مجله مطالعات علوم پزشکی
سال سی و پنجم شماره 1 (فروردین 1403)

Cancer is considered as one of the main causes of death and a major health challenge in the world. Resistance to chemotherapy is one of the challenges in this field. Some recent findings have shown that anti-diabetic drugs, especially metformin, when combined with anticancer drugs, produce positive effects in cancer treatment. In the present study, the activity and possible mechanism of the effect of metformin in increasing the sensitivity of ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780/CP to cisplatin were investigated.

In this experimental study, ovarian cancer cells resistant to cisplatin (A2780/CP) were selected. The effect of metformin on cisplatin cytotoxicity was evaluated using MTT method. The mRNA expression levels of multidrug resistant-associated protein 2 (MRP-2) after metformin treatment were determined using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The effect of metformin on cisplatin-induced apoptosis was investigated using the Annexin V/FITC method. All data were analysed using GraphPad Prism 6.01, and p value < 0.05 were considered as significant.

Metformin increased the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin in cisplatin-resistant A2780/CP ovarian cancer cells, but had no effect on the cytotoxicity of sensitive A2780 ovarian cancer cells. Metformin had no effect on MRP-2 gene expression. In addition, metformin increased the apoptotic effects of cisplatin in A2780/CP cells.

The results of the present study showed that metformin increases the sensitivity of A2780/CP cells to the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin. Therefore, metformin may be an effective and potent compound for combination therapy in ovarian cancer cells to overcome multidrug resistance to chemotherapy agents.

Bioequivalence studies are established for evaluating the therapeutic equivalency of two different formulations (A generic formulation and a reference formulation) of the same drug. The aim of present study was to study in vitro bioequivalence of three brands of acyclovir 400 mg tablets in the Iran market.

Assay, weight variation, and dissolution studies were performed for three generic brands and one reference brand (Lovir). These three tests were compared with the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) drug standards. In order to compare the dissolution profile and determine the similarity of three generic brands with the reference brand, the difference (f1) and similarity (f2) factors were calculated.

The active pharmaceutical ingredients quantitative assay showed that all the brands of acyclovir tablets were between 90% and 110% of label claim. The results of weight variation tests indicated that all samples complied with USP specification limits. The results of the dissolution test showed that all brands released more than 80% of active pharmaceutical ingredient in a 45 minutes period, which corresponded to USP specifications. Regarding the dissolution profile and calculation of similarity (f1) and difference (f2) factors, none of the generic brands showed the same drug release characteristics as the reference brand.

This study showed that all brands of acyclovir tablets have acceptable quality characteristics in terms of assay, weight variation, and dissolution, but generic brands cannot be substituted for the reference brand.

Rapamycin (sirolimus) is one of the immunosuppressive drugs that has a strong immunosuppressive effect and one of the factors that inhibits mTOR. The drug rapamycin is used in the prevention of kidney transplant rejection in kidney transplant recipients. Sirolimus is not only an inhibitor of the target of rapamycin, but also a substrate for cytochrome P450 enzyme subfamilies and for multidrug efflux pumps. The results of recent studies have shown that peroxisomal proliferation activating receptors, as a group of nuclear receptors, have multiple cellular effects and their genetic polymorphisms in connection with other genes play an important role in creating human immune system responses. The aim of this study was to determine the peroxisome proliferator alpha gene polymorphism in kidney transplant recipients treated with rapamycin and healthy controls in West Azerbaijan province (Iran) and compare them with each other.

In this case-control study, 40 kidney transplant recipients treated with rapamycin one mg(as case group) and 63 healthy controls as control group were evaluated. Samplings were done in the kidney transplant clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital (Urmia) under the supervision of a kidney specialist. The salting out method was used to genomic DNA isolation. PCR products were analyzed after enzymatic cleavage with Taq® enzyme. Data were obtained by direct counting of observed alleles and genotypes as well as the total number of samples. Then chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to analyze the results in the 2x2 table. The significant difference between the two groups was considered equal to 0.05.

The frequency of homozygous G/G PPARα rs4253778 genotype and heterozygous G/C PPARα rs4253778 genotype observed in the healthy control group of the present study was 40 (63.49%) and 23 (36.51%) respectively. The homozygous C/C PPARα rs4253778 genotype was not observed in the healthy control group. The frequency of homozygous genotype G/G, heterozygous genotype G/C and homozygous genotype C/C in PPAR α rs4253778 Biomarker in the patient group was 29 (72.5%), 9 (22.5%) and 2 (5%) respectively. Comparison of the desired frequencies in the two groups showed that there is no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). The frequency of G and C alleles in the patient group is 0.84 and 0.16, respectively; and in healthy control it is equal to 0.81 and 0.19 respectively.

In the present study, we concluded that there was no significant relationship between PPARα rs4253778 G>C polymorphism and the use of low concentration of rapamycin. Further study with more samples related to the topic is recommended.

Foot reflexology and auriculotherapy are two complementary treatments for pain relief. Considering that it is necessary to evaluate the efficiency and priorities in the use of complementary medicine methods. Therefore, this study was conducted in the aim of comparing the effect of auriculotherapy and foot reflexology on the sensory and emotional dimensions of pain and the use of painkillers after elective cesarean delivery.

This three-group randomized clinical-trial study was conducted on 101 pregnant women eligible for the study who had referred to Om al-Banin hospital in Mashhad for elective cesarean section using convenient sampling method. After selecting research units and randomly assigning women into 21 blocks of 6 using randomized block method, research units were divided into three groups of auriculotherapy, foot reflexology, and control. There were 36 people in each group. In the intervention groups, 2 to 3 hours after the operation, auriculotherapy was performed in one group and foot reflexology was performed for 20 minutes in the other group. In the control group, routine ward care was performed. In all three groups, if needed, the research units received painkillers (diclofenac suppository 100 mg) according to the hospital routine, and the number of painkillers consumed by the researcher was recorded up to 24 hours after the operation. Pain was assessed with the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, one and two hours after the intervention. Finally, the data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and chi-square tests, Fisher's exact test, one-way analysis of variance and analysis of variance with variable sizes. The significance level of P is less than 0.05 was considered significant.

The results showed that in the groups that the interventions were done after one and two hours, sensory dimension of pain was significantly lower than control group just in auriculotherapy group (p values respectively p=0.004 and P<0.001). Moreover, two hours after the interventions, affective dimension of pain was significantly lower than control group just in auriculotherapy group (p=0.008) But no significant difference was observed between the Foot reflexology and control group (P>0.05). The consumption of rectal diclofenac was statistically lower in the both intervention groups compared with control group (P<0.001). Postpartum hemorrhage for 2 hours after interventions were no difference in the three groups (P > 0.05).

Auriculotherapy and foot reflexology both can reduce consumption of analgesic. However, auriculotherapy is more effective in reducing sensory and affective dimensions of pain.

Environmental factors such as electromagnetic waves induce various biological and genetic effects. One of the most important physiological systems involved with electromagnetic fields is the reproductive system. The aim of this research is to investigate blood levels of tumor markers of the uterus and ovaries after receiving short- and mid-term electromagnetic waves emitted from home Wi-Fi equipment.

In this descriptive study, 60 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups. The first group was considered as control, the second group was placed in the vicinity of Iran cell Wi-Fi waves for 1 hour per day for 10 days, and the third group was in the vicinity of these waves for 3 hours per day for 1 month. After certain periods of time, blood samples were taken and the serum levels of cancer antigen 19-9 and cancer antigen 125 were measured using the ELISA method. Data were analyzed by SPSS program using t-test method with significance level of P≤0.05.

The results showed that there was a significant difference in the serum levels of uterine and ovarian tumor markers in the third group that were exposed to WiFi waves for a medium period of time in comparison with the control group and the second group which were affected short-term by Wi-Fi waves (P≤0.05), but the concentration of these tumor markers hadn't significant difference between the second groups and control group (P>0.05).

Exposure to electromagnetic fields, depending on the duration and intensity of the wave, can lead to changes in the level of tumor markers of reproductive system components such as the uterus and ovaries. More extensive studies with more samples and also on human samples are recommended to show the potential risks of exposure to electromagnetic waves on carcinogenesis in females.

The upper gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) is a common emergency in hospital admission among patients with internal diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes of patients with non-variceal upper GIB‚ using the AIMS65 index in the Razi hospital in Rasht, 2018-2019.

In this cross-sectional study, 112 patients with GIB, referred to Razi Hospital in Rasht between 2017-2018 were selected using convenient sampling method and included in the study. The AIMS65 score was used to check GIB. In this score, some risk factors including albumin, INR, and hemoglobin levels and systolic blood pressure of both hands, consciousness based on Glasgow criteria, and age were documented. The score of the patients were calculated based on how many risk factors they had from 0 to 5. Based on this, patients are classified into two groups of high-risk or emergency (with a score of >2) and low-risk or non-emergency (with a score of < 2) and then endoscopy is performed on them.

Based on AIMS65 score, 73.2% of the patients had scores below 2 and classified in the non-emergency group, and the rest had scores higher than 2 and classified in the emergency group. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the risk of in-hospital mortality, rebleeding, and the mortality status of the patients 3 months after the first referral. (p<0.05).

In this study, we concluded that AIMS65 score is effective in predicting in-hospital mortality and recurrent hemorrhage and its prognosis. However, it cannot be a suitable criterion in determining need, time, and endoscopic interventions for ICU hospitalization.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women worldwide. Biological research indicates that damages caused by genetic and environmental factors to the DNA structure are linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in DNA repair genes can be associated with differences in the repair efficiency of DNA damage and may affect breast cancer. The XRCC3 protein participates in DNA double-strand breaks and recombination repair, in other words, the product of the XRCC3 gene, plays a key role in homologous recombination repair of DNA double-strand breaks. The polymorphism of AluI plays critical roles in breast cancer development. The aim of the present study was to evaluate associations between the risk of breast cancer and AluI polymorphism in the XRCC3 gene.

In the present case-control study, the polymorphism (rs1799796) of the XRCC3 gene and the risk of breast cancer were evaluated in a population consisting of 100 patients and 100 healthy women residing in the Central Province. The genotypes of the samples were determined using the PCR-RFLP technique. Ultimately, SPSS software version 20 was used for statistical analysis, and the final results were utilized. A significance level of less than P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The average age (age range) in the patient group and the healthy individuals was respectively 52.27 ± 12 (27-90) and 48.08 ± 10 (28-75). Comparison of the age categories between the two groups did not show any significant difference (P = 0.429, χ2 = 0.625). The frequency of allele A was 63.5% in the control group and 70% in the patient group, and the frequency of allele G was 36.5% in the control group and 30% in the patient group. Statistical analyses did not show a significant association between allele frequencies and the risk of breast cancer (P = 0.168). The genotypes had the following frequencies in the two groups: genotype AA was observed in 38% of the control group and 48% of the patient group, genotype AG was 50% and 44% respectively, and genotype GG was 12% in the control group and 8% in the patient group. No significant differences were observed between the patient and control groups for the three genotypes at the rs1799796 locus (P > 0.05).

No significant association was found between polymorphism (rs1799796) in the XRCC3 gene and the risk of breast cancer. Consequently, it is suggested that the rs1799796 polymorphism of the XRCC3 gene cannot be used as a biological marker in predictive clinical studies related to breast cancer risk. Further studies in different populations with a larger statistical sample are required.

Tapping of an organ is like an elastic splint, which prevents the occurrence of injuries. Also, PNF stretching exercises increase muscle flexibility. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the immediate effects of inhibitory and excitatory kinesiotaping methods versus proprioceptive neuromuscular facilities (PNF) stretching exercises on the frequency content of hamstring muscles.

Methods & Materials: 

G*Power software was used to estimate the sample size. In this semi-experimental study, 15 female taekwondo subjects were selected as available. The criteria for entering the research included an age range of 15-25 years and having experience in taekwondo for at least 2 years. Exclusion criteria from the research were having a history of injury in the lower limb, using kinesiotape or PNF training in the last 2 years. All stages of the present research were conducted ethically according to the Declaration of Helsinki. Subjects performed the Doliochagi movement in four conditions: without taping and PNF stretching training, with excitatory taping, with inhibitory taping, and after PNF stretching exercise. A wireless 8-channel system was used to record the electrical activity of the hamstring muscles during the Doliochagi movement. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA with repeated measures. The significance level was equal to 0.05.

The results showed a significant difference in the frequency of the biceps femoris muscle during the without taping and PNF condition compared with inhibitory (p=0.032) and excitatory (p=0.034) taping during the Doliochagi movement.

The results of our study indicated that the frequency of biceps brachii muscle activity increased when using inhibitory and excitatory taping compared to conditions without taping and PNF training. This increase in muscle frequency is associated with long-term muscle strengthening, which in turn reduces the likelihood of muscle injury.