Govaresh
Volume:24 Issue: 1, 2019

Currently, dietary supplements are used with trust to promote human health. Micronutrient deficiency as a result of insufficient nutrition is a common problem threatening general health. As a common rule, improvement of nutrition quality has a principal role in preventing the side effects of the lack of micronutrients. Nevertheless, consumption of dietary supplements including vitamins and essential minerals could have beneficial effects in specific age groups of people. For example: prescription of folic acid in women during reproductive ages and pregnancy prevents neural tube defects. Vitamin D in infants and children, and calcium plus vitamin D supplementations in older people have principal role in bone health adequacy. Due to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, especially various types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which may cause death and morbidity, a theory has been raised that supplements containing multivitamin and minerals can prevent these major health issues. However, there is a big debate regarding the beneficial effects of dietary supplements in preventing non-communicable diseases in people consuming high quality diet. This review has attempted to summarise the scientific evidence regarding the beneficial effects of multivitamin minerals supplementation, which may provide evidence based recommendation for general population.

Hepatitis C is a major cause of chronic hepatitis in developed countries. According to the World Health Organization, about 170 to 200 million people are infected worldwide with hepatitis C virus with 3-4 million newly infected patients annually. The approval of sofosbuvir drug by the FDA has led to new horizons ahead of non-atherosclerotic treatments in people with hepatitis C. Sofosbuvir is a NS5B(Non structural Protein 5B) polymerase nucleoside analogue inhibitor in a hepatitis C virus, which is consumed as a food. But sofosbuvir alone is not effective and should be given together with another drug such as a NS5A inhibitor. Although generic versions of sofosbuvir and other DAA(Direct Acting Anti-hepatitis C Virus) drugs are available now at cheap prices, finding patients is a major problem and treating is not enough for eradication, and a vaccine is required. Unfortunately, despite the considerable efforts so far, no vaccine has been developed for prevention and treatment of this disease. In this review, we tried to discuss the studies conducted over the past decade to develop vaccines for hepatitis C, with an emphasis on DNA vaccine.

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) with metacognitive therapy (MCT) on reducing symptoms and increasing life satisfaction of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Research method was quasi-experimental with pretest, post-test, 3-month follow-up and control group. Statistical population was all women (20-40) suffering from IBS who referred to Counseling Center of Pharmaceutical Sciences University and Rasoul Akram Hospital located in Tehran in autumn and winter of 2016 and spring of 2017. Through available sampling and Rome III criteria 30 patients were selected (15 in each group) and allocated randomly to experimental group 1 (MCT) and experimental group 2 (ACT). Also 15 patients with IBS were considered as the control group and did not receive any psychotherapy. The life Satisfaction Inventory (Diener & et.al, 1985) was used for pretest, post-test, and follow-up period. The therapeutic packages of ACT and MCT were used for the experimental groups for eight 90 minute weekly sessions, and the control group was placed in a waiting list. Both therapeutic methods affected the same on reducing symptoms and increasing the life satisfaction of the patients. Three- month follow-up confirmed these results. This study makes available the implications for the effective psychotherapy interventions on reducing symptoms and increasing life satisfaction of patients suffering from IBS.

Resilience is a positive and influential construct for human actions and reactions, providing human beings of all ages a constructive and valuable role for adaptation and coping with different conditions. The aim of the present study was to develop a model of resilience training for children with functional abdominal pain syndrome using deductive qualitative content analysis technique. The research employed an analytical content analysis technique. The purposive sampling method was used to select 30 written sources about the subject of resilience. Then the contents of books and articles were analyzed to find resilience components. In this study, the resilience components were first extracted, then as the main theme, the main component and sub-components were classified. Finally, the validity and reliability of the above mentioned model were examined. Totally, six main themes and 17 main components were obtained. The main themes included: individual competence and skills, emotional competence, cognitive behavioral competence, family competence and support, ability to attract social support, and social competence. The main components were: individual skills/psychological competencies, positive axial self-assessment, psychological capital, coping with stress, emotional regulation/emotion control, emotional regulation/emotional control, perceptual control/behavioral control, perceptual coping/behavioral coping, parenting competence, secure attachment, cohesion and continuity, participation, support attraction, belongingness, communication with peers, and competence based on social and communication skills. The resilience training model for children with functional abdominal pain syndrome, which developed in this study, can be used in the formulation of resilience training for children with functional abdominal pain syndrome.

Currently, diabetes is one of the most common diseases that has a devastating effect on the body and causes free radicals in the body. One of the most important organs in the body that metabolizes and analyzes hormones and various substances is the liver (the largest gland of the body. Therefore, in order to cope with the damaging effects of diabetes and its effect on some liver enzymes, strong antioxidants have been needed. In this study, we tried to assess the effects of harmaline on albumin and some liver enzymes. In this study, 35 male vistar rats with a weight range of 180-200 g were divided into five groups of seven in control group (that received citrate buffer as they became diabetic) and case group (diabetic with intraperitoneal injection of 55 mg/kg streptozotocin), experimental group 1 (diabetic and subcutaneously receiving 10 mg/kg harmaline), experimental group 2 (diabetic and received subcutaneous dose of 15 mg/kg of harmaline), and experimental group 3 (diabetic and received 20 mg/kg of harmaline subcutaneously) and After two months of becoming diabetic, rats received subcutaneous medication of various doses of harmaline for two weeks. Then, anesthesia was achieved in rats with ketamine and zylazine, and blood sampling was conducted directly from the heart. After separating serum to measure glucose and insulin, samples were delivered to the laboratory. In this study, a significant decrease was observed in the amount of albumin in the experimental groups compared with the control group and a significant increase was observed in the amount of aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase enzymes in experimental groups compared with the control group. In experimental diabetic groups, the amount of albumin has also shown no significant changes compared with the other diabetic groups. This study showed that taking harmaline caused a disturbance in the balance of liver enzymes and elevated serum albumin levels in healthy and diabetic rats.has changed the balance of liver enzymes and increased blood albumin in healthy rats, while liver enzymes increased in diabetic groups as dosage increased.

Hepatitis B DNA polymerase chain reaction (HBV-DNA PCR) is a test that is used in the evaluation and treatment of hepatitis B but this test is pretty expensive and may not be available everywhere. Quantitative test of serum hepatitis B surface antigen may be a surrogate test, which is available with much low price. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of these two tests. Patients with positive HBsAg who referred to Boali laboratory in Yazd, Iran for HBV DNA test in 2012 -2014 were selected and divided into three groups as inactive carriers, those at the beginning of treatment, and those on treatment (30 patients in each group). HBV DNA PCR was performed with real-time PCR method with sensivity of 150 IU/mL. HBsAg and HBeAg levels were measured by electrochemiolance. The level more than 0.05/mL was considered positive for HBsAg. Serum hepatitis B surface antigen quantitative level was significantly different between group one and group two, and also between group one and group three (p=0.001) but it was not different between group two and three (p=0.7). Serum HBV quantitative level and HBV DNA had a positive relation (p=0.001, R=0.527). There was a relation between HBsAg and viral load in group one (p=0.017, R=0.431) and group two (p=0.023, R=0.427) but there was not such a correlation in group three (p=0.27, R=0.22). HBsAg quantitative measurement may be a surrogate test for evaluation of patients with hepatitis B because it is simpler and economic.

Colonoscopy is a good method for diagnosis of colonic and distal ileum diseases and is the method of choice in screening colorectal cancer. However it may lead to serious complications including bleeding and perforation. Colonic perforation may be asymptomatic or present with abdominal pain and peritonitis. This article introduces an 89-year-old man with abdominal pain who underwent colonoscopy to rule out colon cancer. Due to the large mass in the hepatic flexure and failure to take biopsy sample, colonoscopy was repeated three times. Two days after the last colonoscopy, the patient presented to the emergency department with pain, swelling, and erythema in the right thigh. He was suspected of developing deep vein thrombosis so Doppler ultrasonography was performed, which revealed gas within the soft tissue, suggesting necrotizing fasciitis probably due to perforation during colonoscopy. Plane abdominal radiography and computed tomography revealed free air in the abdominal cavity and confirmed the diagnosis of colonic perforation. The patient was then managed surgically.

Liver biopsy is the gold standard method for the assessment of liver fibrosis and diagnosis of different liver diseases. The most common method of liver biopsy is transdermal biopsy, which can be performed under the guidance of ultrasound (US) or blindly. The present study aimed at comparing the success rate and complications of these two methods in patients undergoing liver biopsy. This interventional study was performed on 102 patients, who were candidates for liver biopsy without any contraindications. The patients were randomly divided in two groups of US-guided biopsy and blind biopsy. The patients’ demographics, indications for biopsy, and complications were collected in a checklist. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and independent sample t-test in SPSS version 16. Among 102 participants, 51 patients (25 males and 26 females), with the mean age of 39.69±12.93 years, underwent US-guided biopsy, while 51 patients (29 males and 26 female), with the mean age of 39.65±13.73 years, underwent blind biopsy. Liver biopsy was successful in 88.2% of the patients in both groups. The most common complication was reduced hemoglobin level, which was not significantly different between the groups. Other complications, such as need for blood transfusion, platelet transfusion, or fresh frozen plasma (FFP) injection, were not observed. There was no significant difference in terms of complications between the groups. Since blind liver biopsy does not increase the rate of complications, application of this method is recommended for patients without any contraindications, leading to a reduction in the cost of diagnosis and treatment.