Studies in Medical Sciences
Year:2022 | Volume:32 | Issue:10|Papers Count:8

Background & Aims: Diseases caused by high-fat diets and obesity are now recognized as a health problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate effect of aloe Vera hydroalcoholic extract on spermatogenesis parameters and tissue structure of testis of rats fed with a high-fat diet. Materials & Methods: 40 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (control group (Con), control group fed with a high-fat diet (HFD), and experimental groups 1 to 3 (HFD +150 mg aloe Vera, HFD +300 mg aloe Vera, and HFD + 600 mg aloe Vera). High-fat emulsion and three doses of aloe Vera were administered orally for 60 days. Finally, after dissection and preparation, testicular tissue was examined histopathologically. The number of spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids, Sertoli, and Leydig cells was counted. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and the means were compared using ANOVA and Post hoc Tukey's test at 0. 05%. Results: The results showed a significant decrease in mean of spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids, and Leydig cells in the group receiving a high-fat diet (HFD) compared to the control group. Aloe Vera extract significantly increased the number of sex cells in the testis. Increasing the dose of aloe Vera to 600 mg/kg further improved histopathological tissue damage. Conclusion: The results of study showed that the hydroalcoholic extract of aloe Vera in mice fed with a high-fat diet significantly reduces the risk of pathological tissue damage in testes and increases fertility by increasing the number of sex cells.

Background & Aims Seizure is a chronic neurological disease and a disorder of the nervous system caused by severe and sudden electrical discharge of neural cells. Status epilepticus is defined as any generalized tonic-colonic seizures lasting more than 5 minutes, any focal seizures lasting more than 10 minutes, and recurrent seizures without returning to baseline between periods of seizures. This study was designed and conducted to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of children with status epilepticus admitted to Motahari Hospital in Urmia during 2011-2019. Materials & Methods: This is a descriptive-retrospective study. All the files having the following criteria were included in the study: having a full record of patients' data, all the paraclinical studies performed, having a final diagnosis of status epilepticus, and having the age less than 18 years. History of epilepsy in the patient and first-degree relatives, and the patient's demographic information were recorded in the checklist. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean age and birth weight of patients with status epilepticus in Urmia Shahid Motahari Hospital was 37. 49 months and 3046. 30 grams, respectively. About 47% of patients had a previous history of epilepsy, 28. 3% of parents were relative, 18. 3% had a family history of epilepsy, 51. 1% had a positive history of neurological disorder, and 8. 7% had a positive history of non-neurological disorder. Boys were affected more than girls. EEG abnormality was the most common abnormal paraclinical finding (32. 9%). Most of the patients had fever (74. 9%) and the majority of seizures were manifested as generalized ones (82. 6%). The mortality rate among these patients was 12. 3%. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the deceased patients were significantly younger than the discharged individuals. Males outnumbered females in our study.

Background & Aims: Today, with lifestyle changes, the tendency to use packaged food, street food, and fast food has increased, and most of them contain Acrylamide. One of the most important side effects of Acrylamide is toxicity in the reproductive system. In this study, the long-term effects of Acrylamide on in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and sperm parameters were investigated. Materials & Methods: Sixteen male mice (age: 6-8 weeks) were divided into two groups. The control group received normal saline (0. 2ml/day) and the treatment group received Acrylamide (50mg/kg, 0. 2ml/day) orally for 45 days. At the end of the term, sperms were extracted from the tail of the epididymis and fertilization process was performed in HTF + 4mgBSA medium and embryonic growth stages were studied during 120 hours of incubation. Also, sperm count, motility, viability, sperm chromatin quality, and DNA integrity were evaluated. Two proportion methods by Minitab software and T-Test by SPSS software were used for statistical analysis (p<0. 05). Results: There was a significant decrease in the percentage of fertilization, 2 cell-embryos and blastocysts resulting from IVF and a significant increase was observed in the number of arrested embryos in treatment group by Acrylamide compared to the control group (p<0. 05). Also in treatment group by Acrylamide, sperm count, motility, and viability of sperms, the number of sperms with DNA damage, abnormal morphology, and with immature nucleus showed a significant increase compared to the control group (p<0. 05). Conclusion: The study showed long-term oral administration of Acrylamide has negative effects on fertility potential and sperm parameters.

Background & Aims: Cancer is a genetic disease that results from mutations in genes that control cell activities. Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in men. Surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy are used to treat this disease. These treatments have numerous side effects after treatment, including impotence along with the high cost of treatment. In this study, lycopene was studied as a carotenoid compound synthesized in plants. Lycopene is used by plants and microorganisms to Absorb of light is made during photosynthesis. Lycopene is one of the effective antioxidants used to prevent the growth of cancerous glands. BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins are among tumor inhibitors. These two proteins are associated with various cellular processes such as DNA damage, repair, as well as with transcriptional regulation and chromatin regeneration. Defects in BRCA1 and BRCA2 function lead to defects in DNA repair. This instability in the genome is associated with a variety of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Materials & Methods: In this research project, In Silico method and bioinformatics tools were used to determine the effect of lycopene on the expression of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes effective in prostate cancer, and the changes in the expression of these inhibitory genes have been measured. For this study, high volume gene expression data were obtained from the NCBI database, GEO section. As the raw data were extracted previously using microarray method and published in the NCBI database, so these raw data were used in accordance with the purpose of this study. For optimal analysis of these data, using Matlab software, the expression changes of the desired genes treated with lycopene were investigated. For determination of the communication of these genes with each other and with other effective genes, Cytoscape software has been used. Results: Bioinformatics study of the effect of lycopene on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes has shown that this combination has an increasing effect on the expression of these inhibitory proteins. therefore, treatment of patients with this combination, the expression of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes has increased. Conclusion: Based on theorical analysis of microarray data, it was concluded that lycopene can be used as a preventive and even a treatment for prostate cancer in terms of its effect on BRCA1 and BRCA2 inhibitor genes.

Background & Aim: Although studies have shown that ibuprofen has anticancer effects on many cancer cells, the mechanism of the ibuprofen anticancer effect in cancer cells is not still well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cytotoxic concentration of ibuprofen on the expression level of MMP-9 and NM23 genes in cervical cancer cells. Materials Methods: During this experimental-laboratory study, cervical cancer (Hela) cell line was purchased from Pasteur Institute. The cells were divided into groups treated with 0. 0001, 0. 001, 0. 01, 0. 1, 1 and 10 mg/ml of ibuprofen and control (untreated) group. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay and the expression level of MMP-9 and NM23 genes was evaluated using RT-PCR technique. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Results: 1 and 10 mg / ml of ibuprofen significantly reduced cell viability in Hela cancer cells (P <0. 05 and P <0. 001, respectively). 1 mg / ml of ibuprofen had no significant effect on MMP-9 gene expression level, however, significantly decreased NM23 gene expression level (P <0. 001). Conclusion: Although lower concentrations of ibuprofen have no cytotoxic effects on cervical cancer cells, higher concentrations can reduce viability in cervical cancer cells. High concentration of ibuprofen did not affect the expression level of extracellular matrix degrading (MMP-9) gene, however, it may increase the metastatic potential of cervical cancer cells by reducing the expression level of NM23 antimetastatic gene.

Background & Aims: Myocardial infarction is a leading cause of human mortality in industrialized and developing societies. Limited restorative ability of of cardiomyocytes after ischemic changes can causes extensive damage lead to prominent chronic heart failure. At present, the application of certain drugs is touted as one of the main available approaches to inhibit the spread of the lesion and to maintain the integrity of the myocardial tissue after infarction. Today, the transplantation of stem cells to restore structure and maintain heart function has opened new hopes for clinicians in human medicine. These cells accelerate the healing process by secreting a variety of factors and differentiation into varient cell lines, including vascular cells. Here, we investigated the inhibitory role of Wnt3a factor on the process of differentiation of rat cardiomyoblast (H9C2) to endothelial cells. Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, rat cardiomyoblast (H9C2) were expanded in DMEM/HG and exposed to 10 µ, M LGK-974 (a Wnt3a inhibitor) for 48 hours. The viability of cells was determined using MTT method. The ability to differentiation into endothelial cells was assessed by measuring expression and protein levels of VE-Cadherin and vWF using real-time PCR and western blotting. Results: The inhibition of Wnt3a in H9C2 cells could significantly reduce cell survival rate after 48 hours compared to the control cells (p<0. 05). Based on data, expression and protein levels of VECadherin and vWF were significantly diminished in group incubated with LGK-974 Conclusion: The inhibition of Wnt3a can suppress the angiogenic potential of rat cardio myoblasts.

Background & Aims: Favipiravir is an antiviral drug that is widely used in patients with Covid-19. The aim of this study was to review the systematic review and meta-analysis studies of Favipiravir in patients with Covid-19. Materials & Methods: An electronic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases until December 2021. In addition, other databases were searched. A manual search of studies and other sources was also conducted to find evidence. The Overview Quality Assessment Questionnaire tool was used to evaluate the quality of articles. Results: Seven systematic review and meta-analysis studies were included in the study. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in mortality between Favipiravir and control groups in the patients with Covid-19. Other findings showed that the rate of clinical improvement was higher in two studies on day 7 in the Favipiravir group than that in the control group, while in another study, no statistically significant difference was found between Favipiravir and the control groups. Other findings of the study showed that negative RT-PCR result rate in four studies in the Favipiravir group was higher than that in the control group, although in one study no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. Also, no difference in mechanical ventilation was found in the favipiravir and control groups. Regarding Side effects, most studies indicated that there was no difference between Favipiravir and control. Conclusion: The results showed that Favipiravir has no effect on mortality and mechanical ventilation and only affects the rate of clinical improvement of patients and negative result for RT-PCR.

Background & Aims: Decompressive Craniectomy (DC) is recommended for patients with extensive cerebral infarction. At this study, we aimed to assess the mortality and 3-month outcome of these patients who are not going under DC. Material & Methods: In this prospective descriptive study, all patients referred to Imam Reza Hospital in Urmia, Iran, from 2017-2019 with extensive ischemic stroke with refractory medical edema of the brain who did not undergo surgery were included. Patient’, s demographic and other brain stroke-related data were recorded. Patients were evaluated for the improvement of brain stroke symptoms based on the comparison of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) criteria at the time of hospitalization with discharge time and also for the degree of disability and mortality at three months follow-up according to mRS criteria. P values less than 0. 05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 28 patients were enrolled in the study. Median age was 76 years. NIHSS score was 21 at admission and 18 at discharge (p<0. 05). Of all 28 patient, 22 (78. 6%) died during hospital admission and 24 (85. 7%) died up to 3 month follow up. None of the 4 survived patients had a good and independent outcome along the 3-month follow-up (MRS<3). Conclusion: Results of this study showed that in patients with extensive cerebral infarction with edema resistant to medical treatment, fail to perform decompressive craniectomy is associated with a very high mortality rate and poor prognosis.