Scientific Journal of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences
Year:2016 | Volume:21 | Issue:4|Papers Count:15

Background and Aim: Mental health is one of the most important factors which can affect all aspects of human life. One of the questionnaires to screen the non-psychotic disorders is the general health questionnaire (GHQ). This meta-analysis study aims to investigate the psychological disorders by using general health questionnaire (GHQ) in Iranian university students.Materials and Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, MAGIran, Iranmedex, Medlib, SID and ISI data bases for GHQ, psychotic disorders and students as main key words. In order to assess homogeneity and publication bias we used I2 index and Egger test. CMA 2.0 software was used for data analysis.Results: We found 77 studies performed between 1991 and 2015 which included 44162 students. By using random models, we found a prevalence rate of 33% (95% CI: 0.295, 0.371) for mental disorders among Iranian students which showed an increasing trend (p<0.01).Conclusion: In this study we found a high prevalence rate of mental disorders with an increasing trend in the Iranian students.

Background and Aim: Creatine supplementation is the most popular supplement used as an ergogenic and therapeutic aid. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of creatine supplementation on apoptotic factors Bcl-2, Bax and Bcl-2/Bax ratio in middle-aged men during acute resistance exercise.Material and Method: In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, parallel study, twenty seven men (mean age 45.59±5.43) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: supplement group (n=10) received 20 g of creatine monohydrate per day and placebo group (n=10) received malt odextrin for one week. Our control group included 7 men. On the 8th day, the subjects in the experimental groups performed an acute resistance exercise with 80% of one repetition maximum. The controls did not perform any exercises. Blood samples were collected one day before supplement intake (Pre) and immediately after acute exercise (Post) for the measurement of serum Bcl-2 and Bax concentrations.Results: Bcl-2 significantly increased by 118.78 percent in creatine group (p<0.05) and reduced by 7.36 percent in placebo group (p>0.05) in the Post compared to the Pre exercise stage. In the Post exercise stage, serum Bax protein concentration increased in the placebo group by 17.98 percent (p<0.05) but did not change in the creatine group in comparison to the Pre exercise stage (p>0.05). The alteration percent of Bcl-2/Bax ratio was significantly higher in the creatine group after exercise (p<0.05) whereas in the placebo group it was lower compared to the Pre exercise stage (p<0.05). No changes were detected in the control group.Conclusion: Based on the results of the study acute resistance exercise, caused apoptosis which was confirmed by increased Bax and decreased alternation percent of Bcl-2/Bax ratio in the placebo group, but creatine monohydrate can provide a protective effect against apoptosis by increasing Bcl-2 and Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Thus, use of creatine supplementation may be useful for prevention of apoptotic cell death induced by stress of acute intense exercise.

Background and Aim: Increased resistance to the macrolides is probably due to excessive and inappropriate use of this type of antibiotics. The purpose of this study was to investigate macrolide resistance in group A Streptococci strains isolated from clinical samples carrying mef gene and comparison of the phenotype and genotype of the mef gene carriers and prevalence of bacteria in the study population.Material and methods: Forty Beta-hemolytic streptococci pyogenes group A isolates obtained from 825 various clinical specimens by using disk agar diffusion (DAD) were studied for the presence of mefA and mefE genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Statistical analysis was performed by means of SPSS and Microsoft Office Excel softwares.Results: Prevalence of group A streptococcus was 4.84 % and also we found a macrolide resistance of 40% among isolates in the study population. By using D-test, the prevalence rates of phenotypes of GAS resistant to erythromycin among 8 isolates were 50% (4cases) for M-phenotyp, 37.5% (3 cases) for cMLS- phenotype and 12.5% (1 case) for iMLSB -phenotype 1. Among 16 isolates resistant to macrolides, 8 (50%) had mefA, one (6.25%) had mefE and 7 isolates (43.75%), didn, t have mefA / E genes.Conclusion: In the present study M- phenotype had the highest frequency among GAS isolates resistant to erythromycin. Also, PCR can be used as a confirmatory routine test for interpretation of the results of anti-biogram and D-tests.

Background and Aim: There have been reports of beneficial effects of Cinnamomum extract on the respiratory disorders, digestive problems, menstrual pain and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Cinnamomum in rats by using plantar test.Material and Methods: Wistar male rats were divided into six groups (n=8) randomly. The rats received either hydroalcoholic extract of Cinnamomum (200, 400, mg/kg) alone, or in combination with naloxone or flumazenil intraperitoneally and after 30, 60 and 90 min, the analgesic effects of the extracts was assessed by means of plantar test.Results: The results showed that injection of hydroalcoholic extract of Cinnamomum (400 mg/kg, ip) increased significantly the time delay in response to thermal pain inducing effect in pain model of plantar test at 60 (P<0.05) and 90 (P<0.01) min after injection compared to the control group. In addition, we found no significant differences between experimental and control groups in relation to the analgesic effect of 400 mg/kg of Cinnamomum extract, with naloxone or flumazenil and the analgesic effect of Cinnamomum extract was blocked.Conclusion: Our findings confirmed the analgesic effect of Cinnamomum extract. Considering the effects of flumazenil and naloxone on inhibition of the Cinnamomum analgesia, it seems that opioidergic and GABAergic pathways may be involved in the mechanism of Cinnamomum analgesic effect.

Background and Aim: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is among the most common musculoskeletal disorders in the athletes and active individuals. Observation of muscular responses to unexpected perturbations is one of the most common methods to evaluate the neural strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the EMG response of vastus muscles to dynamic postural perturbations in the athletes with PFPS.Material and Method: This study included 10 male athletes with PFPS and 10 healthy male athletes. NPRS scale was used to assess pain. EMG activity of VMO and VL muscles measured during dynamic postural perturbation. The EMG signals were collected using a 16- channel BTS-FREEEMG 300 system, manufactured in Italy. Independent-t test was used for data analysis.Results: RMS values for VMO and VL muscles in PFPS group, were higher than the corresponding values of the control group by 33.59% and 33.35% respectively, in the forward postural perturbation. There was a significant difference in VL muscle RMS values between the two groups (P=0.04). RMS values for VMO and VL muscles in PFPS group were higher than those of the control group by 38% and 49.52% respectively, in the backward postural perturbation and there was a significant difference in VL muscle RMS values between the two groups (P=0.04).Conclusion: The results showed that valtus muscles were more active in response to dynamic postural perturbation in the athletes with PFPS in comparison to the healthy athletes. Patellofemoral pain syndrome and in general joint disorders can lead to dysfunction in the whole sensory-motor system. Therefore, instead of focusing on local symptoms we should examine the whole body in sensory-motor system dysfunction.

Background and Aim: Functional ankle instability (FAI) as giving away after recurrent sprains is the most common disabling complications of ankle sprain among athletes. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of core stability exercises and neuro-muscular exercises on dynamic balance and lower limb function of athletes with functional ankle instability.Material and Methods: Hence, 36 athlete women with FAI selected purposively by functional ankle tool questionnaire were assigned randomly to a control group (n=12), core stability group (n=12) and neuromuscular group (n=12). Exercise groups performed 6 weeks of supervised core and neuromuscular training programs for 3 days per week. Before and after performing 6 weeks of core and neuromuscular exercises, dynamic balance, subjective and objective function of participants were assessed respectively by y-balance test, foot and ankle ability measure and 8 hopping test. Gathered data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and MANCOVA test at significant level of p£0.05.Results: Research findings showed significant improvement in reach distance in three different directions of the y-balance test in the experimental groups compared with control group (P<0.05). In addition, exercise groups had significant improvement in FAAM and FAAM Sport scores and 8 hop test scores compared with control group (P<0.05). Nonetheless, there was no significant difference between the effects of these two exercise protocols on dynamic balance and lower limb function.Conclusion: Six weeks progressive supervised core stability and neuromuscular training programs significantly improved measured dynamic balance and lower limb function of athletes with FAI, but these two different exercise protocols had the same effects in improvement of these mentioned factors in athletes with functional ankle instability.

Background and Aim: Previous studies have shown that fatigue at the end of athletic events is one of the risk factors for ACL injury, causing changes in neuromuscular activity pattern of the muscles around the knee. But few studies have dealt with the effect of functional fatigue in situations similar to real sport conditions of on neuromuscular factors leading to ACL injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of functional fatigue on timing of muscles involved in ACL injury during single leg jump-landing task in female athletes.Material and Methods: This study included 15 female volleyball, basketball and handball players. Electromyography activity of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles were recorded before and after single leg jump-landing task. For data analysis we used multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures at significance level of 95% and alpha less than or equal to 0.05.Results: According to the results, fatigue can lead to a delay in the onset of vastus lateralis (p=0.002) and semitendinosus muscles activity (p=0.049); while there were no significant differences in the onset of activity of rectus femoris (p=0.143), vastus medialis (p=0.670) and biceps femoris muscles (p=0.226) between before and after fatigue.Conclusion: The results showed that fatigue can cause delayed onset of activity of semitendinosus and vastus lateralis muscles, leading to changes in neuromuscular patterns of muscles activation in jump- landing task. This may expose ACL to injury. Therefore, we recommend appropriate training programs to increase muscle performance during fatigue.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to make a comparison between the effects of eight weeks aerobic and resistance training on paraoxonase-1, arylesterase activity and lipid profile in obese girls.Material and method: 30 obese women with mean values for age 30±5years, height 1.60±2m and weight 85.23±6.7kg, and body mass index of 31-33kg/m2 were divided randomly into three aerobic exercise (n=10), resistance training (n=10) and control (n=10) groups. Experimental groups performed aerobic exercise on treadmill between 60 to 75% of heart rate reserve and resistance training between 55 to 75% 1RM for 8 weeks. Blood samples were taken from the subjects 48 hours before and 48 hours after training and also after 12 hours of fasting. Data were analyzed by use of ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test. P£0.05was considered significant.Results: The results showed that aerobic exercise had a significant effect on serum concentrations of paraoxonase-1 (P=0.001) and arylesterase (P=0.006) in obese girls. However, there was no significant difference between the effects of eight weeks of aerobic and resistance training on the plasma levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL in obese girls (P£0.05). Also, the results showed that plasma HDL levels significantly increased after eight weeks of aerobic training in obese girls (P=0.007). The effects of eight weeks of aerobic and resistance training on plasma VLDL level, were significantly different from those of the control group (P=0.001).Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it seems that aerobic exercise can increase paraoxonase-1 and aryl esterase plasma levels and also modify lipid profile which can result in reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases in obese people.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to compare knee functional ability and static and dynamic postural control in healthy female handball players and female handball players with patellofemoral pain.Materials and Methods: This non-experimental and case-control study included 25 female handball players with PFP syndrome and 25 healthy female handball players. WOMAC scale and universal goniometer were used for assessment of knee function and range of motion of the knee joint. We used Sharpend Romberg and SEBT tests for measurement of static and dynamic postural control. Using SPSS version 21, data were analyzed by kolmogorov-Smirnov and independent t –tests. p£0.05 was considered significant.Results: Knee function was significantly weaker in the patients with PFP than the healthy control group (P=0.001). In PFP group, flexion range of motion was significantly more (P=0.002) and extension range of motion (P=0.005), static postural control (P=0.001) and dynamic postural control in posterior (P=0.002), posterolateral (P=0.001), lateral (P=0.001) and anterolateral (P=0.006) directions were significantly less than those in the healthy subjects. But, there were no significant differences between the two groups in relation to dynamic postural control in anterior, anteromedial, medial and posteromedial directions (P>0.05).Conclusion: Negative changes in knee functional ability and static postural control and dynamic postural control in lateral and posterior directions in the women with PFP, can be attributed to weakness and atrophy of the knee anteromedial muscles or stiffness of the knee poster olateral muscles. Hence, in rehabilitation of PFP patients, the strengthening of the anteromedial muscles and stretching of the posterolateral muscles of the knee should be considered essential.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to compare plantar peak pressure and time to peak pressure during normal walking between women with genu recurvatum (GR) and healthy subjects.Material and Methods: 10 women with genu recurvatum and 11 healthy women participated in this study. The knee angle was measured by goniometer. Plantar pressure was measured using emed platform during barefoot walking. After dividing plantar area into 10 masks, peak pressure values and time to peak pressure were calculated. Repeated measure and MANOVA were used for statistical analysis. P<0.05 was considered significant.Results: Subjects with GR had significantly lower peak pressure values at the lateral heel (p=0.02), medial heel (p=0.04) and midfoot (p=0.02) masks of the right foot; and also at the lateral midfoot (p=0.02) and 3rd 4th and 5th toes (p=0.04) masks of the left foot, compared to the healthy women. Also, we found higher values for time to peak pressure at the masks of the lateral heel (p=0.0001), medial heel (p=0.0001) and midfoot (p=0.01) of the right foot and at the masks of medial (0=0.03) and lateral heel (p=0.03) of the left foot in the subjects with GR, compared to healthy women.Conclusion: GR abnormality can change peak plantar pressure during walking by changing the alignment of ground reaction force. These changes may affect the function of the lower limb muscles and alter the gait pattern. So, assessment of plantar pressure distribution is recommended for planning and evaluation of the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs in the patients with GR.

Background and Aim: Nowadays, there are increasing amounts of data in various fields, which calls for special methods for management and extraction of information. Therefore, use of expert systems in different fields in particular medicine has attracted the attention of many investigators. Prediction of diseases such as heart attack is also a complex issue for which selection of major risk factors and obtaining correct results have been considered essential.Material and Methods: In this study, using fuzzy system, a model was designed which works based on medical knowledge and discerning comparison. In this system the criteria used for the diagnosis heart attack are introduced into the system. Then theses criteria will be used for the risk factors in order to predict presence or absence of heart attack. In order to increase efficiency and accuracy of the system, the influence of the more important risk factors have received higher values. The proposed algorithm was used for the data collected from 1000 heart attack cases and patients without heart disease by using fuzzy systems in Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj.Results: The proposed algorithm could predict heart disease with 98% accuracy in the subjects predisposed to heart attack. Another advantage of this method is its high efficiency in the absence of important diagnostic methods, such as exercise testing.Conclusion: The proposed algorithm can accurately identify patients with heart disease. Risk factors such as age, blood pressure, unhealthy fat, smoking, family history and gender have significant impacts on the development of heart disease, Therefore, designing interventional programs by medical centers and providing information by mass media can be useful for prevention of heart attack.

Background and Aim: Establishment of registry system is an important criterion for health care management system. In this study we extended registry system which included only a few items of personal information. Data concerning epidemiologic issues and important criteria influencing the status of these patients were collected.Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional study, in cooperation with the specific diseases and organ transplantation management of Ministry of Health and Medical Education, we collected and studied data of the hemodialysis patients in our country. This study included 18, 160 patients from 428 dialysis departments. We collected demographic, clinical and laboratory data including demographic characteristics, disease duration, cause of renal disease and recorded serum levels of hemoglobin, calcium, PTH, ferritin and….., during a period of 2 months. Using SPSSv.18 software data were analyzed by t-test.Results: The mean age of the patients was 67.86±16.7 years. The most common causes of ESRD were diabetes (37.35%) and hypertension (23.9%) respectively.2.2 percent and 3.06 percent of the patients were positive for HBSAg and HCVAb respectively. Most patients (75.7%) had been on dialysis 3 times a week. Hemoglobin levels were less than 10 mg / dl in 42.3% of the patients.20.3 % of the patients had calcium levels of less than 8 mg/dl. PTH level was more than 300 mg / dl in 22.6% of the patients.Conclusion: Poor control of hemoglobin, albumin, ferritin, etc., as predictors of survival in hemodialysis patients can lead to higher mortality and development of cardiovascular disease in these patients. Control of diabetes and high blood pressure can be effective in reducing the incidence of ESRD.