Journal of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences
Year:2015 | Volume:22 | Issue:6|Papers Count:20

Introduction: Trachyspermum copticum, Bunium persicum and Cuminum cyminum involve the most important medicinal plants in Apiaceae family in Iran which can be observed in different natural habitats of Yazd province. Therefore, these three native medicinal plants of Yazd province were assessed in regard with the components and antioxidant properties of their seed essences.Methods: In this experimental-lab trial, all experiments were performed in triplicate. The essence of the collected seeds were extracted by hydro-distillation, and fractionated by GC/MS method. Then, the compounds were identified. The DPPH test was used to estimate antioxidant properties. The Follin-Ciocalteu method was applied in order to estimate the quantity of Phenolic compounds.Results: The analysis revealed that the main components of Trachyspermum copticum were g-Terpinene, b-pinene, cymene and thymol. Regarding Cuminum cyminum, the main components were propanal, 1-phenyl-1-butanol and benzene methanol. For Bunium persicum, the results revealed that the –gTerpinene had the highest percentage of the essence. The IC50 of Bunium persicum, Trachyspermum copticum and Cuminum cyminum were 2.85, 1.49 and 0.711 mg.mg-1 and the phenolic component percentage were 117.09, 90.22 and 162.62mg.g-1, respectively.Conclusion: The study results, with respect to antioxidant properties, demonstrated the highest antioxidant properties for Trachyspermum copticum, whereas the lowest antioxidant properties were regarded for Bunium persicum. The highest phenolic components were observed in Bunium persicum, Trachyspermum copticum, and Cuminum cyminumt, respectively.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of central nervous system. Lack of regulation in inflammatory responses is considered to be a key element in the auto reactive immune response in MS. The FOXP3 transcription factor is predominantly expressed by the Treg cell lineage and appears to act as a master regulator of effector T cell activation. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the possible association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the FOXP3 gene and predisposition to MS.Methods: This case-control study consisted of 115 MS patients and 115 healthy controls, which were genotyped for the SNP rs 3761549. RFLP analysis was performed using AluI restriction enzyme.Results: The frequency of A allele was 15.6% in patients and 98.3% in normal controls (p=0.33). Moreover, allele G was identified as 98.1% in MS cases and 11.3 in controls. The rs 3761549 (GG) was found in 84.3% of MS patients and in 88.7% of controls (p=0.33), rs 3761549 (AA) was found in 0.9% of MS cases and in 1.7% of controls (p=0.5), rs 3761549 (AG) was observed in 84.4% of MS cases and in 88.7% of controls (p=0.27). No significant difference was observed between patients and controls in regard with alleles and genotypes.Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that the mentioned functional polymorphism is not likely to cause susceptibility to MS. ( OR=0.678 95% CI=1.477-0.0319)

Introduction: Sciatic nerve compression is one of the factors that may cause the cell body degeneration of the alpha-motoneurons of spinal cord ventral horn. Nigella sativa belongs to the family of Ranunculaceae which owns numerous pharmacological properties. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the neuro-protective effects of n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions of Nigella sativa on motoneurons’ density of Spinal Cord Ventral Horn in Rats undergoing compressived injury of sciatic nerve.Methods: In this study, 24 Wistar male rats with average body weight of 250gr to 300gr were divided into four groups of six: control, compression, A (compression + n-butanol fraction 75mg/kg) and B(compression+ethyl acetate fraction75mg/kg). In compression and treatment groups, sciatic nerve of the right leg underwent compression (30sec). In fact, the extract was injected intraperitoneally twice after the compression. After 28days, lumbar segments of spinal cord L2-L4 were sampled under perfusion method. After going through tissue processes, they were cut in serial sections (7m), and stained with toluidine blue. Then, the density of alpha-motoneurons of spinal cord ventral horn was measured by using dissector method.Conclusion: The study findings revealed that n-butanol fraction of Nigella sativa caused an increase in neuronal density which posesses neuroprotective effects. This could be due to antioxidant and anti inflammatory effects of this herb. However, increases in neuronal density in ethyl acetate fraction didn’t prove to be significant.

Introduction: For a Long time, anxiety has been an important issue in psychology and different drugs have been applied to treat it. Various studies have demonstrated that the plant Hypericum perforatum has an antidepressant effect. With the industrialization of human societies, pollutants like phenol can be entered in the life cycle that have adverse effects on body organs. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the antianxiety and antidepressant effects of Hypericum Perforarum extract in rats that were exposed to phenol.Methods: In this study, 54 Wistar rats were used in terms of a 3´3 factorial design with 3 levels of Hypericum perforatum extract (0, 250 and 500 mg/kg.bw) and 3 levels of phenol (0, 100 and 200 mg/kg.bw). Rats received the extract and phenol every other day via gavage method for periods of 15 and 30 days, respectively. Thirty min after each gavage, a behavior test was performed by using the open field and elevated plus-maze. Recuperative effects of Hypericum perforatum were assessed within short (first 15 days) and long (second 15 days) periods.Results: The statistic findings indicated that there were no significant differences between behavior tests with respect to the treatments (P>0.05).Conclusion: The study results proposed that the used levels of Hypericum Perforarum extract did not show any significant effects on reduction of anxious and depressant behaviors in phenol exposed Wistar rats.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is more prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes. Regarding the role of probiotics in control of inflammation and modulating the lipid profile, this study assess the effect of probiotic and conventional yogurt on inflammatory markers and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods: Forty- four subjects with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups. The intervention group consumed 300 g/d probiotic yogurt (enriched with Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifid obacterium lactis Bb-12) and the other consumed 300g/d conventional yogurt for 8 weeks. Anthropometric indices, dietary intakes, inflammatory markers and lipid profile were evaluated before and at the end of intervention.Results: The consumption of probiotic yogurt significantly decrease in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c, p=0.032). Also, TNF-a levels and atherogenic indices (LDL-c / HDL-c) reduced in intervention group at the end of the study (p=0.040 and P= 0.002, respectively). There was a significant increase in HDL-c in probiotic group (p=0.007). No significant changes were observed in biochemical parameters in conventional yogurt (P>0.05).Conclusion: Consumption of probiotic yogurt improved lipid profile and some inflammatory biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes. Also, probiotic yogurt caused significant decrease in HbA1c. It is suggested that probiotic yogurt may be used as an adjunct therapy to reduce the cardiovascular disease risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Introduction: Antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become a worldwide problem, and is leading to multi-drug resistance (MDR: Multiple drug resistance). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the antibiotic strain patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from various clinical specimens of patients in hospitals in Yazd.Methods: In this descriptive cross- sectional study, 90 isolates of pseudomonas aeruginosa derived from different clinical samples was transferred to the microbiology lab of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd in 2013. Conventional biochemical tests were utilized to confirm the presence of bacteria, and then antibiotic resistance pattern was determined using standard disk diffusion (Kirby - Bauer) method according to the CLSI guideline.Results: Out of 90 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from various clinical samples, burn wound specimens had the most antibiotic-resistant pattern. As a matter of fact, all of 28 strains isolated from burn wounds were MDR. Ceftazidime involved the most resistant antibiotic (56%), whereas ciprofloxacin was the least resistant one (44.4%), and 66.6% of the isolates were detected as multi-drug resistant.Conclusion: The prevalence of MDR Pseudomans aeruginosa in the present study was high. As ceftazidime, Ertapenem, and meropenem had effective anti Pseudomonal activity against MDR Pseudomans aeruginosa (in this study increased resistance to these antibiotics was observed), it is necessary to evaluate antibiotic susceptibility as well as to determine antibiotic pattern prior to starting the treatment in order to prevent antibiotic-resistant strains.

Introduction: Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a strong proinflammatory cytokine that its increased levels are associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between serum interleukin-18 concentration with acylated ghrelin, growth hormone, insulin resistance, and lipid profile in obese and lean men.Methods: In this semi-experimental study, ninety obese (body mass index ³ 30 kg/m2) and ninety lean men (body mass index £ 18.5 kg/m2) were selected. After 12 h fasting, blood samples were collected and general characteristics of subjects were assessed. The study data was then analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient with the significance level of P<0.01.Results: Serum levels of IL-18 were positively correlated with insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) (obese: r=0.35, p=0.000, lean: r=0.31, p=0.009) and triglyceride (obese: r=0.19, p=0.000, lean: r=0.11, p=0.002), while negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein (obese: r=-0.23, p=0.003, lean: r=-0.14, p=0.006). No significant correlations were observed between serum IL-18 levels with acylated ghrelin, growth hormone, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein.Conclusions: The study findings revealed that in both groups of obese and lean men, serum levels of IL-18 positively correlated with insulin resistance and triglyceride, and negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein. Furthermore, within obese individuals that have elevated IL-18 levels, this can be associated with disorder in glycemic control and lipid profile, and thus, with increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. IL-18 levels do not appear to have any correlations with acylated ghrelin, growth hormone, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein.

Introduction: Self-efficacy made possible ability to understand patient from conditions and factors influencing health and he/she can decide to improve health and to enforce it. This study was aimed to determine the self-efficacy and related factors in diabetic patients.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, that was done randomly in diabetic patients referred to diabetes center, information were collected using demographic and questionnaire containing 15 questions about efficacy of glycemic control and correction, proper selection of food, foot examination, exercise and weight control. The validity and reliability assessed and data collected and enter to Stata software and were analyzes using t.test, c2 and logistic regression.Results: The mean age of the 600 participating patients was 52.1±14 years. 57.3% was women and 42.7% male. The most common complications in sexes were visual complications. The mean of self-efficacy score was 54.9±14.3. 47.6% of participants had low self-efficacy. Low self-efficacy in those who had lower education was 2.7 against individuals who had higher education (OR=2.7; CI: 1.25-4.15), Also, low self-efficacy in people who have had complications, 1.9 vs. those who did not have complications (OR=1.9; CI: 1.25-2.55). Self-efficacy was inverse relationship with age and direct relationship with knowledge.Conclusion: According to results, it’s be necessary identifying the factors associated with the self-efficacy to interventions and appropriate policy on this disease and the need for more training programs to enhance self-efficacy.

Introduction: Gelatin and Chitosan are known as biodegradable and biocompatible biopolymers. These biopolymers have recently received increasingly more attention for tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to survey of effects of Gelatin-Chitosan film in viability, proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation on bone marrow stromal cell (BMSCs) culture in rat.Methods: Fist, gelatin- chitosan composites film were prepared by solution mixing, of both biopolymer in %75 acetic acid. After two passage of BMSCs culture, cells in the four groups including control, gelatin, chitosan and chitosan-gelatin were grown. The cells viability during the second, fourth and sixth days by tripanblue, proliferation by cell account and cell apoptosis by Acridin Orange were examined. Also cell differentiation during the second, fourth and sixth day were evaluated by immunocytochemistry.Results: The results showed significant reduction in cell proliferation in chitosan alone group (P<0.05). But the gelatin and chitosan-gelatin groups were similar to the control group as the cell proliferation was increased. Also all groups had no cell differentiation.Conclusion: Results of proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis cultured BMSCs on a gelatin-chitosan film showed that gelatin-chitosan film can be used as a good model of a biodegradable scaffold in tissue engineering and cell therapy.

Introduction: Tetracyclic antidepressants-mirtazapin is one of antidepressants drug that exhibits both noradrenergic and serotonergic activity. It is commonly used to treat major depressive disorder. The genotoxic effect of mirtazapine has not been examined previously. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of mirtazapine on human peripheral blood lymphocytes.Methods: The genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of mirtazapine on human peripheral lymphocytes were examined by micronucleus (MN) test. The human lymphocytes were treated with 10, 25, 40 and 55 mg/mL concentrations of mirtazapine for 24 and 48 hours treatment periods.Results: MN formation was not significantly induced at 24- and 48-h treatment periods when compared with control but Nuclear division index (NDI) significantly decreased at all concentrations for two treatment periods.Conclusion: Mirtazapine was not genetoxic but was cytotoxic in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. According to this study mirtazapine has cytotoxic effects on human’s cells.

Introduction: One of the major goals of nursing in trauma patients is clearing the airway. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the side effects of suction and nelaton catheter in patients with brain trauma.Methods: This study is a randomized clinical trial consisting of 80 patients admitted to intensive care unit of Shahid Rahnemun hospital in Yazd. Underlying variables and suction side effects were evaluated in both suction and nelaton groups. Finally, descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Ver 16 such as Chi-square and T-test.Results: The nelaton reduced the patients’ need to suction (P-Value for third and fourth days was respectively 0.003 and 0.004). After total suction with nelaton catheter, O2SAT decreased for the patients (P-Value of first day=0.06, second day=0.004, third day=0.002, fourth day=0.001). Comparing O2SAT between these two types of catheter, a significant difference was observed on the fourth day (P-Value=0.002). The mean heart rate increased in both groups after suctioning (P-Value=0.0001), though no difference was found in heart rate between the two groups (P-Value of first day=0.37, the second day=0.13, the third day=0.57, fourth day=0.09). The difference between the two groups in regard with frequency of bleeding chips after suctioning proved to be significant from the third day of the study. In other words, patients in suction catheter were reported to have more bleeding chips. (P-Value of first day =0.9, second day=0.14, third day=0.001, fourth day=0.001). No significant difference was found with respect to infection (P-Value=0.8).Conclusion: The study findings revealed that applying catheter nelaton can reduce the injury and bleeding to the patient’s trachea to a significant percentage and can lead to less O2SAT fall.

Introduction: Shigella enterotoxin (STxB) is one of the major virulent factors in Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and E. coli O157:H7, which its immunogenicity, adjuvant and delivery characteristic have been proven. Anthrax is a common disease in humans and animals and identifies domain a-1 antibodies of protective antigen (PA) which is 62% of the PA antigens of Bacillus anthracis. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of recombinant protein domain a-1 protective antigen (PA20) of Bacillus anthracis with Shigella enterotoxin B subunit (STxB) in E. coli.Methods: In this experimental study, primers of pa 20 gene were designed for replacement in stxB-ipaD gene cassette. PCR was performed in order to amplify the fragment and the amplified fragments were cloned into pGEM-Teasy vector. NdeI and SalI restriction enzymes cut pa20 genes and finally the genes pa20 were fused with genes stxB. PET28a (+) Vector containing the gene cassette pa20-stxB was transformed into E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) and expression of gene cassette was studied.Results: pa20-stxB fused genes were confirmed in the expression vector pET28a (+) by PCR, enzyme digestion and Sequencing. The produced recombinant proteins were confirmed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.Conclusion: The findings of the current study revealed that this antigen can be raised as an anti-cancer and recombinant vaccine candidate against types of Shigella, Escherichia coli and Bacillus anthracis which can be due to such factors as identification of antigen(PA) by antibody PA20, its apoptosis induction properties, property of immunogenicity, adjuvant and delivery of STxB protein and high expression levels of Gb3 in human cancer cells.

Introduction: Betaine has been demonstrated to have methyl donor and antioxidant properties in our previous reports. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine plasma homocysteine concentration and evaluate antioxidant activity of betaine following levodopa and benserazide administration, which routinely are used in treatment of Parkinson’s disease in liver of rats.Methods: Sprague–Dawley male rats were treated by levodopa (LD), Betaine (Bet.), levodopa plus betaine (LD/Bet.), levodopa plus benserazide (LD/Ben.), levodopa plus betaine-benserazide (LD/Bet.-Ben.) and distilled water to controls for 10 consecutive days, orally. Plasma homocysteine concentration was measured by ELISA method. Moreover, antioxidant enzyme activities and lipid peroxidation amount were measured via chemical methods. Serumic dopamine concentration was also determined by HPLC method and data were analyzed by One-way ANOVA test.Results: The study results indicated that the treatment of rats with levodopa and benserazide significantly increased total homocysteine (tHcy) in plasma of the LD/Ben. group in comparison with the other groups (p<0.05). tHcy concentration was also significantly higher in LD group in comparison with control, betaine and LD/Bet. groups. Lipid peroxidation (TBARS) amount of liver increased significantly in LD/Ben. group when compared to the control group which this index decreased by betaine treatment. In contrast, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in liver were significantly higher in the LD-treated rats as compared to the LD/Ben. group. Serumic dopamine concentration decreased significantly in LD/Ben.-treated rats in comparison with LD and LD/Bet. groups.Conclusion: Taken together, it seems that betaine acts as an antioxidant agent regarding decrease of LD/Ben.-induced oxidative stress and is able to decrease their oxidative effects in liver of rats.

Introduction: Previous studies indicated estrogen as a protective factor in brain cells. In this study, effect of Yarrow extract (Achillea millefolium), containing a phytoestrogen, were examined on the consequences of stroke in the middle cerebral artery occlusion model in ovariectomized female rats.Methods: In the present study, 32 female Wistar rats weighing 200 to 250 g were randomly divided into 4 groups which included: sham, control (ovariectomized- stroke induced), yarrow (ovariectomized, gavage Achillea millefolium extract dose 500mg/kg and 50mg/kg for a month was given orally to animals). After surgery, infarction volume was measured a week after stroke. Moreover, sensorimotor disorder using paper labels (Sticky test) and neurological disorder via Bederson test at 24, 48 h, and a week after induction of stroke were tested and compared.Results: The results of the current study demonstrated that Achillea millefolium extract with 500 mg/kg dose significantly reduced infarction volume a week after stroke (p<0.01), and sensorimotor disorder (sticky) at 24, 48 hours and a week after stroke, respectively. Furthermore, neurological disorders reduced at 24 and 48 hours (p<0.001) and week (p<0.01) after stroke compared to the control groups. On the other hand, Achillea millefolium extract with 50o mg/kg dose reduced infarct volume, neurological and sensorimotor disorders, though this reduction was not statistically significant.Conclusion: The study findings revealed that oral administration of Achillea millefolium extract with dose of 500mg/kg in ovariectomized female rats caused a significant reduction in infarct volume, neurological disorders and sensorimotor disorder after middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Nanomaterials involve the structures with at least one dimension of <100 nm. Recently, development in nanotechnology has led to the use of nanomaterials in many different fields. On the other hand, increasing use of nanomaterials has resulted in release of these materials to the environment. Therefore, before employing these materials in biological and living systems, they should be evaluated in terms of biocompatibility and distribution. Although the toxic effects of nanomaterials on living organisms, human health and the environment have been studied by some researchers, there are too much uncertainty regarding the effects and mechanisms of toxicity of nanomaterials. Therefore, understanding the toxicity effects of nanomaterials is highly desirable. Cellular uptake mechanisms and dispersion of nanomaterials in biological environments depend on their physicochemical properties. Therefore, knowledge of the unique characteristics of nanomaterials and the interactions of nanomaterials with biological systems, are important criteria for the safe use of nanomaterials. Properties of nanomaterials such as size, shape, aspect ratio, density, surface and structural defects and dissolving rate are the main causes of cytotoxicity and side effects of these materials in the body. Exposure to nanomaterials may cause a range of acute and chronic effects, including inflammation, exacerbation of asthma, metal fume fever, fibrosis, chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. The present paper, reviews the previous studies aiming at the investigation of the relation between the physiochemical properties of nanomaterials and their toxicity.