Atherosclerosis: Pathophysiology and promising herbal remedies in traditional Persian medicine

Atherosclerosis is a progressive inflammatory disease and is considered as main reason of death and morbidity in worldwide. The common drugs which are used for treatment of atherosclerosis reveal side effects, therefore it is necessary to identify the natural sources. This study overviews the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and effective medicinal plants present in Iran. In this study, 19 medical plants have been reported to be scientifically effective against atherosclerosis which are included Punica granatum L., Aloe vera, Amaranthus caudatus L., Artemisia sieberi Besser, Artemisia spp., Rhus coriaria, Nigella sativa L., Trifolium pratense L., Anethum graveolens, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Vaccinium myrtillus L, Gundelia tournefortii L, Hypericum perforatum, Curcuma longa, Crocus sativus L, Malus domestica, Silybum marianum, Berberis integerrima and Portulaca oleracea L. These plants have antioxidant and flavonoid compounds with unknown mechanisms serve to improve atherosclerosis. It seems that medicinal plants native to Iran, which have antioxidant and inhibit the oxidative stress, reduce inflammatory processes and ultimately improve atherosclerosis

Hematopoietic medicinal plants based on ethnobotanical documents of Iran: A strategy to develop nature-based drugs effective on anemia

Anemia is a very common public health problem which has recently been spread in both developed and developing countries. Anemia causes wanness, tachycardia, tinnitus, headache, irritability, weakness, and a number of nonspecific complaints. Many of the plants can be used as hematopoietic. This article is to report the medicinal plants that are used as hematopoietic according to the main references of the Iranian traditional medicine. For this purpose, the related articles were retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Islamic World Science Citation Center, and Magiran by the search terms consisting of anemia, hematopoietic, ethnobotany, medicinal plants, Iran, and traditional medicine. According to the findings of this study, Raphanus sativus, Oriyganum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Rosmarinus officinalis, Petroselinum crispum, Allium sativum, Foeniculum vulgare, Spinacia oleracea L., Phaseolus vulgaris, Prunus armeniaca, Matricaria chamomilla, Cucumis melo var.inodorus, Rheum officinale, Cucumis melo, Ficus carica, Citrus latifolia, Solanum tuberosum L., Ananas comosus, Solanum lycopersicum, Brassica rapa, Daucus carota, Urtica dioica, and Centaurea cyanus were found to be hematopoietic plants. These plants contain bioactive and antioxidant components that either have iron or affect the body's mechanisms and cause hematopoiesis

An overview of the most important medicinal plants affecting cardiac arrhythmia in Iran

Oxidative stress occur in several diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, aging and Alzheimer's disease. Cardiac arrhythmia is today a common clinical problem presenting with decrease, increase or mismatch in normal heart rhythm that cause reduction in cardiac output. Given the importance of heart diseases and noting that in many countries, cardiovascular diseases are among the top causes of death and the leading cause of disability and the fact that application of medicinal plants and herbal medicines is common in the treatment of hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart disease, arrhythmias and angina pectoralis, therefore, this review aimed to identify the anti-arrhythmic medicinal plants indigenous in Iran. Due to the proven anti-arrhythmic effects of medicinal herbs including grape, sour orange, olive, pokeweeds and nettle and regarding the obvious phytochemical agents in them, so hesperidin, naringin, deosepyn, apigenin, aloroporin and hydroxytyrosol, phytolactosin, catechins, betacianin, tannins and free phenolic acids can be used as anti-arrhythmic ingredients used for the production of bioactive agents

Effect of cylinder proximity to the wall on channel flow heat transfer enhancement

Heat-transfer enhancement in a uniformly heated slot mini-channel due to vortices shed from an adiabatic circular cylinder is numerically investigated. The effects of gap spacing between the cylinder and bottom wall on wall heat transfer and pressure drop are systemically studied. Numerical simulations are performed at Re=100, 0.1⩽Pr⩽10 and a blockage ratio of D/H=1/3. Results within the thermally developing flow region show heat transfer augmentation compared to the plane channel. It was found that when the obstacle is placed in the middle of the duct, maximum heat transfer enhancement from channel walls is achieved. Displacement of circular cylinder towards the bottom wall leads to the suppression of the vortex shedding, the establishment of a steady flow and a reduction of both wall heat transfer and pressure drop. Performance analysis indicates that the proposed heat transfer enhancement mechanism is beneficial for low-Prandtl-number fluids

Prognostic Factors for Survival at 6-Month Follow-up of Hospitalized Patients with Decompensated Congestive Heart Failure

Abstract:BACKGROUND: The prevalence of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is increasing in recent years. Factors associated with mortality in CHF patients are important to be determined in order to select therapeutic modality by physicians. The purpose of the current study was to declare predictors of 6-months survival in patients hospitalized for decompensated CHF in Isfahan.METHODS: A cohort of 301 hospitalized patients with decompensated CHF were recruited in this study. The diagnosis of CHF was based on previous hospitalizations and Framingham criteria for heart failure (HF). Information regarding past history, accompanying diseases such as cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), clinical data, medications and echocardiography were obtained by a cardiologist. Patients were followed for their survival for 6 months by telephone calls. Kaplan-Meier method was used for uni variate survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis.RESULTS: Mean age of patients was 71.9 &plusmn; 12.2 years and 59.8% was male. During 6-months follow-up 138 (45.8%) patients died. Mean survival was 119.2 &plusmn; 4.4 days (Mean &plusmn; SEM). Significant prognostic factors for 6 months survival were high education level (HR = 0.74, CI 95% 0.59&mdash;0.93), COPD (HR = 1.91, CI 95% 1.2&mdash;3.04), CVA (HR = 1.69, CI 95% 1.03&mdash;2.78), Angiotensin Converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors use (HR = 0.44, CI 95% 0.3&mdash;0.66) and Diuretics (HR = 0.63, CI 95% 0.41-0.96).CONCLUSION: Six-month survival of hospitalized decompensated CHF patients in Iran is not favorable. Many factors particularly accompanying diseases and medications affected the patient&rsquo;s 6-months survival.Keywords: Heart failure, Survival,&nbsp; Mortality.</p

Seismic imaging across fault systems in the Abitibi greenstone belt – an analysis of pre- and post-stack migration approaches in the Chibougamau area, Quebec, Canada

Two high-resolution seismic reflection profiles acquired north and south of Chibougamau, located in the northeast of the Abitibi subprovince of Canada, help understand historic volcanically hosted massive sulfide (VMS) deposits and hydrothermal Cu–Au mineralization found there. Major faults crossed by the profiles include the Barlow fault in the north and the Doda fault and the Guercheville fault in the south, all targets of this study that seeks to determine spatial relationships with a known metal endowment in the area. Common-offset DMO corrections and common-offset pre-stack time migrations (PSTMs) were considered. Irregularities of the trace midpoint distribution resulting from the crooked geometry of both profiles and their relative contribution to the DMO and PSTM methods and seismic illumination were assessed in the context of the complex subsurface architecture of the area. To scrutinize this contribution, seismic images were generated for offset ranges of 0–9 km using increments of 3 km. Migration of out-of-plane reflections used cross-dip element analysis to accurately estimate the fault dip. The seismic imaging shows the thickening of the upper-crustal rocks near the fault zones along both profiles. In the northern seismic reflection section, the key geological structures identified include the Barlow fault and two diffraction sets imaged within the fault zone that represent potential targets for future exploration. The south seismic reflection section shows rather a complicated geometry of two fault systems. The Guercheville fault observed as a subhorizontal reflector connects to a steeply dipping reflector. The Doda fault dips subvertical in the shallow crust but as a steeply dipping reflection set at depth. Nearby gold showings suggest that these faults may help channel and concentrate mineralizing fluids

A Comprehensive Review on Diabetes Mellitus and Its Relation to Other Diseases

Introduction: The prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes is rising worldwide. Diabetes is a major health issue across the globe and a cause of microvascular and macrovascular complications, including nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, blindness, and cardiovascular disease. Long-term control of blood glucose is an important and determining factor in the prevention of these complications. Methods: In this review study, the databases such as Scientific Information Database, PubMed, SID, ISI, and Scopus were searched for articles published from 1975 to 2019, with emphasis on the articles published within the past 10 years. The used keywords were diabetes, insulin, oxidative stress, microvascular, and macrovascular as well as the diseases and disorders related to diabetes. Results: Considering diabetes, types of diabetes, and its relationship with the organs, it is possible to estimate some degree of prevention, recovery, and timely treatment of diabetes and its effects on other organs Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus (DM) causes numerous diseases and affects the organs due to hyperglycemia, reduced insulin level or insulin tolerance, increased free radicals, and dysfunction of organs. Delay in the diagnosis of diabetes leads to increased diabetes complications that can be prevented by severe glycemic control

A Review on the Most Important Medicinal Plants Effective in Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia, referring to reduction and restriction of perfusion to myocardial tissue which involves coronary artery through the formation of misplaced clots and thrombosis, is one of the most important cardiovascular diseases. Plant-based compounds help to improve or prevent disease by affecting the factors involved in the disease. This review was conducted to report the medicinal plants and factors effective in cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (UR) injury to supplement the knowledge about this disease and its prevention and treatment using certain medicinal plants and their active compounds. For this purpose, medicinal plants and their potential antioxidant activities, effects on lipid levels and plaque formation, atherosclerosis and development of cardiovascular diseases and ischemia were reviewed. Methods: To conduct this review, relevant articles published between 1983 and 2018 were retrieved from the Google Scholar, PubMed, Scientific Information Database, Web of Science, and Scopus using search terms antioxidant, ischemia, reperfusion, heart, infarct, inflammation, cholesterol and medicinal plants. Then, the eligible articles were reviewed. Results: The active compounds of plants, including phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidant compounds, can be effective on certain pathogenic factors particularly in decreasing cholesterol and blood pressure, preventing an increase in free radicals and ultimately reducing blood clots and vascular resistance to reduce and prevent ischemic disease and its harmful effects. Conclusion: Medicinal plants discussed in this article seem to be able to prevent cardiac damage and the disease progression via affecting the factors that are involved in ischemia