Controlled-release formulations are essential for those drugs that require fine tuning of their activity to increase the ratio between therapeutic vs. adverse effects. Losartan potassium is among those drugs whose adverse effects may somehow impair its purported benefits. Previous investigations have been carried out to ascertain the suitability of several polymers for being associated with losartan. This study is focused on the effects of Ethocel grade 10 and Carbopol 934P NF on losartan release. Flow and physical properties were assessed according to the protocols standardized by the pharmacopeia (USP-NF 29), and the drug release in phosphate buffer (pH = 6.8) was measured for 24 h. Data evidenced good to excellent flow and physical properties according to the drug/polymer ratio and the addition of co-excipients. The release rate in 24 h was found to be 63–69% to 79–82% without or with the addition of co-excipients, respectively, following zero-order kinetics. The results also suggest a significant difference with the release profile of a traditional release losartan formulation. The results suggest the suitability of Ethocel grade 10 and Carbopol 934P NF as components of a controlled-release losartan formulation.

Background: Quality of working life (QWL) is a multidimensional concept that describes an employee’s satisfaction with several work life elements. Quality of nurse working life is considered as a stepping stone for health services improvement, as it affects job satisfaction which, in turn, affects the performance of nurses. Understanding and investigating the nurses’ quality of work life in Saudi Arabia is needed for improvement actions. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the quality of nursing work life (QNWL) among nurses working in Saudi Arabia and to determine the association between demographic variables and quality of work life among nurses. Methods: It was a cross-sectional design using Brooks’ quality of nursing work life survey. It was distributed among nurses over the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Results: There were 860 nurses participating in the study. The mean total score for the participants was 174.5+/- 30.3, indicating moderate to high QNWL. The highest score achieved by the nurses was for the work world context (4.29) while the lowest score was for work design dimension (3.92). The study revealed that nationality, income, and shift duration, having a dependent person, and having family accompany the nurse as significant factors affecting the quality of work life among the nurses. Conclusion: A novel contribution of the current study was that the demographic characteristics of the participants, including nationality, income, having family accompany the nurse, having an independent child, or spouse or parents, and shift duration, tended to have a statistically significant correlation with QNWL. The comprehensive results of this study have practical implications whereby authority bodies can create regulatory plans for enhancing satisfaction and performance over the sole utilization of job satisfaction measurements and can thereby improve nurses’ retention and turnover rates.

Serum amyloid-A (SAA) is associated with inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, Familial Mediterranean Fever, sarcoidosis, and vasculitis. There is accumulating evidence that SAA is a reliable biomarker for these autoinflammatory and rheumatic diseases and may contribute to their pathophysiology. Hyperinflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 is a complex interaction between infection and autoimmunity and elevation of SAA is strongly correlated with severity of the inflammation. In this review we highlight the involvement of SAA in these different inflammatory conditions, consider its potential role and discuss whether it could be a potential target for treatment of the hyperinflammatory state of COVID-19 with many potential advantages and fewer adverse effects. Additional studies linking SAA to the pathophysiology of COVID-19 hyper-inflammation and autoimmunity are needed to establish the causal relationship and the therapeutic potential of inhibitors of SAA activity.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global health systems is a major concern. To plan and allocate resources to treat COVID-19 patients and provide insights into the financial sustainability of healthcare systems in fighting the future pandemic, measuring the costs to treat COVID-19 patients is deemed necessary. As such, we conducted a retrospective, real-world observational study to measure the direct medical cost of treating COVID-19 patients at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. The analysis was conducted using primary data and a mixed methodology of micro and macro-costing. Between July 2020 and July 2021, 287 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were admitted and their data were analyzed. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by RT-PCR or serologic tests in all the included patients. There were 60 cases of mild to moderate disease, 148 cases of severe disease, and 79 critically ill patients. The cost per case for mild to moderate disease, severe disease, and critically ill was 2003 USD, 14,545 USD, and 20,188 USD, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the cost between patients with comorbidities and patients without comorbidities (P-value 0.008). Across patients with and without comorbidities, there was a significant difference in the cost of the bed, laboratory work, treatment medications, and non-pharmaceutical equipment. The cost of treating COVID-19 patients is considered a burden for many countries. More studies from different private and governmental hospitals are needed to compare different study findings for better preparation for the current COVID-19 as well as future pandemics.

The L-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase (L2HGDH) gene encodes an important mitochondrial enzyme. However, its altered activity results in excessive levels of L-2-hydroxyglutarate, which results in diverse psychiatric features of intellectual disability. In the current study, we executed an in-silico analysis of all reported L2HGDH missense and nonsense variants in order to investigate their biological significance. Among the superimposed 3D models, the highest similarity index for a wild-type structure was shown by the mutant Glu336Lys (87.26%), while the lowest similarity index value was shown by Arg70* (10.00%). Three large active site pockets were determined using protein active site prediction, in which the 2nd largest pocket was shown to encompass the substrate L-2-hydroxyglutarate (L2HG) binding residues, i.e., 89Gln, 195Tyr, 402Ala, 403Gly and 404Val. Moreover, interactions of wild-type and mutant L2HGDH variants with the close functional interactor D2HGDH protein resulted in alterations in the position, number and nature of networking residues. We observed that the binding of L2HG with the L2HGDH enzyme is affected by the nature of the amino acid substitution, as well as the number and nature of bonds between the substrate and protein molecule, which are able to affect its biological activity.