Contrast induced nephropathy; recent findings.

Contrast induced nephropathy is one cause of acute renal failure. Contrast induced nephropathy is the third most common cause of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. The incidence of contrast induced nephropathy in the general population is 0.6% to 2.3%, but when focusing on specific high-risk patients the incidence can increase to more than 40%. Studies suggest that intravenous hydration is the most effective strategy to prevent contrast induced nephropathy. Hydration is inexpensive and is usually risk-free. Administration of optimal fluids before and after the contrast procedure allows for increased urine output and improved outcomes

Renin-angiotensin system blockage for reduction of plasma adiponectin level in maintenance hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial

Introduction. Plasma adiponectin level is markedly increased among patients on hemodialysis. This investigation aimed to evaluate the relationship between renin-angiotensin system blockade and serum adiponectin concentration in nondiabetic patients on hemodialysis. Materials and Methods. This randomized double-blind controlled trial was conducted on a group of nondiabetic patients on regular hemodialysis. The first group received losartan, 12.5 mg twice per day for the 1st week, 25 mg twice per day during the 2nd week, and 75 mg/d from the 3rd week to the end of the 16th week. Patients of the control group received placebo. Blood samples from all of the patients were collected at the beginning and at the end of the study to measure serum adiponectin. Results. Seventy-three hemodialysis patients were divided randomly into the losartan group (40 patients) and the control group (33 patients). The mean adiponectin level in all of the patients was 10.6 ± 3.9 μg/mL. A significant decrease of serum adiponectin level was observed after 4 months of treatment with losartan (8.86 ± 3.43 μg/mL for losartan group versus 10.71 ± 3.94 μg/mL for the control group; P = .04). None of the patients had a serum potassium value greater than 5 mg/dL or hypotension during the intervention. There was no significant difference in serum potassium levels between the two groups. Conclusions. The decrease in serum adiponectin level in nondiabetic patients on regular hemodialysis by losartan might offer a potential protective approach in these patients. Mechanisms responsible for this reduction remain to be investigated. © 2016, Iranian Society of Nephrology. All rights reserved

Insecure Employment Contracts during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Need for Participation in Policy Making

Job security influences the ability of nurses to provide high-quality nursing care. The Iranian health system has always faced nursing shortages, and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this situation. Although nurses have been labelled ‘heroes’ across the globe, many of them have been hired using insecure employment contracts. This commentary aims to describe issues surrounding job contracts for Iranian nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how the current situation can be improved. Iranian nurses are at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 and need to receive better support in terms of job security and dignity. They should participate more in policymaking activities to improve their job condition and prevent the development and implementation of the short-term and insecure job contracts that lead to job insecurity

Correlation of serum parathyroid hormone with pulmonary artery pressure in non-diabetic regular hemodialysis patients

Abstract Introduction: Pulmonary artery hypertension in end-stage renal disease is associated by significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Serum parathormone may increase among patients on hemodialysis and influence various organs. Objectives: This study sought to find the association of serum parathormone level and pulmonary artery pressure in a group of non-diabetic patients on regular hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: This prospective investigation was conducted in the hemodialysis section of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Doppler echocardiography were used to assess pulmonary artery pressure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is defined as systolic PAP≥35 mm Hg at rest. Serum parathormone was measured by ECL method. Results: Sixty-five, non-diabetic hemodialysis patients were studied. Mean (±SD) of age of the patients was 56.35±20.41 years. Mean (±SD) of iPTH was 251.55±97.27 pg/ml. In this study, a significant positive association of serum iPTH with pulmonary artery pressure in patients was seen (r=0.27, p=0.029). Conclusion: In the present study, we detected a significant positive association of serum parathyroid hormone with pulmonary artery pressure of hemodialysis patients however, our observations, warranting further investigations to evaluate the clinical aspect of the association of serum PTH with pulmonary artery pressure. Keywords: End-stage renal disease, Hemodialysis, Pulmonary hypertension, Parathormone Please cite this paper as: Heidari M, Mardani S, Baradaran A. Correlation of serum parathyroid hormone with pulmonary artery pressure in non-diabetic regular hemodialysis patients. J Parathyr Dis 2014; 2(2): 78-80. Copyright © 2014 The Author(s); Published by Nickan Research Institute. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Prevalence of Referred Pain with Pulpal Origin in the Head, Face and Neck Region

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of referred pain with pulpal source in the head, face and neck region among patients referred to Dental School of Shahid Beheshti University MC, Tehran, Iran in 2004. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 100 patients (55 males and 45 females) referred to oral medicine department of Shahid Beheshti Dental School evaluated via clinical and radiographic examination to seek their pain sources and sites. Inclusion criteria were report of pain and a dental clinician accomplished detection of pain origin. Exclusion criteria were non-odontogenic painful diseases, advanced periodontal disease, and substantial carious lesions. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to score pain intensity; meanwhile the patients were asked to mark the painful sites on an illustrated head and neck mannequin. RESULTS: Sixty-five percent of patients reported pain in sites which diagnostically differed from the pain source. According to statistical analysis, duration (P<0.01), spontaneity (P<0.001) and quality (P<0.01) of pain influenced its referral nature, while sex and age of patients, kind of stimulus, throbbing and intensity of pain had no considerable effect on pain referral (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of referred pain with pulpal origin in the head, face and neck region is moderately high which requires precise diagnosis by dental practitioners. Some hallmarks of irreversible pulpitis (e.g. spontaneous and persistent pain after elimination of stimulus) are related to pain referral

Qualitative exploration of sexual life among breast cancer survivors at reproductive age

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Changes and challenges in sexual life experienced by the husbands of women with breast cancer: a qualitative study

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Reported causal factors for research misconducts in Iranian research

Substantial concerns about the research integrity in Iran have caused research misconducts to be an issue for studies. But adequate recognition of causal factors is a necessary part of clear and explicit policy in order to manage the research misconducts and supply the research integrity. This study attempted investigating the available evidence on the reported research misconducts in Iranian research and its causal factors. Therefore, 30 studies on Iranian research misconducts were studied. The detected factors to research misconducts based on the reported evidence included: 1. Structural factors such as publication pressure, scientific promotion policies, research funding, and job preservation; 2. Organizational factors such as research environment, regulatory-control activities on research and teaching research activities; 3. Personal factors such as research skills, degree orientation, financial benefits, understanding, and moral judgment. The analytical model of causal factors was designed. Therewith, cultural and situational factors have received less attention in the literature and they have a major focus on the obvious types of research misconduct (data fabrication, Falsification, and Plagiarism), especially plagiarism

A systematic review of the effect of lavender on cancer complications

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Prognostic value of matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its association with angiogenesis

Background: Breakdown of extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the important hallmarks of cancer progression which facilitates the invasion of tumoral cells to the surrounding tissue. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) can degrade various components of the ECM and basement membrane. The aim of this study was to determine the role of matrix metalloproteinases-9 protein in the biologic behavior of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its relation with tumor angiogenesis. Material and Methods: In this study 42 OSCC and 15 normal epithelium were reviewed by immunohistochemical staining for matrix metalloproteinases-9 and CD105. Results: Matrix metalloproteinases-9 expression was detected in 32 OSCC specimens (76.1%), with 28 specimens (66.6%) showing moderate or strong expression. We observed that the expression level of matrix metalloproteinases-9 was positively correlated with the status of lymph node metastasis (N0vs. N1) ( P =0.00), and clinical stage (I-II vs. III-IV) in OSCC patients. Microvessel density in intratumoral tissue has an association with lymph node metastasis and advanced clinical stage ( P =0.003 and p =0.01, respectively). We observed that tumors with matrix metalloproteinases-9 overexpression had a higher microvessel density counts compared with tumors with absent or focal immunostaining (16.2±5.6 vs 10.3±3.5 respectively, P =0.03). Conclusions: In conclusion present results demonstrate the marked expression of matrix metalloproteinases-9 and CD105 in OSCC and suggest that the expression of these markers is associated with tumor progression and could offer additional information about the aggressiveness of OSCC. In addition a significant relationship was noted between microvessel density count and expression of matrix metalloproteinases-9 which suggest that MMP9 expression may be closely related to tumor angiogenesi