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Most current guidelines recommend prescribing second-generation antihistamines (SGAs) over first-generation antihistamines because SGAs are less likely to cause sedation and impairment of heavy work performance. However, common residents who use these antihistamines as over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are less likely to know that. So, this study was designed to compare the over-the-counter use of antihistamines by common residents with the prescribing preferences of physicians residing at Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Between June and August of 2017, a total of 100 Physicians from some of the top medical institutions of the city and 350 randomly selected common residents were directly interviewed with two separate semistructured questionnaires specifically designed for each population. Data was statistically analyzed using Fischer’s exact test, Spearman’s rank correlation test and Kendall’s tau rank correlation test. The data shows that physicians prefer second-generation antihistamines with fexofenadine (48.09% of the total responses), desloratadine (16.03%), and rupatadine (13.74%) taking the top spots. Cetirizine (29.46% of total responses), desloratadine (14.73%), and chlorpheniramine (14.52%) were the most used OTC antihistamines by the common residents. Statistical analysis with Fischer’s exact test revealed that the difference in preference of first-generation antihistamines between physicians and common residents were extremely significant (p<0.0001). Furthermore, cetirizine (which is known to have some degree of sedating activity) and chlorpheniramine are more preferred among common residents than among physicians (extremely significant difference, p<0.0001 in both cases). The study concludes that physicians of Dhaka City are complying with practice guidelines, but sedating antihistamines still retain some popularity among the common residents. Hence, a more engaging community pharmacy is needed to minimize adverse effects that can arise from OTC use of sedating antihistamines.

Expression of bacterial efflux pump is one of the major causes for developing antibiotic resistance in a variety of pathogens. Efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) are potential molecules that can antagonize those pumps and help in alleviating the resistance problem. The study was aimed to explore the EPI activity of vitexin 2"-O-xyloside, an apigenin flavone glycoside. A total 15 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were collected and their antibiotic resistance profiles were detected by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay and MIC values were determined through broth microdilution technique. Prevalence of efflux pump activity were examined through ethidium bromide agar-cartwheel method. Fractional inhibitory assay was carried out in combination with tetracycline and ciprofloxacin against clinical isolates of S. aureus with efflux pump activity. Finally, molecular docking approach was carried out in the active binding sites of NorA efflux pump protein by Autodock Vina. All of the clinical isolates showed resistance to cefixime, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline antibiotics whereas all of them were sensitive to chloramphenicol. Efflux pump was found active among 20% of the clinical isolates. The tested compound showed additive effective (ƩFIC value 0.625 – 0.75) when co-treated with tetracycline in the efflux pump active isolates which was similar to reserpine. Molecular docking studies showed that vitexin 2"-O-xyloside may bind to the different binding sites, opening the door for it to be considered as a potential EPI. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 20(3): 307-315, 2022 (June) Centennial Special Issue

In this study, we performed a structure-activity-relationship study of seven previously identified chloro-naphthoquinone analogs and evaluated their abilities to inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays essential roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation, proliferation, and development. While targeting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway has been validated as a very promising approach for CRC treatment, developing a therapeutic for inhibition of this elusive pathway has been very challenging for researchers. Of the seven chloro-naphthoquinone analogues, we found that two compounds, Compound 3 and Compound 6, significantly inhibited Wnt target gene transcription and Wnt-induced colorectal tumorigenesis in vitro. Chromatin immunoprecipitation binding assays and computational modeling analysis revealed that Compound 3 and Compound 6 inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin pathway through disruption of the TCF4-DNA binding, a crucial step for the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Lastly, using a patient-derived organoid model and xenograft mouse model, we showed that these compounds inhibit CRC tumorigenesis. Taken together, this study demonstrates a novel mechanism of action for these chloro-naphthoquinone analogs, which can be further explored in future drug design and discovery efforts for small molecules targeting the TCF family proteins for inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Citation Format: Rosalie G. Hoyle, Andrew Morris, Piyusha Pagare, Shadid Uz Zaman, Zhikun Ma, Yan Zhang, Jiong Li. Naphthoquinone analogues inhibit Wnt/β-catenin signaling and colorectal cancer tumorigenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1862.

Globally, health promotion measures have been undertaken in preventing the emergence and spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, whether these measures influence public awareness and behaviors is unclear and evidence is limited in particular in low-and-middle income country. We conducted an online survey among internet users in Bangladesh to understand the status and attributes of their knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 during second wave of the pandemic when COVID educational information was more accessible to the public. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Of 964 respondents, 40.2%, 51.5%, and 64.3% had good knowledge, confident attitudes, and proper practices towards COVID-19, respectively. The multivariate regression analysis found that the knowledge and practice scores were associated (p<0.05) with gender, age, and occupation. Females had better knowledge and practices compared to males (p<0.05). There were major gaps in awareness, attitudes, and practices among internet users in particular males and elders that needs to be addressed to control the further spread of COVID-19 infections before at least COVID-19 vaccine become accessible at population level in Bangladesh.