Journal of Arak University Medical Sciences
Year:2017 | Volume:20 | Issue:7 (124)|Papers Count:11

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotionally focused couple therapy on sexual self-esteem and sexual function in women with multiple sclerosis in the city of Tehran.Materials and Methods: This was a quasi experimental study with pretest-posttest, a month follow-up and control group. The statistical population included women with multiple sclerosis in the city of Tehran.30 patients with the age range of 20-50 years old were chosen as samples and randomly were divided in 2 groups of individuals as control and emotionally focused therapy. The experimental groups practiced the emotionally focused therapy for a month, 9 step and 60 minutes in each session. Then, posttest was performed for them. For data collecting, the sexual self-esteem and sexual function questionnaires were used. Data analysis was done by using multivariate analysis of covariance by SPSS 23 software at a significant level less than 0.05.Results: Statistical data analysis illustrated that the amounts of sexual self-esteem of life after emotionally focused couple therapy intervention were significantly increased in experimental than control group (p<0.05). Also, of emotionally focused therapy was significant increase on sexual function of women with multiple sclerosis (p<0.05).Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, emotionally focused couple therapy has affected on sexual self-esteem and sexual function in women with multiple sclerosis Thus, emotionally focused couple therapy can be a good approach to improve the sexual problems in women with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Candida albicans as an opportunistic fungal pathogen in human causes candidiasis. The widespread use of azoles has led to the increase of azole resistance in Candida albicans isolates. Mutation in theERG11 gene is one of several azole resistance reasons in Candida albicans. The aim of this study was to findERG11 gene mutations in fluconazole resistant isolates in Rasht.Materials and methods: Candida albicansisolates were identified by standard identification methods such as germ tubes. The fluconazole resistance and susceptibility of the isolates was evaluated by Disc diffusion and MIC methods. For mutation determining, ERG11 gene was amplified by PCR and then sequenced in clinical isolates.Results: From 23 isolates of Candida albicans, 20 isolates were fluconazole resistant. The MIC of fluconazole in these isolates was determined between 128 to 2048μg/ml. Also, sequencing analysis showed that 10 fluconazole resistant isolates had two missense mutations (D116E and E266D) inERG11 gene.Conclusion: In this study, resistance to high concentration of fluconazole shows that different mechanisms simultaneously implicated in developing azoles resistance in the isolates. Association of ERG11gene mutation and deregulation of other genes can be led to resistance to high fluconazole concentration in this study.

Background: 17 b-Estradiol modulates nociception by binding to the estrogen receptors and also by allosteric interaction with other membrane-bound receptors like the NMDA receptors. The paragigantocellularis lateralis nucleus (LPGi) is also involved in the pain modulation. In this study, the role of NMDA receptors of the LPGi nucleus has been investigated in the 17 b-estradiol-induced pain modulation in the ovariectomized rats.Materials and Methods: In this study, the female Wistar rats in the range of 200-270 gr were used. In order to study the role of the NMDA receptors in the 17 b-estradiol-induced pain modulation in the ovariectomized rats, primarily, rats were bilaterally ovariectomized and immediately cannulation of the LPGi nucleus was performed. Then, drugs were injected and 15 minutes later 50 ml of 5% formalin was injected into the rat's hind paw; and formalin-induced paw jerking behaviour was recorded for 60 min.Results: The results of the present study showed that the intra-LPGi injection of 17 b-estradiol significantly reduced the paw jerking behavior both in the first and in the second phases of formalin test. Pretreatment of the LPGi nucleus by NMDA receptor antagonist (AP5) neutralized the antinociceptive effect of 17 b-estradiol on the paw jerking frequency in the both phases of formalin test; and induced hyperalgesia in the both phases of this behavior.Conclusion: These results indicated that the intra-LPGi injection of 17 b-estradiol produces modest analgesia on the formalin-induced inflammatory pain. Therefore, it can be concluded that the NMDA receptors of the paragigantocellularis lateralis nucleus are probably involved in the antinociceptive effect of 17b-estradiol in the ovariectomized rats.

Background: The evaluation of the amount and type of edible oils can significantly help to raise the people’s awareness about how to use this type of food product. The aim of this study was to determine consumption pattern of various edible oils and its related factors based on PRECEDE model.Materials and Methods: This cross sectional descriptive analytic study was performed on 300 urban and rural women referring to health centers in Qom province. The participants were selected via multi-stage sampling method. The data were collected using standard questionnaire of PRECEDE model and analyzed by SPSS V.20 using independent t-test, paired t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient.Results: The results of this study showed that 46.4% of urban women and 53.6% of rural women used solid oil. There was a significant difference between urban and rural households in terms of the consumption of tallow oil (p<0.05), as the consumption of tallow oil was more prevalent in rural households than in urban households. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups of urban and rural women in terms of the mean score of consumption of healthy edible oils and reinforcing factors (p<0.05), as the mean scores of urban women were better than those of rural women.Conclusion: Implementation of training programs using training models such as the PRECEDE model can help to modify and correct the pattern of consumption of edible oils, especially in rural areas and promote the level of health of the community.

Background: Ectopic pregnancy is a type of pregnancy in which implantation of zygote occurs out of the uterine cavity. One of the most important problems is bleeding. On the other hand, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene is one of the involved factors in unsuccessful pregnancies, and 4G/5G polymorphism is the most common changes of this gene. So, it is important to study the prevalence of these changes in this gene in women with ectopic pregnancy.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 100 Iranian women with ectopic pregnancy and 101 Iranian women with the normal pregnancy were selected. After blood sampling, ARMS PCR method has been used for detection 4G/5G polymorphism and data were analyzed by statistical analysis.Results: In this study, 4G allele with 70.79% prevalence and 5G allele with 63.5% prevalence are the most common alleles for the control and case group, respectively.4G/4G and 4G/5G genotypes in the control group and 4G/5G and 5G/5G genotypes in the case group are prevalent. An Armitage test found p<0.05 for both alleles, showing 4G allele (p=1.524e-10; OR=0.262) has decreasing effect and 5G allele (p=1.524e-10; OR=3.822) has increasing effect in ectopic pregnancy.Conclusion: According to the findings, 5G allele and 4G/5G and 5G/5G genotypes have increasing effect, 4G allele and 4G/4G genotype have decreasing effect in ectopic pregnancy. So, we could consider 5G allele as a risk factor of ectopic pregnancy in this study.

Background: Adipose tissue's phenotypic alteration due to exercise training is a new theory.However, the cellular–molecular mechanisms for these phenotypic alterations are not yet clearly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of six weeks resistance training on Meteorin-like hormone level and insulin resistance index in overweight adolescent boys.Materials and Methods: Twenty overweight adolescent boys (average age 18.5±1 years old, average weight 81.1±4.5 kg, and BMI 27.7±0.7 kg/m2) participated in this study. The subjects were randomly assigned into two groups: control (N=10) and resistance training (N=10). Subjects in training group performed six-week resistance training program 3 days/week. Anthropometrics parameters and fasting serum of Meteorin-like hormone levels, insulin and glucose were measured at the baseline and at the end of study.Results: The level of Meteorin-like hormone was significantly decreased in control group (p=0.008), but that of Meteorin-like hormone in resistance training was increased insignificantly (p=0.311). The variations of Meteorin-like hormone levels between two groups were significant (p=0.004). The changes of insulin resistance were increased in both groups which were statistically significant (p=0.032) and insignificant (p=0.632) for control and training groups respectively. We found a negative and insignificant correlation between changes in Meteorin-like hormone levels and changes in insulin resistance index (p=0.273).Conclusion: The results showed that six weeks’ resistance training has no effect on increasing Meteorin-like hormone serum level and improving insulin resistance index and body composition in overweight adolescent boys.

Background: Neuronal damage following seizures and epilepsy is one of the main causes of disabilities and mortality worldwide. In recent years, preconditioning has been introduced as a novel strategy for the prevention of brain damage. Preconditioning is a phenomenon in which a minor noxious stimulus protects from a subsequent more severe insult. The aim of present study was to examine the effect of ethanol (Eth) preconditioning on pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) -induced impairment memory in the inhibitory avoidance model.Material and Methods: This study was carried out on 45 adult male Wistar rats (180-200 g).Animals were assigned into five groups: Control, Eth 0.25, Eth 0.5, PTZ and Eth (0.5) +PTZ (n=9, for all groups). Eth-preconditioning was induced 6 days before the injection of PTZ. The animals were tested in a single trial step-through inhibitory test in two sessions (train and test). Then locomotor activity of rats was recorded in the open-field apparatus and NR1 mRNA expression in the hippocampus was measured by real-time PCR technique.Results: One-way ANOVA revealed that the Ethanol preconditioning did not impair inhibitory memory. Further, post-test analyses showed that Ethanol preconditioning significantly prevented from PTZ-induced memory impairment, and increased NR1 subunit mRNA expression in PTZ-induced memory impairment group. In addition, one-way ANOVA for the locomotor activity showed no significant difference between the groups.Conclusion: Our results showed that a pre-conditioning treatment with Ethanol (0.5g/kg/day), 6 days before PTZ-induced memory impairment may provide a kind of neuroprotection in rats.

Background: Phenylhydrazine (PHZ) as a strong oxidant agent causes variety of toxic effects including alterations in the biochemical and cardiac tissue. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of royal jelly (RJ) and vitamin C (vit C) against PHZ-induced cardiotoxicity in mice.Materials and Methods: Adult male mice were randomly assigned to eight groups of eight mice each. PHZ was administered to four groups of mice at a dose of 60 mg/kg per 48 hours intraperitoneally for 35 days. Three of these groups received vit C (250 mg/kg per day) intraperitoneally, RJ (100 mg/kg per day) orally and vit C+RJ with same doses four hours before PHZ administration, respectively. A vehicle-treated control group and vit C, RJ and vit C+RJ control groups were also included.Results: RJ and vit C significantly decreased (p<0.05) the serum level of malondialdehyde and creatine kinase (CK-BM) that had been increased by PHZ. Also, RJ and vit C increased the total antioxidant capacity and supraxoid dismutase serum that had been decreased by induced PHZ.Moreover, RJ and vit C could improve the tissue damages induced by PHZ such as diffused edema, hemorrhage, congestion, hyaline exudates, necrosis and also fibrosis tissue in heart tissue.Conclusion: It seems that Vit C and RJ can minimize PHZ-induced cardiotoxicity in mouse through oxidative reactions inhibition.

Background: Up to now, there is no single opinion on how to control pain after surgery and clinical research in this area has been continuing. This study aimed to compare the effect of intravenous Acetaminophen, Dexamethasone and placebo on postoperative pain after cataract surgery under sedation and topical anesthesia.Materials and Methods: In a clinical trial study, 120 patients undergoing cataract surgery under sedation and topical anesthesia were distributed into three equal groups.10 minutes before the end of surgery, the first group received 0.01 mg/kg Dexamethasone, the second group received 15 mg/kg Acetaminophen and third group received the same volume on normal saline as placebo. Painintensity and additional analgesic consumption were assessed during operation and recovery and compared between the three groups.Results: In the three groups of Acetaminophen, Dexamethasone and control groups, 6, 10 and 18 patients had postoperative headache (16.7%, 27% and 47.4% respectively) and there was a significant difference between the three groups (p=0.014). Also, pain intensity was significantly higher in control group compared with other two groups from 30 minutes after arrival to the recovery room until 24 h postoperatively (p<0.05). Also, the incidence of headache was higher in Dexamethasone group compared with Acetaminophen group, but there was no statistical difference between the two groups in this regard (p>0.05).Conclusion: Intravenous Acetaminophen administration is more effective than Dexamethasone and placebo to reduce pain and analgesic requirements after cataract surgery.

Background: Integrons are mobile genetic elements that play an important role in dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. The aim of present study is to determine the antibiotic resistance profile, frequency of integrons genes (class 1, 2, 3) and compare it between MRSA and MSSA isolates from clinical infections.Materials and Methods: 50 MRSA and 50 MSSA isolates from March to September 2015 were isolated from infection site of hospitalized patients referred to Valiasr hospital Arak, Iran were subjected to this study. All isolates were tested for susceptibility to antibiotics using disk diffusion method. Then, the mecA gene was studied to validate resistance. The frequency of integrons (class 1, 2, 3) and the variable region genes like qacE D 1 and sul1 in isolates were determined by PCR method.Results: The highest antibiotic resistances rate in isolates was found for clindamycin.All of the isolates were susceptibel to vancomycin.80% of MRSA and 40% of the MSSA isolates carried class 1 integrons, whereas class 2 integron were found in 12 % and 4% of MRSA and MSSA isolates, respectively. Also, all isolates that were class 1 integron gene positive contain qacE 1 and sul1 genes. Class 3 integrons were not found.Conclusion: The high frequency of class 1 integron in MRSA and MSSA isolates associated with high rate of antibiotic resistance indicating that may be integrons play an important role facilitating the spread of antimicrobial resistance in this region. Clinical doctors and infection control committee should take this issue seriously.