Effects of Boswellia serrata resin extract on motor dysfunction and brain oxidative stress in an experimental model of Parkinson's disease

Objective: Boswellia serrata oleo-gum resin (frankincense) exerted antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects against several diseases, such as; asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and irritable bowel syndrome. In the current study, the influences of B. serrata resin extract on motor dysfunction and oxidative stress markers were investigated in the intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Materials and Methods: The animals were randomly assigned to sham, lesion (6-OHDA), and three lesion groups treated with ethyl alcoholic extract of B. serrata at doses of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg for 3 weeks. The neurotoxin 6-OHDA (12.5 mu g) was microinjected into the left striatum to induce PD in male rats. Motor behavior was assessed by rotational and elevated narrow beam tests. Oxidative stress markers were measured in striatal and midbrain homogenates. Results: There was a significant increase in contralateral rotations in 6-OHDA group versus sham group (p<0.001), and treatment with B. serrata resin extract at doses of 125 and 250 mg/kg significantly decreased the rotations in comparison to 6-OHDA group (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The 6-OHDA group also showed considerable elevation in the latency to initiate crossing (p<0.001) and the total time (p<0.001) on narrow beam test. Moreover, treatment with B. serrata extract at doses of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg caused a significant reduction in the latency and total time (p<0.001, p<0.001, and p<0.01, respectively). Biochemical analysis showed no significant difference in oxidative stress markers levels among the groups. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that B. serrata resin extract acts as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent that protects nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and improve motor impairments in PD

Evaluating health promotion standards at the Farshchian heart center of Hamadan, Iran

OBJECTIVE: Farshchian Heart Center is the fifth health-promoting hospital and the first center of its type in Western Iran that officially joined the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (HPH) in 2016. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the health promotion standards at this center in 2018. METHODS: We conducted this cross-sectional study at Farshchian Heart Center of Hamadan. The main data collection instruments included questionnaires obtained from indicators of five different main standards of health-promoting hospitals developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) which were evaluated from three different perspectives: Management staff, hospital employees, and patients. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 software. RESULTS: We evaluated 111 hospital employees, 109 patients, and 6 management staff. Nurses (46.8) comprised the majority of the hospital staff respondents. Less than half (42.3) of the hospital staff expressed awareness of hospital health promotion policies; however, only 13.5 had attended various health promotion programs. Only 51.4 of patients knew about the hospital health promotion policies and 17.4 of them participated in relevant programs. The mean score for patient satisfaction with the hospital health promotion programs according to the visual analogue scale (VAS, range: 0-10) was 7.16 ± 2.45, which was significantly higher in outpatients (8.16 ± 1.85) compared to inpatients (6.44 ± 2.59, p = 0.001). Two thirds (66.7) of the management staff expressed awareness of implementation of these programs. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that health promotion policies based on WHO standards were not well-recognized among patients, hospital employees, and management staff in Farshchian Heart Center of Hamadan, Iran

Health Technology Assessment capacity development in low- and middle-income countries: Experiences from the international units of HITAP and NICE

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is policy research that aims to inform priority setting and resource allocation. HTA is increasingly recognized as a useful policy tool in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where there is a substantial need for evidence to guide Universal Health Coverage policies, such as benefit coverage, quality improvement interventions and quality standards, all of which aim at improving the efficiency and equity of the healthcare system. The Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), Thailand, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), UK, are national HTA organizations providing technical support to governments in LMICs to build up their priority setting capacity. This paper draws lessons from their capacity building programs in India, Colombia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Such experiences suggest that it is not only technical capacity, for example analytical techniques for conducting economic evaluation, but also management, coordination and communication capacity that support the generation and use of HTA evidence in the respective settings. The learned lessons may help guide the development of HTA capacity in other LMICs