Journal of Inflammatory Diseases
Volume:24 Issue: 4, 2021

 Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal protein accumulation, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ (PPARγ) play a crucial role in regulating insulin sensitivity and may serve as potential therapeutic targets for AD. Pioglitazone (PIOG), as a PPARγ agonist, reduces β-amyloid and tau proteins, and inhibits neuroinflammation.

 This study aims to evaluate the effects of PIOG chronic administration on learning and memory in rat model of Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced AD

 Forty-two male Wistar rats were divided into two groups: A. Normal rats divided into three subgroups of Control, Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO), and PIOG; and B. AD rats divided into four subgroups of Vehicle, STZ, STZ+DMSO and STZ+PIOG. The last two AD subgroups received 0.2 mL DMSO and PIOG (10 mg/kg per day) for 21 days. For induction of AD, STZ (3 mg/kg, 10 μl per injection site) were administered into lateral ventricles. All rates were trained under the Morris water maze task.

 PIOG impaired the spatial learning and memory in normal rats. Intracerebroventricular injection of STZ significantly increased escape latency and swimming time to find the hidden platform compared to the control group (P<0.05). The amnesic effect of STZ was prevented by PIOG administration such that the escape latency and swimming time to find the hidden platform in the STZ+PIOG group were significantly lower than in the STZ+DMSO group (P<0.05). Conversely, the percentage of time spent and distance swimming in the target quadrant in the probe test in the STZ+ PIOG group rats were significantly higher than those in the STZ + DMSO group.

 PIOG administration impaired spatial learning and memory in normal rats, but improved learning and memory in rats with STZ-induced AD. It can be useful for treatment of cognitive impairment in AD patients.

 The effects of exercise and stevia extract on diabetes-related indicators have been already reported, but their cardiac benefits on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) are unclear.

 This study aims to evaluate the effect of eight weeks of endurance training and stevia supplementation on gene expression levels of Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP) and β-Myosin Heavy Chain (β-MHC) in the heart tissue of T1D rats. 

 In this experimental study, 25 rats with the average weight of 250-300 g were divided into five groups; healthy control, diabetic control, diabetic+supplementation, diabetic+training, and diabetic+training+supplementation. T1D was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg/ body weight). Endurance training was performed 5 days a week at a speed of 20-30 meters per minute on a surface with a zero slope for 8 weeks. Stevia was gavaged in a dose of 250 mg/kg/body weight. Rats were slaughtered 48 hours after the last training session. Cardiac tissue was used to measure the parameters. The gene expression of ANP and b-MHC in cardiac tissue was measured by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. Data were analyzed by using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test.

 The gene expression levels of ANP and β-MHC were significantly higher in the diabetic control group compared to the healthy control group (P=0.001), and significantly lower in the diabetic+training and diabetic+training+supplementation groups compared to the diabetic control group (P=0.001).

 Endurance training and stevia supplementation can have beneficial effects on the heart of T1D rats.

 Epilepsy is a neurologic dysfunction caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Oxidative stress is involved in the seizure-induced brain damage. 

 This study aimed to evaluate the anticonvulsant and antioxidant effects of pioglitazone (a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist used for treatment of type 2 diabetes) on Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizure in rats. 

 In this experimental study, 28 rats weighing 20-30 g were divided into four groups of control, pioglitazone, PTZ, and treatment. For treatment, PTZ (85 mg/kg) or normal saline was injected intraperitoneally and 4 hours later, pioglitazone (80 mg/kg) was administrated orally. Carboxymethylcellulose was administered orally in the control and PTZ groups, instead of pioglitazone. One hour after PTZ injection, seizure severity was assessed using Racine scale. Then, the rats were decapitated and the Malondialdehyde (MDA) level and the activity of Catalase (CAT) and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) in their hippocampus samples were measured by standard methods.

 Pioglitazone administration significantly increased the latency to the onset of seizure stages 1-4 and prevented the stage 5. It significantly reduced the lipid peroxidation caused by PTZ-induced seizure and increased the activity of CAT and SOD enzymes in the hippocampus of rats. 

 Antioxidant effects of pioglitazone may play a role in preventing stable PTZ-induced seizures and protecting neurons from seizure-caused damage.

 Deficiency or insufficient level of vitamin D is very common in patients with liver disease, and is closely related to musculoskeletal pains, including low back pain.

 The current study aims to investigate of the activity of liver enzymes in women with chronic low back pain following core stability exercises and vitamin D intake.

 This clinical trial was conducted on 48 women (Mean±SD of age=36.59±5.50 years) in 2019 selected by using a convenience sampling method. They were randomly divided into four groups of control, vitamin D, exercise and combined (exercise +vitamin D). The last two exercise groups performed 8 weeks of core stability exercises with different intensities. The vitamin D  and combined groups received 50,000 IU/week of vitamin D for 8 weeks. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were measured before and after the interventions. Data were analyzed by using paired t-test and one-way ANOVA.

 Eight weeks of core stability exercises, vitamin D intake, and the combined exercise and vitamin D supplementation caused a significant reduction in the activity of AST, ALT, and ALP enzymes. The combined intervention induced more reduction in the AST and ALP activities compared to other two groups received exercise and supplementation alone, and the decrease in ALT activity following the combined intervention was higher compared to the exercise group. 

 It seems that the core stability exercises, vitamin D intake, and combination of exercise and vitamin D supplementation can improve liver function in women with chronic low back pain who have vitamin D deficiency by reducing the activity of liver enzymes. The combined intervention has greater effectiveness in improving liver function.

 Menstrual disorders in female students in the early years after menarche affect their physical, emotional and social functions.

 This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of menstrual disorders among female high school students and its relationship with their Quality of Life.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1000 high school girls in Qazvin, Iran during 2017-2018. Their menstrual disorders and quality of life were evaluated by a demographic checklist and KIDSCREEN questionnaire, respectively. Data were analyzed using independent t-test.

 The mean age of high school girls was 15.9±0.93 years. The most common disorder was Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) with a prevalence of 60%. Their quality of life had a significant relationship with PMS, menorrhagia, metorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, spotting, hypermenorrhea (P<0.001), polymenorrhea (P=0.005), hypomnorrhea (P=0.002) and amenorrhea (P=0.025). The quality of life of girls with these disorders were poorer compared to the girls with no menstrual disorder.

 Menstrual disorders are highly prevalent among female students, and have a considerable impact on their quality of life. Since this impact has the potential to have longer-term consequences, more efforts are needed to address and treat menstrual disorders in female students.

 Nosocomial infections account for about one third of deaths in hospitals. 

 In this study, we aim to determine the factors affecting the incidence of nosocomial infections in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) to provide more information for helping improve the prevention and treatment of these infections in the hospitals located in Iran.

 This is a comparative cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 on 86 patients admitted to the general ICU of 
Boo Ali Sina Hospital in Qazvin, Iran. We extracted the patients’ demographic and clinical information (e.g. blood and urine culture results) from their medical records.

 The prevalence of nosocomial infections were reported 24.3; 38.4% of infections was related to Acinetobacter and 18.6% to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other microorganisms. The highest antibiotic resistance in patients was to Cefepime (64%) and Ciprofloxacin (60%).

 The prevalence of nosocomial infections in the general ICU of the study hospital is relatively high with different strains and varied patterns of antibiotic resistance indicating the need for more comprehensive studies and preventive measures in the country.

 Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common mycotoxins found in cereal products. 

 The purpose of this study is to compare the DON contamination level in raw wheat flour and bread.

 In this analytical study with cross-sectional design, a total of 44 wheat flour and bread samples (Lavash flour and bread, and Barbari flour and bread) were collected. The DON level was measured using ELISA method. Collected data were analyzed in SPSS software by using ANOVA and t-test considering a significance level of P≥0.05.

 The Mean±SD total DON level in the flour and bread samples was 0.03±0.04 and 0.12±0.21 µg/kg. The mean DON level in the Lavash and Barbari flour samples was 0.01±0.02 and 0.01±0.01 µg/kg, and in the Lavash and Barbari bread samples as 0.04±0.03 and 0.16±0.27 µg/kg, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the DON levels between flour and bread samples (P≥0.05).

 The presence of DON in the studied samples was observed, but its contamination level was lower than the permissible limit.

According to the latest guidelines, in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) cases, the best intervention to restore blood flow in the occluded coronary arteries is angioplasty at a time less than 90 minutes. Delay in timely implementation of reperfusion is one of the key problems in the management of STEMI. In this review study, the aim is to investigate the role of pre-hospital and hospital emergency staff  in time management of STEMI. For this purpose, the articles published 1999-2019 with available full texts in ProQuest, SID, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Scopus databases were searched using the keywords: Pre-hospital Emergency, Hospital Emergency, Primary Angioplasty, Time Management, Ischemia, and Acute Myocardial Infarction. A total of 59 articles in Persian and English (from 10 different countries) covering both qualitative and quantitative studies were initially yielded. Those which were not a review paper and their full texts were unavailable were excluded from the review. Faster reperfusion reduces the cardiac necrosis area, resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality.  Early ECG recording by the pre-hospital emergency team followed by the activation of the code STEMI by the emergency team can increase the speed of diagnosis, decision making, and transfer of the STEMI patient to receive the best treatment.