Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences
Year:2020 | Volume:22 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Background and aims: Antimicrobial peptides constitute a family of bioactive peptides that are involved in the body defense. Recently, their anti-cancer properties, especially by inducing apoptosis, have been proven in in vitro studies. Therefore, in this study, the effects of cecropin B as an antimicrobial peptide on breast cancer growth, hematological parameters, and histopathological changes in rats were evaluated. Methods: Twenty-four female rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. The cancer group, control group, cecropin B group, and cancer group treated with cecropin B. The tumor size was measured at the beginning and the completion of the treatment period. Blood samples were collected for assessment of the hematological parameters and Bax and Bcl2 levels. Tumor tissues were removed for histopathological analysis. Results: The tumor size had a significant increase in the cancer group and cancer group treated with cecropin at the end of the treatment. A significant decrease in mean cell volume, white blood cell count and Bcl2 level and a significant increase in hemoglobin and Bax levels were observed in the cancer group treated with cecropin B compared to cancer group. Changes in other parameters were not significant. Histopathological study showed the invasion of mitotic cells to stromal and muscular tissues of the breast in the cancer group, while focal destruction of tissue and cell death were observed in the cancer group treated with cecropin B. Conclusion: The results showed that cecropin B has been able to reduce tumor growth and have little side effects on hematologic factors probably through apoptosis.

Background and aims: Exercise training is a well-established therapeutic tool for treating type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this study is to examine the beneficial effects of personalized sprint interval training (SIT) and combined aerobic endurance and resistance training (Com) on insulin resistance and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) concentration in women with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Fifty-two overweight female type 2 diabetic patients (age 45-60 years and body mass index [BMI] > 30) with HbA1c value of 6. 5% or higher and fasting blood glucose (FBG) ≥ 126 mg/dL (7. 0 mmol/L) were selected. Participants were recruited from patients filed in the outpatient department of Shahrekord Hospital (Shahrekord, Iran) in 2016. The participants were assigned to SIT (n = 17), Com (n = 17), and control groups (n = 18) according to HbA1c levels. The exercises included 10 weeks of Com and SIT. Results: HbA1c concentrations decreased significantly in SIT (P = 0. 002) and Com (P = 0. 006) groups. The dependent t-test revealed that differences were significant for the FBG in the SIT groups (P < 0. 001). Serum insulin levels showed significant increases in the SIT (P < 0. 001) and Com (P < 0. 001) groups. Data showed significant differences in homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in SIT (P < 0. 001) and Com (P < 0. 001) groups. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test showed significant differences in serum insulin (F = 3. 622, P = 0. 02) and HOMA-IR (F = 5. 511, P = 0. 0001) levels and no significant difference in HbA1c (F = 0. 597, P = 0. 556) and FBG concentrations (F = 1. 853, P = 0. 171). Conclusion: Results highlight that individualized exercise training, independent of the mode of training, is effective in improving glycemic control in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background and Objectives: Finding the best diet is very important to rear Lucilia sericata larvae for therapeutic purposes and prepare standard curves in forensic entomology. The aim of this study was to find the best diet for larvae in maggot therapy. Furthermore, this study was conducted to obtain a vertical life table and measure the length and width of immature stages of L. sericata for forensic entomology. Materials and Methods: Larvae of L. sericata (Karaj strain) were used to evaluate diets. The tests were carried out in three replicates of 100 eggs for each diet including chicken liver, blood agar, and fish food at the same time. Independent t-test, ANOVA, and Tukey’ s post-hoc tests were used to compare the mean length and width of larvae between different groups. A P-value of less than 0. 05 was considered significance level. Results: In contrast to the first and the second larval instars, there was a significant difference in the mean length and width of the third instar larvae (P < 0. 001). At the third instar larval stage, those larvae that had been fed on chicken liver were significantly larger than the others. There were also no significant differences between life expectancy, overall survivorship rate, and force of mortality of larval groups fed on three different diets. Conclusions: Chicken liver is an advisable diet for nurturing larvae and plotting standard curves in forensic entomology. For rearing the first and the second larval instars in sterile conditions, blood agar and fish food can serve as suitable diets.

Background and aims: Synthetic dyes are widely used as food additives to avoid the loss of original dye in processed foods and to make the foods more attractive to consumers. For simultaneous determination of 8 most commonly used synthetic colors in beverage and foodstuff, an efficient, selective, and sensitive method is suggested. Methods: To analyze food colors in different beverages and fruit roll-ups, a method using Ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector was suggested and validated. The separation of dyes from beverage and foodstuff was done by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction method was used to extract dye from fruit roll-ups. Results: The limit of detection and the limit of quantification ranged from 0. 036 to 0. 07 and 0. 098 to 0. 2 μ g/mL, respectively. IP-HPLCDAD method was validated using precision (RSD %) and accuracy (Recovery %) of two concentrations of 0. 5 and 1 μ g/mL in terms of intra-and inter-day. SPE method was also validated using intra-and inter-day precision and accuracy. The most commonly detected dye in the tested samples was carmoisine with a concentration of 386 μ g/g. Additionally, the concentration of dye was higher than the permitted level in 28. 6% of beverages, 40% of edible ice products, and 100% of fruit roll-ups (Lavashak). Conclusion: This method is an effective, appropriate, accessible, reliable and safe analytic method to analyze eight food dyes.

Background and aims: Constipation is one of the most common issues in pediatrics. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of polyethylene glycol and the simultaneous administration of polyethylene glycol along with probiotics in the treatment of chronic functional constipation. Materials and Methods: In this randomized double-blind clinical trial, 150 children with chronic functional constipation referred to Imam Ali Clinic affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences from 2017 to 2018 were included. The first group (A) consumed 1 g/ kg of body weight per day of water-soluble polyethylene glycol powder and the second group (B) consumed a probiotic powder and 1 g/kg of body weight of the water-soluble polyethylene glycol powder daily. In weeks 0, 1, and 2, questionnaires were filled out by the parents of the children and the data were analyzed. Results: The results showed that there was no significant difference in any of the variables between groups A and B (P = 0. 07) including the frequency of fecal excretion in week 1 (77% and 71%) and week 2 (4% and 5. 4%) and stool consistency in week 1 (4% and 6. 7%) and week 2 (86. 7% and 92%). Moreover, there was no significant difference between groups A and B in any of the variables frequency of painful excretion in week 1 (74% and 73%, respectively) and week 2 (5. 3% and 4%, respectively), frequency of abdominal pain in week 1 (61. 3% and 49. 3%, respectively) and week 2 (4% and 5. 3%, respectively), and the frequency of fecal incontinence in week 1 (22. 77% and 18. 7%, respectively) and week 2 (6. 7% and 1. 3%) (P > 0. 05, respectively). Conclusion: Our results indicated that the administration of probiotic supplement (Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillous Bulgaricus) has no effect on the improvement of symptoms in children with chronic constipation.

Background and aims: Music therapy is a simple and inexpensive method for the treatment of some psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of traditional music on the mental state of hospitalized chronic schizophrenia patients. Methods: In this clinical trial, 30 schizophrenia patients in the intervention group received routine treatment and attended music therapy sessions and 30 patients in the control group received routine treatment alone. Group music therapy sessions with traditional music were conducted 5 times a week for 2 months. Demographic questionnaire and Andreasen’ s positive and negative symptoms questionnaires were completed at baseline and after the completion of music therapy sessions. Data analysis was conducted in SPSS version 16. 0 using independent and paired t tests. Results: The mean scores of delusion (P = 0. 001) and bizarre behavior (P = 0. 036) and the total score of the SAPS (P = 0. 001) significantly decreased after intervention in the music therapy group. However, in the control group, the differences in the total and individual domain scores of the SAPS were not significant (P > 0. 05). There was no significant difference between the control and music therapy groups in the total and individual domain scores of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) before and after the intervention (P > 0. 05). Additionally, before and after the study, the mean score of avolition in the music therapy group was significantly lower compared to the control group (P = 0. 03). The mean score of alogia in the music therapy group was significantly lower compared to the control group (P = 0. 01). Conclusion: Music therapy is effective in improving most of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia and some of its negative aspects, and therefore can be used as a complementary therapy along with drug therapy.

Background and aims: miRNAs have regulatory functions in developmental processes. The stages of spermatogenesis can also be affected by miRNAs. We tried to detect a relationship between the expression of miR-508-5p and miR-510-5p and male infertility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between expression of miR-508-5p and mir-510-5p in ejaculated sperm from patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia, teratozoospermia, and teratoasthenozoospermia. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 18 men with asthenozoospermia, 17 men with teratozoospermia, 18 men with teratoasthenozoospermia, and 18 individuals with normozoospermia based on the clinical criteria. Then, the expressions of the mentioned miRs in the spermatozoa were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Kruskal-Wallis was used to compare their expressions in the studied groups. Results: The expression of mir-508-5p did not show any statistical significance in all groups. On the other hand, the expression of miR-510-5p in teratozoospermia groups (P < 0. 05) and the asthenozoospermia group (P < 0. 05) demonstrated a significant downregulation compared with the control and teratoasthenozoospermia groups. Conclusion: By analyzing the expression profile of miRNAs, we concluded that the expression level of miR-510-5p changed in patients with abnormal motility and morphology of spermatozoa; therefore, it may affect infertility by down-regulating the expression of mir-510-5p which shows the role of it in abnormal morphology and motility defects in infertility cases.

Myxofibrosarcoma is a soft tissue sarcoma (STS) prevailing in the elderly and is associated with metastasis and mortality. In this case, an 88-year-old male is presented with a progressively enlarging mass in the posterior thorax. The physical examination revealed a solid, irregular, painful mass on palpation. Doppler ultrasonography and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a 60 × 38 mm hypoechoic tumor in the left paraspinal thoracic area with a little vascularity with no adherence and invasion. Radical excisional surgery was performed. The histopathology findings were in line with myxofibrosarcoma except for CD34. He underwent high dose radiotherapy due to the reported not assessable margins at one side. The patient was asymptomatic and recurrent free in the 12 months follow up assessment. It was the first known case of the non-metastatic intermediate grade of myxofibrosarcoma in the thorax. Due to its deceptive findings, myxofibrosarcoma should always be considered in the assessment of chest wall tumors.