Therapeutic effects of Citrullus colocynthis fruit in patients with type II diabetes: A clinical trial study

Aim: Citrullus colocynthis plant was traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes in Sabzevar city, Iran. This study aimed to investigate the effects of C. colocythis on fasting blood sugar (FBS) and HbA1c in patients with type.. diabetes. Materials and Methods: Totally 70 patients with type.. diabetes attending the diabetes clinic in Sabzevar city were investigated. Patients were divided into two groups of intervention and placebo randomly and were studied for 2 months. Mean serum level of FBS and HbA1c was compared within and between groups at the end of the study. Data were analyzed using student and paired t-tests via SPSS software version 16. Results: A significant difference was revealed between before and after intervention for HbA1c and FBS levels in the intervention group (P = 0.01 and P = 0.04, respectively). The difference between before and after intervention for FBS and HbA1c levels in the placebo group were not significant (P = 0.8, P = 0.68 respectively). This study showed a negative relationship between either the mean +/- standard deviation serum level of FBS or HbA1c and body mass index in the treatment group significantly (P = 0.03, 0.008, respectively). The present study did not identify any side effects during the study period among the treatment group. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, application of 125 mg C. colocynthis once per day for 2 months can lead to considerable decrease in the mean levels of HbA1c and FBS among the patients with type II diabetes without any side effects

Antinociceptive effect of palm date spathe hydroalcoholic extract on acute and chronic pain in mice as compared with analgesic effect of morphine and diclofenac

BACKGROUNDS: In Persian traditional medicine, palm date spathe (PDS) is introduced as an analgesic. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the analgesic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of PDS on acute and chronic pain in mice in comparison with diclofenac and morphine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, which was conducted in summer 2014, 220 male mice (20-30 g) were randomly divided into two categories, each consists of 11 groups as follows: A normal control group, a solvent (Tween 80) control group, 3 morphine positive control groups (2, 4 and 8 mg/kg), 3 diclofenac positive control groups (10, 20 and 30 mg/kg), and 3 main experimental PDS groups (2, 20, and 200 mg/kg). Hot plate was applied on animals in one category and writing test on the other category to assess acute and chronic pain, respectively. RESULTS: In the writing test, the average writing time and number of animals receiving a maximum dosage of morphine, diclofenac, and PDS were significantly less than the control group. In the hot plate test, only groups receiving different doses of morphine at different time points and those received 30 mg/kg diclofenac at 15 min after the intervention showed significant difference with the control group. CONCLUSION: 200 mg/kg extract of PDS, revealed a significant analgesic effect on chronic pain, but it did not show any analgesic effect on acute pain

Opium use and the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Scant evidence exists to support the association of opium use with head and neck cancer, limited to the larynx and oral cavity. In a multicenter case-control study�Iran Opium and Cancer study, we recruited 633 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (254 lip and oral cavity, 54 pharynx, 327 larynx and 28 other subsites within the head and neck) and 3065 frequency-matched controls from April 2016 to April 2019. Odds ratios (ORs) for opium use and 95 confidence intervals (95 CIs) were obtained using mixed-effects logistic regression because of heterogeneity among centers. The adjusted OR (95 CI) for regular opium use was 3.76 (2.96-4.79) for all HNSCC combined. Strong dose-response effects were observed by frequency or amount of use, and duration of use. Regular opium uses significantly increased the risk of HNSCC of the pharynx, larynx and other subsites within the head and neck with OR (95 CI) of 2.90 (1.40-6.02), 6.55 (4.69-9.13) and 5.95 (2.41-14.71), respectively. The observed associations were significant even among never tobacco smokers (including cigarette and water-pipe smoking). Moreover, by the multiplicative interaction scale, the effect of opium use could be varied by cigarette smoking on HNSCC, 8.16 (6.20-10.74). For the first time, the current study showed opium users have an increased risk of several anatomic subsites of HNSCC. © 2020 UIC

Opium use and the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Scant evidence exists to support the association of opium use with head and neck cancer, limited to the larynx and oral cavity. In a multicenter case-control study—Iran Opium and Cancer study, we recruited 633 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) (254 lip and oral cavity, 54 pharynx, 327 larynx and 28 other subsites within the head and neck) and 3065 frequency-matched controls from April 2016 to April 2019. Odds ratios (ORs) for opium use and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were obtained using mixed-effects logistic regression because of heterogeneity among centers. The adjusted OR (95% CI) for regular opium use was 3.76 (2.96-4.79) for all HNSCC combined. Strong dose-response effects were observed by frequency or amount of use, and duration of use. Regular opium uses significantly increased the risk of HNSCC of the pharynx, larynx and other subsites within the head and neck with OR (95% CI) of 2.90 (1.40-6.02), 6.55 (4.69-9.13) and 5.95 (2.41-14.71), respectively. The observed associations were significant even among never tobacco smokers (including cigarette and water-pipe smoking). Moreover, by the multiplicative interaction scale, the effect of opium use could be varied by cigarette smoking on HNSCC, 8.16 (6.20-10.74). For the first time, the current study showed opium users have an increased risk of several anatomic subsites of HNSCC