Screening for diabetic peripheral neuropathy at community pharmacies in Slovakia.

Aim: To identify diabetic patients with a potential risk of developing diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in community pharmacies in Slovakia using a modified Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument questionnaire (MNSIq-12).

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 703 patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus who had not been diagnosed with DPN. The study took place in selected community pharmacies across Slovakia in October 2019.

Oseltamivir phosphate interaction with model membranes.

Oseltamivir belongs to the neuraminidase inhibitors, developed against the influenza virus, and registered under the trademark Tamiflu. Despite its long-term acquaintance, there is limited information in the literature about its physicochemical and structural properties in a lipid-water system. We present an experimentally determined partition coefficient with structural information on the interaction of oseltamivir with the model membrane, its possible location, and its effect on the membrane thermodynamics.

Serum butyrylcholinesterase as a marker of COVID-19 mortality: Results of the monocentric prospective observational study.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an excessive burden on health care systems worldwide and the number of patients who require special care in the clinical setting is often hard to predict. Consequently, there is an unmet need for a reliable biomarker that could predict clinical outcomes of high-risk patients. Lower serum butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity was recently linked with poor outcomes of COVID-19 patients.

α7 nicotinic receptors play a role in regulation of cardiac hemodynamics.

The α7 nicotinic receptors (NR) have been confirmed in the heart but their role in cardiac functions has been contradictory. To address these contradictory findings, we analyzed cardiac functions in α7 NR knockout mice (α7) in vivo and ex vivo in isolated hearts. A standard limb leads electrocardiogram was used, and the pressure curves were recorded in vivo, in Arteria carotis and in the left ventricle, or ex vivo, in the left ventricle of the spontaneously beating isolated hearts perfused following Langedorff's method.

Identification of a Link between Suspected Metabolic Syndrome and Cognitive Impairment within Pharmaceutical Care in Adults over 75 Years of Age.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cognitive impairment (CI) is increasing with age. MetS reduces overall cognition, and CI predicts an increased risk of drug-related problems. We investigated the impact of suspected MetS (sMetS) on cognition in an aging population receiving pharmaceutical care in a different state of old age (60-74 vs.

Improvement of the Clinical and Psychological Profile of Patients with Autism after Methylcobalamin Syrup Administration.

(1) Background: Autism, also known as autism-spectrum disorder, is a pervasive developmental disorder affecting social skills and psychological status in particular. The complex etiopathogenesis of autism limits efficient therapy, which leads to problems with the normal social integration of the individual and causes severe family distress. Injectable methylcobalamin was shown to improve the clinical status of patients via enhanced cell oxidative status and/or methylation capacity.

Medication-related factors associated with proton pump inhibitor prescription beyond official guidelines in older adults.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between medications with a known risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescription not according to guidelines.

Methods: An analysis of the records of 592 hospitalised patients aged 65 years or older was undertaken. The number of all medicines, potentially inappropriate medicines according to the EU(7)-PIM list and the Beers Criteria 2019 and medicines with a known risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, was compared in patients with PPI prescription not given based on guidelines and in patients with no PPI prescription.

pH-Sensitive ,Dimethylalkane-1-amine -Oxides in DNA Delivery: From Structure to Transfection Efficiency.

pH-sensitive liposomes composed of homologues of series of ,-dimethylalkane-1-amine -oxides (CNO, = 8-18, where is the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl substituent) and neutral phospholipid dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) were prepared at two molar ratios (CNO/DOPE = 0.4:1 and 1:1) and tested for their transfection activity. Several techniques (SAXS/WAXS, UV-vis, zeta potential measurements, confocal microscopy) were applied to characterize the system in an effort to unravel the relationship among the transfection efficiency, structure, and composition of the lipoplexes.

Assessment of patient counselling on the common cold treatment at Slovak community pharmacies using mystery shopping.

Background: Up to now, there have been no data on patient counselling in the Slovak community pharmacies. The literature provides a wide range of activities for which mystery shopping methodology be used, including assessment of patient counselling.

Aims And Objectives: To assess patient counselling on the common cold treatment with OTC medicine containing zinc provided by Slovak community pharmacists.

Relationship between adolescents' and their parents' attitudes toward medicines and awareness of the risk of medicines.

Background When they reach adolescence, children begin to independently use medicine without their parents' supervision, but parents usually still want to be involved in their drug therapy. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate how parental attitudes and awareness toward medicine relate to adolescents' attitudes and awareness. Setting Twelve secondary schools in different regions of the Slovak Republic.

Adolescents' knowledge and perception of medicine risk.

Background: Adolescents often start to use medicines independently without having sufficient knowledge or previous experience, which can lead to the inappropriate use of medicines.

Methods: Adolescents' knowledge of medicines, perception of their effectiveness, risk of the medicines and a possible association between these terms and health status, age and gender were studied. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in 13-18-year-old adolescents in secondary school.

Caustic Ingestion in the Elderly: Influence of Age on Clinical Outcome.

Caustic poisonings are still associated with many fatalities. Studies focusing on the elderly are rare. The purpose of the present study was to compare the clinical outcomes of caustic ingestion injury in elderly and non-elderly adults with regard to gender, intent of exposure, substance ingested, severity of mucosal injury, complications, and mortality.

Identifying the interprofessional agreement between community pharmacists and general practitioners views on collaborative practice in Slovakia.

Background: The collaboration of community pharmacists (CPs) and general practitioners (GPs) has a positive effect on healthcare outcomes. There are still many countries, where no efforts have been made to enhance this type of teamwork. There is no evidence of how GPs and CPs collaborate in Slovakia.

Low Plasma Cholinesterase Activities are Associated with Deficits in Spatial Orientation, Reduced Ability to Perform Basic Activities of Daily Living, and Low Body Mass Index in Patients with Progressed Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a central cholinergic deficit. Non-neuronal cholinergic changes are, however, described as well. Here we focused on possible changes in the activity of the plasma cholinesterases, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), in hospitalized AD patients.

[Identifying and solving drug-related problems in terms of the community pharmacist].

The issue of drug related problems (DRPs) has been known and dealt with in many studies for a long time. It is primarily due to the fact that drug-related problems have the potential to increase patients morbidity and mortality in particular. The issue of identifying and solving drug-related problems in the area of pharmacotherapy by community pharmacists in the Slovak Republic, unlike in other European countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, is still at the beginning and gradually developing.