Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences
Year:2018 | Volume:20 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:10

Background and aims: Sperm post-acrosomal sheath WWdomain-binding protein (PAWP) was expressed during spermiogenesis and recently introduced as one of sperm factors involved in oocyte activation. So, the aim of this study was to compare sperm PAWP and chromatin status between men with normal (normozoospermia) and abnormal (ab-normozoospermia) sperm parameters. Methods: Semen samples were assessed according to World Health Organization (2010) protocol and individuals were divided into normozospermia (N=31) and ab-normozoospermia (N=23). Sperm PAWP were assessed by flow cytometry. Sperm DNA damage (TUNEL assay) and protamine deficiency (chromomycin A3 staining) were assessed by fluorescent microscope in these individuals. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and Pearson coefficient test and by SPSS software. Results: In this study, significant differences were observed in sperm parameters (concentration, motility, morphology) between men with normozoospermia and ab-normozoospermia (P<0. 001). Mean percentage of sperm PAWP was significantly lower in ab-normozoospermic men compared to normozoospermic men (P<0. 001). In addition, mean percentage of spermatozoa with DNA damage and protamine deficiency were significantly higher in ab-normozoospermic men compared to normozoospermic men (P<0. 05). Furthermore, significant associations were observed between percentage of sperm PAWP with sperm parameters (P<0. 05). Conclusion: The results of the current study show that in men with ab-normozoospermia, sperm functional tests such as DNA damage, protamine deficiency, and also percentage of sperm factor (PAWP) related to oocyte activation were in range of abnormality. Therefore, assessment of these tests can be efficient in the decision of treatment in infertile men.

Background and aims: The irisin hormone is a type of myocynia that is secreted immediately after physical activity in the skeletal muscle and flows in blood circulation. The aim of the current study was to compare the effect of a period of resistive, aerobic, and combined exercises on serum irisin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and insulin resistance of obese women. Methods: In this semi experimental study, 36 obese women with the average (age: 33. 27± 6. 82 years, weight: 76. 11± 9. 73 kg, height: 156. 18± 5. 21 cm and fat percentage 38. 61± 3. 48) were selected by purposive and convenience sampling, and were divided into three groups of resistive (n=12), aerobic (n=12) and concurrent (n=12) exercises. First, weight, height, BMI, WHR, Vo2max and fat percentage were measured, and the blood sample was taken from participants. Then, resistance, aerobic and concurrent exercise programs were performed for 8 weeks. Resistance program with weight, 75% of one maximum repetition, aerobic exercise program, 75% of maximum heart rate and concurrent exercise program, a combined of aerobic and resistance groups, were implemented. 24 hours before and after eight weeks of exercise, blood sample of irisin, CRP, anthropometric indices were measured. To study the changes from pre-test to post-test, correlated t-test in each groups and for inter-group comparison, the one-way variance analysis test were used. In the case of observing significant results, the Bonferroni post hoc test was used. The significance level was considered as P≤ 0. 05. Results: The results showed that performing eight weeks of aerobic and concurrent exercise programs caused increasing serum irisin and reducing CRP in all three groups. Increasing irisin in resistance group was not significant (P≥ 0. 05). Also, no significant difference was observed for irisin and CRP among the three groups (P≥ 0. 05). Conclusion: Overall, findings showed that physical activity includes arobic exersise with 55-75% maximum heart rate and intensity 55-75% of 1RM is probAbly a stimulator for irisin secretion. Sport activity caused reducing CRP through secretion of myokines such as irisin. This result is an indicator for the role of anti-inflammatory of irisin.

Background and aims: Homocysteine is an amino acid sulfur-containing that its amount under the effects of androgenic hormones changes. The aim of the current study was to study the prenatal and neonatal effects of testosterone on serum homocysteine and growth of Femur and Humerus bones length and diameter of rats’ born by considering the homocysteine effect on the growth of bone tissue. Methods: This experimental study has been performed on 256 born of 40 male and female rats which are divided in four groups: control (no treatment), sham (treatment with drugs), experimental perinatal and neonatal by dosing 600 μ g/kg in pregnancy and lactation periods under testosterone treatment. Then, the different groups of both males and females’ born in the days 7, 14, 21 and maturation of testosterone levels, homocysteine, and length and diameter of Femur and Humerus bones were evaluated and the results obtained using SPSS-20 software, t-test, and ANOVA were analyzed. The significant differences of the data was considered at P<0. 05. Results: Analysis of the results showed that a significant increase in rats’ born treated with testosterone in the serum levels of homocysteine and testosterone is observed (P<0. 05). However, in the male and female born on the 21st and during maturity, the significant reduction in the Femur and Humerus bones length and diameter was observed (P<0. 05). Conclusion: The results showed that injection of testosterone during pregnancy and lactation causes increasing testosterone levels and homocysteine and decreasing in the length and diameter of Femur and Humerus bones is concluded.

Background and aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ten-week exercises rehabilitation in stable and unstable surfaces on balance and muscles strength of the lower extremity in women with multiple sclerosis. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, thirty patients were divided randomly into two exercise groups. Training program for groups was carried out in ten weeks, three times per week and each session one hour. Muscles strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. One-legged standing and timed get up and go tests were used to assess static and dynamic balance, respectively. The data were analyzed using analysis of ANOVA with repeated measures and independent and dependent t-test. Results: The results showed that there was a significant increase for all diameters of measuring in both exercise groups. Exercise group in unstable surface showed significantly larger improvement in muscles strength and static and dynamic balance compered to exercise group in stable surface. Conclusion: Generally, it can be stated that exercise in stable and unstable surfaces will result in considerable improvements in muscles strength and balance in patients with multiple sclerosis. Thus, the respective specialists can use these exercise as a complementary treatment along with the drug therapy for patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background and aims: Silica oxide nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) have attracted a great interest in biotechnology and medicinal fields. It has been documented SiO2-NPs can induce cytotoxicity in normal cells. However, until now, the cytotoxicity of SiO2-NPs against nervous system cells did not examine. Methods: In this in vitro study, the activities of caspase-8 and 6 were analyzed in the PC12 cells treated with different concentrations of silica oxide nanoparticles, and was assessed by Elisa plate reader. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, and by One-way ANOVA and Student t-test. Results: The results showed that the caspase-8 and 6 activities increased in a concentration dependent manner. Indeed, the activity of caspase-8 and 6 was induced after exposure to 1-100 μ M of SiO2-NPs. However, the SiO2-NPs showed only slight toxicity in the concentration of 0. 1 μ M (P<0. 05). Conclusion: A mitochondrial-dependent pathway activated by caspase-8 and 6 mediated by SiO2-NPs may be involved in apoptosis induced by NPs, and therefore, cell cytotoxicity plays a role in PC12 cells.

Background and aims: Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical method for the treatment of water and waste water. Water disinfection by electrochemical methods has been increasingly carried out recently. The aim of this applied research is to investigate the removal of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria from drinking water by using Electrocoagulation (EC)-Electroflotation (EF) with Stainless Steel-Graphite felt electrodes parallel with the monopole mode. Methods: An experimental study was conducted in a batch system. In this study, the contaminated water samples were prepared by adding104, 105 and 106 CFU/ml E. coli and S. aureus. Independent variables Including: different concentrations of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria (104, 105 and 106 CFU/ml), reaction time (5, 10, 15 and 20 min), initial pH (7, 8 and 9), electrode gap (1, 2 and 3 cm), current density (0. 83, 1. 67 and 3. 3 mA/cm2) to determine the optimum conditions were investigated. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the results. Results: The results show that in the optimum conditions with increasing the pH from 7 to 9 removal efficiency of bacterial strains of E. coli and S. aureus were decreased significantly from 100% to 80% and 100% to 83%, respectively. In initial concentration of 105 CFU/ml, optimum conditions were obtained for current density, reaction time and electrodes gap; 3. 3 mA/cm2, 20 min and 2 cm, respectively. Conclusion: According to the results, E. coli and S. aureus removal efficiency in optimum conditions was obtained, 100%. Thus, the EC/EF process can be used for removal of pathogenic bacteria from drinking water.

Background and aims: Interference in the different components of the drug sector can cause different and unpredictable effects in other parts of the health system. This study aimed to evaluate the attitude of physicians and specialists towards the best approach of government in reducing the cost of prescription drugs. Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, observational study was conducted by the following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines among 360 general practitioners and specialists of the city of Tehran in 2015-2016. The descriptive statistics used in order to define the best approach of government in reducing the cost of prescription drugs, and Chi-square and Cross Tab has used for evaluating the relationship between the attitudes of the physicians and specialists with choosing each one of the approaches. Results: The response rate of the participants in the study was about 97%. By considering the fact that the participants were allowed to choose more than one option in answering the questions, attitudes of surveyed physicians about the best approach of government in reducing the cost of prescription drugs is as follows, respectively: 45. 6% of them have chosen the approach of creation and enforcement of price controls on pharmaceutical companies, 41. 5% of them provide subsidies such as tax benefits and other concessions to pharmaceutical companies, 20. 4% starting Government drug manufacturing units, and 10% of them have selected some other approaches, different from proposed approaches, according to the questionnaire. It is noteworthy that there was no significant relationship between being a general practitioner or specialist and choosing each one of the approaches. Conclusion: In most of the studies, role of the government in promoting the Cost Containment Strategies for prescription drugs and controlling the costs in health care system and managing the imposed costs on patients is undeniable. According to this study and most of the current studies, the best approach of government in reducing the cost of prescription drugs is the creation and enforcement of price controls on pharmaceutical companies. In addition, the government has a dominant role to play in upbringing and cultivating a new generation of cost-conscious physicians and medical staff. Ultimately, government can make a remarkable contribution to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and making healthcare affordable.

Background and aims: Nowadays applying computer in image processing is rapidly increasing to resolve shortcomings of medical images. Image features modify its image contained image information. The aim of the present study was to find correlation between CT-scan and MRI images' features. Methods: In this descriptive study, it was used 1458 CT and MRI images of 6 patients (3 females and 3 males) referred to Golestan Hospital in Ahwaz, Iran. After collecting image, pre-processing and feature extract were performed. Then, the images' features were analyzed and correlation coefficients were calculated using Pearson correlation. Results: There was significant relation between most of the extracted features of the CT-scan and the MR (T1-weighted) images (P<0. 05). The correlation coefficient between CT-scan images and MR (T1-weighted) images was higher than those of CT-scan images and MRI (T2-weighted). Furthermore, the correlation coefficient between CT-scan images and MRI (T1-weighted) images was higher than those between MR (T1-weighted) and MR (T2-weighted) features' images. Maximum value of the correlation coefficient (0. 93) was related to the texture features and its minimum (0. 004) was related to the morphological features. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that there is a significant relationship between extracted features of CT-scan and MRI images, which leads to use a similar algorithm for classification and segmentation studies.

Background and aims: Progesterone is a female reproductive hormone. Increasing progesterone levels during menstruation or taking synthetic progesterone in oral contraceptives causes some depression in some women. Sigma receptors are considered as new targets in depression medication. Progesterone other than hormonal effects is a neuro-steroid and is an antagonist to sigma receptors. So, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of co-concomitant use of progesterone with sigma agonist drugs, dextromethorphan or pentazocine on depression test. Methods: This research is a basic-applied study. Experiments were performed on female mice weighing 25-30 g. The forced swimming test was used to investigate depression. Progesterone 10 mg/kg along with dextromethorphan HBr 30 mg/kg, or pentazocine 2. 5 mg/kg were administered on the first day and 30 min before the FST on the second day. Data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Tukey tests. Results: Progesterone led to an increase in the immobility time (over 3 minutes) in mice, which is a criterion for animal depression (P<0. 05). The immobility of animals was decreased by following consumption of dextromethorphan (100s± 13) (P<0. 001), and pentazocine (124s± 6. 9) (P<0. 01). These changes were in parallel with antidepression medications by fluvoxamine. Conclusion: Since depression caused by progesterone is resolved by Sigma agonists, Sigma receptors are responsible for depression caused by high doses of progesterone. So, these agonists can be considered as an effective antidepressant in progesterone medications with high dose.

Background and aims: Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders in the body, accompanied with increasing blood sugar levels. Diabetes is classified into 3 groups: Type 1 (T1DM), Type 2 (T2DM) and monogenic diabetes. Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a monogenic diabetes that is frequently mistaken for T1D or T2D. The aim of this study was to diagnose MODY using non-genetic biomarkers and determine its frequency in the population of Isfahan province. This, in addition to saving time and cost, is important for prognosis and appropriate treatment. Methods: In this analytical descriptive study 2085 diabetic patients with a 2-6 years of disease were examined and after assessing the clinical symptoms, in 57 cases with clinical symptoms for MODY, three markers (C-peptide, anti-GAD65 and anti-insulin (II)) were measured by ELISA method and compared with healthy cases and confirmed T1D and T2D patients. Results: In this analytical descriptive study, among 2085 diabetic patients, in 500 cases of them, the incidence of the disease was before the age of 25 years of old and after measuring 3 mentioned biochemical markers, 41 cases were negative for anti-GAD65 and anti-Insulin and had detectable C-peptide level and the differences in the levels of these three markers in suspected MODY group were meaningful (P<0. 001 for anti-GAD65, P<0. 017 for anti-Insulin (II) and P<0. 009 for C-peptide). Conclusion: The use of proprietary non-genetic biomarkers is very valuable for MODY detection and could be used alongside other clinical features to screen a large number of patients with diabetes. Ultimately, only suspect cases must be selected for genetic tests.