Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences
Year:2016 | Volume:23 | Issue:4|Papers Count:9

Background and Aims: Cardiovascular diseases (CADs) are the most important causes of mortality and morbidity in the world and in Iran. These diseases are not completely curable but factors affecting them are preventable. The aim of this study was investigation of CAD risk factors in four municipal regions of Kerman city.Methods: From the city postal codes, 250 postal codes (as clusters) were selected randomly. Research coordinator team attended households in clusters and all the eligible members were recruited to the study. The recruitment was continued to reach 24 subjects in each cluster. The sample size was 5900 individuals aged from 15 to 75 years old. The prevalence of CAD risk factors including diabetes, hypertension, overweight and obesity, low physical activity, hyperlipidaemia, cigarette and opium smoking, depression and anxiety, oral and dental hygiene were assessed.Results: Overweight with overall prevalence of 30.5% in the city, showed significant different prevalence rates in four regions (region 1: 29.9%, region 2: 33.8%, region 3: 29.7% and region 4: 30.5%, P<0.001). Overall, diabetes and hypertension had prevalence rates of 8.1% and 11.3%, both with similar distribution in the four regions. However, in diabetic patients, the prevalence of abnormal HbA1C was 67.3%, 50.2%, 70.4% and 45.1% in regions one to four respectively (P<0.0005). The region four with 15.4% opium consumption had the highest rank among the four regions. Depression and anxiety had the highest prevalence in region 4 and the lowest in region 2 (P<0.01). The gingival score index was 72.6% in men and 68.1% in women with region four having the maximum prevalence of 80.1%.Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of CADs in Kerman is relatively high and differs based on the region. Therefore, it is recommended that in designing educational programs for improving health behaviours, those differences are considered. It is suggested that these educations persist on reduction of obesity, opium consumption and improvement of mental health in region 4, on weight and LDL reduction in region 2, on diabetes control in regions 1 and on mental health improvement in region 3.

Background & Aims: Cell therapy is among the novel therapeutic methods effective in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. The aim of the present study was using neural stem cells (NSCs) in treating contusion spinal cord injury in rat model.Methods: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) were isolated from adult rats. After three passages, these cells were transdifferntiated to neurospheres and subsequently to neural stem cells (NSCs). At in vivo studies, 43 adult female rats were divided into 5 groups. For the first group or Sham, laminectomy was the only procedure performed, whereas for the other four groups, after laminectomy, a contusion Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) was induced, as well. In group 2, no treatment was performed. In the other groups, injection was performed 7 days after SCI, as such: in groups 3, 4, and 5 normal saline, BMSCs, and NSCs were injected, respectively. The injections were administered intraspinally (IS). Motor improvement was assessed via BBB test one day before SCI and continued up to 12 weeks afterwards in all groups.Results: The current study revealed that a considerable percentage of the cells were BMSCs after the fourth passage. These cells were then transformed into neurospheres and NSCs. In all the experimental cell-therapy groups, a significant motor improvement was observed in comparison with that in the control group. This healing was more obvious during the period between the 2nd and the 4th weeks and less prominent during the period between the 4th and the 12th weeks.Conclusion: Transplantation of NSCs leads to partial motor improvement in contusive rat models.

Background and Aims: Von Willebrand disease is a bleeding disorder caused by quantitative or functional defects in von Willebrand factor. The disease is found in up to 1 percent of the population. The most common symptom is mucocutaneous bleeding. Recently, studies conducted on healthy people showed that the H817Q mutation that previously known to cause von Willebrand disease was seen in the normal individuals. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of H817Q variant of von Willebrand gene in Iranian healthy individuals.Methods: 200 DNA samples from different Iranian ethnicities were tested. The subjects were interviewed for bleeding history and other relative symptoms. DNA was extracted from 5 ml blood samples using salting out method, following written informed consent. Using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method, the samples were genotyped by Hin1II enzyme and the results were confirmed via sequencing.Results: The desired fragments were obtained using PCR-RFLP. One individual without any bleeding history was found to carry this allele in a heterozygote manner. The allele frequency was calculated as 0.25%.Conclusion: The calculated allele frequency was below 1% and thereby could not be considered as a polymorphism. Von Willebrand gene contains various mutation and polymorphisms which are population specific. To understand the Iranian pattern, more studies should be done to reveal this characteristic.

Background & Aims: Numerous studies have reported the renoprotective effects of exercise in both human and animal models of diabetic nephropathy. However, detailed mechanism of action by which exercise has a favorable influence on renal fibrogenic factors is not yet fully understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of swimming exercise on the activity of renal matrix mettaloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and transforming growth factor-b1 (TGF-b1) in rats with diabetes.Methods: The study sample consisted of 28 male Wistar rats that were randomly divided into 4 groups (7 rats per group) of control, diabetes, exercise, and diabetes-exercise. Diabetes was induced through an intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (90 mg/kg) in rats. The animals received swimming exercise for 6-30 minutes per day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. The rats were sacrificed 72 hours after the last treatments and renal MMP-2 activity and TGF-b1 level were evaluated by Zymography and ELIZA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) method. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance.Results: Diabetes induction significantly increased renal TGF-b1 (P<0.001) and decreased MMP-2 activity (P<0.001) compared with the control group. Furthermore, 8 weeks of swimming exercise was associated with a significant decrease in renal TGF-b1 level (P=0.001) and elevated MMP-2 activity (P=0.001) in rats in the diabetes-exercise group.Conclusion: It seems that the renoprotective effects of regular swimming exercise against diabetes-induced kidney damage may be partly mediated via the up-regulation of renal MMP-2 activity and reduction of TGF-b1 level in diabetic renal tissue.

Background & Aims: Crown restoration of teeth after root canal treatment protects their remaining structure against breakage and infection of the root canal, and will replace the missing structure. This study was performed to identify the prevalence of different types of crown restorations after root canal treatment of posterior teeth in Kerman, Iran, in 2013.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 410 individuals (1047 endodontically treated teeth) in 3 radiology centers in Kerman. To collect data, the existence of an endodontically treated posterior tooth was evaluated through panoramic radiography, and patients’ demographic information (including sex, age, education level, and their dentist’s education level) were obtained. The endodontically treated posterior teeth were not entered into this study if they did not have suitable restorations, had lost the tooth crown due to extensive caries, were not preservable, or were bridge abatements. Crown restorations were recorded based on their types, crown, amalgam, and composite with or without cusp coverage, and being a molar or premolar tooth. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using chi-square test. All P-values of less than 0.05 were considered significant.Results: In the present study, 203 (49.5%) men and 207 (50.5%) women participated. The mean age of subjects was 36.84±9.76 years. Among the 1047 studied teeth, 380 (36.3%) were premolar teeth and 667 (63.7%) were molar teeth, and 316 teeth (30.20%) had a full crown. There was a statistically significant difference between existence of crown treatment, and educational level and age of patients. Amalgam and composite restoration had a statistically significant difference in terms of patients’ sex; amalgam restoration was more common in men, while composite restorations were more common in women. Crown treatment was more common in the specialists group, while amalgam restoration without cusp coverage was more common in the general dentists group.Conclusion: The results showed that amalgam or composite crown restorations without cusp coverage are common, which illustrates the necessity of emphasizing the importance of crown restorations in long term survival of root treated teeth in dentistry colleges.

Background & Aims: High concentrations of selenite have carcinogenetic, cytotoxic and genotoxic effects. Therefore, removal of this toxic pullutant from the environment has a particular importance in maintaining public health. In this study, with the aim of optimization of selenite removal process, the design Box-Behnken method was used to estimate the simultaneous effect of variables on removal efficiency and to determine the optimal values of variables on selenite removal with the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus sp. Tra Cheese 6.Methods: An experimental method using a three-level Box-Behnken method for testing the effects of four factors including concentrations of selenite ion, cell biomass, NaCl and agitation was investigated. Statistical Data Analysis was performed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) method. Regression coefficients of the second-order polynomial model were estimated. Then, by integrating the results and drawing a multivariate quadratic equation, the optimal point was precisely determined. Design-Expert software was used for data analysis.Results: Optimum removal of selenite was obtained at initial concentration of Selenite 49.5 mM, biomass concentration of 56 g/l, NaCl concentration of 4.2% (w/v) and agitation at 100rpm. Under these conditions, the optimal selenite removal was 77.12% after a 24-h reaction under the resting cells of Lactobacillus sp. Tra Cheese 6.Conclusion: In the current study, Response Surface Methodology based on Box-Behnken design was successfully applied for improving selenite removal with the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus sp. Tra Cheese 6.

Background and Aims: The purpose of the study was to examine the role of behavioral activation-inhibition, impulsivity and alexithymia in discriminating students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders from normal controls.Methods: The studied sample includes all the students in University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Iran, in 2011 (n=8344). At the first stage, to identify the students with obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders, 368 students were selected through simple random sampling method and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III was completed for them. In the second stage, 25 students were selected for each group and the Gray-Wilson Personality Questionnaire, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale were completed by them. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and discriminant analysis.Results: Behavioral activation-inhibition, impulsivity and alexithymia played significant role in discriminating students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders and had the potential to predict the changes concerned with obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders.Conclusion: It seems that attention to and evaluation of the roles of behavioral activation-inhibition, impulsivity and alexithymia as effective factors in obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders is necessary.

Background and Aims: High-risk sexual behaviors are of the most important risky behaviours in the area of sexual and reproductive health. It seems that educational programs based on health behavioural change theories are of the most basic measures in prevention of social damages. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the effect of a training program based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) on sexual high-risk behavioural intentions in female prisonors in Vakil Abad Prison, Mashhad, Iran, in 2013.Methods: This was a pre-experimental one group designed study on 40 women gotten prisoned due to doing high-risk sexual behaviours. Data were collected using self-structured questionnaires including demographics information, data related to sexual activity and constructs of the theory of planned behaviour. The training program was designed based on the constructs of this theory and was then implemented as seven 70-minute sessions. The questionnaires were completed before, immediately after, and four weeks after completing the training program. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics tests via SPSS software.Results: There were significant differences between the mean scores of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention for abstinence from high-risk sexual behaviors in female prisoners before, immediately after and four weeks after implementation of the training program (P<0.001 for all).Conclusion: Developed health educational program on the basis of theory of planned behavior was an effective strategy for abstinence from high-risk sexual behavioral intention in jailed women.

The presence of stem cells in leukemia and solid tumors has been demonstrated in recent decades. Cancer stem cells have the potency of tumorigenesis; furthermore, they have the ability of self-renewing and differentiation like other stem cells. They also play important role in the process of tumor invasion and metastasis. Several studies have been performed to discover the specific markers and different phenotypes of these cells that can be very important in their identification. It seems that the characteristic of cancer stem cells, like tumor genesis, is greatly related to the specific signaling pathways such as Wnt, b catenin and hedgehog. In addition, the tumor microenvironment and its controlling agents are the important factors involving in the regulation of cancer stem cell function. The present review aimed to investigate the biology of cancer stem cells, specific signaling pathways, factors controlling the microenvironment as well as the role of microRNAs in controlling the function of these cells to provide new therapeutic methods.