Targeting Intracranial Tumours with a Combination of RNA and Chemotherapy.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour, which remains largely resistant to treatment; the prognosis for patients is poor, with a median survival time of about 12-18 months, post diagnosis. In an effort to bring more efficacious treatments to patients, we targeted the down regulation of ITCH, an E3 ligase that is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, and which inhibits P73, a tumour suppressor gene. 6-O-glycolchitosan (GC) was used to deliver siRNA ITCH (GC60-siRNA-ITCH) and gemcitabine via the nose to brain route in CD-1 nude mice which had previously been implanted intracranially with U87-MG-luc2 cells.

Dose-dependent delivery of genes to the cerebral cortex via the nasal route.

The use of nucleic acids to treat various brain diseases could offer new therapeutic modalities, providing the nucleic acids may be effectively delivered to areas of the brain using non-toxic vectors. In this study, we present evidence that genes may be successfully delivered in a dose-dependent manner via the nose, primarily to the cerebral cortex using a 6-O-glycolchitosan (GC) formulation of plasmid DNA. Positively charged (zeta potential = +13 - + 25 mV) GC-DNA nanoparticles of 100-500 nm in diameter with favourable cell biocompatibility were shown to deliver the reporter Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) plasmid to the U87MG cell line and the resulting protein expression was not significantly different from that obtained with Lipofectamine 2000.

The effects of age and gender on the prevalence of insomnia in a sample of the Saudi population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of insomnia among the Saudi adult population.

Study Design: A cross-sectional insomnia survey was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The presence of insomnia was defined by difficulty initiating sleep, early morning awakening, or frequent awakening, in addition to the second-day effect in the form of fatigue, tiredness, or changes in the mode because of lack of sleep.

Effect of age and gender in the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness among a sample of the Saudi population.

The aim of this study is to assess whether the effect of gender on the excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is influenced by two confounders (age and hours of sleep per night). A cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City-Riyadh (KAMC-R). A total of 2095 respondents answered a questionnaire that included questions regarding gender, age, hours of sleep per night, and daytime sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).

Transporter TAP1-637G and immunoproteasome PSMB9-60H variants influence the risk of developing vitiligo in the Saudi population.

We evaluated whether TAP1-rs1135216 (p.637D>G) and PSMB9-rs17587 (p.60R>H) were significantly associated with the risk and severity of vitiligo among Saudi patients.

Validation of the Arabic version of the Epworth sleepiness scale.

Background: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a questionnaire widely used in developed countries to measure daytime sleepiness and diagnose sleep disorders.

Objective: This study aimed to develop an ESS questionnaire for the Arabic population (ArESS), to determine ArESS internal consistency, and to measure ArESS test-retest reproducibility. It also investigated whether the normal range of ESS scores of healthy people in different cultures are similar.