Complementary Medicine Journal
Year:2021 | Volume:11 | Issue:1 (38)|Papers Count:8

Health Systems and treatment methods aim to improve health and reduce disease, mortality, and disability in society. Zakaria Razi is one of the most prominent physicians, and his works, including "Al-Hawi, " are considered the most valuable scientific heritage of Iran and the world. Razi successfully produced science, innovation, and the spread of knowledge and had a broad impact on developing various sciences, including medical science. Pregnancy and childbirth date back to human life history and are valuable topics addressed in the Al-Hawi. In various studies, special techniques and childbirth care have been used. One of these techniques is the "Valsalva maneuver"-squeeze with the glottis closed and hold the breath, commonly used in many countries' second stage of labor. The Valsalva maneuver was first described and recorded by an Italian physician in 1704, while Razi in Al-Hawi mentioned this technique and recommended it for complicated deliveries.

Objective: Women’ s health has a broad meaning and its dimensions include physical, mental, social, cultural and spiritual health and is influenced by socio-political, economic and biological factors. Due to the fact that today traditional medicine, complementary medicine, nutrition therapy, and the use of functional foods have a special place in maintaining health and preventing and treating diseases in humans and given that women’ s health plays an important role in family and community health, this study aims to investigate the influence of honey on women’ s reproductive health. Methods: This research is a narrative review of studies conducted on the effects of honey on women’ s reproductive health published in English or Persian articles from 2005 to 2020. A search was conducted on EMBASE, PubMed, Medline, SID, MedLib, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. Based on the inclusion criteria, initial search yielded 76 articles. After removing duplicates, 25 were remained. Of these, 13 articles were finally selected for review after applying inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: Studies showed that honey was effective in improvement of cesarean section wound and episiotomy, and in reduction of primary dysmenorrhea pain, amount/duration of menstrual bleeding and the gap between two menstrual periods, nausea, vomiting, headache, menstruation pain, and labor progress. It was also reported that honey was effective in treating candida, a vaginal infection. Conclusion: Honey can be used as a complimentary medicine alone or along with medication therapy for the prevention and treatment of many diseases of women.

Objective: Anxiety is often one of the biggest problems in human life and its consequences are quite noticeable. The use of medications for its control can cause side effects or drug dependence. Anxiety management, which is one of the most important nursing practices, can be done by non-pharmaceutical methods such as aromatherapy. This study aims to compare the effects of aromatherapy using the essential oils of damask rose and orange blossom on anxiety in older adults. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 older adults who were selected by using random numbers generated by RANDBETWEEN function in Excel. After obtaining a written informed consent from them, they were asked to inhale %10 damask rose essence for three nights. After one month, they underwent aromatherapy with %10 orange blossom essential oil. In each period, anxiety was measured by the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS). The collected data were analyzed using paired t-test, independent t-test, and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test in SPSS v. 25 software considering a statistical significance level of P<0. 05. Results: Although the GAS score was reduced after aromatherapy with both essential oil (P<0. 001), the changes in GAS score were not significantly different in the two periods using damask rose and orange blossom essential oils (P=0. 729). Conclusion: Aromatherapy with both damask rose and orange blossom essential oils can reduce anxiety in the elderly.

Objective: Oxidative stress can cause DNA damage and apoptosis, and leads to cardiovascular disease. This study aims to evaluate the effect of aerobic exercise combined with consumption of hydroalcoholic extract of tribulus terrestris on mitochondrial oxidative stress markers in heart tissue of rats poisoned with hydrogen peroxide. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted on 42 male Wistar rats divided randomly into seven groups of Control (poisoned without supplementation), Aerobic Exercise, Aerobic Exercise + Supplementation with 5mg/kg extract, Aerobic Exercise + Supplementation with 10 mg/kg extract, Supplementation with 5mg/kg extract, Supplementation with 10mg/kg extract, and healthy control. All groups received hydrogen peroxide (100 mg/kg body weight) for 14 days intraperitoneally. The rats in supplementation groups received hydroalcoholic extract of tribulus terrestris with doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg of body weight by gavage. Aerobic exercise was performed on a treadmill at a speed of 23 m/min for 8 weeks, 5 days per week, each for 30 min. Twenty-four hours after the last exercise session, the heart tissues of rats were collected. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, two-way ANOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc test considering a significance level of P<0. 05. Results: Consumption of tribulus terrestris extracts alone and in combination with aerobic exercise led to a significant increase in the levels of O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyl transferase, prooxidants-antioxidant balance, and cytochrome C oxidase, and a significant decrease in adenosine triphosphate and malondialdehyde levels compared to the control group (P<0. 05). Conclusion: It seems that regular aerobic exercise and consumption of various doses of tribulus terrestris extract is a moderating factor in mitochondrial biogenesis, and is effective in reducing DNA damage in the heart tissue of rats. Lower dosage of tribulus terrestris extract has more benefits.

Objective: Phacoemulsification (Phaco) surgery is one of the most common and modern methods for treatment of cataracts. Educational video can be used to educate patients in a short time in various surgeries. This study aims to assess the effect of educational videos on preoperative anxiety in patients candidates for phaco surgery Methods: This is a clinical trial conducted on 160 patients candidates for phaco surgery who were selected using a simple random sampling method. They were divided into two groups of intervention and control after signing a written consent form. The intervention was a short educational video (10 minutes) about the nature of cataract disease, how to perform phaco surgery and pre-and post-operative care. Data collection tools were a demographic form and Spielberger’ s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Collected data were analyzed in SPSS v. 23 software using descriptive statistics and independent t-test and paired t-test. Significance level was set at 0. 05. Results: The mean age of patients in the intervention and control groups was 58. 63± 7. 68 and 62. 32± 9. 15, years respectively. The mean scores of overt and covert anxiety at baseline were 48. 92± 4. 86 and 50. 97± 6. 27 in the intervention group and 48. 88± 8. 35 and 46. 31± 7. 80 in the control group, respectively. After intervention, these scores were 37. 95± 7. 04 and 44. 20± 6. 79 in the intervention group and 48. 72± 7. 46 and 44. 10± 8. 23 in the control group, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in overt and covert anxiety before and after the intervention in the intervention group (P=0. 0001). Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference in overt and covert anxiety after the intervention between the two study groups (P=0. 0001). Conclusion: he use of short educational videos seems to reduce overt and covert anxiety in candidates for phaco surgery. Nursing staff are recommended to teach patients by educational videos, and necessary facilities should be provided for nurses to interact with patients and educate them.

Objective: Hospitals and medical centers, as places that provide health services, play an essential role in increasing patient satisfaction, reducing stress, and promoting health in patients, as well as training medical staff. This study aims to identify some traditional medicine centers in the world and assess their architectural features. Methods: This is a review study using descriptive survey method. Information were collected from traditional medicine books and online sources using a library method. While reviewing the design of 4 traditional medicine centers, it tries to propose designs to improve the physical and mental states of patients in these centers. Results: Sufficient light, color, decorations and motifs, natural construction materials, and diversity in creating green space were the important parameters in designing traditional medicine centers. Conclusion: It is possible to control the temperament (Mizaj) balance and find a specific architectural pattern by designing traditional medicine centers based on the mentioned parameters. Due to the importance of these parameters and their psychological impact on patients, they can be used for improvement of mental health in the community.

Objective: Malaria is one of the most important parasitic diseases and one of the important health issues especially in tropical and subtropical countries. The importance of this disease is due to its high prevalence and mortality, as well as drug resistance and side effects of common drugs used for its treatment. Snake venom is a complex mixture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The present study aims to investigate the anti-Plasmodium falciparum activity of the purified fractions isolated from the venom of Iranian cobra snake (Naja Naja Oxiana) by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. The importance of this disease is due to its high prevalence, significant mortality, as well as drug resistance and, side effects of current drugs in treatment. Venom is a complex mixture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-Plasmodium falciparum activity of the purified fraction of Iranian cobra snake venom by Real-time PCR. Methods: After preparation and purification of lyophilized venom for determining the parasitic load, different fractions obtained from the venom of Naja Naja Oxiana put in different plates adjacent to Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) strain in the ring stage. The degree of parasitemia was determined by real-time PCR. Finally, the effective fraction with anti-malaria properties was identified. Results: The active fraction with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 0. 026 μ g/mL was the most effective fraction on Plasmodium falciparum in vitro (P<0. 001). Conclusion: The active fraction of Naja Naja Oxiana venom at the mentioned concentration has antimalaria effect. This results can motivate the continuation of further research in this field.

Objective: Aging is associated with some changes in the liver function including increased collagen deposition and decreased mitochondrial function. This study aims to evaluate the effect of resistance exercise and vitamin C intake on the expression of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-Γ Coactivator-1α (PGC-1α ) and Mitofusin 1 (MFn1) genes and collagen deposition in older rats. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted on 25 male Wistar rats aged 24 weeks and weighted 280-320 g. They were randomly divided into five groups of young control, older exercise, older vitamin C, older exercise + vitamin C, and older control. In the supplementation groups, rats were given liposomal vitamin C (100 mg/kg per body weight) by gavage daily. One-way ANOVA was used to examine the difference between the groups and Tukey’ s post hoc test was used to determine the location of group differences. For all analyses, the significance level was set at 0. 05. Results: Aging significantly reduced the expression of PGC-1α and MFn1 and increased collagen deposition in the liver tissue of rats (P=0. 001). In the older exercise + vitamin C group, a significant increase in PGC-1α expression was observed compared to the older control group (P=0. 001), but there was no significant changes in MFn1 expression. A significant decrease in collagen deposition was reported in the older exercise, older vitamin C, and older exercise + vitamin C groups compared to the older control group (P=0. 001). Conclusion: Resistance exercise combined with vitamin C intake reduces collagen deposition in liver tissue and increases PGC-1α expression in older rats.