JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH (JMR)
Year:2004 | Volume:2 | Issue:2|Papers Count:9

Background: Testosterone enanthate (TE) has important anabolic effects and is widely used by athletes as a stimulating drug for increasing muscle strength. Previous studies have shown that high doses of TE may have some effect on the secretion of metabolic hormones. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect(s) of high dose TE on thyroid gland function. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty male Charles River rats (210-220g) were divided to five groups of 24: In group I, the control group, the rats did not have any operation or injection. In group II, the rats were gonadectomized and received TE (5 milligram per 100 gram of body weight, as weekly intraperitoneal injection). In group III, the gonadectomized rats only received a vehicle (olive oil). Group IV was comprized of sham- operated nongonadectomized rats that received the same dose of TE as in group II. In group V, sham-operated non-gonadectomised rats, only received a vehicle. In each group, blood samples were taken from eight rats after 20, 40 and 60 days. The serum levels of testosterone, T3, T4 and TSH were measured by ELISA. Results: Serum levels of T3 in groups II and IV that received TE, were significantly less than those in the control group (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between serum levels of T4 in the five groups. After 40 days, the serum TSH concentrations in groups II and IV were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest that TE influences T3 and T4 metabolism in peripheral tissues and probably affects TSH and T4 secretions, centrally, through the hypothalamic- hypophysial-thyroid axis.

Background: Dry mouth (xerostomia) is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus but little work has been done on morphological changes of the salivary gland in this condition. In this study, the effect of diabetes mellitus on the serous and mucous acini of the submandibular gland of male and female rats, one and three months after diabetes induction, were studied. Materials and Methods: Male and female rats were divided into experimental and control subgroups. Diabetes was induced in experimental rats by streptozotocin. One and three months after diabetes induction, the submandibular glands were removed and random sections were obtained. Then, volume-weighted mean acini volumes were estimated by the point-sampled intercepts method. Results: The results showed that volume reduction occurred only in serous acini in both male and female rats three months after diabetes mellitus induction and the mucous acini remained unchanged. Conclusion: This study, in which stereological methods were used, demonstrated that diabetes mellitus causes morphological changes in serous acini, the main exocrine part of the rat submandibular gland.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Involvement of lymph nodes is the most important factor in the prognosis and treatment of breast cancer. Usual methods like hematoxylin-eosin staining for diagnosis of micrometastases are not precise, therefore other techniques that can diagnose micrometastasis, even in the early stages, is very useful. So, in this study we used intracytoplasmic antigens and an immunohistochemical method (cytokeratin staining) to detect metastatic cells in axillary lymph nodes. Patients and Methods: In a cross- sectional study, 82 women with breast cancer who were referred to Alzahra Hospital in Isfahan during 2001-2003 were selected using simple sampling method. The sections were prepared from the samples and hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical staining methods were done and the sections were studied by light microscopy. The results were analysed using Chi square (X2) and Fisher’s exact test and a pvalue less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Using hematoxylin-eosin and cytokeratin staining methods, it was shown that the relative frequency of micrometastases were 15.85% and 46.34%, respectively. Conclusion: In order to identify micrometastatic cells, the cytokeratin staining method is better than the usual hematoxylin-eosin method. Up to now, many studies have been done showing that there is a significant difference between the two methods. In this study similar results were obtained. Therefore, it can be concluded that cytokeratin staining method can help in the diagnosis of breast cancer more accurately. This, in turn, will help in the treatment strategies that are adopted and can be important in the prognosis of the disease.

Background: Glaucoma is among the most important ophthalmological problems leading to blindness if untreated. Several etiological factors have been proposed. One of the recent factors that has been mentioned is the relationship with Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of exposure to Helicobacter pylori infection in glaucoma patients. Patients and Methods: In this prospective case-control study, sixty consecutive patients with definitive diagnosis of open-angle glaucoma attending a glaucoma clinic were compared with sixty-five age and sex-matched participants without glaucoma who served as the control population. The control group was subdivided into control I and II which included 30 and 35 participants, respectively. Both serum and stool were analyzed in the case group for the presence of Helicobacter pylori specific immunoglobulin antibodies using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Control group I was tested only for serum and control group II only for stool infection for Helicobacter pylori. Results: Seropositive rate for Helicobacter pylori was higher in patients with glaucoma (85%) than in controls (70%) but this observation was not statistically significant (p=0.09). Stool test was positive for Helicobacter pylori with a higher rate in patients with glaucoma (91.7%) than in controls (88.6%) but without any statistical significance (p=0.43). Conclusion: This study suggests that exposure to Helicobacter pylori infection is not associated with open-angle glaucoma.

Background: Management of wounds is still a major problem in medicine. Acceleration in the rate of wound healing, especially in diabetics, ischemic and burn patients, may reduce the costs as well as duration of hospital stay. Different topical agents have been used for wound healing. In this study, the effect of an experimental ointment on wound healing has been studied on rabbits. Materials and Methods: Twenty white rabbits were equally divided in groups A and B. The ointment was made by an equal amount of egg yolk and gum tragacunt in the laboratory. On the back of the animal (interscapular area) a 3x3 cm deep full thickness wound was induced. For the first 3 days, only irrigation by normal saline and dressing was done. From the 4th day the wounds were separately managed in each group. In group A, 25 grams of the ointment was applied daily and in group B only irrigation with normal saline and tie-over dressing was performed daily. Wound healing was assessed by measuring the size and the wound was allowed to heal by secondary wound healing. No oral or topical antibiotics were used. Results: At the end of the second week, 8 cases (80%) in group A had a 1x1 cm wound and 2 cases (20%) had a 2x2 cm wound. In group B (control), 7 cases (70%) had a 2x2 cm wound, 2 cases (20%) had a 1x1 cm wound and one case had a 1.5x1.5 cm wound. Two cases in group B and one case in group A developed clinical wound infection that was managed. At the end of the study (5th week), in group A, complete healing of the wounds was observed in 7 cases (70%) without any scar formation and the incision lines were difficult to find and in 2 cases (20%) the size of the wound was 0.5x0.5 cm. In group B, 8 cases (80%) had a 1.5x1.5 cm wound and complete wound healing (less than 0.5x0.5 cm) was seen in 2 cases (20%). Conclusion: From the results of this study, it can be concluded that this mixture may contain some growth factors which can induce epithelialization and promote wound healing.

Background: Primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) due to hypertension is the gravest form of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and degenerative changes of the arterial wall is the main cause of it. The goal of this study was to gather data about ICH in order to implement better diagnostic and management approach. Patients and Methods: Three hundred and thirty three patients with primary ICH were evaluated clinically and by brain CT-scan over a 2 year period (2001-2003). Results: Fifty four percent of the patients were male and 46 percent were female. Sixty percent of the ICHs occurred in the sixth and seventh decades. In 68 percent of the males, bleeding occurred in the left side of the brain while this figure was 50 percent in females. In the early phase of ICH, 20 percent of the patients had a normal blood pressure. In 67 percent of the cases, ICH occurred during the first 5 years after developing hypertension. Other risk factors included: cigarette smoking, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus. In 24 percent of the cases, a history of previous myocardial infarction or CVA was present. The sites of ICH were: putamen and internal capsule (47 percent), thalamus, cerebral lobes, cerebellum and pons. The size of hematoma in the CT-scan was moderate in 45 percent of the cases. Twenty-eight percent of the patients died and the most important factors which were involved included: site of ICH, level of consciousness, hydrocephalus, fever, gastrointestinal bleeding and age. Conclusion: Hypertension is the most important factor for ICH and careful management of it especially in the early years of onset and in the sixth and seventh decades is very important. Detection of other risk factors especially smoking and careful care of hyperthensive patients who had a previous episode of myocardial infarction or CVA are very effective in the prevention of ICH. Urgent evaluation and treatment of patients with ICH especially in those with a decreased level of consciousness, fever, gastrointestinal bleeding or hydrocephalus can be important in decreasing the rate of mortality.

Background: Early side effects of irradiation for head and neck cancers are very common and disturbing. These events may cause a transient disruption in the treatment course. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of sucralfate on radiation side effects. Patients and Methods: Between November 1999 and January 2002, eighty patients with head and neck cancers who were referred to the Radiotherapy Department of Nemazee Hospital were divided into two groups. Group I was treated with external radiotherapy alone and group II received irradiation and oral sucralfate. The total dose of radiation was at least 50 Gy and sucralfate was started at the beginning of irradiation and was continued for 9 weeks at an oral dose of 1 gram, three times a day. The patients were evaluated weekly and the side effects were scored. Results: The intensity of radiation side effects (subjective tolerance, dysphagia, dermatitis and mucositis and also treatment time interruption) did not differ significantly between the two groups (p>0.05). However, sucralfate significantly induced more nausea and vomiting in Group II as compared to Group I (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to this study, using sucralfate in order to decrease radiation-induced side effects in head and neck cancers not only is ineffective in reducing radiation mucositis and other side effects but also induces nausea and vomiting.

In our country, a program for β-thalassemia prevention is in place which provides heterozygote (carrier) screening as well as educational information and reproductive counseling. This effort has already led to a significant drop in the incidence of β-thalassemia. However, a question that needs to be addressed here is: Could the implementation of this program potentially increase the frequency of heterozygotes in the population? In this observation, it has been shown that the frequency of heterozygotes in the population increases from 2pq to 2pq+2q2, with the assumption that the frequency of defective allele is equal to q, p+q=1, and that marriage of heterozygotes dramatically decreases to zero. Because q is a small quantity, the above mentioned change will not cause a remarkable alteration in the heterozygote frequency of the population.