سال:1395 | دوره: | شماره: |تعداد مقالات:5

Background: Various factors, including genetic, psychological, environmental, and immune dysfunction, may contribute to susceptibility to schizophrenia. Due to several reports regarding abnormal cytokine production, abnormal cytokine concentrations and their receptors in peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid, activation of the inflammatory response system, and altered levels of different cytokines in acute schizophrenia have been studied in recent years.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-23 levels in schizophrenic patients versus those of healthy controls.Patient sand Methods: In this case–control study, serum levels of IL-6 and IL-23 of 30 schizophrenic patients and 20 age- and gender matched healthy controls were measured using anenzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). These rum levels of these cytokines were measured in schizophrenic patients experiencing their first episode who had not taken any psychotic drugs for at least 2 months prior to the study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, version 17. IL levels showed a non-Gaussian distribution.The statistical analysis was performed using appropriate statistical tests, including the Kruskal-Wallis or Mann–Whitney test.Results: Serum IL-23 levels of schizophrenic patients were significantly higher (696132 pg/mL) than those of the control subjects (31333 pg/mL) (P=0.007). Serum IL-6 levels of the schizophrenic patients were also significantly higher than those of the controls (5.281.1 and 2.540.32 pg/mL, respectively; P=0.01).Conclusions: These findings indicate that immune system activation might be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Background: Promoting the reproductive health of women with HIV is very important.Objectives: The aim of this study was to design a reproductive health assessment scale for this vulnerable group and determine its psychometric properties.Patients and Methods: This study adopted an exploratory mixed-methods design and included three phases. In the first qualitative phase, a sample of 25 HIV-positive women participated in semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion. In the second part, item pools were generated. In the last phase, face validity, content validity, and construct validity were assessed using exploratory factor analysis. Internal consistency and test-retest methods were used to estimate the reliability of the scale.Results: Forty-eight items were included in the psychometric evaluation stage of the scale. Based on the assessment of the content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI), and exploratory factor analysis, 12 items were omitted, leaving 36 items in the final scale. The exploratory factor analysis revealed six factors: disease-related concerns, life instability, coping with the illness, disclosure status, responsible sexual behaviors, and the need for self-management support. The reliability according to Cronbach’s alpha was 0.713, and the external reliability, as evaluated by the test-retest method and the intra class correlation, was 0.952.Conclusions: The proposed tool, which consists of six factors and 36 items, is a reliable and valid scale for assessing the reproductive health of HIV-positive women. The findings of these measurements will be helpful when identifying and planning for improved health outcomes of this group of patients.

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common psychiatric problems in childhood and adolescence.Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of parent management training (PMT) and a positive parenting program on children’s behavioral problems and parents’ anxiety and depression reduction.Patients and Methods: In this semi-experimental study, which was conducted in Zahedan 2011, 36 parents of ADHD children whose kids had been on medications from at least 8 weeks before the study participated. Data were collected by Conners questionnaires for parents and DASS questionnaires about anxiety and depression. We used paired t-tests, chi-square statistical procedures, and SPSS version 16 software for data analysis. The P<0.05 was considered significant.Results: The mean Conners parents scale in the case group was (104.7  11.04) before and (92.4  8.72) after intervention. In the control group, it was (102.322.38) before and (102.219.94) after the intervention. The Conners scale changes in the case group before and after intervention was statistically significant (P-value=0.0001) and in the control group there was no significant change in the Conners scale (P=0.945).Conclusions: In general, this study showed that the parent behavioral management training could reduce ADHD symptoms in preschool children. One of the limitations of this study was the number of cases; therefore, a further survey with a larger group might be considered.

Background: Lung cancer, the most common type of cancer in humans, is the leading cause of cancer deaths globally, accounting for 1.38 million deaths per year (18.2% of all cancer deaths). Lung cancer is the third most common type of cancer in Iran.Objectives: The present study investigated the incidence of lung cancer in six geographical regions of Iran.Materials and Methods: Data for annual cases of lung cancer were obtained from the national cancer registry during the years 2000 - 2005. The rates of incidence were standardized using world health organization (WHO) population data, and confidence intervals were calculated at 95%. Iran was divided into six areas according to geographical differences. The Poisson regression model was used to test the significance of changes in the incidence rates during the study period Results: The age-standardized rates of lung cancer for men and women increased from 0.8 and 0.3 per 100, 000 people in 2000 to 4 and 1.5 in 2005, respectively. The highest rate of lung cancer was observed in the mountainous region, and the lowest rate occurred in the western provinces of the Caspian sea region. Despite the difference in the slope of changes, there is an increasing trend in the incidence of lung cancer in all geographical areas.Conclusions: The current incidence rates of lung cancer in all the geographical areas examined are generally increasing. Unfortunately, the rates of urbanization, environmental pollution, and smoking tendency are also increasing in Iran; to control these trends and adjust these risk factors, officials should help more with public-program planning.

Context: The impact of spirituality on recovery from disease and the promotion of health is a topic that has received the attention of many researchers and scholars around the world. Spirituality is considered one of the natural capacities of human sthat has positive effects on individuals’ health. The aim of this study was to review the impact of spirituality on people’s health and to discuss the relationship between health and belief in spiritual powers.Evidence Acquisition: This study comprised a non-systematic narrative review of original and reliable scientific articles on spirituality published from 1972 to 2014. The research strategy was carried out using electronic databases such as Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Considering the goal of the research, 51 articles were selected and reviewed.Results: Most studies indicated the positive impact of spirituality on people’s health. Recourse to spiritual powers leads to reductions in anxiety and concern among patients and their families, and allows people to more easily accept and cope with their health disorders.Conclusions: To date, most of the studies conducted on the topic have confirmed the positive impact of religious beliefs and other spiritual approaches on health and the course of recovery from acute and chronic diseases. Based on these findings, medical personnel should turn their attention to the advantages of spirituality in relation to patients’ treatment and acquaint patients and their families with such spiritual benefits.