Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences
Year:2004 | Volume:6 | Issue:2|Papers Count:14

Background and aim: One of the consequences of substance abuse is psychiatric disorder in the society and family. The aim of this study was to find the possible relationship between substance abuse and mental disorders of the other family members. Method: This descriptive and study was performed on 724 (514 female and 210 male) outpatients referred to counseling center of the Kashani clinic, Shahrekord. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi– square, Fishers test and adds Ratio. Results: The results showed that 49.4% of the patients stated that at least one of their family members was substance abuser. Chance of a depressive person to have a family member abuser was 1.97 times more than patients with other mental disorders. This chance ratio for anxiety was 0.45, for conversion disorder was 2.77, and for interpersonal problems and conduct disorders was 0.38. These differences were statistically significant. But the odd ratios for social phobia, sleep disorder and impotence were nonsignificant. Conclusion: There was a significant deference between patient mental disorders with members family substance abuse and dependent.

Background and aim: Laryngospasm, laryngitis and bleeding are the most serious complications after tonsillectomy. In this study, the frequency of these complications and their correlation with age, sex and application of lidocaine jelly has been assessed. Method: The sample consisted of 100 patients aged from 5 to15 years undergoing tonsillectomy in Resalat hospital of Shahrekord, during 6 months. The subjects were divided randomly into two groups. Case group intubated with 2% lidocaine gel via the endotracheal tube, and control group intubated without lidocaine gel. Laryngospasm, laryngitis and bleeding were recorded during the first postoperative day. Results: The incidence of laryngospasm and laryngitis was 8% and 17% respectively. There were no correlations between these problems and age or sex. The incidence of bleeding was 16% that was higher in older and female patients. The endotracheal tube lubrication with 2% lidocaine gel attenuated laryngospasm during recovery after tonsillectomy in children but it was not effective on laryngitis and bleeding.Conclusion: The application of lidocaine gelly after tonsillectomy for prevention of laryngospasm is recommended.

Background and aim: Depression is one of the four main diseases in the world and it is the most common cause of disability due to mental diseases. Also it is one of the causes of suicide. In the recent years, suicide appears to be increasing especially among young adults and adolescents. Clinical depression affects the physical well being, intelligence, success, attractiveness and abilities that are important for young adults. Another effect of depression is loss of interest in usual activities. The present survey was performed to estimate the prevalence of depression among students of Zabol medical school in year 2002. Method: This analytical and descriptive study was performed on 127 students out of 240 students. The Beck depression questionnaire was used to assess depression. Results: The prevalence of depression was 64.3%. The mean score was 16.1±10.5 for nursing students, 19.5±8.9 for obstetrician students, 8.7±5.8 for family health students and 13.6±11.1 for challenge of diseases students. There was significant difference (ANOVA) between the mean scores of students with different subjects Conclusion: The high prevalence of depression among students requires recognizing the risk factors and implementing some preventive measures.

Background and aim: The drugs that are currently available for treatment of epilepsy are far from perfect, and the side effects that accompany the use of these drugs are also quite significant in some cases. Therefore, there is a great demand for the design of novel, effective antiepileptic drugs to combat epilepsy in its various forms. The aim of this study was to synthesize and test the anticonvulsant activity of the conjugate of valproic acid and phenytoin in mice. Method: The maximal electroshock seizure (MES) and kainic acid test were used. The MES model involves the induction of seizures through the application of an alternating current using ear-clip electrodes whereas the kainic acid seizure was generated chemically by injection of kainic acid. Neurotoxicity (at administered dose) is reported using the locomotor activity test. Results: In the MES model of seizure, the intraperitoneal administration of phenytoin, valporic acid and the conjugate of them protected against the induction of seizure with different ED50 values (15.2 kg/mg, 293.8 kg/mg and 13.5 kg/mg, respectively). In the kainic acid model of seizures, only valporic acid (at doses greater than 300 mg/kg) was effective in protecting against the induction of seizures. No significant effects were observed on locomotor activity by any of the compounds tested. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that there is not a significant difference between the effectiveness of the compounds tested in protecting against the MES induced seizures.

Background and aim: Thalassemia Major or cooley’s anemia is a hereditary anemia and its treatments have high incidence of complications in long term. One of these complications is hearing loss (conductive and sensory neural). Adenoid hypertrophy is the most important cause of conductive hearing loss and toxic effect of desferal is the most common cause of sensory neural hearing loss. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of hearing loss in thalassemic patients referred to Hajar hospital of Shahrekord in 2002. Method: This survey was performed on 78 patients with beta thalassemia major that regularly received transfusion therapy from about 6 months of age. For all of the patients audiometry were performed, serum ferritin level were measured, desferal dosage were asked and therapeutic index were calculated. Results: Therapeutic index was lower than 0.025 at 89% of the patients, conductive hearing loss (CHL) was observed in 8 patients (10.3%) and sensory neural hearing loss (SNHL) was not seen. In patients with CHL, adenoid X-ray performed, and there was a significant correlation between CHL and adenoid hypertrophy (P<0.05). There was no correlation between hearing loss and age, serum ferritin level or desferal dosage. Absence of SNHL indicated good management of the patients.Conclusion: Appropriate control of thalassemic patients for level of serum ferritin and dosage of desferal and detection of therapeutic index can reduce sensory neural hearing loss. Also periodic control of these patients for hearing disorders can detect CHL and adenoid hypertrophy.

Background and aim: Deep neck infections are relatively common infections with severe mortality and morbidity outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the type of causing bacteria and their sensitivity pattern to routine antibiotics. Methods: Samples were obtained by aspiration from the neck abscesses of 50 patients with deep neck infection referred to Shahrekord Kashani and Resalat hospitals. The samples were then cultured in aerobic and anaerobic media. Results: From 66 bacterial isolates, 35 cases (54%) were identified as strict and 31 cases (46%) were facultative anaerobic bacteria. No strict aerobic bacteria were isolated. Bacteroides and Fusobacterium spp. were the most common strict and coagulase negative staphylococci were the most common facultative anaerobic isolates. In five cases we were not able to identify the causative organisms. In antibiogram testing, cloxacillin, ceftizoxime and chloramphenicol were the most effective antibiotics on the anaerobic bacteria. Conclusion: With respect to fatal nature of deep neck infections, rapid diagnosis and treatment play a main role in reducing the mortality and morbidity of the disease. Ceftizoxime, chloramphenicol and clindamycine antibiotics are recommended for therapeutic purposes of these patients.

Background and aim: The purpose was to evaluate the outcomes of pregnancies complicated by umbilical cord entanglement. Methods: Pregnant women referred to Niknafs maternity hospital of Kerman with singleton, vertex and term pregnancies were selected for the study. Pregnancies with no umbilical cord entanglement served as comparison group. A comparison of the frequencies between the two groups was performed by x2 testing and a comparison of means by student t-test. Results: Of the 478 deliveries, the frequency of umbilical cord entanglement was 40.2%, frequency of nuchal cord entanglement was 34.3% and around limbs or trunk was 5%. The frequency of two or more cord entanglements was 6.49%. Pregnancies with umbilical cord entanglement were more likely to exhibit an abnormal fetal heart rate pattern (P<0.001). The inflicted infants were also more likely to have low 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores < 7 (P<0.05) and to have mecunium (P<0.05). The mean of umbilical cord entanglements among infants with mecunium was more than that of the infants without mecunium (P<0.05). Conclusion: Umbilical cord entanglement was associated with a greater risk of mecunium, abnormal fetal heart pattern during labor, low 1- and 5-minute Apgar sores < 7 and adverse fetal outcomes. It is possible to detect this problem with Doppler ultrasonography during prenatal scan.

Background and aim: Shark liver oil and fish oil are good sources of vitamins A & D. Vitamin A is essential for the immune system, bone growth, night vision and cellular growth. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium and phosphor, which are required for skeletal growth. Fish and shark liver oil contains essential fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, which may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Method: In this research, different methods of extraction of oil (mechanical system, extraction with solvent, alkaline digestion and Bligh & Dyer) from shark (Carcharhinus Macloti) liver and clupeonolla grimi were applied and compared. Vitamin A and D were determined by pharmacological methods. Results: The results showed that Bligh & Dyer was the best method due to higher stability of vitamins. More than 45% w/w oil was obtained from 100g of liver by this method. This method was not suitable for clupeonolla grimi because of less oil content. The mechanical method was preferred for low quality oil with lower price. Conclusion: The shark liver has a high percentage of A and D vitamins and could be used as a raw materials for pharmaceutical aims. The amounts of vitamin D3 and oil extracted from shark liver, were higher than cultrirntris fish, but its vitamin A content was lower than the cultrirntris fish oil.

Background and aim: The cellular response to virus infection is a complex process and includes induction of interferons (IFNs). IFNs are key components of the host innate immunity to virus infection and act through several pathways to block virus growth and virulence. Cells infected with a variety of viruses synthesize double stranded RNA, which induces an IFN response. Protein kinase R (PKR) is induced by IFNs and is a major mediator of the cellular response to virus infection. PKR becomes activated and phosphorylates initiation factor-2α (eIF-2α). This leads to the loss of functional eIF-2α, which results in inhibition of protein synthesis. In herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) infected cells, activation of the PKR pathway results in premature shut-off of host protein synthesis. However, HSV-1 encodes a gene, ICP34.5, which blocks the shut-off of the host protein synthesis. This gene is the virulence factor of this virus in the central nervous system of the mice. This gene is not essential for replication of this virus in some cell lines. However, its role in neuronal cell lines such as SK-N-SH cells following infection with recombinant mutant expressing ICP34.5 specifically, has not been investigated. The aim of this research was to investigate this role. Method: Based on homologous recombination, a number of HSV-1 recombinants constructed, their DNA analyzed by using Southern blotting and they were characterized by using Western blotting and host shut-off techniques. Following infection of SK-N-SH cells, inhibition of host protein synthesis shut-off by this mutant compared with a deletion mutant lacking this gene and an HSV-1 wild type has been investigated.Results: the results showed that ICP34.5 is essential for maintenance of host protein synthesis and thus replication of HSV-1 in this cell line. Conclusion: In cells infected with HSV-1, the function of this gene is the inhibition of host protein synthesis shut-off, induced by infected cell.

Background and aim: Attention to health of mother during pregnancy is essential for the health of both mother and infant. Early detection of high-risk pregnancies is fundamental for prenatal care. This survey was performed to find the prevalence of the high-risk pregnancies and causing factors in the maternity hospital of Bam in 2001. Method: This descriptive and cross sectional study was performed on 850 randomly selected pregnant women.Results: We found that 11.8% of the cases were younger than 18 years, 6.6% were older than 35 years, 8.8% had five or more pregnancies, 5.4% had pre-term, 6.3% had post-term labor, 2% had hemorrhaged pregnancy and 4.2% indicated signs of preeclampsia. The prevalence of various diseases were as follows: 12.3% afflicted with urinary infection, 0.8% had addiction. 0.4% had sexual transmitted disease, 0.4% had anemia, 0.6% had thyroid disease, 0.6% had cardiac diseases, 0.1% had liver disease, 9.1% had diabetes mellitus and 4.3% afflicted with more than one disease. Also 22.9% had low birth weight.Conclusion: Inappropriate age, urinary tract infection, hemorrhage and hypertension were the most important health problems of the pregnant women. For prevention of the high-risk pregnancies, education and prenatal care are necessary.