Gene expression of serotonergic markers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with late-onset Alzheimer's disease

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is primarily involved in the regulation of learning and memory. Pathological changes in metabolism or functional imbalance of 5-HT has been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The hypothesis tested is that in peripheral blood, markers of the serotonergic pathway can be used as a diagnostic tool for AD. The current study measured the relative expression of 5-HT receptors (5-HTR2A and 5-HTR3A) as well as the 5-HT catalytic enzyme, Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) mRNA in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) of patients with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) and age-matched controls. 5-HTR2A, 5-HTR3A, and MAO-A mRNA expressions were examined in PBMCs of 30 patients with LOAD and 30 control individuals. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to measure mRNA expression. The dementia status of patients in this study was assessed using a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Mean data of relative mRNA expression of 5-HTR2A, 5-HTR3A and MAO-A were significantly lower in PBMCs of patients with LOAD compared with controls. Based on the down-regulation of serotonergic markers in PBMCs, our findings may be another claim to the systemic nature of LOAD. The role of peripheral serotonergic downregulation, in the pathogenesis of AD, needs to be further studied. Given the extremely convenient access to PBMCs, these molecular events may represent more complete dimensions of AD neuropathophysiology or possibly lead to a new direction in studies focused on blood-based markers. © 2020 The Authors Alzheimer's disease, 5-HT2A receptor, 5-HT3A receptor, Monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A), Gene expression, Load, Neuroscience, Immunology, Genetics, Gene mutation, Molecular biology, Immune system © 2020 The Author

The interval of educational services' quality in 17 universities of medical sciences in Iran

Background and purpose: The process of improving the quality of services in healthcare and treatment has a special place in terms of organizational complexity and importance of efficiency. Models of organizational growth have provided an appropriate context for evaluating the performance and quality of organizations by using Total Quality Management (TQM) method. It should be noted that all parts of society benefit from services of educational environments. Therefore the aim of this research was to measure quality of services in order to constantly improve the quality of services in 17 universities of medical sciences in Iran. Methods: This research was a cross sectional descriptive survey. SERVQUAL standard questionnaire was used as research tool. After questionnaires were collected, the data was fed into APSS21 software. Descriptive statistics and advanced statistical tests were used to measure the interval of educational services. Result: 2767 samples were collected in this study. In general the average level of students’ expectations was 3.85±.93 and the average level of their perception was 3.16±.55. By subtracting this average level of average level of expectation, the interval was-.69±1.02. In all samples total interval in assurance dimension was-.735±1.12, responsiveness-.650±1.16, reliability-.605±1.04, empathy-.739±1.22, and in physical dimension was-.590±1.23. Conclusion: Yasuj university of medical sciences had the highest interval of educational services quality and north Khorasan had the lowest interval. It is generally recommended that each university form a unit called “quality improvement” in order to evaluate regularly and improve the quality of services. © 2018, Editorial office of Journal of International Pharmaceutical Research. All rights reserved