Investigating the association of Val/Met polymorphism of the BDNF gene with the incidence of disease in patients with Alzheimer and comparison with healthy elderly people in Iran

Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly and the genetic and environmental factors interfere with its creation. The BDNF gene is responsible for producing a brain-derived neuronal factor. In this disease, the valine66methionine polymorphism and nucleotide changes of 196 (G>A) BDNF are genetic risk factors .This polymorphism has not been investigated in patients with Alzheimer's disease in Iran. This study aimed to provide appropriate information on the prognosis of the disease and the ability to get it. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 73 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 100 healthy controls were evaluated. Blood samples were taken from the subjects and DNA was extracted. After quantitative and qualitative DNA analysis, PCR-RFLP was performed and the results of both groups were analyzed and compared. Results: Fourteen patients and seven controls had polymorphisms of BDNF gene. Fifty-nine patients had normal allele, 8 patients with heterozygote allele and 6 patients had methionine/methionine allele. In the controls, 93 patients had normal allele, 5 with heterozygote allele and 2 had methionine/methionine allele. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the increase in valine/methionine polymorphism in the BDNF gene in Alzheimer's patients compared to the control group can express the role of this polymorphism in this disease. Also, patients with this polymorphism had a worse clinical status than patients without this polymorphism. Therefore, evaluation of this polymorphism can provide appropriate information about the patient's condition

The relationship of climate and diabetes mellitus prevalence with applying spatial analysis; An Ecological study

Objectives: The aims of this study were investigating the association between DM prevalence and climate conditions and finding probable hot-spot areas. Methods: This ecological study conducted on disease surveillance system of DM data from rural area of two Kashan and Aran-O-Bidgol counties. It is an observational study on the disease surveillance data of health registry system including population characteristics, screened DM cases in 2016. Moran’s I and Getis-Ord’s index were applied to explore the hot-spot areas, and the spatial regression model were conducted for finding the relationship between climate and DM prevalence whilst adjusting some confounders, using GIS software. Results: The information of 48 cities and villages with 26,800 of ≥30 years people located in three mountainous, plain and dry-desert climates were analyzed. The crude DM prevalence ranged 0-45.4%. The analysis revealed evident hot-spot areas and inverse relationship between altitude and DM prevalence (P<0.05). Conclusion: Residences of dry-desert climate had high DM prevalence and there was a significant inverse relationship between altitude and DM prevalence

Education services quality of Kashan Medical Science University, based on SERVQUAL model in viewpoints of students

Introduction: Sustainable development of higher educational systems, as a dynamic system, requires a coherent moderate growth both in qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Since students are the major clients of higher education systems and their perspectives can play a key role in the quality promotion of the services; this study has been conducted based on SERVQUAL model aiming at the assessment of educational services quality in Kashan Medical Science University in 2016. Study Methodology: A total of 212 students of Kashan Medical Science University were selected with a population of 616 subjects through random sampling, using Morgan tables for this descriptive-analytical research. Data collection tools were the standard SERVQUAL questionnaire composing of three sections of basic information and 28 items, according to Likert six-option scale for the measurement of services quality current and desired expected conditions. The difference between the average of current and desirable statuses was measured as the services gap. Descriptive deductive statistics were used to analyze the obtained data. Results: The students aged averagely 23 ± 1.8, 65% (138 subjects) were female, and 35% (74 subjects) were male. About 72% (153 subjects) were single, and 28% (59 subjects) were married. The obtained results revealed that there was a negative gap in all dimensions of quality. The results also showed that the minimum gap obtained for learning assist tools (physical and tangibility dimensions) with an amount of −0.38 and the maximum gap for guide instructor availability once needed by the students (accountability dimension) with an amount of −2.42. Total mean of perceptions and expectations measurement for the students obtained 2.28 and 3.85, respectively. Conclusion: Respecting the negative gap obtained for all dimensions of educational services quality and insufficiencies to meet the students' expectations, it is recommended to assign further resources along with appropriate management initiations, modification, and rearrangement of the services providing models to improve the quality of educational services for higher education centers all around the country

Effect of mobile phone radiation on pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure threshold in mice

Objective(s): Scientific interest in potential mobile phone impact on human brain and performance has significantly increased in recent years. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of mobile phone radiation on seizure threshold in mice. Materials and methods:BALB/c male mice were randomly divided into three groups: control, acute, and chronic mobile phone radiation for 30, 60, and 90 min with frequency 900 to 950 MHz and pulse of 217 Hz. The chronic group received 30 days of radiation, while the acute group received only once. The intravenous infusion of pentylenetetrazole (5 mg/ml) was used to induce seizure signs. Results:  Although acute mobile radiation did not change seizure threshold, chronic radiation decreased the clonic and tonic seizure thresholds significantly. Conclusion: Our data suggests that thecontinued and prolonged contact with the mobile phone radiation might increase the risk of seizure attacks and should be limited

Major Interaction between Warfarin and Na Valproate: A Case Report

Abstract: Warfarin is the most commonly used oral anticoagulant drug in clinical practice with extreme inter and intra-individual variation in pharmacokinetic properties. Na Valproate, a broad spectrum anticonvulsant agent, is best known for its enzyme inhibition properties and also displacement of protein binding sites. Interaction between Warfarin and psychotropic drugs including Valproate are important and perhaps under recognized. In this report, we present a 48 year old female patient with chief complaints of abdominal pain, tea-color urine, blurred vision and headache. She had been suffering from “migraine headache” for 15 years that was relatively well controlled with Na Valproate 200mg twice daily. She was experienced a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following oral contraceptive. For management of DVT, she was received Warfarin 5mg/day which was increased to 7.5 mg /day after 2 weeks. Three days after this increment of dose, her Prothrombin Time (PT) rose to 35.3 seconds (three times of normal value) and evidences of bleeding including hematuria and hematemesis were observed. Based on the history and laboratory findings, “Warfarin toxicity” was the first impression and she was treated with fresh frozen plasma and vitamin K with a well recovery. This experience emphasizes the clinical significant interaction between Warfarin and Na Valproate, which may take place even with the usual doses of each agent.

Evaluation of Drug Regimens Used for the Prophylaxis of Thromboembolic Events in a Referral Cancer Center in North of Iran

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of mortality among cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate drug regimens used for the prophylaxis of thromboembolic events in cancer patients. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using medical records of patients hospitalized from March 2012 to March 2014 at Cancer Division of A tertiary university-affiliated hospital in North of Iran. The risk factors of patients regarding need of venous thromboembolic (VTE) prophylaxis were recognized and dosage and duration of thromboembolic prophylactic agents were evaluated according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2012 guidelines. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.23. Results: Of a total of 1160 medical records, VTE prophylaxis regimens of 186 patients were evaluated. In 18(13.1%) and 15(10.9%) of patients, administrations were compatible with NCCN guidelines with respect to the "type of drug" and "dosage", respectively. Only in 7(5.1%) of patients administrations were compatible with respect to the "duration of thromboembolic prophylaxis regimen". Forty patients (21.7%) had relative contraindication for thromboembolic prophylaxis and 7(3.8%) patients had absolute contraindication. In 32(80%) of 40 patients with relative contraindications and only in 1(14.3%) of 7 patients with absolute contraindications, physicians’ orders were compatible with NCCN guidelines. Conclusion: The rate of concordance of the VTE prophylaxis with recommendations provided by NCCN is very poor. This study emphasizes need of a multidisciplinary action to improve the VTE prophylaxis in cancer patients.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of gastric cancer patients in north of Iran, Mazandaran province, 2008-2014

Gastric cancer has been known as a poor prognosis disease with a high degree of mortality. In Iran, it has been increased during the previous two decades, especially in northern part of the country. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of gastric cancer in Mazandaran province. All patients with gastric cancer diagnosis treated in the Imam Khomeini educational hospital or Touba Polyclinic, a university affiliated center, from March 2008 to March 2014 were included. Demographic data, the symptoms at the time of presentation, tumor size, type of tumor, lymph node involvement, status in terms of metastatic disease, therapeutic plan and type of chemotherapy regimens were gathered from patients&rsquo; medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, version 16. Totally, 643 patients were investigated. The mean age of patients was 64.34 years and men were more affected than women. &ldquo;Time to relapse&rdquo; and &ldquo;time to progression&rdquo; were 13 and 6.5 months, respectively. The most common initial symptoms at diagnosis were nausea, vomiting and epigastric pain (47.4%). Only in 6.3%, the disease was diagnosed at the initial stages. The most common site of involvement was cardia (almost 40%) and antrum (32%). More than 91% of tumors were adenocarcinoma. DCF (Docetaxel, Cisplatin, 5FU) (43.3%), Xeloda (15.2%), DOX (Docetaxel, Oxaliplatin) (13.8%) and ECF (Epirubicin, Cisplatin.5FU) (9.2%) were the most common used regimens. There was a trend for improved survival with DCF regimen (P = 0.08). Most gastric cancer patients were referred in the advanced stage or metastatic disease. The demographic characteristics are consistent with other previous reports. DCF regimen may have some advantages over other chemotherapy regimens

Comparative effects of carbohydrate versus fat restriction on metabolic profiles, biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in overweight patients with Type 2 diabetic and coronary heart disease: a randomized clinical trialComparative effects of car

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to establish the comparative effects of carbohydrate versus fat restriction on metabolic indices in Type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: This randomized, clinical trial was done among 56 overweight persons with T2D and CHD aged 40-85 years old. The patients were randomly allocated to take either a high-carbohydrate (HC) diet (60-65% carbohydrates and 20-25% fats) (n = 28) or a restricted carbohydrate (RC) diet (43-49% carbohydrate and 36-40% fats) (n = 28) for 8 weeks to determine metabolic status. RESULTS: After 8 weeks of treatment, RC diet decreased fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (&minus;11.5 &plusmn; 28.3 vs. +7.0 &plusmn; 26.9 mg/dl, P = 0.010) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (&minus;564.3 &plusmn; 1280.1 vs. +286.1 &plusmn; 1789.2 ng/ml, P = 0.040) compared with a HC diet. Moreover, compared with a HC diet, RC diet increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (+274.8 &plusmn; 111.5 vs. +20.2 &plusmn; 82.5 mmol/l, P &lt; 0.001) and glutathione (GSH) levels (+51.6 &plusmn; 111.5 vs. &minus;32.6 &plusmn; 88.5 &micro;mol/l, P = 0.003). No significant alterations between the two groups were found in terms of their effect on other metabolic profiles. CONCLUSION: RC diet in overweight T2D with CHD had beneficial effects on FPG, hs-CRP, TAC, and GSH values.&nbsp;</p

Effect of probiotic supplementation on cognitive function and metabolic status in Alzheimer&#39;s disease: a randomized, double-blind and controlled trial

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with severe cognitive impairments as well as some metabolic defects. Scant studies in animal models indicate a link between probiotics and cognitive function. This randomized, double-blind and controlled clinical trial was conducted among 60 AD patients to assess the effects of probiotic supplementation on cognitive function and metabolic status. The patients were randomly divided into two groups (n=30 in each group) treating with either milk (control group) or a mixture of probiotic (probiotic group). The probiotic supplemented group took 200 ml/day probiotic milk containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus fermentum (2×109 CFU/g for each) for 12 weeks. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score was recorded in all subjects before and after the treatment. Pre- and post-treatment fasting blood samples were obtained to determine the related markers. After 12 weeks intervention, compared with the control group (-5.03%±3.00), the probiotic treated (+27.90%±8.07) patients showed a significant improvement in the MMSE score (P<0.001). In addition, changes in plasma malondialdehyde (-22.01%±4.84 vs. +2.67%±3.86 µmol/L, P<0.001), serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (-17.61%±3.70 vs. +45.26%±3.50 µg/mL, P<0.001), homeostasis model of assessment-estimated insulin resistance (+28.84%±13.34 vs.+76.95%±24.60, P=0.002), Beta cell function (+3.45%±10.91 vs. +75.62%±23.18, P=0.001), serum triglycerides (-20.29%±4.49 vs. -0.16%±5.24 mg/dL, P=0.003) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (-1.83±1.26 vs. -4.66±1.70, P=0.006) in the probiotic group were significantly varied compared to the control group. We found that the probiotic treatment had no considerable effect on other biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation, fasting plasma glucose and other lipid profiles. Overall, the current study demonstrated that probiotic consumption for 12 weeks positively affects cognitive function and some metabolic statuses in the AD patients