مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 544 (هفته چهارم آبان 1398)

Metabolic syndrome is a physiologic and biochemical disorder. Due to the possible important role of smoking in metabolic syndrome, we aimed to assess this role.

This cross-sectional study was performed on the data of middle-aged patients’ health records in Isfahan City, Iran, in 2018. According to diagnostic criteria of metabolic syndrome, 246 involved patient and 246 healthy people were selected using convenience sampling method. Smoking status and other demographic information were collected and analyzed using chi-square and multiple logistic regression methods.

Using water pipe (hookah) is significantly more prevalent among the patients with metabolic syndrome (57.7%) compared to healthy population (16.3%) (P < 0.001). We also indicated that smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 5.55, P = 0.006] and low education were associated with increased odds of developing metabolic syndrome, whereas being married reduced the odds (OR = 0.15, P < 0.001).

 As shown by this study, using hookah is more prevalent among the patients with metabolic syndrome compared to healthy population; smoking is associated with increased odds of metabolic syndrome as well.

Exercise trainings have beneficial effects on myocardium by changing the concentration of growth factors and their receptors. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a period of moderate endurance training and high interval training on activin receptor type II in heart, and plasma levels of myostatin in male rats.

After the familiarization period, 30 male rats with three months of age limitation were randomly divided to equal three groups of control, moderate endurance training, and high interval training. Moderate endurance training was continued for 8 weeks, each week 5 sessions, and every session, 80 minutes with intensity of 50-60 percent, as well as high interval training with intensity of 85-90 percent of rats’ power with a ramp of 20 degrees. Activin receptor type II in the myocardial left ventricle was measured using immunohistochemistry (IHC) method, and myostatin was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc tests at the significance level of P < 0.050.

In between groups comparison, there was a significant difference between the training and control groups in myostatin level (P = 0.001), but there was no significant difference between moderate endurance training and high interval training (P = 0.050). There was also no significant difference between the groups in myocardium activin receptor type II (P = 0.050).

 It cautiously seems that moderate endurance training with high interval training have desirable effects on reducing myostatin, with no significant difference between the types of trainings.

In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of intralesional injection of nimodipine in treatment of some cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis failed by a course of intralesional meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime).

This semi-experimental clinical trial study was done at the leishmaniasis research center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, from 2017 to 2018. For the patients whom their treatment had failed after a complete course of intralesional injection of meglumine antimoniate, intralesional injection of nimodipine was administered once a week for 6 weeks.

Ten patients were assessed. The mean size of the lesions were 1.35 cm at the first day of treatment, and became subsequently 1.35, 1.35, 1.33, 1.33, and 1.32 cm at the end of 2nd</sup> to 6th</sup> weeks of the treatment. Moreover, one month after the end of the treatment, the mean size of the lesions was 1.32 cm. The induration change of lesions was less than 25% for eight patients, and 25-50 percent for two other patients, after the fourth week; these changes were not statistically significant.

 There was no significant difference in size and induration of the lesions one month after the treatment with nimodipine compared to the first session of treatment. The concentration of the drug, or the selection of specific patients, may affect the results. This should be considered in the future studies.