The efficacy of thermotherapy and cryotherapy on pain relief in patients with acute low back pain, a clinical trial study

Introduction: Acute low back pain is one of the most common health problems especially in industrialized countries where 75 per cent of the population develop it at least once during their life. This study examined the efficacy of thermotherapy and cryotherapy, alongside a routine pharmacologic treatment, on pain relief in patients with acute low back pain referring an orthopedic clinic in Shahrekord, Iran. Materials and Method: This clinical trial study was conducted on 87 patients randomly assigned to three (thermotherapy and cryotherapy as intervention, and naproxen as control) groups of 29 each. The first (thermotherapy) group underwent treatment with hot water bag and naproxen, the second (cryotherapy) group was treated with ice and naproxen, and the naproxen group was only treated with naproxen, all for one week. All patients were examined on 0, 3rd, 8th, and 15th day after the first visit and the data gathered by McGill Pain Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using paired t-test, ANOVA, and chi-square. Results: In this study, mean age of the patients was 34.48 (20–50) years and 51.72 per cent were female. Thermotherapy patients reported significantly less pain compared to cryotherapy and control (P≤0.05). In thermotherapy and cryotherapy groups, mean pain in the first visit was 12.70±3.7 and 12.06±2.6, and on the 15th day after intervention 0.75±0.37 and 2.20±2.12, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicated that the application of thermotherapy and cryotherapy accompanied with a pharmacologic treatment could relieve pain in the patients with acute low back pain. © 2014, Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. All rights reserved

Evaluation of the therapeutic effect of oral gabapentin on the severity of acute low back pain

Background and Aim: Acute low back pain is one of the most commoncomplaintsof the patients seeking medical advice. Nowadays various drugs are recommended for the treatment of this problem. Selection of appropriate medications with high efficacy and minimal side effects has always been a challenging issue in medical treatments. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of oral gabapantin on pain intensity in patients with acute low back pain. Material and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial study included 100 patients with acute low back pain who had referred to the treatment centers affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in 2011-2012.Using convenient sampling method the patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n=50) and control (n=50) groups. Intervention group received two 500 mg naproxen tablets and two100 mg gabapantin tablets/day and control group, received two 500 mg naproxen tabletsand two placebo tablets/ day. The patients were examined for pain intensity based on visual analogue scale and the rate of complications on the days of 0, 8, 15, and 30.Using SPSS software, data analysis was performed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: In this study, mean pain score was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group (p<0.05). Also, the women in the intervention group had a lower mean pain score on all 3 examinationscompared to the women in the control group.But no statistically significant difference was observed in pain intensity between the men in the intervention and control groups. Conclusion: In this study, pain significantly relieved in the patients in the intervention group compared to those in the control group. It seems that use of gabapantin in addition to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is more effective than NSAIDs alone in reducing the pain intensity. Keywords: Gabapantin, Pain intensity, Acute low back pain. Received: May25, 2014 Accepted: Dec 22, 201

Essential oil combination of three species of Achillea growing wild in East Azarbayjan- Iran

Background and aims: The Achillea genus has a wide distributional range, and the differences in oil composition may be affected by different environmental factors such as plant genetic type, seasonality, and developmental stage. The aim of this research was to determine the chemical combination of the essential oils derived from flowering aerial parts of Achillea millefolium, A. biebersteinii and A. wilhelmsii (family Astreacea) collected from different locations of East-Azarbayjan in Iran. Methods: In this experimental study, Wild Achillea plants (A. millefolium, A. biebersteinii and A. wilhelmsii) were collected from three localities of East-Azarbayjan of Iran during the flowering period. The chemical combination of the isolated oils was examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: In A. millefolium, the major compounds were 1,8-cineole (28.0), camphor (19.2), borneol (98.8) and β-pinene (6.3). In A. biebersteinii the major compounds were α-terpinen (41.42), 2-carene (13.96), m-cymene (13.41) and 1,8-cineole (8.91). In A. wilhelmsii the major compounds were carvacrol (29.2), linalool (10.3), 1,8-cineole (11.0), (E)-nerolidol (8.4) and borneol (5.04). Conclusion: Chemical compounds of essential oils of Achillea species were highly variable, which may be due to the differences in their chemical polymorphic structure and environmental conditions

Comparative study of different durations of complete bed rest on acute low back pain

زمینه و هدف: در طی دهه های گذشته استراحت در بستر به عنوان درمان سنتی برای بسیاری از اختلالات اسکلتی و عضلانی تجویز می گردید که امروزه در خصوص کارآمد بودن این روش اختلاف نظر وجود دارد. هدف از این مطالعه بررسی مقایسه ای اثر زمان های مختلف استراحت مطلق بر روی کمردرد حاد بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه کارآزمایی بالینی بیمارانی که به دلیل کمردرد حاد به کلینیک بیمارستان آیت اله کاشانی شهرکرد مراجعه نموده بودند، پس از همسان سازی به طور تصادفی در دو گروه کنترل (40=n) و استراحت (80=n) قرار گرفتند. گروه کنترل تحت درمان با داروی سلکوکسیب 200 میلی گرم روزانه و گروه استراحت تحت درمان با داروی سلکوکسیب 200 میلی گرم روزانه همراه با استراحت مطلق قرار گرفتند. هر دو گروه در بدو ورود به مطالعه، روز سوم، هفتم وچهاردهم مورد بررسی و معاینه قرار گرفتند و پرسشنامه استاندارد ارزیابی درد مک گیل برایشان تکمیل گردید. یافته ها: میانگین کلی درد بر اساس نمره پرسشنامه مک گیل در گروه استراحت مطلق در 4 معاینه از 25/5 به 18/6، 9/8 و 2/2 کاهش یافت که این تغییرات از نظر آماری در 4 نوبت معاینه معنی دار بود (05/0

Self-Efficacy After Life Skills Training: A Case-Control Study

Background: Nursing students’ self-efficacy is a predictor for their educational progress. Students, who believe that they can be successful in their studies, are more confident. Therefore, many universities have focused on life skills training programs to improve the mental health of their students. Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate and compare self-efficacy in two groups of nursing students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). One group of students was trained on life skill programs, and the second group was not trained on the issue. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted on two groups of nursing students in TUMS in the late 2012. The case group (n = 112) had passed life skills training course, and the control group (n = 139) was not trained on the issue. Data was collected using a questionnaire containing 12 questions about demographic features, and the Sherer’s general self-efficacy questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using independent sample t-test, Chi-square, odds ratio, and Fisher’s exact test. Results: In the untrained and trained groups, 23% and 8% of the students had very high self-efficacy, respectively. The overall mean scores of self-efficacy were 41.99 ± 9.31 and 38.99 ± 10.48 in the trained and untrained groups, respectively (P = 0.015), and the higher mean score indicates lower level of self-efficacy. A significant difference was also found between the self-efficacy and family income (P = 0.029). Conclusions: The present study showed that life skills training program did not affect self-efficacy of nursing students. Perhaps, the methods used in education were influencing and then, more effective techniques such as role-play and group discussion should be substituted in life skills training

Qualitative and quantitative changes of essential composition in the flowers of some populations of Elaeagnus angustifolia

Background and aims: Elaeagnus angustifolia L. is a member of the Elaeagaceae family; different parts of it, especially fruits have been used for the treatment of several diseases in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to isolate and determine essential oil composition of flowers of E. angustifolia collected from different ecological areas of East-Azarnayjan in Iran. Methods: In this experimental study, the essential oils of the flower were isolated by hydrodistillation method and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results: The number of compounds in the essential oil isolated from the population of Ahar, Marand and Hashtroud were 22, 17 and 14, respectively. The major component of all of the populations was ethylcinnamate; Ahar (47.59), Marand (69.99) and Hashtroud (85.49). It was observed that the oil number of E. angustifolia decreases from 22 to 14 when the altitude increases from 1344-1750 m. Conclusion:Chemical composition of the essential oils of E. angustifolia L. such as esters and aromatic acids contents were increased while the ketone content was decreased with increasing altitude

In vitro regeneration ability of diploid and autotetraploid plants of Cichorium intybus L.

Polyploidy has played a significant role in the evolutionary history of plants and is a valuable tool for obtaining useful characteristics. Because of the novelty of polyploids, comparison of their in vitro culture responses with diploids would be notable. In this study, leaf explants from diploid, autotetraploid and mixoploid plants of Cichorium intybus L. were cultured in vitro on the similar media and under same conditions. The ploidy level of the obtained calluses and regenerants were determined by flow cytometry analysis. The callogenic response of leaf explants cultured on the callus induction medium did not depend on the ploidy level of their parental plants. According to the flow cytometry analysis, the increased ploidy levels (4x) and (8x) were observed in the callus cultures with diploid and tetraploid origin, respectively. A considerable difference was observed between the ploidy level of mixoploid plants and their calluses, indicating the dominance of diploid cells in the callus tissue. The results showed that polyploidy led to the loss of organogenic potential as the tetraploid origin calluses failed to regenerate, while the diploid origin calluses successfully regenerated to whole plants.Полиплоидия сыграла значительную роль в эволюционной истории растений как ценный инструмент получения полезных признаков. В настоящей работе приведено сравнение культурального ответа in vitro полиплоидов с диплоидами. Листовые экспланты диплоидных, автотетраплоидных и миксоплоидных растений Cichorium intybus L. культивировали на одних и тех же средах в одинаковых условиях. Уровень плоидности индуцированных каллусов и регенерантов определяли с помощью жидкостной цитометрии. Способность листовых эксплантов к каллусообра-зованию на среде для индукции каллуса не зависела от уровня плоидности исходных растений. По данным жидкостной цитометрии в каллусных культурах диплоидного и тетраплоидного происхождения на блюдалось увеличение уровней плоидности (4x и 8x соответственно). Значительные отличия в уровнях плоидности обнаружены у миксоплоидных растений и их каллусов, при этом в каллусной ткани доминировали диплоидные клетки. Показано, что поли плоидия приводила к потере органогенного потенциала, так как тетраплоидные каллусы не были способны к регенерации, а в каллусах диплоидного происхождения успешно происходила регенерация растений

Water quality determination in Khuzestan creeks, northwest of Persian Gulf using WQS Index

Water quality was studied in Mahshahr creeks from 2005-2006. Due to special characteristics of Mahshahr creeks, high fisheries potential and sever exploitation and human pressure, WQS index was selected for determination of ecological health status of the area. Eight creeks Ghannam, Zasngy, Doragh,Ahmady, Darvish, Patil, Ghazaleh and Bihad were selected and monthly sampling of physical and chemical parameters was done by bottle sampler. Six primary water quality parameters were used to develop an integrated measure of overall water quality. The parameters included Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD _(5)), Total nitrogen (TN), Total phosphorus (TP), pH and Ammonia (NH_3). The results of two ways ANOVA showed that differences were significant only for nitrite between seasons and for pH, ammonium, nitrite and total phosphorus between creeks. Based on index description, parameters pH, NH_ and DO were placed in grade five indicating good quality for water. Total nitrogen was in grade three indicating poor quality and BOD5 and total phosphor were in grade one showing bad quality for water. According to the index, high similarity was found in studied creeks and the total value was found to be 3.33 for the whole studied area, indicating poor water quality

Monitoring of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms as a harmful phenomenon in the Persian Gulf (2010-2011)

The monitoring of the harmful bloom of Cochlodinium polykrikoides in the northern Persian Gulf was studied during 2010 to 2011. The results revealed that in the waters of Hormozgan Province, the Diatoms and Dinoflgellates had the highest frequency. No significant difference was found for amount of nutrients in three sub- regions. The bloom of C. polykrikoides was higher in central sub-region in spring and was occurred in the eastern sub-region in summer, but no mortality of fishes was recorded. In Bushehr Province, four classes of Bacillaryophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Dynophyceae and Prymnesiophyceae were determined. Furthermore significant different values of nutrients were recorded. In waters of Khuzestan Province, different values of NH4 were measured for different months. In total, the measured ratio of N: P in all months was lower than Redfield Ratio (16:1) in which subsequently the environmental condition was not suitable for bloom of C. polykrikoides

Benthic invertebrate community in Khur-e-Mussa creeks in northwest of Persian Gulf and the application of the AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index)

Benthic invertebrates are a well-established target in environmental quality status evaluations. The AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index) was developed to determine the impacts and the quality status of soft-bottom marine benthic communities. The aim of this study was investigating multivariate pattern of benthic invertebrate community and application of AMBI (AZTI's Marine Biotic Index) for determining quality of health status in Khuzestan coastal waters. Seasonal samplings were collected from eight creeks over one year study by Peterson grab sampler, beginning from October 2005. All creeks are characterized by muddy bottom. According to sensitivity to environmental stress, macrobenthic animals classified into 5 ecological groups. Among 28 identified faunal groups the most abundant groups were polychaets, molluscs, crustaceans and nematodes, respectively. Two way ANOVAs showed only seasonal significant differences in mean abundance (P<0.05) and Margalef richness index values (P<0.05), while all of studied creeks shows similar biological characters based on benthic communities. According to annual mean of AMBI value all creeks were in ecological group III with slightly polluted condition, except for Darvish that was in unpolluted category. In the present study, although the number of species initially increased, but due to appearance of dominant species such as Capitella sp. and nematods (as opportunist species), diversity values reduced. In general, according to AMBI and Biotic index values, the most creeks are classified into unpolluted and slightly polluted categories except for Zangy, Doragh and Patil in summer and also Zangy and Bihad in winter which was in moderate to heavily polluted category. Different types of exploitation, industrial and shipping activities in this area could result in unbalanced to polluted status in benthic animals (as the best indicators in sediment quality assessment) so these results can be acceptable