- Malaysia
Harlina Halizah Siraj
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Medicine, Faculty Member
Research Interests:
Recent association studies have described genetic variants among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and their related traits. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is pathophysiologically similar to T2DM and may share genetic susceptibility.... more
Recent association studies have described genetic variants among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and their related traits. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is pathophysiologically similar to T2DM and may share genetic susceptibility. However, genetic susceptibility within GDM in our own population is still not yet explored. This study was to determine the association of GDM genetic variants in the Malaysian population.We genotyped 384 T2DM related SNPs among 174 cases of GDM and 114 controls of pregnant women using Illumina’s Golden Gate genotyping assay. In this case-control study, a custom of 384-SNP plex of 236 candidate genes was designed using the Illumina’s Assay Design Tool. The data analysis showed 12 SNPs had a significant association with GDM among Malaysians with p values 0.002 to 0.048 with their respective odd ratios. The SNPs rs7754840, rs10946398, rs9465871, rs7756992, rs6823091, rs7935082, rs237889, rs7903146, rs7961581 were significant under additive model while ...
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... 1Nor Khatijah Mohd Aris, 2Nor Azlin Mohamed Ismail*, 2Zaleha Abdul Mahdy, 2Shuhaila Ahmad, 2Norzilawati Mohd Naim, 2Harlina Halizah Haji Siraj, 3Rohana Jaafar, 3Shareena Ishak, 1Roslan Harun, 1Rahman Jamal, 1Wan Zurinah Wan Ngah and... more
... 1Nor Khatijah Mohd Aris, 2Nor Azlin Mohamed Ismail*, 2Zaleha Abdul Mahdy, 2Shuhaila Ahmad, 2Norzilawati Mohd Naim, 2Harlina Halizah Haji Siraj, 3Rohana Jaafar, 3Shareena Ishak, 1Roslan Harun, 1Rahman Jamal, 1Wan Zurinah Wan Ngah and 1Syed Zulkifli Syed ...
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This prospective observational study was done to analyse the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among primigravidae and its outcome. All healthy primigravidae with singleton pregnancies were offered universal glucose... more
This prospective observational study was done to analyse the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among primigravidae and its outcome. All healthy primigravidae with singleton pregnancies were offered universal glucose tolerance testing between 16 and 28 weeks gestation. GDM and non GDM groups were managed according to hospital protocol. The antenatal features and pregnancy outcomes were analysed. Out of 616 primigravidae, 113 (18.34%) were GDM with slightly older (27.9 +/- 4.2 versus 26.32 +/- 3.3, p < 0.001) age. The mean fasting and two hours postprandial blood glucose in both groups were 4.99 +/- 1.08 mmol/l, 8.86 +/- 1.41 mmol/l(GDM) and 4.36 +/- 0.43 mmol/l, 5.71 +/- 1.11 mmol/l (Non GDM), respectively. Maternal family history of diabetes mellitus, weight exceeding 80 Kg, polyhydramnios (2.65% versus 0.2%, p = 0.028) and neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia (9.73% versus 2.98%, p = 0.01) occurred significantly more frequent in the GDM group compared to normal. There wa...
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Background: Understanding of educational environment is very important to determine the strength and weakness of a curriculum in order to further improvement of an educational institution. This paper reports final year medical... more
Background: Understanding of educational environment is very important to determine the strength and weakness of a curriculum in order to further improvement of an educational institution. This paper reports final year medical students' perceptions on educational environment in a Malaysian medical school. Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted at the Medical Faculty of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Data was collected using-DREEM, an internationally validated instrument which was administered to all 250 final year medical students of UKM Medical School in 2011. The DREEM contained 50 items under five sub-domains with 0-4 rating scale giving a maximum score of 200. Results: Of 250 samples, 193 responded accurately giving a response rate of 77.20%, of which 70% were female and 30% were male. Mean rating of total score was 131/200 and for five sub-domains: "students' perceptions of learning", "students' perceptions of teache...
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Introduction: Internet is the most wanted information and communication technology that brought the worldwide revolutionary change in the information scenario. It helps students to broaden their academic knowledge, research and... more
Introduction: Internet is the most wanted information and communication technology that brought the worldwide revolutionary change in the information scenario. It helps students to broaden their academic knowledge, research and assignments by accessing to the information world and also by easy communication to their academic community. Though there are many benefits linked with Internet use, there has been a growing concern regarding the risk associated with Internet overuse. It is reported that Internet has a significant decrement onto students' performance. This study aimed to determine the association between Internet usage and academic performances of students in a public University of Malaysia. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted in a Malaysian Public University among 186 year-4 medical student of session 2011-2012. It used the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire instrument which contained eight questions and were asked to answer either 'Yes&...
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Research Interests:
Bedside teaching is a vital component of medical education. It is applicable to any situation where teaching is imparted in the presence of patients. In teaching in the patients' presence, learners have the opportunities to use all of... more
Bedside teaching is a vital component of medical education. It is applicable to any situation where teaching is imparted in the presence of patients. In teaching in the patients' presence, learners have the opportunities to use all of their senses and learn the humanistic aspect of medicine such as role modeling, which is vital but difficult to communicate in words. Unfortunately, bedside teaching has been on the decline. To investigate the reasons for the decline in bedside teaching, its importance and its revival, a review of literature was carried out using PubMed and other data bases. The review revealed that the major concerns of bedside teaching were time constraint, false preceptors' concern about patients' comfort, short stay of patients in hospitals, learner distraction by technology, lack of experience and unrealistic faculty expectation. Whatsoever the reasons, bedside teaching cannot be replaced with anything else. There are newer approaches of effective beds...
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Abstract Medical doctors are required to provide fair treatment and care to all patients, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, social position and financial status. The basic precepts of medical ethics clearly illustrate... more
Abstract Medical doctors are required to provide fair treatment and care to all patients, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, social position and financial status. The basic precepts of medical ethics clearly illustrate the importance of medical practitioners to ...
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Research Interests:
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In view of the high anti-oxidative potential oftocotrienol, the role of the tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) of palm oil in preventing pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) was explored in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled... more
In view of the high anti-oxidative potential oftocotrienol, the role of the tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) of palm oil in preventing pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) was explored in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial in an urban teaching hospital. Healthy primigravidae were randomized to receive either oral TRF 100 mg daily or placebo, from early second trimester until delivery. Out of 299 women, 151 were randomized into the TRF arm and 148 into the placebo arm. A total of 15 (5.0%) developed PIH. Although there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of PIH (4/151 or 2.6% in the TRF arm vs. 11/148 or 7.4% in the placebo arm, p = 0.058) between the two arms, there was a tendency towards a lower incidence of PIH in the TRF arm compared to the placebo arm. With TRF supplementation, the relative risk (RR) of PIH was 0.36 (95% CI 0.12-1.09). In conclusion, although TRF from palm oil does not statistically significantly reduce the risk o...
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There is a significant gap between teaching and use of interesting technological resources by most of the faculties in medical schools around the globe. The objective of this paper is to highlight a Malaysian medical schools experience... more
There is a significant gap between teaching and use of interesting technological resources by most of the faculties in medical schools around the globe. The objective of this paper is to highlight a Malaysian medical schools experience on the use of a Synchronous Transnational Collaborative Learning (STCL) methodology using MedEdWorld a technological resource of medical education, based at Dundee University, UK. A cross sectional study was carried out on 11 year-4 students and one facilitator of University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Centre who participated in MedEdWorlds STCL topic Yellow Newborn Infant: Normal or abnormal, that is the question held on 24 March 2010 at 0800 hrs GMT. Other participating institutions were from Romania, Finland, Taiwan and Great Britain. The topic was delivered by a consultant from Dundee University, which lasted for one hour. At the end of the STCL presentation, a questionnaire was administered to all of the UKM Medical Centres participa...
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Advanced abdominal pregnancy is rare, and one that occurs after uterine rupture with delivery of a viable fetus is exceptional. A multiparous patient was admitted at 29 weeks of gestation for conservative management of placenta previa.... more
Advanced abdominal pregnancy is rare, and one that occurs after uterine rupture with delivery of a viable fetus is exceptional. A multiparous patient was admitted at 29 weeks of gestation for conservative management of placenta previa. She complained of intermittent abdominal pain, but repeated assessment suggested that both the patient and the fetus were doing well. At 36 weeks, an abdominal pregnancy was diagnosed with radiological features suggestive of uterine rupture. Laparotomy was performed and a healthy infant was delivered. Fetal viability was achieved in this case of abdominal pregnancy secondary to uterine rupture after close maternal and fetal surveillance.