Can Lucifer Yellow Indicate Correct Permeability of Biological Cell Membrane under An Electric and Magnetic Field?

The effect of external magnetic and electric fields, in the range of electroporation and magnetoporation, on Lucifer Yellow (LY) fluorescence in the absence of cells is studied. Electric-field-induced quenching and magnetic field-induced increase are observed for fluorescence intensity of LY. Regard to the fact that the variation of field-induced fluorescence, even in the absence of cells, can be observed, the application of LY, as a marker, is debatable in electroporation and magnetoporation techniques

Effect of Pulse-Modulated GSM-900 MHz Electromagnetic Field on the Electrochemotherapy Efficacy of 4T-1 Cells

Introduction: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a cancer treatment modality to permeabilize cell membrane facilitating the non-permeant molecules to gain access to the cytosol of cells. Nevertheless, environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs) may disturb the efficiency of ECT. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of EMFs 900 MHz pulse-modulated by 217 Hz extremely low-frequency fields on the efficiency of ECT Materials and Methods: The 4T-1 cells were exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency (RF) modulated by 217 Hz fields at the power densities of 17, 162, and 349 µW/cm2 (related to antenna input powers of 3, 4, and 5 W at a distance of 15 cm) by a GSM900 MHz simulator. After exposure, the cells were divided into several groups, receiving no treatment, chemotherapy, electric pulse, and ECT. The cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay after 24 h. Results: The results demonstrated that 900 MHz RF pulse-modulated by 217 Hz EMF at 349 µW/cm2 increased the viability of the cells treated with EPs with the amplitude of 70 V/cm and frequency of 5 kHz (16%), ECT with 70 V/cm at 5 kHz (20%), and ECT with 60 V/cm at 5 kHz (16%), compared to their counterpart treatment group with no exposure. However, the fields had no significant effect on the efficacy of chemotherapy. Conclusion: As the findings of the current study indicated, environmental pulsed-modulated RF fields exerted an adverse influence on some antitumor therapies. Therefore, such effects should be taken into consideration in determining the optimal protocols of treatment

Intra-Articular Injections for Pain Relief Following Knee Arthroscopy: A Literature Review

Arthroscopy procedures for the knee are excellent and tend to be outpatient procedures. Pain control after arthroscopic surgery is an important aspect of patient satisfaction and quicker return to daily activities following surgery. The objective of this article was to review the current literature regarding pain management after knee arthroscopy using intra-articular (IA) injections. Our goal in this article is to review the drugs that have been suggested in various articles for IA injections following knee arthroscopy to control pain. In conclusion, the current evidence suggests that combining IA lidocaine and morphine with tranexamic acid (TXA), in addition to ketorolac, is effective for pain relief after arthroscopic knee surgery

The antitumor efficiency of combined electrochemotherapy and single dose irradiation on a breast cancer tumor model

Background. The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor effectiveness of electrochemotherapy with cisplatin combined with suboptimal radiotherapy doses. Tumor radiosensitization was evaluated on large invasive ductal carcinoma tumors in Balb/C mice. Materials and methods. Tumors of an average volume of 630 mm3 were treated with cisplatin, electric pulses, radiotherapy, electrochemotherapy, alone as well as in appropriate combinations. Tumors were irradiated with Cobalt-60 γ-rays at doses 3 Gy and 5 Gy in combination with electrochemotherapy using cisplatin. Controls included each of the treatments alone as well as the combination of the radiotherapy with electric pulses alone or with cisplatin alone. Antitumor effectiveness was evaluated by tumor growth delay, tumor-doubling time, inhibition ratio and the objective response rates. Results. As anticipated, electrochemotherapy was more effective than the treatment with cisplatin alone or the application of the electric pulses alone. When treatments were combined with tumor irradiation at either 3 or 5 Gy, the combination with electrochemotherapy was more effective: at 5 Gy, 2 animals out of 8 were in complete remission 100 days later. In general the higher 5 Gy dose of γ-radiation was more effective than the lower one of 3 Gy. Conclusions. The results of our study demonstrate that irradiation doses, 3 Gy or 5 Gy, increase the antitumor effectiveness of electrochemotherapy with cisplatin on invasive ductal carcinoma tumors. Good antitumor results were achieved in experimental tumors with a size comparable to clinical lesions, demonstrating that this three-modality combined treatment is useful for the treatment of large lesions even at sub-optimal radiotherapy doses

Individuals with Major Depressive Disorder Report High Scores of Insecure-Avoidant and Insecure-Anxious Attachment Styles, Dissociative Identity Symptoms, and Adult Traumatic Events

Objective: Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) report more issues in social interaction compared to the general population. Moreover, dimensions of dissociation are considered dysfunctional strategies to cope with adverse life events. In this regard, current symptoms of MDD could be associated with traumatic events that occurred in childhood and in adult life. Given this background, the aim of the present study was to explore the associations between attachment styles as a proxy of quality of social interaction, dimensions of dissociation, and childhood and adult traumatic life events among individuals with MDD. Method: A total of 300 individuals with MDD (mean age: 31.31 years; 58.7% female) took part in this study. They completed a series of questionnaires on sociodemographic information, attachment styles, dimensions of dissociation, and childhood and adult traumatic life events. Results: Prevalence rates for attachment styles were as follows: anxious/ambivalent attachment style—71.7%; avoidant/dependent attachment style—13%; secure/close attachment style—15.3%. Compared to the general population, the participants reported higher prevalence rates of insecure attachment styles. Current symptoms of dissociation were associated with adult but not childhood traumatic life events. An anxious attachment style was associated with higher scores of dissociation. Conclusion: Psychotherapeutic treatment of individuals with MDD should consider the individuals’ challenging attachment styles and their risk of dissociation. While it is important to consider both adult and childhood traumatic events, in this research, more recent trauma occurring in adulthood was associated with current symptoms of dissociation

Surgical Treatment of Pulmonary Aspergilloma

Introduction: Surgical approaches for the management of pulmonary aspergilloma have been accompanied with high levels of morbidity and mortality. However, these therapeutic options are still favored over other approaches for the treatment of Pulmonary Aspergilloma. In this study, we aimed to describe the characteristics of 30 patients with aspergilloma who referred to  Ghaem hospital between 2017-2018 and describe their results. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 30 patients (i.e., 21 males and 9 females) with pulmonary aspergilloma who were treated via surgery. The patients were examined based on their age, gender, clinical symptoms prior to surgery, affected pulmonary lobe, surgical method, and postoperative complications. Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.13(5.2) years. Hemoptysis (90%) was the most common symptom of pulmonary aspergilloma, followed by productive cough and drug-resistant pneumonia. The most common problematic lobes included left upper lobe and right upper lobe. Regarding the surgical method, 21 and 9 patients underwent lobectomy and segmentectomy, respectively. After the surgery, residual space, wound infection, ad bronchopleural fistula was observed in 5 (16.7%), 3 (10%), and 2 (6.7%) cases, respectively. Furthermore, only one patient passed away. Conclusion: As the findings indicated, the methods of surgery (i.e., lobectomy and segmentectomy) showed effective treatment for patients

Antitumor Efficiency of Electrochemotherapy by High and Low Frequencies and Repetitive Therapy in the Treatment of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in Balb/c Mice

Objective: In electrochemotherapy (ECT), there is an unpleasant sensation of muscle contraction when using a low frequency (1 Hz). Therefore, by increasing the pulse frequency above the tetanic frequency this painful sensation can be reduced. The aim of the present study is to compare the treatment efficiencies of low and high frequency ECT, and estimate the effect of its repeated sessions.Materials and Methods: We transplanted invasive ductal carcinoma into the flanks of female Balb/c mice. ECT was performed on the mice by the use of 8 pulses, 1000 v/cm, of 100 μs duration at 1 Hz and 5 kHz repetition frequencies along with intra-tumoral injections of bleomycin. We also used this ECT protocol for the second therapy session six days after tumour regrowth. The effect of treatment was measured by calculating the tumor volumes for 24 days following treatment. Statistical analysis was performed with ANOVA.Results: ECT at 1 Hz and 5 kHz pulse frequencies demonstrated significant inhibition of tumor growth, but after the first treatment the tumours began to regrow. Repetitive ECT sessions increased the curability of tumors up to 40% in the group treated by 1 Hz frequency and 60% in the group treated with 5 kHz frequency.Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the effects of 1 Hz and 5 kHz pulse repetition frequencies are comparable for inhibited tumour growth. Repetitive treatment can improve the effectiveness of ECT

Cytogenetic analysis in couples with recurrent spontaneous abortion

Background: Recurrent abortion is a difficult medical problem happening in about 1-2% of fertile women. Most spontaneous miscarriages which happen in the first and second trimesters are caused by chromosomal abnormalities. Objective: The present study tries to find the rate of chromosomal abnormalities in couples with recurrent pregnancy loss. Materials and Methods: In total 165 couples were referred to genetic counselling clinic with a history of at least three previous abortions. In all women antibodies against toxsoplasmose, rubella and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were analysed by ELIZA. In 88 couples karyotyping was conducted by analysis of G and/or C banding. Metaphase spreads were made from phytohaemaglutinin-stimulatedperipheral lymphocytes using standard cytogenetic techniques. The chromosomal status was analyzed using CytoVision Ultra ver.4.0 from Applied Imaging. The χ2-test and ANOVA were used for statistical evaluation. The level of p<0.05 was considered as significance. Results: Most of the patients had 3 repeated abortions (61.2%). Cytogenetic analysis performed for 88 couples and karyotypes of 12.5% of them were abnormal. The majority of them had monosomy X (6.82%), followed by balanced translocation (2.27%). The number of female carries chromosomal abnormality exceeded significantly than of male. Coefficient of inbreeding in more than 50% of couples had fifth degree of relationship (89 out of 165). Conclusion: Our results showed that 12.5% of the couples withmissed abortion had an abnormal karyotype, with no otherabnormality. Cytogenetic findings in spontaneous abortedspecimens could provide valuable information for genetic counselingand prenatal care in future pregnancies in couples with a historyof repeated pregnancy loss

Comparison of low voltage amplitude electrochemotherapy with 1 Hz and 5 kHz frequency in volume reduction of mouse mammary tumor in Balb/c Mice

Introduction: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is an efficient technique that high intensity electric pulses incombination with chemotherapeutic drugs are applied to tumor cells. The most important unpleasantsensation of electrochemotherapy is muscle contraction. To resolve this problem, there are two solutions:first, increasing the repetition frequency of electric pulses above the tetanic frequency; and, second,reducing the voltage amplitude. ECT using 1 Hz or 5 kHz frequency at high amplitude examined and nodifference response of the tumor treatment was observed. But the role of frequency in low amplitude ECTnot examined. Therefore, the present study compared the anti-tumor effectiveness ofelectrochemotherapyusing electric pulses with frequencies of 1 Hz and 5 kHz at 70 v/cm amplitude.Materials and Methods: ECT of spontaneous mouse mammary tumor (SMMT) transplanted in Balb/cwas performed with intratumoral injection of bleomycine and applied four different electric pulse protocols:1- a train of 8 pulses with duration 50 ms, 1 Hz frequency and 70 v/cm amplitude, 2- a train of 4000 pulseswith duration 100 μs, 5k Hz frequency and 70 v/cm amplitude,3- a train of 8 pulses with duration 100 μs, 1Hz frequency and 1000 v/cm amplitude,4- a train of 8 pulses with duration 100 μs, 5 kHz frequency and1000 v/cm amplitude.Results: Our data demonstrate significant differences in tumor volumes between mice treated by 70V/cm and 5 kHz frequencycompared to1 Hz frequency but inhibited tumor growth in high amplitude with 1Hz and 5 kHz is comparable. Based on these results, the pulses with 70 v/cm and 5 kHz frequency are mosteffective.Conclusion: On the basis of these results the frequency effect of electric pulses is important in lowamplitude ECT

The Effect of Rectangular Electric Pulse Number in Electrochemotherapy by Low Voltage and High Frequency on Breast Tumors in Balb/c Mice

Objective: The treatment efficiency of electrochemotherapy (ECT) or the use of a chemotherapyagent with a high electric field and low frequency has been reported. Unfortunatelythis protocol induces an unpleasant sensation to the patient. Therefore, the aim of thisstudy was to investigate the efficiency of combined low electric field and high repetitionfrequency for the treatment of an animal tumor model, invasive ductal carcinoma.Materials and Methods: Female Balb/c mice were transplanted with invasive ductal carcinoma.ECT with bleomycin and two different electric pulse simulation protocols wereused. In the first protocol, eight high pulses at an amplitude of 1000 V/cm with 100 μsduration and repetition frequencies of both 5 kHz and 1 Hz were delivered. In the secondprotocol, low pulse amplitude of 100 V/cm with 5 kHz frequency and different numbers ofpulses 500 (1 pulse with 50 milliseconds duration), 2000 (4 pulses with 50 millisecondsduration), 4000 (8 pulses with 50 milliseconds duration) and 5000 (10 pulses with 50 millisecondduration) at 100 μs were applied.Results: ECT with a higher repetition frequency of electric pulses and low voltage inhibitstumor growth and has a comparable effect to the 5 kHz and 1 Hz pulse repetitions athigh voltage. Based on the results, the best antitumor effect was obtained at 4000 pulsesor higher, with high frequency and low voltage (p<0.05). The rate of inhibition of tumorgrowth statistically increased with electric pulse numbers higher than 2000.Conclusion: The finding indicated that ECT with the use of low pulse amplitude and highfrequency, combined with the best number of pulses has a comparable effect to a clinicalprotocol