Koomesh
Year:2010 | Volume:11 | Issue:4 (36)|Papers Count:16

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) affectes multiple aspects of life in a diabetic patient. These influences does not take two much attention in the health system. The Persian version of quality of life assessment tools in these patients is not checked. The aim of this study was to examine the normative data and some of the psychometric properties of the Persian version of quality of life questionnaire in patients with diabetes mellitus in an Iranian population.Materials and Methods: Subjects were DM patients who were referred to health centers of Isfahan city (Iran) in 2007. A total number of 120 diabetic patients were selected through stratified randomized sampling as well as equal number of matched control subjects. A demographic questionnaire, diabetes quality of life (DQOL) and WHO- quality of life (WHO-QOL) tools were administered to both groups. Results: The total mean score of QOL was relatively low in DM patients except for the domains of worries. Using the chronbach’s alpha test, the reliability of the whole questionnaire and its subscales were determined to be 0.89 and 0.51 to 0.84, respectively. Also each question showed an internal positive consistency whit the whole questionnaire except for the 8th question of the effects domain (r= -0.21). The correlation co-efficient of co-administration of the two questionnaires and their subscales were 0.63 0.60, 0.39 and 0.05, respectively. The range of rough scores of the patients and the healthy subjects were 1.37 to 3.97 and 1.18 to 3.37, respectively. The cut-off point was determined to be 2.06 based on the analysis of differentiations. The factor analysis was using the major elements and Varimax Rotation resulted in 6 factors.Conclusion: Our findings showed that the DQOL has proper normative data and psychometric properties in our samples. This questionnaire can be used in confidence by the health centers of Iran.

Introduction: Hamstring shortening may cause postural defect and gait abnormality. Recently, it has been shown that application of whole body vibration may increase muscle flexibility in normal subject. This study has been designed to find out the effect of local hamstring vibration on the hamstring shortening.Materials and Methods: 30 non-athletic females (aged 18-22 yrs) who suffered from hamstring shortness were participated in the study. They have been assigned in one of the two experimental groups: vibration group (3 times a week for 8 weeks) and control group (no intervention). The subjects in both groups were not allowed to perform any sport activity during 8 weeks of study. Before and after the intervention, the rate of hamstring muscle shortness was evaluated by passive knee extension (PKE) test. Results: The findings showed that hamstring muscle length was increased significantly in the vibration group (p=0. 000), in term of decrease of knee joint angle during PKE test. While no significant change was found from the control group (p=0.181). Also vibration raised muscle flexibility on average 15 units while in control group it was only 0.73. This difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Local hamstring vibration is a suitable method to improve hamstring shortening. It is recommended to combine this method with other muscle elongation methods to find the most beneficial method for muscle shortening.

Introduction: Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Cardiovascular diseases have been reported with greater frequency in patients with Psoriais. This may result from hyperlipidemia which seen in these patients. The aim of this study was to further study profiles of serum lipids and to determine, if any, correlation between severity of disease and extent of hyperlipidemia in these patients. Material and Methods: Subjects consisted of 52 patients with Psoriasis and 50 matched (sex and age) healthy persons as a control group. Blood samples were obtained following 14 hour fasting status and serum levels of triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, VLDL were determined using standard laboratory methods.Results: Our findings showed that levels of TG, cholesterol, LDL and VLDL were significantly higher in psoriatic patients when compared with control ones (p< 0.001), but HDL level was similar between two groups. Also, any relationship was not found between lipids levels and severity of disease.Conclusion: Our findings further confirm lipid abnormalities in Psoriatic patients. This may enhance risk of cardiovascular diseases in these patients. Thus, we recommend all patients with Psoriasis, regardless of disease severity, should be checked for serum lipids profiles.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the age, sex, and hemispheric differences in volume of the human putamen nucleus in right-handed healthy humans.Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 120 normal human subjects (60 males, 60 females) 15–65 years old that was divided into young (<40 years) and old (³40 years) groups. The sectional brain images obtained via magnetic resonance imaging was analyzed and processed using the image-J software and the putamen volume was calculated using the Cavalieri’s principle.Results: The analyses revealed bilateral age-related shrinkage of the putamen in both sexes and the putamen was significantly smaller in older than younger subjects (P <0.001). The age-related shrinkage of the putamen in men and women was about 20.49% and 16.79%, respectively. There were no statistically significant volume differences between males and females. There were significant negative correlations between age and the volumes of the putamen nucleus. In both sexes, a significant rightward asymmetry was observed in the putamen (4.21% in men and 3.32% in women). Conclusion: Bilateral age-related shrinkage and rightward asymmetry of the putamen was found in normal humans and there were no volume differences between men and women. Results provide useful baseline data to the age and sex-related change of the volume of putamen.

Introduction: Many people are used medicinal plants due to natural, low risks and complications, and low costs as compared with the synthetic drugs. Incidence of drug resistance against chemical antimicrobial drugs has led the use of medicinal plants for treatment of infections in recent years. The aim of this study was to examine possible antibacterial effects of four herbal plants in vitro. Materials and Methods: Four species of domestic plants from Fars- Fasa (Iran) including Ziziphora, Stachys, Teucrium and Barberry were collected in spring and dried. Hydro-alcoholic extracts of these plants were prepared using standard methods. Antibacterial effects were examined with disk diffusion method and serial broth dilution. To standardize of of study, we used antibiogram disks and ATCC bacteria.Results: Teucrium extract with 1/8 dilution and Barberry extract with 1/4 dilution showed antibacterial effects in serial dilution method. Moreover, by using the disk diffusion method, antibacterial effects of both mentioned extracts against E.coli ATCC 25922 and S.aureus ATCC 25923،were found as compared amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin and imipenem.Conclusion: The results of this study and other studies show that extracts of herbal plants, instead of chemical drugs, can be used to treat infections. Of course, before using them all their side effects should be carefully checked in in vitro and in vivo studies.

Introduction: Vaccination has achieved significant and cost effective success in prevention of infectious disease. Although the current vaccines used are very effective and their side effects are minimal, generally no vaccine is not free from side effects. Incidence of adverse reactions after immunization may discourage people for further immunization of their children. The aim of this work was to determine the incidence of complications of vaccination in children and infants of Semnan, Iran. Materials and methods: In a longitudinal study (prospective), all vaccinated children between September 2006 and March 2007 in 11 vaccination centers were studied. A specific questionnaire, including vaccine recipient profile, type of vaccine, birth weight, feeding and 46 adverse reactions were completed immediately after and 2,4,6,12,18 months later. Results: 5776 children were studied. 29% of the children showed at least one adverse reaction of vaccination. The most common adverse reactions were: fever (24%), pain at injection site (3.8%), swelling (2.5%), erythema (2.5%), induration (2.1%), and ulceration at injection site (2.1%). Incidence of other complications was below 1%. The most dangerous complication of the vaccine was encephalitis (one case) and two cases had febrile seizures. The most cause of hospitalization was adverse reaction of MMR vaccine. Finally, of every four children, one child showed at least one complication that fever was the most common.Conclusion: In general, routine immunization program of Iran country against nine common infectious diseases has lower complications. This complication is mainly mild and transient and do not need any intervention by drugs. However, among these may be rare and dangerous complications such as seizures and encephalitis occur. Hence, a careful follow-up program is required to report complications of immunization.

Introduction: Studying the practice of families on fats and oils consumption has an essential role in determination of health status in a community. Here, we invesyigated the effect of educational intervention on women’s behavior about oils and fats consumption in Tadayon and Family health centers in Semnan, Iran.Materials and Methods: In this study, 250 and 255 families were selected by the coincidental cluster sampling, before and after intervention, respectively. Data were collected by questionnaire via of interview. The intervention consisted of speeches, installation mentioned in the leaflet, leaflet distribution and printing educational materials in the local newspaper.Results: In the majority of families, the first preference of oil for preparation of non fried foods (56.4 vs. 36.8, before and after intervention, respectively) and fried foods (60.8 vs. 32.7, before and after intervention, respectively) was solid hydrogenated vegetable oil. After training, the use of conventional liquid oil and frying oil for the preparation of fried and non-fired foods was increased significantly (p<0.001). After intervention the percent of subjects who removed the visible fat from red meats was increased from 52% to 62.5 % (p<0.01). In addition, after intervention the percent of people believed to be harmful usage of hydrogenated oil was increased (p<0.028).Conclusion: The results of this study showed that educational interventions can increase knowledge and correct behaviors of families in the field of oils and fats consumption. Therefore, implementation and continuation of these programs should be regarded in the health system.

Introduction: Considering the increasing use of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from various sources in the clinic, the basic studies needed to evaluate proliferation, differentiation and other biological characteristics of them done. In the present study, efficiency and power differentiation in five different categories mesenchymal stem cells are compared with each other.Materials and Methods: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells from rabbits, rats, C57 mice, chicken and mesenchymal stem cells derived from human knee synovium tissue were cultured with a density of 5000 cells/cm2 in 12-chamber dishes. After the cells reached the appropriate level of growth, specific differentiation inducers were added. 21 days later, differentiation of all stem cells to adipocyte, osteocyte and chondrocyte were evaluated and compared using specific staining methods.Results: Our results indicated that all five mesenchymal stem cells were able to differentiate into osteocyte, adipocyte and chondrocyte. Moreover, the highest potentials for differentiation to adipocyte and osteocyte and chondrocyte were seen in mesenchymal stem cells derived from chicken bone marrow and human synovium, respectively.Conclusion: In this study, differences in the differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from different tissues and species were observed that could be caused by small differences in their environment in vivo. Understanding these differences can lead to more effective use of these cells in the clinic.

Introduction: Chemotherapy after surgery is one of the adjuvant therapy components in breast cancer patients. In the current study, Taxane-based and Anthracycline-based regimes were compared to Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate and 5-Fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy after modified radical mastectomy (MRM) surgery in terms of disease-free survival (DFS).Materials and Methods: Sixty-two patients with confirmed breast cancer that underwent MRM surgery at no metastasis stage (M0) enrolled. These patients were received one of the three types of adjuvant chemotherapies that mentioned above and the relapse/metastasis in 8-year follow-up was recorded. In addition, some paraclinical and demographical factors were recorded and the efficacy of the different chemotherapy regimes was compared using log-logistic survival model.Results: The mean age (SD) of patients was 49 (1.31). More than 40% of patients had tumors with grade 3. The median time of follow-up was 20.0 months and the rate of 5-year DFS was 48%. Survival analysis indicated that type of chemotherapy (OR(Taxane/CMF) =3.676; OR (Anthracycline/CMF) =3.185), histological grade (OR=2.528), tumor size (OR=5.598) and number of lymph nodes (OR=1.112) affect the DFS.Conclusion: The results of the current study indicated that the efficacy of Taxane-based and Anthracycline-based is more than CMF. This study also showed that early detection of tumor was an important factor for a successful treatment in terms of DFS, and so, it declares the roll of screening and public education.

Introduction: The perinatal effects of antidepressants on CNS due to its common usage are important issues in neuroscience research. Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant that is used in smoke cessation under FDA approve widely. The study of synaptic effects of bupropion can reveal its mechanism for nicotine dependence cessation. In this study the long term effects of perinatal bupropion on population spike (PS) amplitudes were investigated. The PS amplitude is a good parameter for synaptic plasticity. Materials and Methods: Hippocampal slices from 18-25 day old rat’s pups were prepared. The exam groups included control and Bupropion treated groups. Bupropion (40 mg/Kg, i.p) was applied in perinatal period daily as pretreatment. Bupropion also was perfused in ACSF (10, 50, 200 mmol, 30 minutes) and tested for PS amplitude. PS amplitude of Stratum Radiatum was measured before and after Bupropion perfusion. Amplitude of PS before Bupropion perfusion was fitted as 100% for baseline. Results: A concentration of 10 mM did not reduce PS amplitude and Bupropion had no significant effects on PS amplitude. Bupropion in concentration of 50mM could reduce the amplitude of responses in 50% of cases. The 200 mM of Bupropion perfusion reduced population spike amplitude all slices (n=22). In the last state population spike amplitude in 8 out 0f 22 slices completely abolished. Decrease population spike amplitude in non-treated slices with 200 mM perfusion was more than treated slices. Conclusion: Analyzing of data showed that chronic perinatal exposure to Bupropion in concentrations 50, 200 mM reduced PS amplitude and we found adaptation synaptic in perfusion 200 mM compare with Bupropion treated slices with non- treated.

Introduction: Essential hypertension is one of the most important factors on quality of life and third casual of death in the world. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy and drug therapy on improvement of quality of life in the patients with essential hypertension.Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was performed in Heart center of Medical University of Isfahan (Iran) between April 2007 and April 2008. 40 Patients with essential hypertension were selected randomly and assigned into 2 groups: experimental group that received cognitive behavioral therapy and control group with drug therapy. All of the patients completed the quality of life and a demographic questionnaire before start of interventions as pre test. The post test was completed after the end of intervention and follow up completed after 4 month later.Results: Findings showed that cognitive behavioral therapy was more effective than drug therapy on improvement of quality of life in the patients with essential hypertension in post test and follow up. Conclusion: Cognitive behavioral therapy was effective on improvement of quality of life in the patients with essential hypertension. According to findings of this work, we suggest that team work approach consist of psychologists and heart professional can be useful for treatment of quality of life in the patients with essential hypertension.

Introduction: Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for end stage renal disease that restores the patients' quality of life and reduces the morbidity and mortality rates induced by renal failure and its complications. The aim of this study is to determine the ten-year graft cumulative survival rate of renal transplantation in patients who have been transplanted from March 1999 to March 2009 in Shiraz Nemazi Hospital Transplantation Center, Iran.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study designed to determine the organ survival rate after kidney transplantation and its relationship with age and gender of recipients and donors, during a period of 10 years (March 1999 to March 2009) in 1356 patients, Shiraz transplant center, Namazi hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the graft cumulative survival rate and Log-rank test was used to assessment difference between survival curves in subgroups. Results: Mean follow-up period was 47.23±33.3 months. Ten years graft cumulative survival rate of kidney transplantation calculated by Kaplan-Meier method was 85.8% (95% CI= 85.78 - 85.81). Age of recipients and donors were showed significant relationship with survival rate of renal allograft. Conclusion: Renal transplantation is one of the important therapeutic strategies in end stage renal disease, and chosen the appropriate donor, can improve the graft cumulative survival rate. The based on this study results, we found no significant relationship between donor and recipients’ sex with graft cumulative survival rate, but the relationship between age of donor and recipient and graft cumulative survival rate were significant.

Introduction: Fatigue is a common and frequently disabling symptom in cancer patients. Fatigue may be caused by the disease itself, by treatment for the disease, by physical symptoms or conditions resulting from the disease or its treatment. The aim of this study was to assess fatigue and related factors in breast cancer patients.Material and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 119 random samples of breast cancer patients. The Iranian version of QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 questionnaires were used. Univariate methods and multiple regression analysis were performed to identify predictors of fatigue.Results: Overall, 78% of the patients indicated that they were experiencing fatigue to some degree. The mean score on the fatigue subscale was 41.74±26.91.Of all functional subscales, fatigue showed the strongest influence on social functioning. Linear regression analyses showed that total fatigue was best predicted by pain, appetite loss, body image and type of treatment.Conclusion: Our results support the notion that fatigue in cancer patients is a major problem, which deserves yet more attention from health professionals, and that quality of life in cancer patients might be improved markedly by interventions that effectively reduce fatigue.