The Incidence rate of hypothyroidism following head and neck radiotherapy visiting the radiotherapy clinic at Shafa Medical Center, Kerman, Iran

Background: Hypothyroidism means the production of thyroid hormone is inadequate for normal human activity. Due to the high prevalence of hypothyroidism after radiotherapy with and without surgery and the large number of patients treated at the radiotherapy center of Shafa hospital, this study aimed to determine the incidence of hypothyroidism in patients referred to this center and to motivate identifying them. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 patients visiting the Radiotherapy Center of Shafa Hospital during the years 2008-2014. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 using t-test in the subgroups. Results: The mean age of the participants was 56.65 ± 11.29 and 19% were diagnosed with hypothyroidism. There was a significant relation between the stage of tumor (P = 0.014) and type of treatment (P <0.001) with hypothyroidism. Conclusion: Overall, it seems that the incidence of hypothyroidism in patients receiving radiotherapy is high, especially in patients undergoing radiotherapy with surgery. Special attention should be paid to screening patients with laryngeal cancer or other cancers of the head and neck, after radiotherapy and surgery. Keywords: Hypothyroidism, Incidence, Radiation therapy, Head and neck tumors

Gender difference in motor impairments induced by chronic administration of vinblastine

Objective(s): Neurotoxicity of anticancer drugs complicates treatment of cancer patients. Vinblastine (VBL) is reported to induce motor and cognitive impairments in patients receiving chronic low-dose regimen. Materials and Methods: The effects of VBL treatment on motor, learning and memory functions of male and female Wistar rats were studied by behavioral related tests. Animals were given chronic intraperitoneal injections of VBL (0.2 mg/kg/week for 5 weeks) from postnatal day 23 to 52. Motor function was evaluated using grasping test and balancing was evaluated by the rotarod. Spatial learning and memory and anxiety-like behavior were determined using Morris water maze (MWM) task and open field test, respectively. Results: Administration of VBL caused severe damage to motor and balance function of male rats in comparison to female rats treated with VBL and rats treated with saline. Memory and locomotion were affected in both male and female rats compared with saline treated rats, while a sex difference was also observed in these parameters; male rats showed more impairment compared with female ones. Both male and female rats showed cognitive impairments in MWM task and no sex differences were observed in these functions. Conclusion: Results revealed that VBL is a potent neurotoxic agent and despite the profound effect of VBL on motor and cognitive functions, it seems that male rats are more susceptible to motor deficits induced by VBL