Clinical librarianship challenges in Iran

This study aims to identify and categorize the challenges of clinical librarianship in Iran. First, based on literature review and opinions of participants, the main challenges were identified and categorized. Then, a questionnaire based on this categorization was distributed among the participants for ranking. According to the results, the four main challenges include educational, cultural, executive and research challenges. These challenges lead to lack of consistency and limited success of clinical librarianship efforts. In order to perform a more generalized identification of these challenges and problems, it is necessary to conduct further studies at national and international levels

Association of PICK1 and BDNF variations with increased risk of methamphetamine dependence among Iranian population : a case–control study

Funding Information: This study was financially supported by the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Grant Number: 931681).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The unfinished agenda of communicable diseases among children and adolescents before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Communicable disease control has long been a focus of global health policy. There have been substantial reductions in the burden and mortality of communicable diseases among children younger than 5 years, but we know less about this burden in older children and adolescents, and it is unclear whether current programmes and policies remain aligned with targets for intervention. This knowledge is especially important for policy and programmes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to use the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 to systematically characterise the burden of communicable diseases across childhood and adolescence. METHODS: In this systematic analysis of the GBD study from 1990 to 2019, all communicable diseases and their manifestations as modelled within GBD 2019 were included, categorised as 16 subgroups of common diseases or presentations. Data were reported for absolute count, prevalence, and incidence across measures of cause-specific mortality (deaths and years of life lost), disability (years lived with disability [YLDs]), and disease burden (disability-adjusted life-years [DALYs]) for children and adolescents aged 0-24 years. Data were reported across the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and across time (1990-2019), and for 204 countries and territories. For HIV, we reported the mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) as a measure of health system performance. FINDINGS: In 2019, there were 3·0 million deaths and 30·0 million years of healthy life lost to disability (as measured by YLDs), corresponding to 288·4 million DALYs from communicable diseases among children and adolescents globally (57·3% of total communicable disease burden across all ages). Over time, there has been a shift in communicable disease burden from young children to older children and adolescents (largely driven by the considerable reductions in children younger than 5 years and slower progress elsewhere), although children younger than 5 years still accounted for most of the communicable disease burden in 2019. Disease burden and mortality were predominantly in low-SDI settings, with high and high-middle SDI settings also having an appreciable burden of communicable disease morbidity (4·0 million YLDs in 2019 alone). Three cause groups (enteric infections, lower-respiratory-tract infections, and malaria) accounted for 59·8% of the global communicable disease burden in children and adolescents, with tuberculosis and HIV both emerging as important causes during adolescence. HIV was the only cause for which disease burden increased over time, particularly in children and adolescents older than 5 years, and especially in females. Excess MIRs for HIV were observed for males aged 15-19 years in low-SDI settings. INTERPRETATION: Our analysis supports continued policy focus on enteric infections and lower-respiratory-tract infections, with orientation to children younger than 5 years in settings of low socioeconomic development. However, efforts should also be targeted to other conditions, particularly HIV, given its increased burden in older children and adolescents. Older children and adolescents also experience a large burden of communicable disease, further highlighting the need for efforts to extend beyond the first 5 years of life. Our analysis also identified substantial morbidity caused by communicable diseases affecting child and adolescent health across the world. FUNDING: The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence for Driving Investment in Global Adolescent Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Melatonin effects on sleep disorders in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood. Around 25-50% of these children suffered from some kind of sleep disorder especially with chronic form of insomnia. The physicians usually have a plan for improving hyperactivity and attention deficit of this disease but unfortunately, they forget to manage the sleep disorders, which are a major part of patients’ problems.Nowadays, we know that there is a noticeable relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sleep disorders and by improving these children's sleep, not only the daily functions improve, but also the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder  maybe become better. Thus, it is needed to avoid the administration of psychostimulants, which have recognized side effects. Moreover, having better sleep, we will see a better relationship between children and their parents and finally a rise in the standard of life of family members, which is a very important goal in our treatment. This review article evaluates available evidence on sleep medication in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to present an appropriate guidance for this high prevalence problem

Lingual Thyroid: A Case Report and Literature Review

Thyroid ectopia is a dysgenesis of thyroid gland and Lingual position represents the most frequent ectopic location accounting up to 90% of ectopic cases. Hypothyroidism is commonly present because of absence of a normal thyroid gland in most instances. Primary hypothyroidism in juvenile population generally leads to retardation of linear growth and delay or even arrested puberty. We present a 20 years old female with typical and profound presentation of hypothyroidism due to lingual thyroid

The Representation of Reference Cognitive Status in Persian-speaking Autistic Children’s Narrative Discourse Based on Givenness Hierarchy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as a developmental-neuro disorder, is a disorder that creates impairments in the cognitive performances, such as memory, communication ability and language. One of the determining levels in the individuals’ social life is the ability to produce narrative discourse which entails applying linguistic and cognitive knowledge and skills simultaneously. The purpose of the present study was to provide a comparative study of the reference representation, as a narrative fundamental element, by using referential expressions based on the six cognitive statuses proposed in Gundel, Hedberg, & Zacharski’s (1993) “Givenness Hierarchy” in the narratives produced by Persian-speaking children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typically developed (TD) children regarding their age. To this end, 24 children with high-functioning autism and 24 typically developed children, with the age 7, 9, 11 years old (each age group consisting of 8 subjects) were participated in this study. The narratives were elicited by the picture story book “Frog, where are you?” (Mayer, 1969). Then, the gathered data were analyzed by SPSS software. The results of the study indicated that there was differences between the two under study groups in representing the reference based on the cognitive statuses of “Givenness Hierarchy” by referential expressions. Furthermore, the age increase had no effect on the reference representation based on the cognitive statuses of “Givenness Hierarchy” in children with high-functioning autism’s narratives, in contrast to typically developed children’s narratives

Genotyping of ABCC8, KCNJ11, and HADH in Iranian Infants with Congenital Hyperinsulinism

Background. Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a heterogeneous disease with various underlying genetic causes. Among different genes considered effective in the development of CHI, ABCC8, KCNJ11, and HADH genes are among the important genes, especially in a population with a considerable rate of consanguineous marriage. Mutational analysis of these genes guides clinicians to better treatment and prediction of prognosis for this rare disease. The present study aimed to evaluate genetic variants in ABCC8, KCNJ11, and HADH genes as causative genes for CHI in the Iranian population. Methods. The present case series took place in Mashhad, Iran, within 11 years. Every child who had a clinical phenotype and confirmatory biochemical tests of CHI enrolled in this study. Variants in ABCC8, KCNJ11, and HADH genes were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction and sequencing in our patients. Results. Among 20 pediatric patients, 16 of them had variants in ABCC8, KCNJ11, and HADH genes. The mean age of genetic diagnosis was 18.6 days. A homozygous missense (c.2041-21G > A) mutation in the ABCC8 gene was seen in three infants. Other common variants were frameshift variants (c.3438dup) in the ABCC8 gene and a missense variant (c.287-288delinsTG) in the KCNJ11 gene. Most of the variants in our population were still categorized as variants of unknown significance and only 7 pathogenic variants were present. Conclusion. Most variants were located in the ABCC8 gene in our population. Because most of the variants in our population are not previously reported, performing further functional studies is warranted