Razi Journal of Medical Sciences
Year:2016 | Volume:23 | Issue:146|Papers Count:12

Background: Drug dependency based on the substance type brings undesirable effects for individuals. The aim of current study was to compare the executive functions among heroin dependents and normal individuals.Methods: The method of current research was causative-comparative carried out on two groups of heroin dependents and normal individuals. Substance consumer group included 30 patients with heroin dependence selected via a convenience method among those referred to addiction treatment centers of Gonabad city. The comparison group consisted of 30 normal individuals that were matched in terms of age, gender and education with group of heroin dependence. To collect data Wisconsin Card Sorting Test was used. Data analyzed through SPSS v.16 software using multivariate analysis.Results: The results of multivariate analysis revealed a significant difference between heroin dependents and normal individuals in executive function. Heroin dependents had lower performance on the Wisconsin card sorting test compared with the normal group.Conclusion: Considering the results, it can be inferred that heroin dependence has damaging effects on the brain executive functions.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen and a major cause of nosocomial infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and determine the antimicrobial resistance in clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Tehran hospitals in 2013.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, during six months period, 180 samples were collected from different parts of eight hospitals in Tehran using targeted sampling of the Modal Instance type. Biochemical tests were performed to identify the species and antibiotic susceptibilities by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion protocol. The Chi-Square test was used for statistical analysis through the IBM SPSS 22 software.Results: The 159 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (from 111 males and 48 females) were recovered from 180 clinical samples. Strains isolated from wound (%44.1) and urine (%29.8) had the highest frequency. Also, %97.5 of strains were hemolytic and only %2.5 were no nhemolytic (gamma hemolytic). Eighty eight perecent of the isolates were resistant to at least one or more antibiotic. Most resistance was observed towards cefotaxime (%62.9) and Aztreonam (%60.4). Seventy percent of the isolates were multiple drug resistance (MDR).Conclusion: In this study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates showed the lowest resistance to imipenem which is often recommended as the main antibiotic for resulted infections. The high prevalence of multi drug resistant strains is a serious warning.

Background: Respiratory function is influenced by various factors such as environmental factors, physical training and nutrition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of resistance training and component of Glechoma extract on the selection of spiro metric indices in men with respiratory diseases.Methods: The population of this study consisted of men working in Tehran city Gas company who suffered from respiratory diseases. For this purpose, 48 male with respiratory diseases and with age range of 45±3 years were selected and divided randomly into four groups of 12 people. These groups included training group, Glechoma, training and Glechoma and control. Physical training program include eight week circular resistance training program for respiratory muscles three times in a week each session 30 to 40 minutes regarding principle of overload. Glechoma extract 5mg/kg/day was used. Spiro metric indices including: Forced expiratory volume in 1 second/ forced expiratory vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), peak expiratory flow (PEF), (forced expiratory flow 25-75%), forced inspiratory vital capacity (FIVC), forced expiratory vital capacity (FVC), forced inspiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) were performed before and after eight weeks resistance training. Data were analyzed using paired t-test, ANCOVA and Bonferroni test; p£0.05 was considered significant.Results: The results showed that resistance training and consumption of Glechoma extract caused significant increase in the indices of FVC, FEV1 and PEF. But resistance training and consumption of Glechoma extract were not statistically significant on indicators of FEV1/FVC, FEF25%-75%, and FIVC.Conclusion: The results showed that circular resistance training and Glechoma extract can improve function of some respiratory indicators.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity, mortality and disability around the world. Education based on training models such as the Health Belief Model (HBM) is one of the most basic methods of prevention of diseases. The present study was conducted to determine the impact of teacher education based on the HBM model on promoting knowledge, attitude and performance of students in prevention of cardiovascular diseases.Methods: This interventional study was conducted on 78 first grade high school teachers and 467 of their students in the city of Dehloran during 2013-2014. Teachers were divided into two groups of intervention (n=41) and control (n=37) and students were also divided into two groups of intervention (n=249) and control (n=218). Intervention group teachers participated in 6 planned educational sessions based on the HBM model using teaching aids. Teachers completed questionnaires after 3 months and students after 6 months. Data were analyzed through SPSS software using descriptive tests, paired-t test and independent t-test.Results: The perceived benefits structure significantly changed for teachers in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (p<0.01). The performance of intervention group students significantly changed in prevention of cardiovascular diseases.Conclusion: Educational intervention can be used as an effective factor in reducing risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in teachers and students through the HBM model from low ages.

Scleroderma as one of the important autoimmune diseases, leads to death of endothelial cells as of the early events of this disease. The lack of repair after the loss of endothelial cells is observed in these patients though its cause has remained unknown. The development of effective treatments for many rheumatoid diseases requires a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the disease. Because of physiological and anatomical and developmental differences between human and other species, a proper scleroderma animal model which represents all aspects of the disease has not been generated yet. Thus, making a patient-based system to mimic a developmental defect and evaluating its probable repair mechanism is considered as a necessity. For this reason, development of a model system as an evaluation tool to show molecular and developmental defects and also to explain the possible repair mechanism is deemed necessary. Like other studies using patient specific cell as a limitless source could provide new hope for development of novel therapeutic approaches for patients with scleroderma.

Background: One of the most common foot problems is flat foot, which causes pain in the leg complex and postural control deficits. One way to treat flat foot is the use of therapeutic insoles. Insoles can change the distribution of load through the foot and ankle and decrease pain. The aim of this study was to (1) comparing dynamic balance of individuals with flat feet and healthy subjects (2) investigating the effect of insoles on dynamic balance in people with flat feet.Methods: The participants in this study were 20 patients with flat foot and 20 healthy volunteers. The Star Excursion Balance Test was used to assess the dynamic balance. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine any significant differences.Results: The results showed that people with flat foot achievement in the Star Excursion Balance Test was significantly lower than healthy controls. In present study, use of therapeutic insoles in flat feet subjects, cause a significant increase in the scores of Star Excursion Balance Test (p<0.05).Conclusion: The decrease of medial longitudinal arch imposed inappropriate distribution of stresses on the plantar fascia, joints and ligaments of the foot and ankle structures and thus will cause postural dysfunction in people with flat feet. Immediately after using therapeutic insole, dynamic balance will improve.

Background: Apelin is a novel adipokine that is closely related with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of progressive resistance training on plasma concentrations of plasma apelin and insulin resistance in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes.Methods: twenty seven types 2 diabetic men selected as subjects and were randomly assigned into two exercise (n=15 aged 46.40 ± 3.02 yrs) and control (n=12 aged 45.06 ± 3.86 yrs) groups. Resistance exercise training was done for 8 weeks (3 days/week, intensity: 30- 70% 1RM) for experimental group. Before and after exercise plasma apelin level, insulin, glucose and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) after a 12-h fasting was measured. Following the second blood sampling, data analysis was performed and p<0.05 was considered significant.Results: Finding showed that plasma apelin, insulin levels, HOMA-IR, fasting blood glucose (FBG) have significant changes in the exercise group compared to pre-exercise and control groups (p£0.05).Conclusion: It seems that low to moderate intensity resistance exercise training has significant effect on the amount of plasma apelin and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic men. Apelin level may be effective to improve insulin resistance and glycemic control in type 2 diabetic men.

Background: The liver is the largest internal organ and the most important organ after heart and brain in the human body without which life is impossible. Diagnosis of liver disease requires a long time and sufficient expertise of the doctor. Statistical methods can be classified as an automated forecasting system and help specialists for quickly and accurately diagnose liver disease. Hidden Markov model is an intelligent and robust statistical method that has been used in present study.Methods: The data used in this cross sectional study collected from records of patients with five different types of liver diseases, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, and fatty liver disease. The patients have been admitted to Afzalipour hospital in Kerman, Iran, from 2006 to 2013. Hidden Markov model using EM algorithm for learning was fitted to the data and for evaluating the performance of the model, criteria as accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were used.Results: The decision, sensitivity, and specificity criteria of the model for diagnosis of each liver disease were separately calculated and the highest level criteria in diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver were 77% decision, 82% sensitivity, and 96% specificity, and also the lowest level of diagnosis for fatty liver disease was 65% decision, 69% sensitivity and 94% specificity.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the potential capabilities of the Hidden Markov Model. Therefore, using Hidden Markov Model for prediction of diagnosis of liver disease is recommended.

Background: due to widespread applications of nanoparticles in biomedicine and biotechnology and their effects on human health, the present study was conducted to determine the cytotoxic effect of CuO nanoparticles on serum biochemical parameters and liver histopathological changes of NMRI mice.Methods: In this study, forty two female NMRI mice were randomly divided into six groups (n=7): four experimental groups, one sham group and one control group. The experimental mice on days 3 and 12 of pregnancy received CuO nanoparticle with concentrations 300, 400, 500, 600 mg/kg intraperitoneally. After mentioned treatment, blood samples were collected and serum biochemical parameters were analyzed. On day 17 of pregnancy, mice were dissected and their liver for histopathological evaluation were stained with hematoxylin and eosin.Results: Histopathological studies demonstrated dose-dependent changes in mice liver treated with CuO nanoparticles compared to control group. Some changes include congestion, necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, degeneration vacuoles were observed after exposure to different doses of CuO nanoparticles. The serum levels of ALT, AST, ALP and LDH enzymes increased significantly in a dose dependent manner as compared to the control group.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that exposure to different doses of CuO nanoparticles can lead to irreversible damage to the liver and increased serum enzymes in NMRI mice.

Background: Diabetes is common among chronic diseases. Various factors such as personality and psychological traits have role in self-care and control of this disease. Aim of this study is determine the relationship between self- care and locus of control in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 180 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 whom were members of diabetic association in city of Babylon. The sampling method was Simple random sampling. Data collection tools were Form C standard questionnaire Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), abstract scale for self-care activities in diabetics (SDSCA) and Multidimensional scale for Health Locus of Control (MHLC).The data in SPSS (version19) using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and analytical (Pearson correlation co-efficient, regression analysis and independent t-test) were analyzed.Results: The self- care score had a positive correlation with the inner locus of control score (r=0.38, p=0.001) and a negative correlation with the chance locus of control (r=-0.53, p=0.001). Self-care behavior and health of a significant relationship between external locus of control was not prepared. Also, the behavior of self-care and education (p=0.001), the locus of control and education (p=0.001) and locus of control risk education (p=0.001) significant relationship was observed.Conclusion: Improve internal locus of control and loss of control locus should be noted in the interventional program for promoting self-care behaviors in these patients.