Liver cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride and the effect of superoxide dismutase and xanthine oxidase inhibitor treatment.

Repeated administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induces liver cirrhosis, possibly because it involves the production of free radicals. In order to evaluate the effect of free radical scavengers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and allopurinol in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis, rats were subjected to repeated CCl4 administration with and without scavengers. Four groups of animals were studied: CCl4 plus SOD (group 1), CCl4 plus allopurinol (group 2), CCl4 alone (group 3) and olive oil (group 4, normal controls). Analysis of plasma and tissue concentrations of trace elements was performed and histopathological patterns were studied in all groups after 7 weeks of repeated intraperitoneal administration of the solutions. Plasma levels of zinc and selenium were significantly lower in all experimental groups, with reciprocal elevation of manganese and copper. Copper and manganese content in the liver tissue was significantly higher in all three experimental groups. The zinc content was elevated in groups receiving CCl4 alone (group 3) or with allopurinol (group 2). The liver selenium, however, was significantly lower in these two groups. The copper:zinc ratio for plasma was 0.78 in the control group, 1.6 in the CCl4 group, 1.3 in the allopurinol group and 1.5 in the SOD group. For liver tissue, the ratio was 0.07 for controls, 0.17 for CCl4, 0.11 for allopurinol and 0.28 for the SOD group. The changes in trace element content correlated with the severity of cellular damage observed microscopically in the liver. The higher the copper:zinc ratio, the more advanced and extensive was the microscopic evidence of liver injury after CCl4 challenge.     

Effects of diode low-level laser therapy on healing of tooth extraction sockets: a histopathological study in diabetic rats

Lasers in Medical Science - Diabetes mellitus is mostly interrelated to deficiency in wound healing. Low-level laser therapy has been shown to exert reliable effects on the acceleration of wound...     

Evaluating mechanism and severity of injuries among trauma patients admitted to Sina Hospital, the National Trauma Registry of Iran

Purpose: Injuries are one of the leading causes of death and lead to a high social and financial burden. Injury patterns can vary significantly among different age groups and body regions. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between mechanism of injury, patient comorbidities and severity of injuries. Methods: The study included trauma patients from July 2016 to June 2018, who were admitted to Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The inclusion criteria were all injured patients who had at least one of the following: hospital length of stay more than 24 h, death in hospital, and transfer from the intensive care unit of another hospital. Data collection was performed using the National Trauma Registry of Iran minimum dataset. Results: The most common injury mechanism was road traffic injuries (49.0%), followed by falls (25.5%). The mean age of those who fell was significantly higher in comparison with other mechanisms (p < 0.001). Severe extremity injuries occurred more often in the fall group than in the vehicle collision group (69.0% vs. 43.5%, p < 0.001). Moreover, cases of severe multiple trauma were higher amongst vehicle collisions than injuries caused by falls (27.8% vs. 12.9%, p = 0.003). Conclusion: Comparing falls with motor vehicle collisions, patients who fell were older and sustained more extremity injuries. Patients injured by motor vehicle collision were more likely to have sustained multiple trauma than those presenting with falls. Recognition of the relationship between mechanisms and consequences of injuries may lead to more effective interventions.     

Evaluation of the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on tocophobia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Non-medical approaches including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been proposed for the management of tocophobia. A new method of performing CBT is through internet. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of internet-based and traditional CBT on tocophobia. A literature search was conducted on qualitative and quantitative articles from 2000 to 2019 in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane databases using search terms referring to tocophobia and CBT. Identified articles were screened in two steps; 1) title and abstract and 2) full text screening. The quality of the quantitative and qualitative studies was assessed using the quality criteria proposed by the Cochrane Collaboration and Jonna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist respectively. Out of the 382 relevant studies, 9 studies were eligible for the review. A high level of heterogeneity was observed in the studies (I² = 94%, P < 0.001). The meta-analysis showed that both internet-based, and traditional CBT were effective in reducing tocophobia. CBT was more effective in interventions in the Middle Eastern compared to European countries. More than five CBT sessions could significantly reduce tocophobia. Healthcare providers and midwives should have basic knowledge on physiological interventions to reduce tocophobia.     

An Investigation of the Effects of Curcumin on Anxiety and Depression in Obese Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of curcumin, a natural polyphenolic compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, on the frequency of symptoms of anxiety and depression in obese individuals. Methods: In this double blind, cross-over trial, 30 obese subjects were randomized to receive either curcumin (1 g/day) or placebo for a period of 30 days. Following a wash-out interval of 2 weeks, each subject was crossed over to the alternative regimen for a further 30 days. Severity of anxiety and depression was assessed at baseline and at weeks 4, 6 and 10 of the trial using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scales, respectively. Results: Mean BAI score was found to be significantly reduced following curcumin therapy (P=0.03). However, curcumin supplementation did not exert any significant impact on BDI scores (P=0.7). Conclusion: Curcumin has a potential anti-anxiety effect in individuals with obesity.     

Short Sleep Duration and Dietary Intake: Epidemiologic Evidence,Mechanisms, and Health Implications

Links between short sleep duration and obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease may be mediated through changes in dietary intake. This review provides an overview of recent epidemiologic studies on the relations between habitual short sleep duration and dietary intake in adults from 16 cross-sectional studies. The studies have observed consistent associations between short sleep duration and higher total energy intake and higher total fat intake, and limited evidence for lower fruit intake, and lower quality diets. Evidence also suggests that short sleepers may have irregular eating behavior deviating from the traditional 3 meals/d to fewer main meals and more frequent, smaller, energy-dense, and highly palatable snacks at night. Although the impact of short sleep duration on dietary intake tends to be small, if chronic, it may contribute to an increased risk of obesity and related chronic disease. Mechanisms mediating the associations between sleep duration and dietary intake are likely to be multifactorial and include differences in the appetite-related hormones leptin and ghrelin, hedonic pathways, extended hours for intake, and altered time of intake. Taking into account these epidemiologic relations and the evidence for causal relations between sleep loss and metabolism and cardiovascular function, health promotion strategies should emphasize improved sleep as an additional factor in health and weight management. Moreover, future sleep interventions in controlled studies and sleep extension trials in chronic short sleepers are imperative for establishing whether there is a causal relation between short sleep duration and changes in dietary intake.     

Inhibition of HSP90 could be possible mechanism for anti-cancer property of amniotic membrane

Amniotic membrane (AM), the innermost layer of the fetal membrane, is considered as a suitable candidate for cancer therapy. In order to develop the AM as a new cancer therapeutic approach, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanism of the AM anti-cancer properties. Previous studies demonstrated that anti-proliferative effects of the AM on tumor cells were associated with induction of cell cycle arrest. Moreover, it has been shown that unknown substances in the AM induce apoptosis in cancer cells and inhibit angiogenesis in tumors. In contrast to the effects of the AM, heat shock proteins (HSPs), in particular HSP90, play a crucial role in development of tumorgenesis. HSP90 inhibits apoptosis in cancer cells and enhances angiogenesis and cell cycle progression. Based on the opposite effects of the amniotic membrane ingredients and HSP90, we hypothesized here that possible mechanism of the AM anti-cancer effects is through inhibition of HSP90.     

Improving chemotherapy processes with a protocol-based information system: A pre and post-implementation study

BackgroundThe medical application domain has been a great challenge for information technology solutions for decades, especially when the target process has been complex and multidisciplinary such as chemotherapy processes.ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of a homegrown protocol based information system on the efficiency of chemotherapy workflow processes in an outpatient setting.MethodsA day care unit of the Hematology/Oncology outpatient clinic of Erasmus Medical Center was the setting for this study. The study consisted of comparison of pre- and post-implementation of four workflow efficiency related external indicators: turn-around times of a commonly administered chemotherapy course (Paclitaxel–Carboplatin), chemotherapy course administration postponing rate, the rate of recording course administration time, and patient admission rate of the outpatient clinic. The data was gathered retrospectively from patient charts and information systems’ log files. For the purpose of turn-around-time 109 Paclitaxel–Carboplatin chemotherapy courses of pre-implementation were compared to 118 those of post-implementation. For the other indicators: 247 chemotherapy courses pre-implementation were compared to 324 courses post-implementation. The process maps of pre- and post-implementation were also compared to each other.ResultsThe implementation of the system improved the process by removing repetition and sequencing of the tasks. Following the implementation, chemotherapy postponing decreased by 17.2% (Z = ?4.723, P = .000) and there were 5.7% less records with missing administration time (Z = ?3.047, P = .002). The admission rate increased 1.9 patient per working day (t(94) = ?5.974, P = .000). The overall turn-around-time reduced 18.9 min following the implementation (t(169) = 3.48, P = .001). In a multivariate multiple regression model the reduction in turn-around time was related to the implementation of the system (Pillai's Trace = 0.159, F(4,161) = 7.613, P = .000).ConclusionInformation systems based on treatment protocols can reduce communication and synchronization needs between the stakeholders in a complex workflow process. These systems can help reengineering the process and improve workflow efficiency by removing unnecessary sequencing and repetitions of tasks.