One-year prognosis of patients with normal myocardial perfusion imaging using technitium-99m sestamibi in suspected coronary artery disease: A single-center experience of 1,047 patients

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of a normal stress technetium-99m (99mTc)-Sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with different probabilities of coronary artery disease (CAD). Material and Methods: A total of 1,047 subjects with a normal 99mTc-MIBI SPECT were followed up for one year and hard and soft cardiac events were assessed. Hard cardiac events were defined as cardiac death or non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI). Soft cardiac events included the patient's development of recurrent chest pain requiring coronary revascularization or significant stenosis in coronary arteries on angiography. Results: Overall, 1,047 patients (248 men and 799 women; mean age: 60.07 ± 12.31, range 29-92) were enrolled. Three hard cardiac events occurred in the groups; two had cardiac arrest and one non-fatal MI. As a result, the annualized hard cardiac event rate was 0.28%, the annualized cardiac mortality rate was 0.19%, and the rate of overall annualized cardiac events was 1.25%. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in cardiac events among patients with various pretest likelihoods of CAD (p value=0.04). Conclusion: Our data confirmed that patients with a normal 99mTc-Sestamibi myocardial SPECT are associated with a very low incidence of cardiovascular events. © The Author(s) 2011

Reduction in ischemic brain injury following the administration of pentoxifylline after transient global ischemia/reperfusion in a rat model

Background: It is well known that the hippocampus, the CA1 Pyramidal cells in particular, is selectively vulnerable during global cerebral ischemia. Recently, it is observed that pentoxifylline has a neuroprotective effect. This study explored the pharmacological relationship between ischemiainduced cell death of the hippocampus and the efficacy of a vasodilator agent (pentoxifylline) in the prevention of delayed neuronal death. Methods: This experimental study was performed on 4 groups: control, ischemia, experimental (200mg/kg pentoxifylline injection one hour prior to and one hour following ischemia) and vehicle (normal saline). Transient global ischemia was induced by bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion. To investigate the apoptotic bodies and caspase-3 activities as a central role in the execution phase of apoptosis, the brains were prepared for the TUNEL technique. Results: Pentoxifylline administration limited apoptosis and caspase-3 activities in rats' hippocampi. Our data showed no significant difference between the number of apoptotic bodies in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in the control and pentoxifylline -treated groups (p= 0.994). The results of one- way ANOVA revealed that that ischemia significantly increased caspase-3 levels in the hippocampus (p< 0.05); however, the level of caspase-3 in pentoxifylline -treated rats was less than the ischemic group. Conclusion: These results suggest that the neuroprotective effect of pentoxifylline (200mg/kg) may be accompanied by a reduction in ischemic damage within the CA1 region of the hippocampus in rats subjected to transient global cerebral ischemia

Coenzyme Q10 ameliorates trimethyltin chloride neurotoxicity in experimental model of injury in dentate gyrus of hippocampus: A histopathological and behavioral study

Background: Coenzyme Q10 has antioxidative and free radical scavenging effects. CoQ10 supplementation is known to have neuroprotective effects in some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson�s disease and Huntington�s disease. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate both histopathologic and behavioral whether Coenzyme Q10 is protective against trimethyltin chloride (TMT) induced hippocampal damage. Materials and Methods: This was an experimental study. Thirty-six Balb/c mice were divided into four groups, as follows: 1) control group; 2) sham group of mice that received a 100 ±L intraperitoneal injection (IP) of sesame oil; 3) TMT group of mice that received a single 2.5 mg/kg/day IP injection of TMT; and 4) TMT + CoQ10 group of mice that received a 10 mg/kg IP injection of CoQ10. Body weight and Morris water maze (MWM) responses were investigated. In addition, the dentate gyrus neurons of the hippocampus were evaluated histopathologically by light and electron microscopes. Results: This study revealed that the body weight scale was found to be significantly higher in the CoQ10 group (21.39 ± 2.70), compared to the TMT group (19.39±2.74) (P < 0.05). In the TMT group, the animals showed body a weight loss that was significantly lower than that of the control group (22.33 ± 3.06) (P < 0.05). Our results showed that CoQ10 provided protection against MWM deficits. Furthermore, TMT impaired the ability of mice to locate the hidden platform, compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Microscopic studies showed that TMT caused histopathological changes in the dentate gyrus and increased the number of necrotic neurons (476±78.51), compared to the control group (208±40.84) (P < 0.001). But, CoQ10 significantly attenuated (31 9±60.08) the density of necrotic neurons compared to TMT (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that Coenzyme Q10 diminished neuronal necrosis and improved learning memory. Part of its beneficial effect is due to its potential to discount oxidative stress. © 2016, Kowsar Medical Publishing Company. All rights reserved

Removal of metronidazole from aqueous solution using ozonation process

Background and purpose: Antibiotics have worldwide uses and they can enter water sources through different ways. Due to their different inappropriate effects, they have created a major concern in environmental control practices. Metronidazole (MTN) is an example of these antibiotics. This study was performed to investigate the efficiency of ozonation process (SOP) in MTN removal from aqueous solutions. Materials and methods: The solution pH (3-12), reaction time and initial MTN concentration (1-40 mg/L) were investigated for their effects on efficiency of the removal process. The MTN concentration was analyzed by HPLC. Biodegradability improvement and mineralization rate were studied by BOD5/COD and TOC tests, respectively. Results: The optimum pH for SOP was 10. The best compatibility for drug degradation kinetic was found with pseudo-second order (liner type II) model. The BOD5/COD increased from 0.09 in SOP influent to 0.33 in SOP effluent and the MTN mineralization rate was about 68. Conclusion: Higher ozone decomposition in alkaline pH increased the radical production and improved removal efficiency. Moreover, higher mineralization rate reduced the environmental risks of effluent discharges. © 2015, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Estimation of diseases and mortality attributed to NO<inf>2</inf> pollutant in five metropolises of Iran using AirQ model in 2011-2012

Background and purpose: Aims: Weather is one of the essential needs of human. Due to increasing of the air pollution, air pollution is one of the most important challenges of human life, in the last decades. Air pollutants, including NO2 can have significant adverse health effects on the human. Therefore, evaluation of the health effects of this pollutant is necessary for its control. The aim of this study was evaluation of health effects of NO2 on the human in Mashhad, Tabriz, Shiraz, Isfahan and Arak metropolises of Iran in 2011-2012. Materials and methods: The necessary data was obtained from Environmental Protection Agencies of related metropolises. The validity of data was evaluated according to the WHO criteria. The valid data entered into the AirQ software and the results were obtained. Results: Isfahan with the annual concentration of 128 μg/m3 has the highest concentration of NO2. In all cities, the average concentration was higher than the national standard. For total mortality, cardiovascular death and hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary, Mashhad had the greatest number, with 286, 161 and 43 cases, respectively. Conclusion: the most adverse health effect of NO2 was in Mashhad and Isfahan cities, respectively. It can be explained by increasing the number of vehicles, traffic and fuel consumption and high levels of temporary and permanent population in the religious and tourist sites. © 2015,Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Acute effects of ecstasy on memory are more extensive than chronic effects

Introduction: Exposure to 3, 4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) could lead to serotonergic system toxicity in the brain. This system is responsible for learning and memory functions. Studies show that MDMA causes memory impairment dose-dependently and acutely. The present study was designed to evaluate the chronic and acute effects of MDMD on spatial memory and acquisition of passive avoidance. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats (200-250 g) were given single or multiple injections of MDMA (10 mg/kg, IP). Using passive avoidance and Morris Water Maze (MWM) tasks, learning and spatial memory functions were assessed. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software and one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Results: Our results showed that there were significant differences in latency to enter the dark compartment (STL) between sham and MDMA- treated groups. Acute group significantly showed more STL in comparison with chronic group. Furthermore, MDMA groups spent more time in dark compartment (TDS) than the sham group. Administration of single dose of MDMA significantly caused an increase in TDS compared with the chronic group. In the MWM, MDMA treatment significantly increased the traveled distance and escaped latency compared to the sham group. Like to passive avoidance task, percentage of time spent in the target quadrant in MDMA- treated animals impaired in MWM compared with sham group. Discussion: These data suggest that MDMA treatment impairs learning and memory functions that are more extensive in acute- treated rats

Opioid Receptors gene polymorphism and heroin dependence in Iran

Introduction: Genes often have multiple polymorphisms that interact with each other and the environment in different individuals. Variability in the opioid receptors can influence opiate withdrawal and dependence. In humans, A118G Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) on μ-Opioid Receptor (MOR), 36 G > T in κ-Opioid Receptor (KOR), and T921C in the δ-Opioid Receptor (DOR) have been found to associate with substance dependence. Methods: To investigate the association between opioid receptors gene polymorphism and heroin addiction, 100 control subjects with no history of opioid use, and 100 heroin addicts (50 males and 50 females) in Tehran (capital of Iran), were evaluated. A118G, 36 G > T, and T921C SNPs on the MOR, KOR, DOR genes, respectively, were genotyped by sequencing. Results: We found no differences in either allele or genotype frequency for MOR, KOR and DOR genes SNPs between controls and subjects addicted to heroin. Conclusion: The relationships among polymorphisms may be important in determining the risk profile for complex diseases such as addiction, but opioid addiction is a multifactorial syndrome which is partially hereditary and partially affected by the environment. © 2015

Erratum to: Treadmill exercise alters ecstasy- induced long- term potentiation disruption in the hippocampus of male rats (Metabolic Brain Disease, (2017), 32, 5, (1603-1607), 10.1007/s11011-017-0046-9)

In the original publication of the article, author name Masoumeh Asadbegi was incorrectly written as Masoumeh Asadbeigi. The authors regret the oversight. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Opioid Receptors gene polymorphism and heroin dependence in Iran

Introduction: Genes often have multiple polymorphisms that interact with each other and the environment in different individuals. Variability in the opioid receptors can influence opiate withdrawal and dependence. In humans, A118G Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) on μ-Opioid Receptor (MOR), 36 G > T in κ-Opioid Receptor (KOR), and T921C in the δ-Opioid Receptor (DOR) have been found to associate with substance dependence. Methods: To investigate the association between opioid receptors gene polymorphism and heroin addiction, 100 control subjects with no history of opioid use, and 100 heroin addicts (50 males and 50 females) in Tehran (capital of Iran), were evaluated. A118G, 36 G > T, and T921C SNPs on the MOR, KOR, DOR genes, respectively, were genotyped by sequencing. Results: We found no differences in either allele or genotype frequency for MOR, KOR and DOR genes SNPs between controls and subjects addicted to heroin. Conclusion: The relationships among polymorphisms may be important in determining the risk profile for complex diseases such as addiction, but opioid addiction is a multifactorial syndrome which is partially hereditary and partially affected by the environment. © 2015

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