مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 357 (هفته اول دی ماه 1394)

Physical activity and medicinal plants have been used years for the treatment of different neuropsychological diseases such as anxiety. This study aimed to assess the effects of training, Althaea kurdica extract injection, and noise stress on the anxiety-related behaviors, plasma levels of nitric oxide and serotonin in Wistar male rats. Thirty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups of seven, noise, training + noise, extract + noise, training + noise + extract, and control groups. The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week, for a 60day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5 hours per day over a 60-day period (range: 95 ± 15 dB). The Althaea curdica extract (500 mg/kg of body weight) was injected intraperitoneally (IP) 30 minutes prior to the plus maze test. The control group was not exposed to any noise or exercise, and was kept away from the sources of stress; the rats were kept under the same conditions. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected and plasma nitric oxide (NO) and serotonin concentrations were determined with special kits for rat. For the statistical data analysis, ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc tests were used at the significant level of P ≤ 0.05. In the noise + training + extract group, the anxiety was less and nitric oxide and serotonin were more than that of the noise stress group compared with the control group (P < 0.01). It seems that aerobic training and extract injections had eliminated the effect of noise stress, and apparently the effect of aerobic training was more significant than that of the extracts.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous set of immunological abnormalities including decreased serum levels of antibodies (hypogammaglobolinemia), at least for two isotopes of immunoglobulin, and impaired antibody response to infection or vaccination. Thus, it is associated with increased susceptibility to infections. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of B cells in the patients with CVID in Isfahan city, Iran. Blood samples were collected from the patients with substitutive immunoglobulin (Ig) therapy before immunoglobulin infusion. Then, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated via Ficoll-Hypaque density centrifugation. Flow cytometry method was employed to determine the frequency and phenotype of the B and transitional B cells using the antibodies of CD19-FITC (Exebio), CD24-PE (Exebio), and CD38 PE (BD Exebio). There was significant difference in the proportion of the peripheral blood B cells in the patients with CVID, compared to the healthy subjects (P < 0.001). But, there was insignificant difference in the proportion of the transitional B cells in the patients, compared to the healthy subjects (P = 0.267). The results show that there is insignificant difference in the proportion of the transitional B cells in the patients with CVID, compared to control group. However, more studies should be carried out concerning mutation in the involved genes to understand more aspects of this disease.

Human adenoviruses can cause a wide spectrum of infections including respiratory and ocular disease, gastroenteritis and cystitis. Although adenovirus respiratory infection occurs in children and neonates but several outbreaks of acute respiratory disease (ARD) are documented in military recruits. In a cross-sectional survey in autumn 2012, all prisoner patients with acute lower respiratory disease referred to Emergency room of Alzahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, were enrolled in this study. For diagnosis of the etiology, a panel of different tests was used including PCR (polymerase chain reaction) for respiratory pathogens. From 23 cases, 21 were positive for adenovirus types in PCR assay of brochoalveolar lavage (BAL). All other Microbiologic tests including Gram staining, culture, and Ziehl-Neelsen staining were negative. The most prevalent radiologic finding in chest X-ray was bilateral interstitial infiltration. Acute respiratory infection by adenovirus may be a cause in respiratory outbreaks in closed environments like prisons and military recruits. PCR is a valuable diagnostic method for early and accurate diagnosis.

Cartilage tissue damage is one of the problems in the clinic and the current treatment methods would not be lead to full repair of damage; therefore, tissue engineering in this field is considered. In tissue engineering, biomaterials such as growth factors and appropriate cells are used. Since the growth factors such as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) leads to hypertrophy of cartilage, it is essential to achieve the appropriate inducer factors. Studies have shown that piasclidine had a positive effect on cultured chondrocytes. In this study, the effect of the piasclidine on chondrogenesis of human adipose-derived stem cells was examined. Fat samples were obtained from three liposuction surgeries. Stem cells were extracted from adipose tissue and proliferated via the third passage. Then, the cells were transferred to the fibrin scaffold and cultured for 21 days under the influence of the chondrogenic imedium in three groups. The rate of cell proliferation was evaluated using MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] method and the rate of gene expression of aggrecan and types II and X collagen was evaluated via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The rate of proliferation and survival of cells in a fibrin scaffold was not different significantly between the groups (P > 0.05); but the gene expression of type II collagen and aggrecan was significantly more expression of type X collagen was significantly less in piasclidine group compared to the of TGF-β group (P < 0.01). Piasclidine is an effective factor in induction of chondrogenesis of stem cells and also has a significant effect on reduction of the cell hypertrophy.

Considering nitric oxide (NO) as one of the important molecular regulators in genital organs, and according to the critical level of it in establishing a successful pregnancy, we assessed the changes in testis tissue of embryo and offspring via treating pregnant mice.

35 adult female mice, after observing the vaginal plug, were randomly divided into five groups of seven. The first one was the control group. Remaining groups, respectively, received L-Arginin, L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), normal saline, and a mixture of L-Arginin and L–NAME, three days in first half of pregnancy. One day before the delivery, and before maturation, embryos’ and offspring’s testes were removed through laparotomy. Pathological and histological changes of samples were assessed using histotechnique method and general Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining.

In L-NAME group, in addition to disorganization in tissue order, tunica albuginea diameter was considerably increased whereas the number of germ cells was significantly decreased in embryos and offspring. L. Arginine treatment in pregnant mice led to reduce the number of seminiferous tubules and decrease tunica albuginea diameter and dissemination.

Stimulating or inhibiting the synthesis of nitric oxide in pregnant mice can interfere with the organ normal function and influence fertility parameters via causing abnormally and malformations in testis tissue, specially in the next generation.

Following a bleeding, deficiency of coagulation factors and delayed blood clotting time are of problems with patients with hemophilia. This study aimed to assess the effect of 8-weeks exercise in water on factor VIII and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) in men with hemophilia. In this semi-experimental study, using pretest and posttest method, 20 men with hemophilia were randomly divided into two groups of 10. Patients in experimental group, exercised in the water for 8 weeks, 3 sessions of 45-60 minutes per week; while the control group did not perform any kind of physical activity and were followed only. The levels of factor VIII and PTT were measured before and after the intervention and analyzed. 8-weeks exercise in water established a significant reduction in the amount of PTT in experimental group compared to the control group (P = 0.002); The PTT decreased from 80.90 to 74.20 seconds in the experimental group, whereas no significant decrease was seen in the control group (pre- and posttest PTT of 77.20 and 79.50 seconds, respectively). There were no significant changes in the level of factor VIII; in the experimental group, this amount increased from 1. 6 to 2.1 IU/dl, but this finding was not statistically different (P > 0. 050). The results of this study showed that exercise in water can significantly reduce clotting time (PTT) in men with hemophilia.

Depression is one of the common mood disorders in many societies which lead to a significant drop in job, educational, social, or family performance. This research aimed to determine the depression rate and its impact on the health workers’ performance in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2013. In this descriptive-analytic study of correlation type, 297 health workers in health care homes of Isfahan University of Medical Science were selected via systematic sampling. The Patient Health Questionnaire9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure the depression rate, and the health workers’ performance was evaluated by the trainers of health training center using a checklist provided in health training unit. The findings were statistically analyzed using Pearson and Spearman correlation, independent t, and one-way ANOVA tests. The prevalence of depression was 53.9% in the selected health workers; 26.6% had mild, 11.8% had moderate, and 16.5% had severe or extremely severe depression. Depression showed a higher rate in female health workers compared to males. There was a significant relationship between depression and age, work experience, and residential type (P < 0.050). Health workers’ performance had an inverse relationship with depression severity (P < 0.050). Moreover, the level of health workers’ education had an inverse relationship with depression and a direct relationship with performance. Health workers suffer from high rate of depression, and it has an impact on their performance; planning to reduce their depression plays an important role in health promotion programs.