Lina Adwan

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is known for its effects on the respiratory system. Three years after the pandemic morbid and mortal consequences, growing evidence is showing that the disease also has adverse outcomes and complications on additional organs including the kidneys. This study aims at investigating the effects of COVID-19 on hemodialysis patients receiving services at Palestine Medical Complex (PMC) kidney dialysis department, and to identify mortality related risk factors. Methods: In April 2022, data was collected using the electronic medical records system for the dialysis department at PMC. The study included all PMC hemodialysis patients that were infected with COVID-19 between January 2020-April 2022. The collected data included patient demographics, clinical features, laboratory tests, dialysis frequency and the disease outcome. Results: The results showed that the patients' outcomes and dialysis frequency were impacted by their blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr) and calcium levels. About one third of the study population died after being infected with COVID-19. The frequency of dialysis was also affected by the presence of comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) and myocardial infarction (MI). Conclusion: This study found that there was a high mortality rate within the hemodialysis patients infected with COVID-19. Having comorbidities affected the frequency of dialysis following COVID-19 infection. Dialysis patients should be protected from infections such as COVID-19 and their comorbidities should be monitored and kept under control as much as possible.

Background. The investigation of volatile oils used in traditional medicine is vital to enhance the quality of healthcare. This study is aimed at screening the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Micromeria fruticosa serpyllifolia volatile oils from three different regions in Palestine (north, middle, and south). Methods. Volatile oils of three samples of M. fruticosa serpyllifolia were extracted using the microwave-ultrasonic apparatus. The antioxidant activity of the volatile oils was assessed by inhibition of DPPH free radical. The antimicrobial activity was examined using the broth microdilution method. Assessment of antifungal activity was achieved using the agar dilution method. Results. Screening the biological activity of plant extracts revealed that the sample from Ramallah (middle region) possessed the most potent antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 0.45 μg/mL. The three samples exhibited broad antimicrobial activity and showed potential antifungal activity....

Interest in essential oils was recently revived with their popularity increasing in medicine, pharmacy, and aromatherapy. This study was performed to identify the chemical compositions of the essential oil ofgrowing wildly in three regions in Palestine and to assess and compare their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Identification of the essential oil was performed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antimicrobial activity was tested against,,, Methicillin-Resistant, andby using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay, while antioxidant activity was analyzed by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. The essential oils offrom Jerusalem and Hebron regions have almost identical components; the major compounds identified were linalyl acetate and-linalool; these essential oils exerted potential antioxidant and antibacterial activities. On the other hand, the major components of the plant essential oil from Je...

The emergence of resistance for antipedicular agents and the need of potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) therapeutics for the treatment of a neurodegenerative disorder such as Alzheimer disease has led researchers to the exploration of new therapeutic alternatives such as natural volatile oils. Therefore, the current investigation aimed to identify the components of Satureja capitata L. volatile oil (VO), and examine the VO anticholinesterase, and antipedicular activities. The plant phytoconstituents were identified using Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method, while the anticholinesterase activity was determined against butyryl- and acetyl-cholinesterase using Ellman’s method. In addition, antipedicular activity was established using the diffusion method. The obtained GC-MS results identified 16 compounds in S. capitata VO with the major constituents being carvacrol, γ-terpinene, and p-cymene. Anticholinesterase analysis showed a marked inhibition potential against acet...

We have previously reported that tolfenamic acid treatment decreases the amyloidogenic proteins in C57BL/6 and in old hemizygous R1.40 transgenic mice via the degradation of the transcription factor specificity 1 protein (Sp1). The lowering of amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) and amyloid-β (Aβ) in hemizygous R1.40 transgenic mice was accompanied by reversal of the identified spatial reference and working memory deficits observed in the mouse model. In this study, we examined the ability of tolfenamic acid to reduce the amyloid plaque burden, as well as to ameliorate spatial learning and memory deficits in homozygous R1.40 mice. Results from immunohistochemical analysis indicated that tolfenamic acid treatment resulted in a profound decrease in cerebral Aβ plaque burden that was accompanied by improvements in spatial working memory assessed by spontaneous alternation ratio in the Y-maze. These results provide further evidence that tolfenamic acid could be utilized as a repurposed d...

Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides are related to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The search for therapeutic strategies that lower these peptides has mainly focused on the proteolytic processing of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP), and other post-transcriptional pathways. The transcription factor specificity protein 1 (Sp1) is vital for the regulation of several genes involved in AD including APP and the beta site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1). We have previously reported that tolfenamic acid promotes the degradation of Sp1 protein (SP1) in pancreatic human cancer cells and mice tumors. This study examines the ability of tolfenamic acid to reduce SP1 levels, and thereby decrease APP transcription and Aβ levels in rodent brains. Tolfenamic acid was administered by oral gavage to C57BL/6 mice at variable dosages and for different time periods. Results have shown that tolfenamic acid was able to down regulate brain protein levels of SP1, APP, and Aβ. These findings demonstrate that interference with upstream transcriptional pathways can lower pathogenic intermediates associated with AD, and thus tolfenamic acid represents a novel approach for the development of a therapeutic intervention for AD.

ABSTRACT Due to the increase in life expectancy and the absence of a cure for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the number of cases with this debilitating disorder is predicted to triple over the next 40 years to 106.8 million worldwide and 13.2 million in the US, with an annual incidence that will be close to 1 million cases per year in 2050. Current therapeutic approaches merely target the symptoms of the disease but not its core pathology, and fail to alter the devastating course of AD that ultimately leads to terminal memory dysfunction and death.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by dementia gradually evolving till death. Available therapies only offer symptomatic improvement, and have failed to cure the disease or stop its progression. Amyloid plaques, formed by aggregations of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides, are one of the two major pathological hallmarks of AD. Currently, these proteins are identified targets for prospective AD drug candidates. Tolfenamic acid is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that was found to induce the degradation of the transcription factor Sp1 in pancreatic tumors. Previous work in our lab has demonstrated the involvement of Sp1 in AD pathology. Sp1 was found to upregulate the amyloid β precursor protein (APP) gene expression. Our hypothesis is that tolfenamic acid can reduce the levels of Aβ and its precursor APP by lowering Sp1 levels in the brains of AD patients. To test this, tolfenamic acid was administered by oral gavage to C57BL/6 mice and Hartley g...