing countries. The cagA gene is a marker of pathogenicity island (PAI) in H. pylori . The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cagA among dyspeptic patients in Bahrain directly from gastric biopsy and stool specimen. METHODS: A total of 100 gastric biopsy samples, 16 clinical isolates and 44 faecal specimens were collected from Bahraini adult dyspeptic patients. cagA gene of H. pylori was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The cagA gene was detected in 59 (59%) from biopsy specimens, 10 (62%) clinical isolates and in 10 (22.7%) faecal specimens. The detection of cagA positive H. pylori was significantly higher in patients with duodenal ulcer (80%) compared to those with other endoscopic finding (42%) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Using PCR to detect cagA gene directly from biopsy is a rapid and reliable technique. However, using stool specimen for genotyping in our patients showed reduced sensitivity. (+info)