Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences
Volume:24 Issue: 4, Jul - Aug 2017

Following spinal cord injury, reactive astrocytes upregulate chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) which act as a barrier to neuronal repair and regeneration. Therefore, enzymatic digestion of CSPGs by chondroitinase ABC (cABC) is a key strategy in the treatment of spinal cord injury. Furthermore, cABC has been shown to attenuate post spinal cord injury inflammation and may decrease astrocytes activation. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of cABC on astrocytes level through measuring glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in an animal model of spinal cord injury.

spinal cord injury was performed through contusion method. Sixty male rats (220-250 g) were divided into three groups. The first group was just subjected to spinal cord injury. In the second group, phosphate buffered saline (6 µl) was immediately injected in lesion site after spinal cord injury. The third group received cABC (6 µl, 10 U/ml) intrathecally after spinal cord injury. Then, GFAP, CSPGs and chondroitin 4-sulfate (C4S) levels were measured at 4 hours and 1, 3 and 7 days after spinal cord injury using immunohistochemical method.

GFAP level increased in all groups until 7 days post spinal cord injury, but no significant difference was observed between enzyme- treated group and two other groups at similar time point (p˃0.05). CSPGs level increased significantly in the first and second groups whereas it decreased considerably in enzyme- treated group. In addition, due to enzymatic digestion of CSPGs, C4S level in the third group increased significantly.

cABC enzyme decreased CSPGs level through degradation without any…… considerable effect on their source which is reactive astrocytes.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic and debilitating disease that often occurs in elderly populations, causing pain and loss of balance. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of Tai Chi and isometric exercises on the pain and balance in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
In this study, 24 male subjects with knee osteoarthritis were selected and divided into two groups of 12 persons. Visual Analog Scale was used for pain measurement and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was applied to measure the balance. The training program included 3 sessions exercise per week, 60 minutes each (10-min warm up, 40-min specialized training, 10-min recovery and mild stretching exercises) for duration of 8 weeks. Data were analyzed through SPSS 16 and using Kolmogrov-Smirnov, t-test and independent t-test.
Tai Chi exercises had a significant effect on both pain severity (P=0.001) and balance (P=0.002). While, isometric exercises had a significant effect only on pain severity (P=0.004).
It was concluded that Tai Chi exercises have a better effect on pain relief and balance improvement than isometric exercises, and it is advisable to use Tai Chi-isometric exercises to increase balance in patients with osteoarthritis.

Unusual enlargement of nasopharynx can disrupt air flow through the nose. The aim of this study was to investigate the cephalometric parameters in the upper airways.
This retrospective descriptive study was conducted on 32 adults with Class II malocclusion without the history of night apnea in Qazvin. The radiographs were obtained from the archives in Qazvin Orthodontics Department and private clinics. The selected radiographs were entered into the computer and measured by two observers using Foxit reader version 3. Then, according to the criteria in the Lieberg analysis, the average size of the variables related to the upper airways was determined as the final size. Coefficient of variations and Pearson correlation were calculated in SPSS.
There was a significant positive correlation between tongue length and height and soft palate length and also between tongue length and vertical position of the vallecula (P Cephalometric parameters of upper airways were not significantly different in adults with CLII malocclusion in Qazvin.

The loss of dopamine-secreting cells and the decrease in the status of antioxidant is associated with incidents of Parkinson's disease. The purpose of the present study was to determine the protective effect of a 12- weeks voluntary wheel running (VWR) along with the injection of eriobotrya japonica flower extract (EJFE, 200 mg/kg body weight, 3 days a week) on cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the cerebral cortex of a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD).
To do so, the rats were trained for 12 weeks with and without EJFE prior to the induction of Parkinson. In order to obtain the Parkinsonian model, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) (5 µL) was injected intracerebrally. Data were statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by LSD post-hoc test (P 6-OHDA injection significantly decreased the CDNF contents, and SOD activity while it increased MDA levels in cerebral cortex of the Parkinsonian control group. The pre-training of PD rats with and without EJFE increased the CDNF content and SOD activity and also decreased MDA levels.
Preconditioning by VWR and EJFE may be effective in reducing the consequences of toxins resulted in Parkinson's disease.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of emotional stimulus-based working memory training in improving the cognitive emotion regulation strategies in adolescents with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD).
Based on the framework of single case and using multiple –baselines, 3 adolescents (2 females, 1 male) were candidated from one of the Labor Child Educational Centers of Karaj, using 2 instruments (SCID-I) and (IES-R). The participants, one by one, participated in 20 sessions of emotional working memory training. All participants were assessed during three stages (pre-training, during training, and 2-month follow-up), using Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Kids form (CERQ-k). Data were analyzed using the indexes for trend changes, gradients and revision of the charts, and the clinical significance was determined using Cohen's index, recovery percent and effect size.
The results showed that emotional stimulus-based working memory training is significantly effective in increasing adaptive strategies and reducing maladaptive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation in adolescent with PTSD.
According to the results, emotional stimulus-based working memory training can be an effective alternative for improving the cognitive emotion regulation strategies in adolescents with PTSD.

Tuberculosis has been detected in some extra pulmonary ecological niches. Although extra pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) is less frequent than Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB), its incidence has increased worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of EPTB and MDR-EXPT in Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks among different samples in Kermanshah, Iran.
Among all the suspected tuberculosis cases referred to the pathology laboratories, 116 patients were included based on the diagnosis of the infectious disease specialist. DNA were extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks using genomics extraction G-spin Total DNA Extraction kit and the presence of EPTB was examined by TB Resistant Modual Isoniazid, Rifampicin kit.
The frequency of EPTB in the paraffin-embedded block samples was 32% (37 cases), and lymph nodes had the highest frequency (44.5%) followed by Pleural fluid, breast and CSF with the frequencies of 34.6%, 33% and 27% respectively.
In the present study we found a high and increasing frequency of EPTB in paraffin- embedded blocks of the participants and it is one of the highest frequencies reported around the world. Since EPTB cases constitute a large number of TB burden, serious attention of public health organizations is recommended.

Phenolic compounds are found in wastewater of many industries such as pulp and paper, textile, petrochemical, oil refineries, production of phenolic resins, plastics, coal furnace, tannery, rubber reclamation plant, fertilizers, coke, paints, rubber, decolorizer, resins, rubber and phenol- formaldehyde resin industries. This study aimed to evaluate Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) performance in phenol removal from wastewater.
The MBBR with Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of six hours was operated for 105 days. The effect of phenol concentration (0-500 Mg/L) on the MBBR performance was assessed in three phases of 0-100, 100-300 and 300-500 Mg/L phenol concentration.
In this study, at phenol concentration of 100 Mg/L, phenol and COD removal efficiencies were 95.5-97% and 94%, respectively. The removal efficiencies for phenol concentrations of 300 Mg/L and 500 Mg/L were 94.5-96.5% and 92-94.5%, respectively.
Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) is a promising method for phenol removal from wastewater.

Plants are a rich source of phenolic compounds that as natural antioxidants prevent oxidative stress and are very good for health. Ziziphora clinopodioides belongs to Lamiaceae family and its aerial parts are used in pharmaceutical and food industries. It is effective in the treatment of heart disorders, cold, depression, diarrhea, coughing, migraine and fever. This study aimed to identify the composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil and extract of Ziziphora clinopodioides as an alternative to synthetic antioxidants.
Ziziphora clinopodioides was collected from Bardsir Mountains (Kerman province) and dried in shade. Essential oil was obtained by hydro distillation method using Clevenger apparatus. Essential oil was analyzed using GC/MS apparatus. Methanol extract was concentrated by rotary evaporator. Possible antioxidant activities of the essential oil and extract were studied using beta carotene linoleic acid and DPPH methods.
The major constituents of essential oil were () –pulegone (52.41%), dihydrocarvyl acetate (14.13 %), 1.8-cineole (12.98%) and D-neoisomenthol (4.19 %). The extract of flower had the highest antioxidant activity (the least IC50) in DPPH assay while in beta carotene linoleic acid, the essential oil of flower had the highest antioxidant activity.
The main component of essential oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides collected from Bardsir (Kerman province) was pulegone. The essential oil and methanol extract of this plant showed remarkable antioxidant activities; therefore, it can be used as an antioxidant in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Cow milk allergy is one of the most common food allergies in young children causing a wide range of clinical syndromes due to immunologic responses to cow milk proteins. In this report we introduce an infant with dietary protein proctitis due to a cow’s milk referred with hematuria and bloody stool.
Our case was a 10- month old male infant with hematuria and bloody stool following consumption of yogurt. The infant had prior history of blood in stool at 20th day and 2nd month of life while exclusively breastfed. The episodes of bloody stool had been resolved at the time with elimination of cow milk dairy products form the mother’s diet. All physical examinations and laboratory tests were normal and with stopping Bovine products, the symptoms were disappeared.
Allergy should be considered as a probable diagnosis in children with otherwise unexplained hematuria.

Pterygium is one of the eye diseases that have been a subject of interest since ancient times. The aim of this study was to trace back the methods of diagnosis and treatment of pterygium throughout the history of Islamic civilization and to learn about the drugs and the related surgical instruments used to treat it.
We searched all available reliable electronic and published sources for the views of ancient Iranian physicians including Avicenna, Rhazes, Jurjani, and compared them with what has been mentioned about this disease in recent medical literature.
As Islamic countries were among the regions with pterygium outbreak, it received much attention by Islamic scholars and many discoveries and innovations were made by Iranian-Islamic sages. Especially in the treatment of the disease, they outdid their Greek counterparts. Among these scholars, Rhazes in Al-Hawi, Haly Abbas in Kamel al Sanaye, Avicenna in Al-Qanun fi Tibb, Jurjani in Kharazmshahi Treasure and Jesu Haly in Tazkarat al Kahhalin have suggested highly detailed and practical prescriptions for the disease showing their ingenuity and their careful clinical examination many of which are still valid in modern medicine for the treatment of the disease.
Unlike today's treatment of a disease which is based on a single protocol, in Islamic - Iranian traditional medicine a disease might be treated differently according to the temperament and characteristics of each individual patient. In addition, the doctors would not isolate the affected part from other parts of the body or mind and they always would first thoroughly cleanse the body and then they would start the treatment.

Eosinophils produce proteases that stimulate invasion in cancers. Due to the more malignant potential of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) compared to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), the aim of the present study was to compare tissue eosinophilia between OSCC and CSCC samples to understand whether tissue eosinophilia play a role in different biological behavior of OSCC and CSCC. Also, we assessed the relation between clinical stage and mean eosinophil counts.
This cross-sectional study included histopathological slides of 30 OSCC, 30 CSCC, 15 normal skin and 15 normal oral mucosa samples. The mean number of eosinophil per square millimeter (eos/mm2) was calculated and the severity of tissue eosinophilia was accordingly categorized into absent/mild and sever. Clinical stages of OSCC and CSCC samples were extracted from archived files.
There was significant relationship between mean eosinophil count and clinical stage in both OSCC and CSCC groups (P Intense tissue eosinophilia is correlated with stromal invasion in OSCC and CSCC samples as seen in advanced clinical stage. Different biological behaviors of OSCC and CSCC do not depend on eosinophils and other factors can be involved.