نرجس گرجی

The nature of Narrative version of Islamic medicine (NIM) is based on Quran and hadith, exclusive attention to Islamic narrative references and rejection of the strategies of other medical schools. This study was conducted to criticize NIM.

In this qualitative study of content analysis, after collecting the opinions of 6 prominent scholars of NIM, the criticisms of these opinions were presented and categorized by three doctors specialized in Persian medicine, a cleric in the field of Islamic jurisprudence and a methodologist by holding expert panel meetings.

Criticisms were raised based on three points of view. The intra-religious area including the routine of Ahl al-Bayt (The holy family of the Prophet Muhammad) in illness and the role of physicians, the place of reason and experience in Islamic sciences, differences in geographical areas, not mentioning the full history of patients and newly occurring diseases was brought up. From a medical point of view, the important points include lack of a research method to check the effectiveness of a medical narrative, lack of diagnostic aspects and an approach to screening. From the viewpoint of religious and social consequences, religious trauma resulting from lack of response to treatment attributed to Ahl al-Bayt, approach to other manifestations of Western civilization, ethical issue of producing, prescribing and selling drugs by a group and loss of life and money due to waste of time in cases with definitive or relative treatment was raised in other medical schools.

Based on the results of this research, the introduction of this theory to society without sufficient investigations in the seminaries and universities of medical sciences may cause physical, mental and religious trauma at the individual and social level.

Background and Purpose:

Epilepsy is an abnormal disorder of nerve cells that is second in prevalence of diseases of the central nervous system after stroke. The purpose of this study is to review the perspective of Traditional Iranian Medicine on pediatric epilepsy and the medicinal plants used in its treatment.
 

This research is a library study. Keywords such as medicinal plants, epilepsy, seizure, neonate, baby, infant and child were queried in Noor software, and selected Iranian medicine textbooks were studied and reviewed. Finally, a search was conducted in databases such as Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar by the mentioned keywords and related articles were studied.
 

Persian Medicine resources have introduced epilepsy as a disturbance of the sense and movement of organs that occurs suddenly and may be associated with prodromal symptoms such as weakness, feeling of pressure or pain in the stomach, numbness in the tongue, headache and forgetfulness. Avoidance of factors such as looking at fast-moving, rotating, shiny objects; standing in high places; being exposed to the wind; studying; and running for a long time are advised. In infants with epilepsy, improving breastfeeding and feeding with soft foods are recommended. Persian scholars believed that most cases of epilepsy improve prior to puberty with growing age and lifestyle changes. Patients should be banned from dairy products, Juglans, Apium graveolens, and vegetables other than Mentha pulegium, Melissa officinalis, Lactuca sativa and Cichorium intybus. Some medicinal herbs mentioned for treatment of this condition include Cinnamomum verum, Pimpinella anisum, Lavandula angustifolia, Echium amoenum, Melissa officinalis, Nigella sativa, Nardostachys jatamansi, Origanum majorana and Zingiber officinale, a number of which have been studied in laboratory and clinical studies.
 

The treatment of epilepsy is based on eliminating the cause of the disease in Persian Medicine, and depends on the type of epilepsy in modern medicine. Iranian physicians did not consider the cause of epilepsy to be specific to the brain. Studies are needed to assess the interaction among the mother and fetus and also neonatal factors that help eliminate the occurrence of epilepsy and seizures. Recommendations and mentioned herbs are proposed for future research.

The Nafisi family, which has a brilliant history of more than six hundred years in the history of Iran, has raised great scientists in various sciences and technologies who have played a significant role in the progress and excellence of this country. This study aims to review the life and works of the great physicians of this family.

This study was conducted by library study, face-to-face and telephone interviews and review of existing genealogy.

The head of this family, to whom the family name of Nafisi is attributed, Nafis bin Awad Kermani (Hakim Borhanuddin), was one of the most famous physicians of the ninth century AH lived in Kerman. Her most famous works are the book Sharh al-Asab and the book Sharh Mojz al-Qanun. Mirza Saeed Sharif Kermani )11th century AH(, who was special physician of Shah Abbas the Great )5th Safavid king), Mirza MohammadTaghi Tabib, nicknamed Muzaffar Alisha (12th and 13th centuries AH) and Haj Mirza Tabib Kermani (died 1300 AH), were other famous physicians of this family. Mirza AliAkbar Khan Nafisi, nicknamed Nazem al-Atab'a (1224-1303 AH), is one of the most famous physicians of this dynasty who has left two valuable works, the dictionary of Farhang e Nafisi and the Pezeshkinameh. Dr. Abutorab Nafisi (1293-1386 AH), head of the Isfahan School of Medicine and Pharmacy in the 1940s and author of several books and articles, was another prominent physician in the family. The physicians of this family, especially in the Safavid period and in the late Qajar period, played a very significant role in promoting health, treatment and medical education in Iran, as well as political and cultural relations. Ethical Considerations: Honesty and trustfulness were observed by referring texts and refrences used.

Natural talent, generational education and the provision of environmental conditions by the rulers of the time can be considered as the main reasons for the success of this family in various fields.

Skin cancers are the most prevalent type among the white with an increasing trend of incidence around the world and Iran. Scientific developments in diagnosing these cancers and using screening methods and utilizing treatment methods have contributed to the relative control of the cancer. Hence, it is necessary to consider other suggested approaches of complementary and traditional medicine to prevent and treat these cancers.

The purpose of this review is to investigate the alternative remedies from the Persian Medicine; as a pioneer medical approach with an old history.

In this review study, the medical textbooks of the golden era of Persian Medicine (9th to 19th centuries AD), i.e., the times of Razes and Avicenna, were explored and interesting opinions on skin malignancies were found. In addition, the phrase “skin cancers” was searched in databases like PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The gleaned data were analyzed and compared.

The ancient Persian scholars knew the cancers and were forerunners in the description, classified, etiology and treatment of skin cancers. This study explored interesting opinions like nutrition and black bile clearance on skin malignancies  treatment, also found no contradictory views between the Persian and modern medicine on the topic of skin cancers.

Paying attention to the neglected areas can makes useful theories and hypotheses fore achievement to new more effective and safe remedies.

Nowadays, nasal drug delivery (NDD) is much considered as an appropriate alternative method instead of oral and parenteral injection. These approaches were presented in Persian Medicine (PM) as an important way of drug administration especially for neurological disorders. The aim of this study is to introduce types of NDD from the viewpoint of PM for head and neck diseases in the period of Islamic civilization.

The parts related to head and neck diseases were searched in the main PM reference books from the 3rd to the 13th century. Documents related to study keywords including Inkibab, Bakhur, Zaroor, Saoot, Shamoom, Shiaf, Atoos, Ghavali, Lakhlakhah, Nashoogh, Nafookh and their similarities were copied and studied line-by-line. The collected documents were categorized by timeframe, the method mentioned and type of disease. 

Ethical Considerations:

Honesty and trustfulness were observed by referring texts to the refrences used.

NDD forms including solids were classified into nasal insufflation (Nafookh, Atoos), splashes (Zarur) and dough (wax) includind suppository and wick, liquids were as nasal dibbling (Saoot) and liquid sniff formulations (Nashoogh) and gaseous forms were as fumigation (Bakhoor), vapor bath (Inkibab), inhalation (Lakhlakhah), aromatic agents (Shamoom, Ghavali). Saoot was used more than the other methods and the illness which most recommended was headache. Discussion and

NDD were advised in PM for several diseases. This method with a lot of benefits like easy to use, often painless, affordable and high efficiency and some side effects such as nasal mucosal injury, limitation in drug transmission through the nose and no drug withdrawal after usage has high potential for future researches.

In Persian medicine (PM), Achillea millefolium L. has a wide range of applications in the treatment of several diseases.

The aim of this study is to introduce the viewpoints of PM scholars about this herb in the field of female diseases and to compare them with the recent studies.

In this review study, therapeutic applications of Achillea millefolium in the field of female diseases were collected from credible Persian medical sources from 4th to 14th lunar centuries then current scientific databases such as PubMed and Google scholar were searched by using key world Achillea millefolium for collecting the findings of clinical, experimental and in vitro studies about this herb in the field of obstetrics and gynecology to compared to the PM scholars' viewpoints.

In PM, Achillea millefolium is recommended for treatment various female reproductive diseases such as menstrual disorders, facilitating labor, reducing adhesions of cervix, controlling uterine infections. In recent studies, therapeutic effects of this herb on ovarian cyst, menstrual cycle regulation and dysmenorrhea have been reported. Also, in several studies, the antibacterial and antifungal effects of this plant on controlling infections have been investigated; as well the extract of this plant has been effective in inhibiting the proliferation of ovarian adenocarcinoma cells.

Considering the extensive uses of Achillea millefolium reflected in PM and recent studies, it seems that this plant can be used in many fields of female diseases to provide ideas for research and therapy.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction is an inexpensive, simple and efficient alternative method in comparison with conventional extraction methods. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of ultrasound-assisted extraction of sour-orange (Citrus aurantium) seed oil. In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (2, 4, and 6 h) was applied in comparison with heat reflux extraction (8 h at 300 W, 12 h at 200 W, and 24 h at 100 W) and conventional Soxhlet (42 h) methods in terms of yield and composition of sour-orange seed oil. The fatty acid composition of the extracted sour-orange seed oils were determined by using fast gas chromatography method. There were significant differences among sour-orange seed oil yields of different extraction methods (P0.05) and ultrasound-assisted extraction method can be introduced as a time consuming method. Moreover, in all extraction methods, sour-orange seed oil yield increased by increasing extraction time. Obtained results indicated that palmitic acid and linoleic acid were significantly the most abundant saturated fatty acid and unsaturated fatty acid of sour-orange seed oil, respectively (P0.05). Also, the amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids especially α-linolenic acid of sourorange seed oil were similar to soya and canola oils. There were no significant (P0.05) differences among fatty acid profiles of the oils obtained with different extraction methods. By using ultrasoundassisted extraction and heat reflux extraction methods, it is possible to extract oils in shorter time, but with similar characteristics to the oil extracted with standard Soxhlet method.

Renal disorders including renal failure are common complications which affect the whole body system. The treatment methods in modern medicine seem to be inadequate in a large number of cases. Regarding the increasing interest of the community towards traditional and complementary medicine, the potential of Persian medicine (PM) in management of renal diseases, could be put to test in research programs in order to find possible effective treatment.
The aim of this study is to introduce materia medica which are commonly used in PM for the purpose of protection and functional empowerment of the kidneys against destructive factors.
This research is a literature-based study on effective material medica used in the treatment of two significant renal disorders; renal weakness and renal atrophy (Hozal). Six pharmaceutical references of Persian medicine from different historical periods were searched by certain keywords related to renal weakness and renal atrophy.
Fourteen materia medica related to the prevention or treatment of renal weakness and fifteen for renal atrophy were found. Poppy (Papaver somniferum), Amber and shellac are the most repeated medicines in the treatment of renal weakness; whereas fig (ficus carica), banana (musa sapientum) and hazelnut (corynus avelana) are mostly repeated for either prevention or treatment of renal atrophy.
Medicinal plants represented by Persian medicine references could be a basis for experimental and clinical researches for drug development in the field of prevention or even treatment of acute or chronic renal failure.

Nowadays, heart failure is one of the most common diseases and is the cause of death in a high percentage of the population. Despite all the progress made, researches continue for achieving a better understanding of its causes. The present study aims to evaluate the causes of heart failure from Persian medicine (PM) point of view.
In this review article, first PM books with references to causes of heart failure and weakness such as Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine) and Exir-e-azam were reviewed and compared with modern medical findings in Braunwald's Heart Disease, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine and Cecil medicine books as well as online databases including PubMed, Science direct, Scopus and Google scholar.
FINDINGS: Reviewing the documentation revealed that, according to definitions and symptoms, heart failure is the equivalent of the term “heart weakness” in PM. Accordingly, results of the study demonstrated that according to PM, causes such as Sue-e-Mizaj, obstruction, tissue detachment, mental disorders, direct and indirect excessive disposal of body essential materials may underlie the heart’s inability to meet the needs of the organs.
Several factors are mentioned as the cause of heart failure or heart weakness in PM, only a few of which are considered in modern medicine. However, some of these less considered theories can be used as new assumptions to prevent and control this disease

Nowadays, heart failure (HF) is one of the most common and disabling diseases with high mortality and morbidity in every community. However, modern diagnostic and therapeutic methods use for cardiovascular disease management, but heart failure is still an important topic in researches to find effective, inexpensive, and available methods. Complementary and alternative interventions are one of the methods which used for increasing the quantity and quality of patient life by the new study designs. Persian medicine (PM) as one of the ancient medicine and evidence-based knowledge can be appropriate for this kind of research.
This study is a narrative review in cardiology texts of Persian traditional medicine (including al-havi. canon of medicine) and compares it with the conventional medicine classification.
According to PM viewpoints, “heart weakness” is the most similar disease to HF based on definition and semiology. General weakness with changes in pulse rate, breathe pattern, body weight, appetite, neurological or cognitive function and physical power are common signs and symptoms between heart weakness and HF. In patient management, cardiac function improves, according to initial and acquired temperament by cardiotonic or aromatic herbs and nutraceutical products. Psychiatric rehabilitation is one of the most important treatment strategies, especially with aromatherapy or music listening and a suitable massage with appropriate oil.
Recognition of PM views about semiology and management of heart failure (heart weakness) can help scientist to design future researches and clinical trials for accessing to more effective treatments, preventive methods and improving patient satisfaction.

In industrialized countries, cancer is the second cause of death and in Iran is the third. So, one of the research priorities of all communities is according to the methods of prevention and treatment of cancer.
This study is an analytical review of the etiology, prevention and treatment of cancer from the viewpoint of Iranian Traditional Medicine.
Persian physicians believed that human body was composed of four substances that named humorous (blood, phlegm, bile, black bile) and imbalance of them causes different types of diseases.
From the perspective of Iranian Traditional physicians, Ignition and combustion phenomena humors is the starting point for the onset of cancer. Based on this insight, preventive and therapeutic strategies have been proposed.
They are believed abnormal black bile, have the power of influence, aggression and high dispersion. However, stimulating interventions had been avoided in the cancers of internal organs. The goal of treatment and recurrent inhibition are reduction of carcinogenic substance, improving body action and Inhibition of Invasive behavior of disease.

Persian (Iranian) medicine is one of the oldest traditional medical science with more than 1000 years of history. Scientometrics studies on the current research achievement of Persian medicine in academic communities are lacking. The purpose of this study is assessment and analysis of scientific attainment of Persian medicine in international research publication and provides overview of research efforts in the field of Persian traditional medicine until 2015.
Documents were collected from Pub Med database with these keywords: “Iranian medicine”, “Persian medicine”, “Iranian traditional medicine” and “Persian traditional medicine”. All data were classified based on type of manuscript, field of study, kind of research, journal type and publication year.
FINDINGS: 502 Articles were found up to the end of 2015; 54.3% original articles, 26% review, 13.7% letter to editor, 29% biographical and historical articles. Pharmacological and phytochemical studies were the most published articles (14/7%). Between 139 journals which published these articles, 59% have Impact factor (IF) and highest IF belonged to the Lancet neurol J (23/46). More than one citation was reported in 43.7% of articles and the most citation belong to the one of the published article in year 2012 (23 citation). H-Index of all collected articles was 12.
The number of published articles in Persian (Iranian) Medicine had significant growth in the last years. But usage of several keywords for Persian traditional medicine, by authors, inhibits aggregation and availability to these. However proposed unique full or abbreviate name be used in all published research document.

Sour-orange (Citrus aurantium) seed oil was extracted by ultrasound-assisted, heat reflux, and Soxhlet extraction methods and their physical (melting point, viscosity, specific gravity, refractive index, and color) and chemical (acid value, acidity, peroxide value, iodine value, saponification value, and ester value) properties were investigated. Results showed although that some properties of the sour-orange seed oil such as acid value, acidity, peroxide value, iodine value, melting point, viscosity, and color were affected by the extraction method but its other properties such as saponification value, ester value, specific gravity, and refractive index were not affected by extraction method. In addition, the results of this study indicated that the sour- orange seed oil has some advantages such as low free fatty acid, low acid value, low peroxide value, low melting point, high saponification value, and high ester value. Therefore, the sour-orange seed oil can be introduced as suitable edible oil.