The Effect of Early Passive Range of Motion Exercise on Motor Function of People with Stroke: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Frequent and regular exercises in the first six months of stroke may cause return of a significant portion of sensory and motor function of patients. This study aimed to examine the effects of passive range of motion exercise in the acute phase after stroke on motor function of the patients. Methods: A randomized controlled trial study was conducted. The patients with first ischemic stroke were randomly allocated to either experimental (n=33) or control (n=19) group. Passive range of motion exercises was performed in the experimental group during the first 48 hours of admission as 6 to 8 times of 30 minute exercise. Before intervention, and one and three months after intervention, motor function were measured by muscle strength grading scale (Oxford scale) and compared. SPSS version 13.0 for Windows was used for statistical analysis. Frequency distribution was used to describe the data. For comparisons, paired t-test, independent t-test was used, and repeated measures test was used. Results: In acute phase, the intervention in the experimental group led to significant improvement of motor function between the first and third month in both the upper and lower extremities. In control group, improvement was observed only in the muscle strength of upper extremity in the first and third month compared to pre-intervention measurement. The greatest improvement was observed in the interval from base to one month in the upper extremity, and base to the first month and the first to the third month in the lower extremity. Conclusion: It is recommended to use early passive range of motion exercise as part of care for people with stroke during the acute phase of the disease

Investigating Underlying Principles to Guide Health Impact Assessment

Background: Many countries conduct Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of their projects and policies to predict their positive and negative health impacts. In recent years many guides have been developed to inform HIA practice, largely reflecting local developments in HIA. These guides have often been designed for specific contexts and specific need, making the choice between guides difficult. The objective of the current study is to identify underlying principles in order to guide HIA practice in Iran. Methods:This study was conducted in three stages: 1) Studies comparing HIA guidelines were reviewed to identify criteria used for comparison seeking emphasized principles. 2) The HIA characteristics extracted from published papers were categorized in order to determine the principles that could guide HIA practice. 3) Finally, these principles were agreed by experts using nominal group technique. Results:The review of the studies comparing HIA guides demonstrated there are no clear comparison criteria for reviewing HIA guides and no study mentioned HIA principles. Investigating the HIA principles from peer-reviewed papers, we found 14 issues. These were, considering of general features in planning and conducting HIAs such as HIA stream, level, timing and type, considering of the wider socio-political and economic context, considering of economic, technical and legal aspects of HIA and capacities for HIA, rationality and comprehensiveness, using appropriate evidence, elaborating on HIA relation to other forms of Impact Assessment, considering of equity, and encouraging intersectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation, involvement of stakeholders and transparency as underlying principles to guide HIA practice. The results emphasize how critical these technical as well as tactical considerations are in the early scoping step of an HIA which plans the conduct of the HIA in reponse to local contextual issues. Conclusion:Determining the principles of HIA from peer-reviewed papers provides an opportunity for guiding HIA practice comprehensively. It seems to be feasible to develop a universal guide that covers all principles required

Investigating underlying principles to guide health impact assessment

Background: Many countries conduct Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of their projects and policies to predict their positive and negative health impacts. In recent years many guides have been developed to inform HIA practice, largely reflecting local developments in HIA. These guides have often been designed for specific contexts and specific need, making the choice between guides difficult. The objective of the current study is to identify underlying principles in order to guide HIA practice in Iran. Methods: This study was conducted in three stages: 1) Studies comparing HIA guidelines were reviewed to identify criteria used for comparison seeking emphasized principles. 2) The HIA characteristics extracted from published papers were categorized in order to determine the principles that could guide HIA practice. 3) Finally, these principles were agreed by experts using nominal group technique. Results: The review of the studies comparing HIA guides demonstrated there are no clear comparison criteria for reviewing HIA guides and no study mentioned HIA principles. Investigating the HIA principles from peer-reviewed papers, we found 14 issues. These were, considering of general features in planning and conducting HIAs such as HIA stream, level, timing and type, considering of the wider socio-political and economic context, considering of economic, technical and legal aspects of HIA and capacities for HIA, rationality and comprehensiveness, using appropriate evidence, elaborating on HIA relation to other forms of Impact Assessment, considering of equity, and encouraging intersectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation, involvement of stakeholders and transparency as underlying principles to guide HIA practice. The results emphasize how critical these technical as well as tactical considerations are in the early scoping step of an HIA which plans the conduct of the HIA in reponse to local contextual issues. Conclusion: Determining the principles of HIA from peer-reviewed papers provides an opportunity for guiding HIA practice comprehensively. It seems to be feasible to develop a universal guide that covers all principles require

Investigating underlying principles to guide Health Impact Assessment

Abstract Background: Many countries conduct Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of their projects and policies to predict their positive and negative health impacts. In recent years many guides have been developed to inform HIA practice, largely reflecting local developments in HIA. These guides have often been designed for specific contexts and specific need, making the choice between guides difficult. The objective of the current study is to identify underlying principles in order to guide HIA practice in Iran. Methods: This study was conducted in three stages: 1) Studies comparing HIA guidelines were reviewed to identify criteria used for comparison seeking emphasized principles. 2) The HIA characteristics extracted from published papers were categorized in order to determine the principles that could guide HIA practice. 3) Finally, these principles were agreed by experts using nominal group technique. Results: The review of the studies comparing HIA guides demonstrated there are no clear comparison criteria for reviewing HIA guides and no study mentioned HIA principles. Investigating the HIA principles from peer-reviewed papers, we found 14 issues. These were, considering of general features in planning and conducting HIAs such as HIA stream, level, timing and type, considering of the wider socio-political and economic context, considering of economic, technical and legal aspects of HIA and capacities for HIA, rationality and comprehensiveness, using appropriate evidence, elaborating on HIA relation to other forms of Impact Assessment, considering of equity, and encouraging intersectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation, involvement of stakeholders and transparency as underlying principles to guide HIA practice. The results emphasize how critical these technical as well as tactical considerations are in the early scoping step of an HIA which plans the conduct of the HIA in reponse to local contextual issues. Conclusion: Determining the principles of HIA from peer-reviewed papers provides an opportunity for guiding HIA practice comprehensively. It seems to be feasible to develop a universal guide that covers all principles required

The effect of purslane seeds on glycemic status and lipid profiles of persons with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled cross-over clinical trial

Background: We are aware of limited data about the effects of purslane on diabetes. Earlier studies have mostly indicated the beneficial effects in animal models. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of purslane seeds on glycemic status and lipid profiles of persons with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: This cross-over randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 48 persons with type 2 diabetes. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 10 g/day purslane seeds with 240 cc low-fat yogurt (intervention group) or only 240 cc low-fat yogurt (as a control group) for 5 weeks. After a 2-week washout period, subjects were moved to the alternate arm for an additional 5 weeks. At baseline and end of each phase of the study, fasting blood samples were collected to quantify plasma glucose levels, as well as serum insulin and lipid profiles. Within-group and between-group changes in anthropometric measures, as well as biochemical indicators, were compared using a paired-samples t-test. Results: Mean age of study participants was 51.4 ± 6.0 year. We found a significant reduction in weight (−0.57 vs. 0.09 kg, P = 0.003) and body mass index (−0.23 vs. 0.02 kg/m 2 , P = 0.004) following purslane seeds consumption. Despite a slight reduction in fasting plasma glucose levels (−2.10 vs. −2.77 mg/dL, P = 0.90), we failed to find any significant effect on serum insulin levels and homeostatic model of assessment of insulin resistance score. Furthermore, purslane consumption decreased serum triglyceride levels (−25.5 vs. −1.8 mg/dL, P = 0.04) but could not affect serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels. We observed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (−3.33 vs. 0.5 mmHg, P = 0.01) and a borderline significant decrease in diastolic blood pressure (−3.12 vs. −0.93 mmHg, P = 0.09) after purslane seeds intake. Conclusion: In summary, consumption of purslane seeds for 5 weeks in persons with type 2 diabetes might improve their anthropometric measures, serum triglyceride levels, and blood pressure. Further studies are required to determine the appropriate dosage for these patients

Comparison of the Effect of Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid on Fasting Blood Sugar, Triglyceride, and Blood Pressure in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Background: It seems that consumption of fish oil results in reduction of cardiovascular diseases risk factor such as triglyceride and blood pressure in diabetic patients. It is not clear which component of fish oil(EPA or DHA) is more important. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on fasting blood sugar, triglyceride, and blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients. Material and Methods: The study designed as a triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial. 60 diabetic men and women, aged 30-65 years, were randomly assigned to consume 1g/d EPA, DHA, and canola oil for 12 week. Fasting blood sugar, triglyceride, and blood pressure were measured before and after the study. Results were analyzed through repeated measure test. Results:. After 12 weeks of intervention, 23 women and 22 men with a mean ± SD age of 54.9± 8.2 completed the study. In comparison with the changes from baseline, FBS and triglyceride levels didn't differ between groups (P>0.05). SBP and DBP reduced in three groups (P= 0.0015 and P= 0.000 respectively) but they didn't differ between groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Consumption of 1g/d EPA or DHA doesn't have any effect on FBS, triglyceride, SBP and DBP. This study is the first one which has compared fish oil components effects in diabetic patients

A 12-week double-blind randomized clinical trial of vitamin D₃ supplementation on body fat mass in healthy overweight and obese women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin D concentrations are linked to body composition indices, particularly body fat mass. Relationships between hypovitaminosis D and obesity, described by both BMI and waist circumference, have been mentioned. We have investigated the effect of a 12-week vitamin D3 supplementation on anthropometric indices in healthy overweight and obese women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial, seventy-seven participants (age 38±8.1 years, BMI 29.8±4.1 kg/m²) were randomly allocated into two groups: vitamin D (25 μg per day as cholecalciferol) and placebo (25 μg per day as lactose) for 12 weeks. Body weight, height, waist, hip, fat mass, 25(OH) D, iPTH, and dietary intakes were measured before and after the intervention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum 25(OH)D significantly increased in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group (38.2±32.7 nmol/L vs. 4.6±14.8 nmol/L; P<0.001) and serum iPTH concentrations were decreased by vitamin D3 supplementation (-0.26±0.57 pmol/L vs. 0.27±0.56 pmol/L; P<0.001). Supplementation with vitamin D3 caused a statistically significant decrease in body fat mass in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group (-2.7±2.1 kg vs. -0.47±2.1 kg; P<0.001). However, body weight and waist circumference did not change significantly in both groups. A significant reverse correlation between changes in serum 25(OH) D concentrations and body fat mass was observed (r = -0.319, P = 0.005).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Among healthy overweight and obese women, increasing 25(OH) D concentrations by vitamin D3 supplementation led to body fat mass reduction.</p> <p>This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01344161.</p