Effect of booklet and combined method on parents' awareness of children with β-thalassemia major disorder

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of booklet and combining methods (lecture, video, etc.) on parents' awareness of children with beta-thalassemia major disorder. METHODS: Two groups of parents (n=30 each) of children with thalassemia were selected randomly. Among educational programmes, in one group booklet and in the other group combined method were used. A questionnaire was designed to gather information about the disease from parents of the two groups. The data were analysed using student's t-test and Pearson's correlation, significance was considered at p < 0.05. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean age, gender, level of education, job, number of affected children, and age of the child. However, in both methods of education (lecture and combined), knowledge of parents about the disease significantly increased (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The education whether through booklet or combined method has a significant positive effect on increasing knowledge of the investigated groups. It is recommended that increased knowledge levels of parents can decrease the burden of beta-thalassemia

Vitamin D and population health; a nephrology viewpoint

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The effect of family training and support on the quality of life and cost of hospital readmissions in congestive heart failure patients in Iran

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of family training and support on quality of life and cost of hospital readmissions in congestive heart failure patients. Methods: In this single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial, the participants were heart failure patients hospitalized in an Iranian hospital. Data were collected from available hospitalized patients. The participants were enrolled through randomized sampling and were divided randomly into two groups, an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group received extra training package for the disease. Training was provided at discharge and three months after. A standard questionnaire to assess the QoL was filled out by both groups at discharge and six months after. Results: Mean scores of QoL domains at the beginning of the study decreased in control group and increased in intervention in comparison with six months after (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Nursing care follow-up according to heart failure patients' needs promoted their QoL

The effect of the various doses of atorvastatin on renal tubular cells; an experimental study

Recent retrospective observational studies suggest that high-potency statin therapy might increase the risk of acute kidney injury, however data on this subject is scares. Objectives: This study, was designed to investigate the renal tubular cell effect of different doses of atorvastatin to detect the possible aggravation of renal function or morphology of the kidney. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study 24 male Wistar rats were designated into 4 equal groups and treated as follows. Control group received phosphate buffer as the vehicle of atorvastatin for 7 days. Groups 1, II and III received atorvastatin at doses of 10, 50 and 150 mg/kg daily for 7 days, then on the day 8, all rats were anesthetized using ketamine and the blood samples were collected for evaluation of creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels and then all rats were sacrificed, then the animals’ kidneys were dissected out and histopathological studies were performed Results: Mean (±SD) of scores of injury to renal tubular cells in control group was 4.2 ±2.2 and in groups I, II and III were 6.44 ± 4.9, 15.4± 8.5 and 25.8 ± 12.7 respectively. Group III which received 150 mg/kg/day of atorvastatin had significant renal damage in comparison to control group (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference of renal injury score between control group with groups of I and II. Conclusions: In the present study we found, atorvastatin with a dose of 150 mg/kg/day for 7 days was nephrotoxic for rats, while lower doses at 10 mg/kg/day or 50 mg/kg/day for 7 days were not accompanied by renal injury. These findings imply further attention to the administration of higher doses of atorvastatin in clinical conditions

The effect of occupational therapy on some aspects of quality of life in schizophrenic patients

چکیده: زمینه و هدف: بیماری اسکیزوفرنیا شدیدترین و مزمن شونده ترین بیماری روانپزشکی است که با اختلال در تواناییهای اجتماعی و شغلی همراه است. کار درمانی باعث افزایش اعتماد به نفس، خودسازی و تقویت رفتارهای کاری در بیمار می شود. این پژوهش با هدف تعیین تاثیر کاردرمانی بر ابعاد مختلف کیفیت زندگی بیماران اسکیزوفرنیک مزمن بستری در بیمارستان سینا انجام شده است. روش بررسی: این پژوهش یک مطالعه کار آزمایی بالینی است که ابتدا بیماران اسکیزوفرن مزمن بستری در بیمارستان سینای فارسان در استان چهارمحال و بختیاری بصورت سرشماری انتخاب و کیفیت زندگی آنان بوسیله پرسشنامه کیفیت زندگی بررسی و سپس بیماران بصورت تصادفی به دو گروه مورد (32 نفر) و شاهد (30 نفر) تقسیم گردیدند. کاردرمانی به مدت 20 ساعت در هفته در طی 6 ماه برای گروه مورد اجرا شد. بعد از اجرای کاردرمانی مجدداً کیفیت زندگی بیماران بررسی و اطلاعات با استفاده از آمار توصیفی و استنباطی (t مستقل) تجزیه و تحلیل شد. یافته ها: نتایج نشان داد در بدو مطالعه، تفاوت معنی داری بین میانگین نمره کیفیت زندگی گروه مورد و شاهد، وجود نداشت، بعد از مطالعه این تفاوت در حیطه انگیزه و انرژی و نمره کل کیفیت زندگی بین گروه مورد و شاهد معنی دار بود (001/0

The prevalence of kidney scarring due to urinary tract infection in Iranian children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infection is one of the most common diseases in childhood, and can lead to severe complications such as renal scarring in case of lack of diagnosis and timely treatment. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of kidney scarring caused by urinary tract infection in Iranian children by meta-analysis. STUDY DESIGN: English -language databases including Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Springer, and Persian -language sites including SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, and Medlib, and the Google Scholar search engine were searched by in March 2018 using MeSH keywords. The heterogeneity of studies was studied using the I2 index. Data were analyzed using STATA software, version 15.1. RESULTS: In 18 studies, the prevalence of kidney scarring from urinary tract infections in Iranian children was 31% (95% confidence intervalCI: 22%-39%), (which was 14% in girls and 23% in boys. Also, the prevalence of kidney scar in children with urinary reflux was 47% and in children without urinary reflux was 12%. The most common symptom of the renal scar was fever in 61%, followed by urinary reflux in 45% (unilateral in 42% and bilateral in 30%). Also, the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe reflux, respectively, was 31%, 27%, and 13%. Meta-regression also showed that the prevalence of kidney scar due to urinary tract infections had no significant relationship with the number of samples and years of research (P > 0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: About one-third of Iranian children suffering from urinary tract infections had kidney scarring, so that the prevalence is lower in girls than in boys. Also, the prevalence of renal scarring in children with urinary reflux is about four times higher than that in children without urinary reflux

Two new records of encyrtids as parasitoid of Sphaerolecanium prunastri (Hem.: Coccidae) in Iran

این تحقیق در سال 1384 به منظور شناسایی زنبورهای پارازیتویید شپشکSphaerolecanium prunastri Boyer de Fonscolombe (Hem.: Coccidae) در استان خراسان رضوی انجام شد. نمونه‌برداری به صورت دو‌هفته‌یک‌بار از هفت منطقه شامل مشهد، نیشابور، تربت حیدریه، فریمان، شیروان، اسفراین و کلات نادر انجام شد. هشت گونه زنبور پارازیتویید در این مناطق شناسایی شد که دو گونه‌ی Cheiloneurus claviger ThomsonوDiscodes coccophagus (Ratzeburg) از خانواده‌ی Encyrtidae برای اولین‌بار از ایران گزارش می‌شوند

The effects of hydro-ethanolic extract of Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation and cognitive impairment: Evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Capparis spinose (C. spinosa) belonging to Capparaeae, originates from dry areas in the west or central Asia and Mediterranean basin. For thousands of years, C. spinosa has been reported to be used as a therapeutic traditional medicine to relieve various ailments including rheumatism, pain and inflammatory diseases. Aim of the study: There are several studies mentioning that systemic inflammation results in learning and memory impairments through the activation of microglia. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of C. spinosa on both in vivo and in vitro models of neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment using lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Materials and methods: In vivo: 40 male rats were used in the present study. Cognitive impairment was induced using LPS (1 mg/kg/d; i.p.) for 4 weeks. Treatment with C. spinosa (100 and 300 mg/kg/d; p.o.) was performed 1 h before LPS administration. At the end of the experiment, rats were undergone for behavioral and biochemical analysis. In vitro: Primary microglia isolated from mouse was used in the present study. The cells were pretreated with C. spinosa extract (10�300 μg/ml) and then stimulated with LPS (1 μg/ml). The expression levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were elucidated using Real-Time PCR and ELISA methods. Results: The escape latency in the Morris water maze test in the LPS group was significantly greater than the control group (p < 0.001), while, in extract-treated groups, it was less than the LPS group (p < 0.001). Additionally, we found that the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and iNOS/Arg-1 ratio was also significantly lower in extract-treated groups than the LPS group (p < 0.001). The results revealed that C. spinosa extract significantly reduced the levels of TNF-α, iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6, NO and PGE2, and the ratios of iNOS/Arg-1 and NO/urea, following the LPS-induced inflammation in microglia (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our finding provides evidence that C. spinosa has a neuroprotective effect, and might be considered as an effective therapeutic agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are accompanied by microglial activation, such as AD. © 202

Molecular scale study on the interactions of biocompatible nanoparticles with macrophage membrane and blood proteins

Macrophage targeting and researches centered on immunological responses have received interest thanks to studies unveiling the significant role of macrophages in inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this regard, we have selected four types of nanoparticles (NPs), including acetalated dextran-based nano-carrier functionalized with atrial natriuretic peptide and linTT1(AcDEX-PEG-TT1-ANP), PEGylated acetalated dextran (AcDEX-PEG), acetalated dextran (AcDEX), and hyaluronic acid (HA) to investigate their interactions with macrophage membrane. Using microsecond coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we studied the interactions between the NPs and the macrophage membrane and subsequent immunological reactions that occur after the penetration of the NPs within the macrophage cell. Different parameters that determine the strength and amount of macrophage membrane interaction were measured and compared for all four types of NPs. The results showed that AcDEX-PEG-TT1-ANP has the most favorable interaction with the macrophage membrane while HA has the least favorable results by comparison. Moreover, drug encapsulation and release in different pH conditions showed the pH-responsivity of the considered NPs for drug delivery in acidic environments. On the other hand, evaluations with human serum albumin (HSA), fibrinogen (Fib), and transferrin (Tf) declared that peptide modified AcDEX polymers are the most probable NPs to absorb a layer of the protein corona