Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences
Year:2017 | Volume:27 | Issue:150|Papers Count:14

Background and purpose: Atrazine causes certain biological effects including atresia in ovarian follicles. The essence and aqueous extract of Achillea millefolium and vitamin E have attracted interest due to their preventive effects on follicular atresia. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of these substances on ovarian tissue.Materials and methods: In an experimental study, 54 adult female rats were divided into 9 groups. Groups 1 and 2 received atrazine 300 and 150 mg/kg/day, respectively. Groups 3 and 4 received atrazine 300 and 150 mg/kg/day respectively along with 150 mg/kg/day water extract of A. millefolium. Groups 5 and 6 were treated with atrazine 300 and 150 mg/kg/day, respectively along with 100 mg/kg/day essence of A. millefolium. Groups 7 and 8 received atrazine 300 and 150 mg/kg/day, respectively and a single dose of vitamin E on first day (150 mg/kg). The last group was set as control. Microscopic sections were prepared from ovaries and statistical data analysis was conducted.Results: Histomorphological studies revealed that the severity of changes in untreated groups with essence and aqueous extract of A. millefolium and vitamin E were more than those of the groups treated with these substances. The results showed highly significant differences between treated and untreated groups in number of follicals (P< 0.001). The most follicular rescue was in groups treated with aqueous extract of A. millefolium.Conclusion: The essence and aqueous extracts of the A. millefolium and vitamin E are effective in reduction of adverse changes of ovarian follicles following atrazine exposure.

Background and purpose: Reconstruction of bone defects remains one of the most challenges encountered by orthopedic and reparative surgeons. The purpose of this study was to assess the osteogenic potential of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) and octacalcium phosphate/gelatin (OCP/G) composite in the tibia bone defects in rats.Materials and methods: This experimental study was conducted in 72 male Sprague Dawley rats. The rats were divided into experimental (OCP/G and OCP) and control groups (n=24 per group). Full thickness critical size trephine defects were made in the rat's tibial bones and filled with 6 mg of OCP and OCP/G composite in experimental groups. The control group had no intervention. On days 7, 14, 21 and, 56 after implantation, the rats were decapitated and bone samples were collected. Then, 5mm thick sections were cut and stained with H&E. Finally, the amount of newly formed bone was measured using Dunnett T3 test.Results: In experimental groups, the new bone formation was initiated at the defect margins in day 7 after implantation. During the remaining days, in addition to bone formation in deep parts of the defect, the newly formed bones were found to be more mature. In the control group, the newly formed bones were seen near to the defect margins. There were significant differences in the amount of newly formed bone between the experimental and control groups (P<0.001).Conclusion: This biomaterial could be used in the repair of long bone defects in clinical situations.

Background and purpose: Giardiasis is a major diarrheal disease and the major symptoms include diarrhea, bloating, abdominal cramps, weight loss, and abdominal pain. In developing countries, some patients can carry giardia parasites without experiencing any symptoms and some genotypes are believed to be responsible for that. The aim of this study was the genotyping of giardia duodenalis in asymptomatic patients. Materials and methods: A total of 320 stool samples was collected from people attending Baharestan health centers in Tehran, Iran and investigated for giardia cyst by microscopic method. Positive samples were stored in Potassium dichromate 2.5% and 4oC. DNA extraction was performed using CTAB method and genotyping was carried out by PCR-RFLP on b-giardin gene.Results: Among the samples, 25 were positive (7.8%). All patients suffering from giardiasis were asymptomatic and the appearance and color of samples were normal and brown, respectively. Four samples were found in women (16%) and 21 in men (84%). The results of RFLP on these samples revealed that 16 samples (64%) had infections with assemblage A and 9 samples (36%) were assemblage B. The phylogenetic tree revealed sub-assemblage AII, BIII, and BIV to be present in Baharestan.Conclusion: The most common genotype of Giardia duodenalis is assemblage A in asymptomatic people in Baharestan, Iran. Identification of AII, BIII, and BIV genotypes in this area indicates the possibility of anthroponotic and anthropozoonotic transmission cycles.

Background and purpose: Acceleration of diastolic filling in athletes is higher than healthy people and athletes' morphologic changes and cardiac function is controversial. This study aimed to compare the indices of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function between healthy isometric and isotonic athletes and non-athlete healthy individuals.Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted in which healthy isometric athletes (n=25) and healthy isotonic athletes (n=25) as case and non-athlete healthy individuals (n=25) were assessed by transthoracic echocardiography and Tissue Doppler Imaging. Then, the cardiac structural and functional parameters were recorded and analyzed between the groups. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS V16.Results: The posterior wall thickness during diastole (PWd), interventricular septal in diastole (IVSd) and LV mass in isometric athletes were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). The average size of right ventricle was highest (3±0.51 cm) in isotonic and lowest (2.6±0.27 cm) in the control group indicating significant differences between isotonic and control groups (P=0.001) and between isometric and control groups (P=0.02). The difference of mean E wave velocity between isometric and isotonic athletes were significant (0.89±0.13 and 0.81±0.1; P=0.03, respectively).Conclusion: Isotonic exercises lead to fewer changes on cardiac systolic and diastolic parameters compared with isometric exercises. The only difference between the cardiac effects of isotonic and isometric exercise was observed on E wave velocity. In isometric and isotonic exercises despite ventricular hypertrophy and left ventricular wall thickness, we did not find any disturbances in cardiac systolic and diastolic function.

Background and purpose: Osteoporosis is a bone disease that reduces bone strength and increases the risk of fractures. Evidence suggest an association between nephrolithiasis and osteoporosis and decrease in bone density. The aim of this study was to compare bone densitometry in women with kidney stones and women with no history of stones.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients referring to medical centers in Sari, Iran 2015-2016. One hundred and twenty eligible women were compared in the two groups of with and without kidney stones based on demographic characteristics, anthropometric, biochemical, and bone densitometry findings. The groups were compared by t-test for quantitative variables and Chi-square test for qualitative variables in SPSS V19.Results: The mean of age of participants was 53.64±6.8 years and 77 (64.2%) were postmenopausal. There were 39 women with nephrolithiasis and 38 without kidney stones. Family history of kidney stones and urinary calcium excretion in women with kidney stones were significantly higher than that in those without kidney stones (P=0.002, P=0.000). The mean values for bone density in lumbar spine in women with and without kidney stones were 0.851±0.17 and 0.946±0.13 (P=0.001). These values in femoral neck and total hip were 0.815±0.13 and 0.748±0.10 (P=0.003) and 0.891±0.13 and 0.965±0.10 (P=0.001), respectively.Conclusion: It seems that nephrolithiasis and higher urinary calcium excretion are associated with lower bone mass. Therefore, earlier investigations for osteoporosis are suggested in patients with kidney stones and higher urinary calcium excretion.

Background and purpose: The electronic registry of patients with beta thalassemia major was developed in Thalassemia Research Center affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in order to provide an accurate database for researchers and health planners. This study reports the condition of patients registered in Mazandaran province till summer 2016. Materials and methods: In this descriptive study, the following information was recorded in the registry system: epidemiologic data, clinical examination data, complications, routine laboratory test results, medications, new cases, and death. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Results: Until the summer 2016, 1053 patients including 500 (47.5%) males and 553 (52.5%) females were registered in 14 hospitals. These were half of the number of patients receiving care by the aforementioned University. Among the patients, 920 (87.4%) were transfusion dependent. Single patients included 54.2% (n= 571). The level of formal education was beyond high school in 29.8% (n= 314). Three hundred and fifty (33.2%) patients were employed. Splenectomy was done in 606 (58%) patients. Diabetes mellitus, hypoparathyroidism, and hypothyroidism were diagnosed in at least 12% (n= 120), 14.3% (n= 145), and 11% (n= 112), respectively. Cardiomyopathy was observed in 113 (11.2%) cases. The most common iron chelators medication was desferrioxamine, which was used alone (50.4%) or in combination with deferiprone (24.3%).Conclusion: Current research showed that in spite of incompleteness of records at the electronic registry of patients with beta thalassemia major, a comprehensive electronic system could enhance the level of care provided for involved patients.

Background and purpose: Coronary artery disease is a major cause of death and disability in any society. The aim of this research was to evaluate the factors causing delay in admission of patients who need cardiac care.Materials and methods: In this descriptive analytic study, we used the files of patients attending a heart hospital affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical sciences within 6 months (March-September 2015). Data analyses were done applying Quantile regression in STATA V13 and SPSS V20.Results: from 401 patients, 59.35% referred to hospital within the first 3 hours after imitation of pain, while 20.45% and 20.2% attended the hospital after 3 hours and 6 hours following the onset of pain, respectively. The average hospitalization waiting time was 238 min (almost 4 hr). Our results showed that waiting time was lower for male patients, people with higher education, those with health insurance, individuals with history of cardiac diseases, married cases and urban patients. These variables had significantly affected the hospitalization waiting time (P<0.05).Conclusion: Improving the knowledge of people about the symptoms of heart disease could be of great benefit in decreasing the rate of complications caused by long delays in hospitalization.

Background and purpose: Violence against women is considered a form of domestic violence. During pregnancy it could cause a range of adverse outcomes for mother and baby. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of violence against women during pregnancy and postpartum and its related factors.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the incidence of maternal mortality in 2015 in six provinces in Iran. In each province 24 public health centers were selected using stratified random sampling. In each center, 15-20 mothers who had at least one session of prenatal care were examined. Data was collected simultaneously from the records available in health centers and interviewing the mothers, then analyzed in SPSS18 at a significance level of a<0.05.Results: Among 2704 mothers participating in the study, the prevalence of physical violence during pregnancy and postpartum was 8.10% and 28% suffered from psychological violence. Among 31 variables studied, 10 had a significant relationship with both physical abuse and psychological violence (P>0.05). Multistage multivariate analysis of variance showed that 7 variables had significant relationship with physical violence, and 6 variables were associated with psychological violence (P>0.05).Conclusion: Despite records available in family’s’ files, a considerable rate of domestic violence was observed against mothers in Iran, therefore, health providers are ought to prevent this by taking appropriate actions.

Background and purpose: Considering the importance of pain management in cancer patients, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of pain, its severity, analgesics used to control pain, and the extent of pain control in cancer patients attending a medical center in North of Iran.Materials and methods: One hundred cancer patients attending Ramsar Imam Sajjad Hospital (2015) were prospectively enrolled in the study. Clinical and demographic data and all analgesics used were recorded. Pain intensity were determined based on the Numeric Rating Scale from 0 (pain-free) to 10 (the most severe pain ever experienced) in two sequential visits, 3 weeks apart.Results: The average age of participants was 54.7±3 years. NSAIDs (98 cases, 98%) and opioids (49 cases, 49%) were the most common analgesics prescribed. Among opioids, codeine (67.3%) and morphine (24.5%) were used more frequently. The pain score was 3.94±0.342 at first visit and 3.65±.316 following analgesic use (P=0.002). For opioid users, the pain scores were 4.29±0.53 and 3.84±0.506, respectively (P=0.007).Conclusion: The pain scores statistically reduced, however, the decrease was not clinically prominent since the pain severity was between 3 and 4 in NRS scale. More attention to pain control is recommended in cancer patients while considering the standard pain management guidelines.

Background and purpose: Functional ovarian cysts are common in reproductive age female. According to high prevalence of functional ovarian cysts and costs for community-based diagnosis and treatment, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between fertility history and lifestyle factors with functional ovarian cysts.Materials and methods: This case-control study was done in 280 women of reproductive age attending Imam Reza, Qaem, and Omolbanin hospitals in Masshad, Iran, 2014. Inclusion criteria were Iranian nationality and being 13-49 years of age. The exclusion criteria were pregnancy, history of infertility, menopausal, and women with acute gynecologic, hormonal and neoplastic situations. Data collection was done using a questionnaire consisting of demographic information, medical condition, and fertility history. To analyze the data t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square, and logistic regression were applied in SPSS V16.Results: The results showed that cigarette and alcohol consumption (P=0.02) and body mass index (P<0.001) were associated with functional ovarian cysts. Frequency of ovarian functional cyst was higher in female with higher BMI and cigarette and alcohol consumption. The results of regression test showed women who used dietary supplements, had a lower risk of developing functional ovarian cysts (OR=1.19).Conclusion: This study proved a relationship between life style with ovarian cysts. According to this result, more training and lifestyle modification are recommended in women of reproductive age to prevent functional ovarian cysts formation.

Background and purpose: Physiological, cognitive, and behavioral factors are considered as the underlying causes of insomnia. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the roles of some cognitive and emotional factors in predicting insomnia disorder.Materials and methods: To conduct this cross-sectional study, two groups were randomly selected. The first group comprised of 100 patients suffering from insomnia attending Sleep Disorders Center in Kermanshah Farabi Hospital, Iran 2015. The second group consisted of 100 office workers in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences who were normal sleepers. For data collection six questionnaires were utilized, including sleep quality scale, difficulties in emotion regulation scale, metacognitive beliefs, repetitive negative thinking, experiential avoidance questionnaire, and dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep scale.Results: This study showed significant differences between the two groups in all predictor variables (sleep quality, difficulties in emotion regulation, meta-cognitive beliefs, repetitive negative thinking, experiential avoidance, and dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep) (P<0.01) and that all these variables could predict insomnia. The results also indicated that dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep carried the highest weight for predicting insomnia (0.71) followed by repetitive negative thinking (0.38), while meta-cognitive beliefs had the lowest weight (-0.05). Finally, stepwise discriminant analysis confirmed the roles of two independent variables for entering into the discriminant equation.Conclusion: The present study confirmed the roles of cognitive and emotional variables in the occurrence of insomnia so, they should be considered in treating insomnia.

Background and purpose: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common metabolic diseases and neuropathy is one of the main complications of diabetes. Modification of eating habit is the most effective and most economical way in prevention of diabetic complications. This research aimed at studying the relationship between food habits and diabetic neuropathy.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 176 patients with diabetic neuropathy attending Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital, 2016. They were selected via convenience sampling. Data was collected using food habits questionnaire, neuropathy complication checklist, and demographic questionnaire. Data was then analyzed using Chi-square, K-S, Mann–Whitney, Spearman correlation and Linear Regression in SPSS V18.Results: The results showed that 78 (44.3%) and 98 (55.7%) patients had undesirable and somewhat favorable food habits, respectively. About sensory neuropathy complications, the highest and lowest prevalence was associated with limbs tingling (93.3%) and soft tissue atrophy in foots (7.4%). While digestive disorders (57.4%) and syncope (8%) were the most and least common autonomic complications, respectively. A negative significant correlation was found between food habits and prevalence of diabetic neuropathy complications (P=0.03, r=-0.21).Conclusion: According to the results, modification of food habits is necessary. The prevalence of some complications (autonomic and sensory) was found to be high in current study. So, any intervention to prevent diabetic complications and their progress should focus on modification of food habits and lifestyle, and lowering blood glucose level.

Background and purpose: Dyes are one of the major sources of chemicals responsible for environmental pollution. Synthetic dyes degradation in industrial wastewaters has received increasing attention due to their high solubility and stability in water. In the present study, the photocatalytic efficiency of assynthesized nano- TiO2 supported on the H-form Fe- Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite was investigated for degradation of reactive red 198 dye in water under UV light.Materials and methods: Effects of dye concentration and pH of the water solution were studied in batch techniques to determine the optimum values of operating conditions. The elemental composition of synthesized photocatalyst was determined by EDX (Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy). The specific surface area and pore volume of Fe-ZSM-5@ TiO2 were determined by BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) technique.Results: The SEM (scanning electron microscopy) images revealed that nano-TiO2 particles are well distributed on the surface of Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite. The FT-IR analysis (Fourier Transform Infrared Radiation) approved the formation of the Fe-ZSM-5 and anatase phase of TiO2 coating onto the surface of Fe-ZSM-5. From UV-Vis analysis (Ultra violet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy), the band gap energy of synthesized photocatalyst was calculated to be about 2.74 eV. The optimum values of pH and dye concentration for high efficient removal of reactive red 198 dye using as-synthesized Fe-ZSM-5@TiO2 photocatalyst were found to be 4 and 100 mg/L, respectively. Maximum dye removal of 98% was achieved at optimum condition at UV exposure time of 105 min. The reusability of the photocatalyst was still significant after five times repeated cycles.Conclusion: The resulting Fe-ZSM-5@ TiO2 is believed to be suitable for potential applications in advanced oxidation processes and could be a good candidate for treatment of industrial real textile dye effluent.

Background and purpose: Environmental pollution by heavy metals and their transfer to soil and crops are a growing global problem. This study aimed to measure the concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater and sludge wastewater treatment plant in Gorgan, Iran. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 176 samples of effluent, and returned and dried sludges were analyzed in wastewater treatment plant in Gorgan, during six months in 2016. The concentration of Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr were determined using polarography (Metrohm797 AV) and furnace atomic adsorption spectroscopy (AA 240 Varian Co.) in the laboratory of Health Faculty in Golestan University of Medical Sciences.Results: The average concentrations of Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr in the effluent were 0.105±0.06, 0.0089±0.008, 0.095±0.108, and 0.102±0.175 mg /L, respectively. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr in returned sludge were 323.48±217.65, 2.44±3.3, 354.14±322.79, and 388.53±252.59 mg /kg of dry weight, respectively. Also, in dried sludge, the average concentrations of lead, cadmium, nickel, and chromium were 58.48±2.67, N.D, 30.31±1.98, and 506.25±813.81 mg/kg of dry weight, respectively.Conclusion: The concentrations of heavy metals in wastewater effluent and dried sludge, except in returned sludge, were below the standards. Due to long-term use of effluents, necessity of treatment of other parameters, and the effect of bioaccumulation of metals in sludge, caution should be taken for their agricultural application. Also, because of importance of this type of contaminants in soil and food products, continuous monitoring by water companies is highly necessary.