فصلنامه علوم پزشکی دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی
سال سی و سوم شماره 3 (پیاپی 113، پاییز 1402)

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) plays an indispensable role in the gastric cancer. Antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects of herbal medicines have been outlined in various studies.

In this review study, the association of H. pylori with gastric cancer and antibacterial effects of herbal medicines was evaluated using previous published data. Key words included Helicobacter pylori, virulence factors, gastric cancer, thioredoxin-1 and herbal medicines. Searching engines included “Google”, “Google Scholar”, “PubMed”, “SCOPUS” and “Web of Science”.

Virulence factors of the H. pylori alongside the host and environmental factors cause various gastric outcomes. Some of natural compounds have the potential of bactericidal effects, particularly those with multi-drug resistance and anti-biofilm effects against H. pylori. Antibiofilm agents have been mainly isolated from natural products, many of which are "secondary" metabolites and can be produced by microorganisms, such as phytochemicals, biosurfactants, antimicrobial peptides and microbial enzymes, etc.

This study revealed that H. pylori virulence factors such as recently identified thioredoxin-1 play substantial role in gastric ulcers and cancer. Herbal medicines contain various bioactive compounds which have potential antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects. Formulation of these compounds can enhance bioavailability and stability within the gastrointestinal tract.

Different medicinal properties of thyme plant, anticancer effects of green synthesis of gold nanoparticles and low survival of patients with pharyngeal cancer are the main reasons for this research on the pharyngeal cancer FaDu cell line.

Following preparation of thyme extract, green synthesis was performed on AuCl3 gold salt to obtain nanomedicine. Infrared and X-ray diffraction spectroscopic tests along with scanning and transmission electron microscopy was carried out for optimization of the synthesized nanomedicine. The viability of FaDu cells was assessed by MTT after 24-, 48-, and 72-hours treatment with different concentrations of the nanomedicine and LC50 was determined. Cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry.  

The mean survival of FaDu cells after treatment with different concentrations of gold nanomedicine at each of the three time points was significantly lower compared to untreated cells (P<0.001). The LC50 value of the nanomedicine following 48 hours of exposure was approximately 40 μg/ml. The rate of early and late apoptosis in the treated cells was calculated as 37.5%.

The results of the present study confirmed that gold nanoparticles synthesized from thyme extract have cytotoxic and apoptosis induction effects on FaDu pharyngeal cancer cells. Therefore, further study on the use of this nanomedicine in the treatment of pharyngeal malignancy is recommended

In many human malignant tumors, the expression of micro RNA molecules is dysfunctional. The purpose of this study was to investigate the miR-141 marker as a possible prognostic marker in colorectal cancer in order to screen patients with K-Ras mutation.

In this case- control study, 100 patients with colorectal cancer aged over 50 years were studied. The pathologist confirmed colorectal cancer among samples of paraffin-embedded colon tissue in the pathology department of Imam Hossein Hospital in Tehran. People who have codon 12 and 13 mutations in exon 2 of K-Ras gene were selected as case group and tumor samples of people without codon 12 and 13 mutation in exon 2 of K-Ras gene were selected as control group. Changes in miR-141 expression were investigated in both groups.

The results showed that 20% of patients were positive for codon 12 mutation and 10% of patients had codon 13 mutation. miR-141 gene expression in K-Ras positive tumor samples was 1.5 times its expression level in K-Ras negative samples and this increase in expression was statistically significant.

The results of the present study showed that the frequency of common K-Ras gene mutations in the population of colorectal cancer patients under study is consistent with the average of the Iranian population. It seems that miR-141 can be used as a biomarker to help in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer.

HER2-positive breast cancer is one of the most aggressive subtypes of breast cancer, accounting for approximately 30% of all diagnosed cases. These cases of cancer are associated with decreased survival, tumor invasion, and overall poor prognosis. Unfortunately, a large number of patients are resistant to conventional treatments. Various reports have shown that tamoxifen has a response rate of 10-15% in estrogen-negative and HER2-positive tumors. The use of natural chemical sensitizers in combination with chemotherapy drugs can provide promising help in cancer treatment by increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs.

In this study, the chemical sensitization effect of tannic acid with tamoxifen was investigated in SKBR3 cells using real time PCR and flowcytometry tests.

According to the obtained results, it was found that tamoxifen and tannic acid alone cannot significantly reduce the expression level of HER2, but their combination causes a significant decrease in the expression level of EGFR and HER2. Also, the results of flow cytometry showed that the combination of tannic acid with tamoxifen caused a significant increase in the percentage of apoptosis compared to the control group, tamoxifen and tannic acid alone.

In general, it can be concluded that tannic acid can act as a chemical sensitizing polyphenol in combination with tamoxifen and is a promising option for clinical use.

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of death in many countries, which causes specific clinical symptoms that may be different based on the affected area and the characteristics of the lesion. Despite being familiar with this disease, some of its basic characteristics have not been discovered yet. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of Scrophularia striata extract on cardiovascular structural changes or atherosclerosis disease.

20 adult male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 4 control groups, hypercholesterolemic (8 weeks of high-fat diet), hypercholesterolemic + Scrophularia striata (4 weeks of high-fat diet + 4 weeks of Scrophularia striata in the amount of 400 mg/kg) and the Scrophularia striata extract group (4 weeks of normal diet + 4 weeks of Scrophularia striata extract at the rate of 400 mg/kg) were divided. At the end of the course, blood was taken from the ear vein.

After consuming a high-fat diet in the hypercholesterolemic group, serum total cholesterol and LDL levels increased and alkaline phosphatase and HDL decreased significantly, compared to the control group. High-fat diet results in increased thickness of endothelium and calcification in the vessel. Also, the above indicators showed a significant decrease in the hypercholesterolemia+ Scrophularia striata group compared to the hypercholesterolemia group (P<0.001).

The findings showed that after consuming a high-fat diet, ingestion of Scrophularia striata may have a protective effects on the rabbit’s vessels.

Nuchal translucency (NT), the ultrasound transparency detected behind the fetal neck, is considered a marker in the first trimester. Excessive increase in this marker is associated with chromosomal and structural abnormalities, as well as congenital birth defects, especially cardiovascular abnormalities. Noonan Syndrome and Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are two common associated syndromes with autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance respectively. PTPN11 is the most common gene whose mutation leads to Noonan syndrome. SMN2 gene is a modulating gene and in case of mutation, it leads to a benign increase in NT. The purpose of this article was to determine the causes for increased nuchal translucency in fetuses with normal karyotype by studying mutations in SMN2 and the two common exon 3 and exon 13 of PTPN11.

In this study, forty cases from Noor Genetics Clinics were entered. The cases were those who have both increased NT and normal karyotype. Amniotic fluid samples were acquired and DNA was extracted at the molecular laboratory. Then, genetic investigations were conducted using Real Time PCR and Sanger sequencing.

The investigation discovered four cases with deletion in SMN2; which none presented SMA pathogenesis. In one sample, Noonan syndrome pathogenesis through mutation in exon 13 was observed,  while no mutation in exon 3 was observed in any of the samples.

According to this study, it is suggested that molecular investigations, especially Noonan syndrome in fetuses with high NT level, should be included in the pregnancy screening program and diagnostic protocols in the society.

Computer technology has been used to add knowledge since the 1960s and has influenced medical education. Due to the importance and difficulty of anatomy education, this study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of using educational videos on the rate of learning anatomy in medical students.

Upper extremity anatomy training was performed on 240 second semester medical students of Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. These students were divided into two categories: Control "pure teaching" and Intervention "teaching with educational videos”. After the end of the course, in order to determine the effectiveness of educational videos on increasing students' learning productivity, both groups were assessed by testing the taught topics. At the end, the mean scores of each group were calculated and analyzed by SPSS 22 software program.

The present study showed that according to the results of Wilcoxon test, both groups (control and aim groups) had a significant increase in the mean score of knowledge, which increasing in the teaching with educational videos group was approximately 0.26 units.

The difference between the mean scores of the control and intervention groups showed that this new educational method increases the productivity of students. This method is more effective on students with moderate economic status than students with good economic status.

Among the hospital jobs, nursing is an example of jobs where a person spends many hours with patients. The main objective this study was to investigate the relationship between personality characteristics and job success with mediating organizational commitment in nurses.

The research was a correlational study in which nurses working in the public hospitals of Tehran City in 2022 were studied. The sample group (300 nurses) were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling method and they responded to Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, NEO-Personality Inventory, and Career Success Questionnaire.

The results showed that personality characteristics had a relationship with nurses' career success through the mediation of organizational commitment; moreover organizational commitment and personality traits explained a total of 58% of the variance of career success. The path coefficient between organizational commitment and job success (P=0.001, β=0.349) was positive and significant. Also, the results showed that the neuroticism factor had a direct and negative effect on the career success of nurses. The extroversion agreeableness, conscientiousness factors both directly and through the mediation of organizational commitment had effect on nurses' career success.

According to the results, it can be concluded that personality characteristics can explain variances of organizational commitment and job success; so organizational commitment can play an mediating role in career success.

In addition to physical problems, attention should also be paid to the psychological problems of corona patients. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and short-term solution-focused therapy (SSFT) on resilience of people who survived from corona.

The method of this study was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and follow up with the control group. The statistical population was made up of women who survived from corona virus in Tabriz City in 2022. In total, 45 patients were selected by purposive sampling method, who were randomly divided into three groups (Each group 15 people). Members of both experimental groups received their treatment, respectively, in 8 and 6 sessions of 1.5 hours; however, the control group did not receive any treatment. The measurement tool was Connor and Davidson's resilience questionnaire. Analysis of findings was done through repeated measures analysis of variance & Bonferroni post hoc test.

In the pre-test, the mean and standard deviation of the resilience variable in the MBCT group, SSFT group and the control were 42.80±4.69, 42.13±4.45, and 43.60±4.62 respectively (p>0.05). Both treatments compared to the control group, increased resilience in patient after the test (p<0.001).  In the follow-up phase, the effect of these two treatments resilience was lasting (p<0.001). The effect of these two treatments on resilience at posttest and follow-up was not different (p>0.05).

It seems that MBCT and SSFT can increase the resilience of people who have survived from corona virus; so they can probably be a useful therapeutic strategy to improve the mental state of these people.

Covid-19 is a deadly, contagious and highly complicated virus, with adverse effects on various organs. Considering the ambiguous effects of covid-19 on the renal-urinary system, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of urinary, electrolyte and kidney disorders in these patients.

In this study, 518 patients with covid-19 admitted to the affiliated hospitals of IAUTM (Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences) from March 2019 to April 2022, were studied. Demographic (age and gender), and laboratory parameters (functional, urinary and electrolytes disorders) were extracted from the clinical charts.

The mortality rate was 6.5%. In deceased patients compared to recovered patients, age (67.7 ± 11.60 vs. 59.07 ± 10.50 years; P= 0.032), creatinine (1.64 ± 1.08 vs. 1.17 ± 0.69 μmol/l; P<0.001) and urea (91.06 ± 77.55 vs. 39.48 ± 30.17 mmol/l; P<0.001) were significantly higher and GFR (47.04 ± 22.28 vs. 65.72 ± 22.54 ml/min; P<0.001) was significantly lower. There was a significant relationship between mortality rate and increased creatinine level (RR= 3.78; P= 0.001), high urea (RR= 5.83; P= 0.001) and low GFR (RR= 3.17; P= 0.021). The frequency of death was significantly higher among men (P= 0.025), and patients with hyperkalemia (P= 0.002) and or alkalosis (P= 0.037).

Based on the results, faster screening and treating patients with risk factors of kidney damage is necessary and recommended.