Drug-Induced Apnea in Children Admitted to Loghman Hakim Hospital, Tehran, Iran

How to Cite This Article: Gholami N,Alwasabi F, Farnaghi F. Drug-Induced Apnea in Children Admitted to Loghman Hakim Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Iran J Child Neurol. Summer 2017; 11(3):15-18.AbstractObjectiveEnvironmental hazards, including poisons, can cause irreparable effects and even be fatal for children. Poisoning in children is common and serious, but often is preventable and treatable. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of drugs and chemical toxicity leading to apnea. In addition, we detected type of drug that induced apnea among children.Materials & MethodsIn a retrospective cross-sectional study from Apr 2012 to Apr 2013, sampled data of all hospitalized drug-induced apnea children were collected through hospital records.ResultsThe most common cause of drug toxicity was methadone syrup (74%). The mortality rate was 3.1%; all of them due to methadone poisoning.ConclusionThere was a high prevalence of apnea and poisoning of methadone in children.Methadone poisoning should be considered in apnea. References1. Sheikh NA, Damodar G. Spectrum of Accidental Paediatric Poisoning at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India. Medico-Legal Update 2015;15(1):93-7.2. Vasanthan M, James S, Shuba S, Abhinayaa J, Sivaprakasam E. Clinical profile and outcome of poisoning in children admitted to a tertiary referral center in South India. Indian J Child Health 2015;2(4):1-5.3. Jepsen F, Ryan M. Poisoning in children. Current Paediatr 15(7):563-8.4. Sharif MR, Nouri S. Clinical Signs and Symptoms and Laboratory Findings of Methadone Poisoning in Children. Iran J Pediatr 2015;25(1):e176.5. Rudd RA, Aleshire N, Zibbell JE, Gladden RM. Increases in Drug and Opioid Overdose Deaths--United States, 2000-2014. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2016;64(50-51):1378-82.6. Hein H, Puschel K, Schaper A, Iwersen-Bergmann S. [Accidental ingestion of methadone by children and suggestions for better prevention]. Archiv fur Kriminologie 2016;237(1-2):38-46.7. Boutroy MJ. Drug-induced apnea. Biol Neonate 1994;65(3-4):252-7.8. Farnaghi F, Hassanian-Moghaddam H, Faghihi Langroodi T. Fatal Poisoning and its Related Factors among Children Admitted in Loghman Hospital, 1995 -2004. Pajoohandeh J 2009;13(6):529-35.9. Fariba Farnaghi, Narjes Jafari, Fatemeh-Fereshteh Mehregan. Methadone Poisoning among ChildrenReferred to Loghman-Hakim Hospital in 2009. Pajoohandeh J 2012;16(6):299-303.10. Saleem A, Ejaz MS, Arif F, Hanifa A, Habib MI. Factors leading to acute accidental poisoning in children. Quarterly Medical Channel 2015.11. Farnaghi F, Pournasir Z, Tehranchi S. Opioid Poisoning in Children: A Report of 90 Cases. J Pediatr Nephrol 2015;3(2):62-6

A concentration of serum selenium in multiple sclerosis patients compare to healthy subject in Tehran

     Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease which the exact etiology is still are far to be clear. Reasons for this autoimmune disease are unknown origin. The aim of present study was to evaluate serum levels of selenium in patient with MS compare to healthy subjects. A total of 46 subjects were enrolled in the study, Sera of 23 MS cases and 23 healthy normal cohorts as control group were obtained. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was employed for estimating serum selenium level. Serum selenium levels were significantly lower in MS than in control cohorts (60.87±13 compared with 85.74±12, P-value < 0.0001). Serum selenium levels may thus be a marker of MS; the decreasing levels of serum selenium may be host defense strategies of body

Research barriers from the viewpoint of faculty members and students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2014

Background: Due to its role in identifying educational, research, health problems and providing a solution to prevail upon the problems related to public health, the research in the Medical Sciences University has a special importance. The present research aims to determine the restraining factors of doing research from the viewpoint of professors and students of the Medical Sciences University of Ardabil; it was conducted in 2014.Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 250 individuals from between the professors (50 individuals) and students (200 individuals) of the various academic disciplines of medical sciences were selected by way of completely random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire containing 3 parts: demographic information, individual barriers (10 questions) and organizational and environmental barriers (25 questions) based on the binary scale (Yes or No). By using the descriptive statistics and student t-test, data were analyzed with the significance level of 0.05, in the software SPSS19.Results: In the area of organizational factors, the most important restraining factor of the research activities of students was the lack of access to information sources (73.2%) and in the area of individual factors the main obstacle was lack of domination in English (68.6%). Also, the administrative restrictive regulations (73.3%) as the most important organizational restraining factor and lack of time due to job preoccupation (68.9%) as the main individual barrier were recognized for doing research in view of professors. There is not any statistical significant difference between the view of students under study in all the influential individual barriers other than the being unimportant of research from my view and having the negative attitude towards the research works in the view of professors. Also, there is a significant difference between students’ view in all effective organizational barriers other than lack of research in the chapter heading of courses of most of fields and the professors’ view. In total the score of organizational barriers was more than that of the individual barriers.Conclusions: Organizational barriers and personal barriers have an important role in doing the research in the Medical Sciences University of Ardabil; these barriers can be passed through. The availability of consulting forces and sufficient and necessary counseling, teaching know-how and attitude correction, compensating the lack of facilities and equipment, creating the motivation by the authorities and educating and empowering as executive working procedures are recommended for overcoming the research barriers in the universities

Production of hepatocyte-like cells from human umbilical vein mesenchymal stem cells

The human umbilical vein, as a readily available stem cell source, is a good alternative to harvest mesenchymal stem cells. Human umbilical cord vein mesenchymal stem cells have recently been isolated and have demonstrated the ability to differentiate into various cell types such as fat, bone, cartilage and neuronal cells. In this study, we have investigated whether human umbilical cord vein mesenchymal stem cells are also able to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells. Hepatic differentiation was performed with a 2-step protocol and the use of hepatocyte growth factor and oncostatin M for cell culture. During four weeks of induction, most cells displayed a cuboidal morphology. Immunological analysis indicated that umbilical cord vein mesenchymal stem cells-derived hepatocyte-like cells expressed liver-specific protein markers such as albumin and cytokeratin-18. The hepatocyte-like cells also displayed several characteristics of hepatocytes, including expression of transthyretin, glucose 6-phosphatase, cytokeratin-8,18, alpha-fetoprotein, hepatocyte nuclear factor-3β and albumin. The result of indocyanine green cell uptake, as a test substance to evaluate hepatocyte-like cell function, was positive for differentiated cells. Glycogen storage was examined by periodic acid-Schiff staining. Accumulation of intracellular glycogen was detected in the hepatocyte-like cells. Based on these observations, we have concluded that umbilical cord vein mesenchymal stem cells are endowed with hepatogenic potential and may provide a stem cell source to be used as cell therapy for liver diseases

Investigation of metabonomics technique by analyze of NMR data, which method is better? Mean center or auto scale?

The factors such as disease can disrupt homeostasis, resulting in perturbations of endogenous biochemicals that are involved in key metabolic profiles. Metabonomics is useful technique to quantitative description of endogenous metabolites present in a biological sample such as urine, plasma and tissue. High resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomics is a technique used to analyze and interpret multivariate metabolic data that correlate with changes of physiological conditions. Before any explanation for metabolite data, preprocessing the spectroscopic data is essential. In this paper, we show scaling effects in metabonomics investigation of patients diagnosed with Crohn's and Celiac disease. two techniques of scaling were applied as follows: mean centering and auto scaling. Results reveal that the mean centering is more useful to segregate patients from healthy subjects in the data set of Crohn's and Celiac disease

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Microencapsulation of a Pseudomonas Strain (VUPF506) in Alginate–Whey Protein–Carbon Nanotubes and Next-Generation Sequencing Identification of This Strain

Alginate is a common agent used for microencapsulation; however, the formed capsule is easily damaged. Therefore, alginate requires blending with other biopolymers to reduce capsule vulnerability. Whey protein is one polymer that can be incorporated with alginate to improve microcapsule structure. In this study, three different encapsulation methods (extrusion, emulsification, and spray drying) were tested for their ability to stabilize microencapsulated Pseudomonas strain VUPF506. Extrusion and emulsification methods enhanced encapsulation efficiency by up to 80% and gave the best release patterns over two months. A greenhouse experiment using potato plants treated with alginate–whey protein microcapsules showed a decrease in Rhizoctonia disease intensity of up to 70%. This is because whey protein is rich in amino acids and can serve as a resistance induction agent for the plant. In this study, the use of CNT in the ALG–WP system increased the rooting and proliferation and reduced physiological complication. The results of this study showed that the technique used in encapsulation could have a significant effect on the efficiency and persistence of probiotic bacteria. Whole genome sequence analysis of strain VUPF506 identified it as Pseudomonas chlororaphis and revealed some genes that control pathogens

Antioxidant Activity of Peptides Derived from Enzymatic Digestion of Spirulina platensis Protein Extract by Different Proteases : Antioxidant activity of protein digests of S. platensis

One of the attractive sources of bioactive compounds is cyanobacteria and in particular, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis. Enzymatic digestion of the Spirulina protein extract can result in bioactive peptides with diverse activities, including antioxidant function. This study aims to produce peptides with antioxidant properties after the enzymatic digestion of Spirulina platensis protein extract using three enzymes: bacterial protease, pepsin, and papain. The protein extract from Spirulina platensis was subjected to enzyme hydrolysis for 3 hours at 37°C (pH 7.4 for papain and bacterial protease and pH 5 for pepsin). The concentration of peptide fragments was evaluated to determine the yield of protein digestion. In order to measure the level of anti-oxidative potential of the hydrolysates, the DPPH assay was run. The results indicated that the bacterial protease led to the highest concentration of peptide fragments, while the hydrolysate obtained from pepsin digestion showed the most antioxidant activity (80%), mainly the peptides that have molecular weights less than 14 KDa. Consequently, pepsin can be a proper enzyme to produce antioxidant peptides from the protein extract of S. platensis. In conclusion, the results of the study confirmed that the products of enzymatic digestion by different enzymes have distinct features. HIGHLIGHTS Spirulina platensis protein extract was digested with three types of protease. Digestion of protein extract by pepsin resulted in higher antioxidant activity. Digestion by bacterial protease from Bacillus licheniformis resulted in higher yield of peptide formation

Controversy Between In Vitro Biological Activities of a Novel Designed Antimicrobial Peptide and Its In Silico Predicted Activities: Novel in silico designed AMP

Due to their unique mechanisms of action, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates to combat different infectious diseases. They usually non-specifically interact with the bacterial cell membrane, create pores in their membrane and increase its permeability which causes the death of pathogens. In the design and development of AMPs, in silico strategies have been developed to enhance the function and activity of natural peptides. In this study, in silico approaches were used to develop a novel AMP with several extra bioactivities. Then, the designed AMP were analyzed through computational methods by in vitro experiments. Bioinformatics research revealed a 10-amino-acid peptide (LVSARIRCPK) having antibacterial, anti-biofilm, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, only the antiviral capabilities of the peptide were validated in the experimental analysis of antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activities. This data suggests that; while bioinformatics approaches have greatly advanced in recent years, more optimization work has to be done in order to attain high accuracy and minimize mistakes. HIGHLIGHTS A novel 10 residues anti-microbial peptide was designed using bioinformatics tools. In vitro analysis showed that this novel AMP did not have efficient antimicrobial activities. Stringencies of bioinformatics criteria thresholds setting may result in better design