Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences
Year:2002 | Volume:4 | Issue:1|Papers Count:11

One of the common problems of war is head trauma. This complication is usually accompanied by early and late seizures. Type of epilepsy, site of injury, importance of surgery as a preventive measure and prophylactic medication were evaluated in a sample of 50 disabled persons of the war having head trauma and post traumatic seizures. Data was collected from their medical documents and by interview and medical examination. Our results showed that 86% of the patients had late seizures and 14% had early seizures. 60% of them had convulsions during the first year after trauma. The location of trauma in 73.5% was in temporal or temporoparietal region. 90% of the cases had tonic-clonic seizures and the rest had focal seizures. Prophylactic medication had only affected the early seizures. Surgical prophylaxes were not effective in reducing seizures frequency and patients need having antiepileptic drugs for a long period.

Success in radiotherapy depends on precision and accuracy of the absorbed dose by a tumor. Since direct measurement of the absorbed dose is impractical, the tissue substitution (phantom) is used. This study has carried out to compare the prescribed and absorbed doses of body treatment fields in patients with Hodgkin and uterine adenocarcinoma. Treatment approach was carried out on phantom and the absorbed dose in the center of tumor and out of central axis was measured using thermoluminecence dosimeter (TLD). In both diseases the prescribed dose in tumor center was 100 cGy. In Hodgkin patient, the absorbed doses in tumor center in mediastinum, right axillary lymph node, left subclavicular lymph node and left sub-shielded lung was 107.83, 153.58, 124.71 and 9.81 cGy respectively. In uterine adenocarcinoma the absorbed dose in tumor center was 103.76 cGy and in right ovary 90.11 cGy. The measured doses in tumor center by TLD and Farmer dosimeter showed no significant difference. Overall, our results showed that the use of solid phantom may be useful for measuring the difference between the prescribed and absorbed doses and for minimizing the difference and it might be necessary in all radiotherapy centers.

Routinely hemodialysis (HD) solution with a K+ concentration of 1 mEq/lit is being used in Iranian HO centers. This dialysate K+ concentration may cause dangerous hypokalemia during HO session, and other K+ concentrations of HD solutions are not available. In two previtms studies, the effects of different K+ concentrations on dialysis efficacy were studied, which had conflicting results. So we studied the effect of one and three mEq/lit K+ concentrations of HD solutions on dialysis efficacy and serum K+ level at the end and 30 minutes after HD session. Thirty chronic stable HO patients contributed in a double blind crossover study. Patients in the first session of two consecutive weeks were hemodialysed with 1 arid 3 mEq/lit, K+ dialysate. At 30 seconds after HO, dangerous hypokalemia ([K+]<3.5 mEq/lit) occurred more frequently with dialysate K+ concentration of 1 versus 3 mEq/lit (50% vs. 3.3%, P<0.05). This difference was abolished 30 minutes after completion of HO. Incidences rate of dangerous hyperkalemia ([K+]>5.5 mEq/lit) was similar with both K+ concentrations. Thirty minutes after completion of HD, better HD adequacy was achieved with 3 mEq/lit compared with 1 mEq/lit K+ dialysate concentration measured with Kt/V (0.93±0.3 vs. 0.84±0.34, P<0.05) and urea reduction ratio (0.52±0.12 vs. 0.48±0.17, P<0.05). Therefore using 3 mEq/lit K+ dialysate concentration is safer and causes a higher dialysis efficacy compared with I mEq/lit K+ dialysate concentration.

Antipsychotic drugs are known to produce analgesic effects, but the mechanisms are not well established. In addition, some calmodulin inhibitors have been reported to produce antinociceptive effects. Among antipsychotic drugs, trifluoperazine is one of the most potent calmodulin inhibitors. We tried to find which of the known properties of this drug, including antidopaminergic, anticholinergic, antiadrenergic, antihistaminic, and calmodulin inhibition is involved in its analgesic effect. Various agents were injected through chronic subarachnoid catheter and their effects on formalin test were evaluated 15 minutes after drug administration. Since antinociceptive measures with formalin test are based on motor function, we also used rotarod test to quantify motor side effects of the drugs. Intrathecal trifluoperazine showed antinociceptive effects in a biphasic fashion i.e., analgesia at relatively low doses (1, 10µg/rat) and hyperalgesia at the higher dose (100µg/rat). No analgesic effect was observed after intrathecal injection of sulpiride, atropine, phentolamine and brompheniramine. Meanwhile, intrathecal calmidazolium induced a dose dependent analgesia (10,50,250 µg/rat). Low doses of histamine (1 µg/rat), physostigmine (1 µg/rat), bromocriptine (1 µg/rat) and norepinephrine (1 µg/rat) did not affect trifluoperazine induced analgesia. Calcium attenuated antinociceptive effect of trifluoperazine and inhibited analgesic effect of calmidazolium. Finally, naloxone decreased trifluoperazine induced antinociception but did not have any effect on calmidazolium-induced analgesia. We concluded that calmodulin inhibition may be involved in the analgesia produced by trifluoperazine. With increasing doses of trifluoperazine, algesic effect seems to overcome the analgesic effect. It is also suggested that the opioidergic system does not connect with "calmodulin inhibition"-induced analgesia eventhough this system has partial role in trifluoperazine-induced analgesia.

Long-term culture of CBA mouse spleen cells in IL-3 conditioned medium induced a stable mast cell line (MCL). This mast cell line expressed NC-I.I receptor that mediates natural cytotoxicity against tumor, but had no markers of T cell, B cells, macrophages, or NK cells. Since in most literature tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has been proposed as a major mediator in natural cytotoxicity, and MCL cells has no receptor for TNF-α, in this", study we aimed to identify the role of TNF- α in killing of WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma by MCL. MCL and spleen cells from mice (CBAxC57BL/6) F1 (Control group) were separately incubated with anti-TNF-a antibody to block the NC. Furthermore to investigate the presence of TNF- α gene in MCL, mRNA of TNF- α gene was studied using RT-PCR experiment. Results showed that natural cytotoxicity of MCL was not blocked by anti-TNF- α compared to that of F1 mice spleen cells (CBAxC57BL/6) Fl. Further RT-PCR results showed no constitutive expression of TNF- α mRNA in MCL and upon interaction with WEHI-164 targets, only transient induction of TNF- a mRNA was observed at 30 minutes. We conclude that the NC activity of MCL is mediated by factor(s) other than TNF - α.

Bell's palsy is the most prevalent idiopathic facial paralysis. A study was carried out on 44 patients with peripheral nerve palsy to determine the predictive value of two electrodiagnostic methods, electromyography (EMG) and evoked electromyography (EEMG). EMG and EEMG were recorded on the fifth day and the third week of the onset of the disease. The cause of bell"s palsy in eight patients (18.2%) was identified as neuropathy, trauma, diabetes and infection. Thirty patients (68.8%) suffered from taste sense disturbances and in 26 of them the problem resolved in one week but it continued in 4 patients. 14 patients showed a decrease in potential amplitude of more than 50%. After three weeks the EMG results comprised of normal in thirty cases (77%) and fibrillation and positive sharp waves f PSW) in 9 patients (33%). A higher decrease in amplitude in the first five days resulted in a higher probability of fibrillation and PSW. There was a significant relationship between restoration of taste sense and electromyography at three weeks (P<0.05). The study also showed that age of the patients is important in prognosis of bell's palsy. According to this survey the electrodiagnostic tests are valuable in prediction of Bell's palsy and there is a close association between the restoration of taste sense and the complication of the disease.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) not only is common but also is one of the major causes of end stage renal failure, and the most common cause of chronic systemic arterial hypertension in children. This descriptive and retrospective study was performed on a sample of 207 cases from all over province, to determine the common bacterial causes and antibiogram of UTI. The most common bacterial cause was E.coli spp, (80%). Other microorganisms included, Klebsiella spp Enterobacter spp, Proteus spp, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was the least common. According to antibiogram results, the effectiveness of antibiotics against above mentioned pathogenic bacteria in descending order was nitrofurantoin, nalidixic acid, gentamicin and amikacin, from them nitrofurantoin was most effective.

Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, caused by bacillus anthracis, which transmits to human by close contact with infected animal. The most common form of clinical manifestation is the anthrax of skin (95%) and the other forms include anthrax of asterointestinal and lung. Meningitis usually follows one of the three types of the disease and comprises less than 5% of the patients. Cutaneous form can be cured completely and if not treated it can cause bacteremia and meningitis. A 38 years old woman admitted to emergency department with a skin lesion on her right hand which had appeared one week before admission. At admission her chief complaints were fever, chills and confusion. She was in deep coma with a temperature of 38.5 QC and a blackish ulcer measured 3×4 cm surrounded with edema. Brain CT scan indicated cerebral edema and subarachnoid hemorrhage. In lumber puncture the CSF had a bloody appearance. The bacillus anthracis was seen in direct smear and on blood and. skin lesion cultures. She was treated with penicillin and dexamethasone. Unfortunately she died ten hours after admission possibly due to meningoencephalitis secondary to her skin lesion. This type of the disease is rare.

Nowadays, researchers work on combination therapy for cancer treatment. This study was performed to find the effect of hyperthermia after neutron irradiation on chromosomal aberration frequency in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Blood samples were irradiated with 10cGy neutron, then they exposed to hyperthermia at 41.5°C for 60 minutes or at 43°C for 30 minutes with a sixty minute time interval. After tissue culture and preparation of slides, chromosomal aberrations were scored during metaphase. The results showed that post-hyperthermia at both 41.5 and 43°C increased chromosomal aberration frequency induced by neutron irradiation and it was more remarkable at 43°C (P<0.05). The cause of these effect probably is the inhibitory effect of hyperthermia on repair process of chromosomal damages.