مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 326 (هفته دوم اردیبهشت 1394)

Nonalcoholic fatty liver is a very common chronic liver disease. Disease, gradually causes liver cirrhosis and eventually liver transplantation. In patients with fatty liver, disorders in lipid parameters exist. Purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on lipid parameters in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver. In thisrandomized parallel clinical trial study, 60 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease participated in the intervention and placebo groups. For 10 weeks, the intervention and placebo groups received capsules of 50,000 IU vitamin D or placebo, respectively. Lipid parameters were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Nonalcoholic fatty liver was diagnosed by ultrasound. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and ordinal regression tests. In intervention group, the serum vitamin D levels were significantly increased compared to the placebo group. Total cholesterol as well as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) significantly decreased in intervention group, too. The effect of vitamin D supplementation was not significant on other variables. Vitamin D supplementation can reduce total cholesterol and LDL in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver. But more researches must be conducted with large sample sizes and strong designs to confirm these findings.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a spectrum of pathological changes in the respiratory system associated with dyspnea, cough and sputum production. The main objectives of management the disease are reducing the symptoms and improving quality of life. The present study aimed to determine the impact of respiratory symptoms on health-related quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2013 with participation of 331 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in educational hospitals of Tehran city, Iran, chosen by available sampling. Data was collected using demographic variables questionnaire, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (symptoms section) and SF-36 health related quality of life questionnaire. Using independent t-test, Spearman correlation ratio, ANOVA and multivariate analysis of covariance, the data were analyzed.

In presence of age and duration of disease variables, the symptoms of dyspnea, acute episodes of breathlessness and wheezing were significantly associated with physical health (P = 0.049). Reduced quality of life score and increased respiratory symptoms had a direct relation with chronicity of disease, concomitant usage of two drug categories and increase in the number of admissions (P = 0.011).

The use of appropriate approaches to health care and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is recommended.

Migraine disease is one of the most common human neurological diseases; although several methods have been proposed for it, but still, there is not any cure found for it. The drugs topiramate (an anticonvulsant) and venlafaxine [a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI)] have been studied independently in the treatment of migraine, but their effects have not been compared. Due to the ease of access to venlafaxine and topiramate in pharmaceutical market and that the economy and side-effects of both drugs are competitive, this study aimed to compare the effects of venlafaxine and topiramate in the treatment of migraine headaches in patients with abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG). This clinical trial study was done in Noor and Imam Mousa Sadr clinic in Isfahan, Iran, during 2014. 110 patients with migraine and abnormal electroencephalogram were selected for the study after obtaining informed consent. They were distributed in two groups; group 1 received topiramate and the second group venlafaxine. After receiving 6 weeks of treatment, the duration, intensity and frequency of headache in the two groups were compared. Prior to the treatment, the intensity, frequency and duration of headache were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05); but after the treatment, pain intensity was significantly lower in the group receiving venlafaxine. After the intervention, the frequency and duration of headaches were not significantly different between the two groups, too (P > 0.05). This study showed that the drug venlafaxine has better performance in the treatment of migraine and when there are no contraindications for its use, is recommended in patients with migraine.

Estrogen is a steroid that regardless of its obvious effects on females’ reproductive functions shows beneficial effects on cognition. Foeniculum vulgar (fennel) has phytoestrogen compounds that might be beneficial in memory performance. This research was performed to understand if this plant can improve memory. To evaluate memory, novel object recognition task was used in male Balb-c mice, which comprised of three sections: habituation, learning trial (T1) and the test trial (T2). In this method, the difference in the exploration time between a familial (F) and a novel (N) object is taken as an index of memory performance [recognition index (RI) = (N – F)/(N + F) × 100]. Memory was harmed using 0.5 mg/kg subcutaneous scopolamine [RI (%) = -16.0 ± 3.0]. 50 mg/kg intraperitoneal fennel considerably prevented memory impairment of scopolamine [RI (%) = 35.0 ± 7.1] and this was parallel with the memory index in normal animals [RI (%) = 50.0 ± 5.8]. In addition, 0.2 mg/kg intraperitoneal 17-β estradiol showed similar results as fennel on memory protection [RI (%) = 36.0 ± 6.6]. However, the beneficial effects of fennel were impaired by prior intraperitoneal injection of 1 mg/kg tamoxifen [RI (%) = -29.0 ± 7.1]. The beneficial effect of fennel on memory is achieved by estrogenic receptors present in the brain; by stimulating these receptors, they could cause an increase in acetylcholine release. Therefore, it can competitively prevent the antagonizing effect of scopolamine on cholinergic receptors.

Lentiviral vectors are very efficient tools for gene therapy. But, proviral integration make their use dangerous; therefore, the safer integration deficient lentiviral vectors (IDLVs) can be produced through the use of integrase gene mutations that specifically prevent proviral integration. This study was launched to design and construct a second generation integration deficient lentiviral vector suitable for transient gene targeting with viral vector. Applying the site directed mutagenesis strategy through the overlap polymerase chain reaction technique, a missense mutation (D64V) was induced in the catalytic domain of the integrase gene in the psPAX2 (packaging) plasmid and was verified using DNA sequencing. The HEK293T cell line was transfected using the psPAX2 plasmid (native and integrase minus), pLOX (transfer plasmid) and PMD2G (envelope plasmid). The viruses were harvested and the HEK293T cell line was transuded. The levels of expression of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene were monitored in the cells transduced with either native virus and defective virus for ten days. We observed a slight slope of decrease in the number of GFP-positive cells transduced with native viruses during the period. In contrast, in the case of defective viruses, a significant decrease in the number of GFP positive cells was noted. In this study, the integrase-minus psPAX2 was constructed and confirmed. The results demonstrate that the IDLV can provide a useful tool for efficient transient gene expression and can help to avoid disadvantages of gene targeting using the native virus.