مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهید صدوقی یزد
سال سی‌ام شماره 7 (پیاپی 191، مهر 1401)

Antioxidant defense system, including enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, protects cells from oxidative damage by neutralizing oxidant compounds. Increasing the production of oxidant species and decrease activity of antioxidant system causes oxidative stress. The role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of human diseases and strengthening of human antioxidant defense system in preventing and ameliorating of diseases have been shown in numerous studies. Therefore, identifying reliable oxidative stress markers for evaluating the beneficial effects of antioxidants in human diseases has been the focus of many studies over the past decades. Measuring free radicals and active species by flow cytometry, determining the total antioxidant capacity of body fluids, measuring the oxidation products of macromolecules, determining the activity of antioxidant enzymes, and changing the expression of genes related to the antioxidant system are among these methods. This review discussed the major advantages and limitations of these methods.

Due to limitations and potential confounding factors of the current markers of oxidative stress, an appropriate experimental protocol should be used for each study and caution should be taken in the interpretation of results. Furthermore, more than one method should be used to overcome the limitations of each marker.

Most third molars eventually need to be extracted, and this tooth has the most varied and unpredictable root position of all teeth. Therefore, considering the importance of accurate diagnosis of the roots of molar teeth before surgery to reduce its surgical complications, the aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of panoramic radiography to diagnose the situation of roots of third molars. the relationship of the roots to each other and the angle of the crown to the root in panoramic and clinical radiographs, respectively, using Romexis viewer and digimizer software were investigated.

In this cross-sectional-analytical study, 104 third molars of 93 patients referred for wisdom tooth extraction were examined clinically for the number of roots, the relationship of roots to each other and the angle of the crown to the root in panoramic radiography using Romexis Viewer  software and clinically after providing photograph and measuring the angle using digimizer software.

In evaluating the roots of third molars, the accuracy of panoramic radiographic interpretation regarding the number of roots was 63.27% and in the presence or absence of root, adhesion was 55.89%. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between the reported angle in radiographic interpretation and the actual angle (r = 0.318 and P value = 0.001).

Therefore, panoramic radiography is a valuable guide for third molar surgery. It is only necessary to consider its high error rate in terms of morphological details such as the number of roots and their relationship to each other.

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease in which the internal structure and ability of bone to repair its daily damage is impaired. Menopause is a vital period that affects bone health, causing rapid loss of bone mass, which in turn increases the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women. The present study was performed to evaluate the frequency pattern of risk factors for decreased bone mineral density in postmenopausal women referred to the bone mineral density assessment center of Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan in years 2018 and 2020.

Among postmenopausal women referred to the Bone Density Assessment Center of Al-Zahra Hospital from March 2018 to March 2020, 384 people were included in the study using simple random sampling method. Patients’ information was extracted from their files. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 software.

In this study, the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women was 46.1% and 41.1%, respectively. The results showed that with increasing age, diabetes, use of corticosteroids, autoimmune disease and a previous history of femoral fracture, the chance of osteopenia and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women increased sharply. Among the known risk factors for decreased bone density, diabetes was the most common in postmenopausal women and followed by corticosteroids consumption.

This study showed that 87.2% of postmenopausal women had decreased bone mineral density. Osteoporosis as one of the main problems of women's health requires proper planning and preventive measures.

Patients with diabetes are prone to develop complications related to the retina. So far, several genes have been reported in connection with the progression of retinopathy, and a group of these genes is genes involved in angiogenesis. CXCL12 and CXCR4 genes are among the most important genes in this path, which have been less studied and investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between polymorphism of CXCL12 (rs1801157) and CXCR4 (rs2228014) genes and the risk of proliferative diabetic retinopathy in the population of Yazd City.

In the present case-control study, rs2228014 and rs1801157 polymorphisms were investigated among 103 patients with diabetes in two groups, case and control. In this study, the control group included 49 diabetic patients who did not show retinopathy complications, and the case group consisted of 54 diabetic patients with proliferative retinopathy complications. The Genotyping of rs2228014 polymorphism was examined by ARMS-PCR method and rs1801157 variant by RFLP-PCR technique. The statistical analysis of data was conducted using SPSS software version 16 and chi-square test.

Our results represented no association among the rs1801157 and rs2228014 polymorphisms and the risk of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (P>0.05).

This study did not confirm association of the rs1801157 and rs2228014 polymorphisms with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and further studies are required to investigate the correlation of polymorphisms of interest with PDR.

The birth of a premature baby shocks parents a lot. Although fathers also experience high levels of anxiety, they have received little attention and research. In order to focus on family care, this study was conducted to determine the effect of the first skin contact of fathers with premature infants hospitalized on their anxiety in the neonatal intensive care unit.

This study was a randomized clinical trial with two experimental and control groups. 72 fathers of premature infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Shohada-e-Kargar Hospital were selected. In the experimental group, fathers made skin-to-skin contact with their infants for half an hour. In the control group, no intervention was performed. The level of anxiety in the experimental and control groups before and after the intervention was determined using the Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using t-test and Chi-square statistical tests in SPSS 16 software.

The results showed that before the intervention in the experimental group, the mean scores of trait and state anxiety were 54.28±16.26 and 50.36±14.66, respectively, these mean scores in the control group, were 59.81±14.48 and 58.86±15.41, respectively, which was not statistically significant. However, after the intervention, the mean scores of trait (47.92±10.1) and state anxiety (48.47±9.7) of the experimental group compared to the mean scores of trait (57.72±14.65) and state anxiety (62.47±14.16) of the control group decreased, which showed a statistically significant difference (p<0/05).

According to the results, making the first skin contact reduces the level of anxiety in fathers of premature infants.

The undeniable role of medical imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases shows the importance of protection against ionizing radiation used in these methods. Therefore, the aim of the present study is investigating the necessity of increasing patients' awareness of ionizing radiation in minimizing the dose received.

The present study was a cross-sectional analytical study with 159 research-made questionnaires, including demographic information and questions about the level of awareness of patients regarding the dangers of ionizing radiation and protection against these radiations, were completed by the patients referring to the radiology departments of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2019. Data analysis was done using t-test and one-way analysis of variance under SPSS 16 software.

The mean knowledge score of the patients was 35.36% ± 26.07%. Moreover, 91/1% of them stated in their answers that they would like physicians to explain the benefits and risks of these radiations, while only 35.2% of patients were informed by their physicians.

According to the results of the completed questionnaires, a low percentage of the patients answered the specialized questions correctly, and according to the individuals' statements, 91/2% stated that they would like to receive information in this regard. Therefore, the need to provide appropriate training to the patients in this field, through the preparation of training brochures, and attracting staff cooperation, to inform patients referring to radiology departments about the risks should be a priority.

HIF-1a is an important regulator in response to hypoxia that affects various genes involved in energy metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise intensity on HIF-1a gene expression and cardiac TG content in rats with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The present study was performed experimentally on 40 male Wistar rats. Mice were randomly divided into 4 groups. The control groups, low-intensity endurance training and intense interval training, consumed high-fat food for 16 weeks, and then the two training groups participated in exercise for 8 weeks. Furthermore, sham group, which used standard food during this period, at the end of training, the expression level of HIF-1a and the amount of intra-tissue fat of the heart were measured in 4 groups. HIF-1a expression was assessed using real-time PCR and TG assay on an auto-analyzer. SPSS software version 16 and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that there was a significant difference in the expression of HIF-1a gene between the control and the sham groups, HIIT and LIET groups (P=0.001). Moreover, there was a significant difference in triglyceride between HIIT and LIET groups compared to the sham and control groups, but no significant difference was observed between HIIT and LIET groups (P=0.0001).

The results showed that intense intermittent exercise and low-intensity continuous exercise may reduce cardiac triglyceride content by decreasing HIF-1a expression and increasing fatty acid oxidation.

Vasovagal syncope is the most common type of syncope and recurrent syncope attacks can have a profound effect on the patients' quality of life. The aim of this study was to predict vasovagal syncope based on the variables of body vigilance and alexithymia.

The present study was a case-control study. The statistical population of the present study included the patients with vasovagal syncope referred to Tehran Heart Center in the year of 1400. Fifty patients with vasovagal syncope and 54 healthy individuals were selected by purposive sampling. Data collection tools included the Body Vigilance Scale and Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Data analysis was performed by logistic regression analysis and using SPSS software version 16 at the level of 0.05.

The results of the Hosmer-Lemeshow Test (P-value = 0.255, χ2 = 3.07) showed good model fit. According to the results of logistic regression test, the coefficient estimate for the alexithymia -0.053 and the body vigilance was -0.017.

Based on the results, in the patients with vasovagal syncope, by designing measures based on reducing body vigilance and alexithymia, they can be helped to improve and reduce syncope episode.