An investigation on cognitive and behavioural effects of donepezil on autistic children in Winter 2020 in Gorgan Taleghani pediatric hospital

ObjectivesThe present investigation has been done to study the behavioraleffects of donepezil in autistic children, given that not much researchhas been carried out concerning using this drug for treating autism. Materials & MethodsA cross-sectional and analytic-descriptive study was done on twentypatients with autism, aged 4-17, who visited the neurology clinic of Gorgan’s Taleghani Pediatric Hospital and Yasha Pediatric Autism Clinic, Iran from 2019 to 2020. Demographic information, including sex, age, father’s education, mother’s education ,patient’s education, family status, other problems, and ethnicity, were documented using a checklist, having been filled in during interviews with the parents. Before the trial, ABC cognitive and behavioral tests were taken to determine the children’s current status. After the tests, these children received a daily dose of donepezil (10mg) before sleep for three months. At the end of the three months, the cognitive and behavioral tests were taken from the children once again. In order to analyze the effects of different factors on the studied variables, including irritability, lethargy, stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech before and after the administration of donepezil in patients, a generalized linear model and to test the effects of donepezil on the studied variables, paired t-test was used. ResultsIn this study, twenty patients were registered for the investigation, 12 (60%) male and eight (40%) female. Age groups 5-6 had the highest frequency, and age group 17 had the lowest. Regardingthe parents’ education, the highest frequency was for bachelor’s degrees, and the lowest was for less-than-high school education and master’s degree. The highest frequency for the patients’ education was kindergarten (60%), and then groups without education (20%) and elementary school-level education (15%). Most of the studied patients (80%) did not have other problems besides autism, and only 20% had other problems besides autism. The family status of 15% of the families was ‘separated,’ and ethnically, most patients (80%) were Fars, while the rest (20%) were Turkmen. None of the analyzed factors (age, sex, father’s education, mother’s education, patient’s education, other problems, family status, and ethnicity) had a significant effect on the studied variables after the administration of donepezil. Among the studied variables prior to the administration of donepezil and among the analyzed factors, the father’s education, the patient’s education, other problems, and family status had only a significant effect on stereotypic behavior. The present research findings of the present research indicated that all the studied variables, including irritability, lethargy, stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech, were significantly decreased toward the desired goal. The decreased amounts in irritability, lethargy, stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech after the administration of donepezil were, respectively, 38%, 44%, 54%, 41%, and 54% and on average, these behaviors were reduced by 46%. ConclusionThe present investigation has shown that all the studied variables, including irritability, lethargy, stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech, were significantly decreased towards the desired goal by 46%. This significant decrease is indicative of the effectiveness of the treatment of autism patients with donepezil, and therefore, this drug can be placed as a prominent and essential part of the medical therapy of autism. &nbsp

Glycerol as a green solvent for efficient, one-pot and catalyst free synthesis of 2,4,5-triaryl and 1,2,4,5-tetraaryl imidazole derivatives

A simple, efficient and catalyst-free method has been developed for the synthesis of 2,4,5-triaryl and 1,2,4,5-tetraaryl imidazole derivatives in glycerol as green solvent at 90 °C. It is noteworthy that in this protocol the yields of products were comparable to or better than, those in conventional media. The use of green reaction media makes this methodology simple, safe and cost-effective

The effect of oral vitamin D on serum level of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide

Background: The risk of cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients is higher than the general population. Vitamin D receptors exist in myocardium inhibit cardiac hypertrophy. N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) is a neurohormone secreted by the heart in response to ventricular mass increase. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral vitamin D on serum level of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (pro-BNP) in peritoneal dialysis patients. Materials and Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, 84 peritoneal dialysis patients (49 males and 35 females) were randomly divided into two groups. The intervention group received 50000 units oral vitamin D per week, for 12 weeks if 25-hydroxy-vitamin D level was <10 ng/ml and for 8 weeks if it was between 10 ng/ml and 30 ng/ml. The control group received placebo. Parathyroid hormone, calcium, phosphor, 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, albumin and NT-pro-BNP were evaluated before and after the study. Results: The mean serum level of pro-BNP in patients receiving vitamin D and placebo group before the study was 875 pg/ml and 793 pg/ml, respectively. There was 895.9 pg/ml in the intervention group and 736.7 pg/ml in the control group (P = 0.7). Mean serum level of 25(OH) D in patients receiving oral vitamin D and placebo group before the study was 16.9 ng/ml and 31.9 ng/ml, respectively. There was 28.9 ng/ml in the intervention group and 12.9 ng/ml in the control group (P = 0.001). There were no significant differences regarding other indices (Alb, P, Ca, intact parathyroid hormone) between two groups. Conclusion: Vitamin D did not significantly change the serum level of pro-BNP in peritoneal dialysis patients

Early-Onset Friedreich's Ataxia With Oculomotor Apraxia

Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) is a rare autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia which in the majority of cases is associated with a GAA-trinucleotide repeat expansion in the first intron of Frataxin gene located on chromosome 9. The clinical features include progressive gait and limb ataxia, cerebellar dysarthria, neuropathy, optic atrophy, and loss of vibration and proprioception. Ataxia with ocular motor apraxia type 1 (AOA1) is another autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia which is associated with oculomotor apraxia, hypoalbuminaemia, and hypercholesterolemia. Here we describe two siblings (13- and 10-year-old) display overlapping clinical features of both early-onset FRDA and AOA1. Almost all of laboratory test (including urinary analysis/culture, biochemistry, peripheral blood smear, C-reactive protein level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate-1h) results were within the normal range for both patients. Due to the normal laboratory test results; we concluded that the diagnosis was more likely to be FRDA than AOA1. Therefore, neurologists should bear in mind that clinical presentations of FRDA may vary widely from the classical phenotype of gait and limb ataxia to atypical manifestations such as oculomotor apraxia

Adsorption properties of tetracycline onto graphene oxide: equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies.

Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticle is a high potential effective absorbent. Tetracycline (TC) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic produced, indicated for use against many bacterial infections. In the present research, a systematic study of the adsorption and release process of tetracycline on GO was performed by varying pH, sorption time and temperature. The results of our studies showed that tetracycline strongly loads on the GO surface via π-π interaction and cation-π bonding. Investigation of TC adsorption kinetics showed that the equilibrium was reached within 15 min following the pseudo-second-order model with observed rate constants of k2 = 0.2742-0.5362 g/mg min (at different temperatures). The sorption data has interpreted by the Langmuir model with the maximum adsorption of 323 mg/g (298 K). The mean energy of adsorption was determined 1.83 kJ/mol (298 K) based on the Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherm. Moreover, the thermodynamic parameters such as ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG° values for the adsorption were estimated which indicated the endothermic and spontaneous nature of the sorption process. The electrochemistry approved an ideal reaction for the adsorption under electrodic process. Simulation of GO and TC was done by LAMMPS. Force studies in z direction showed that tetracycline comes close to GO sheet by C8 direction. Then it goes far and turns and again comes close from amine group to the GO sheet

Variation of resultant force in the z direction <i>vs.</i> time.

<p>Variation of resultant force in the z direction <i>vs.</i> time.</p

Isotherm of TC (6.0–180.0 mg/L) adsorption on GO (20.0 mg/L) at different temperatures (298, 303, 308 K).

<p>Isotherm of TC (6.0–180.0 mg/L) adsorption on GO (20.0 mg/L) at different temperatures (298, 303, 308 K).</p

Kinetic parameters for TC adsorption on GO at different temperatures.

<p>Kinetic parameters for TC adsorption on GO at different temperatures.</p

Effect of pH on the adsorption efficiency of TC (10.0–100.0 mg/L) on GO (20.0 mg/L); Temp. 25±0.1.

<p>Effect of pH on the adsorption efficiency of TC (10.0–100.0 mg/L) on GO (20.0 mg/L); Temp. 25±0.1.</p