Journal of Basic Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:5 Issue: 2, Spring 2018

Telomeres are DNA portions that are located on the two ends of the chromosome. Telomeres play an important role in cellular life. Exercise is one of the factors that contributes to their control. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on telomere length and telomerase activity in non-athletic young men.

30 inactive students were selected as sample and randomly divided into two groups of exercise (15 people) and control (15 people) in this semi-experimental study. The exercise group performed 8 weeks of HIIT exercise in 3 sessions per week with an intensity of 150 to 175% of their maximum power (Pmax). Control group subjects did not do regular sport activities. To measure telomere length and telomerase activity, 10 ml of blood was taken from the brachial vein of the subjects 24 hours before the first and after the last exercise session. The dependent t was used to analyze intra-group and independent t for within-group differences.

The findings of this study showed that 8 weeks of HIIT training in non-athlete young men resulted in a significant increase in telomere length (P = 0.001) and telomerase activity (P = 0.001).

It seems that HIIT can alter telomerase activity and telomere length. Therefore, these training may have a positive effect on cell biology.

Cervical cancer is the third most common tumor among women. Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are common treatments, however high stage tumors have frequently poor prognosis. Nowadays, the epigenetic reversion introduced as an efficient strategy of treatment of cervical cancer. In the process, inhibitors of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) induce re-expression of tumor suppressor genes. Among these inhibitors, disulfiram (DSF) has been suggested as non-nucleoside analogous. In this research, we evaluated the epigenetic effect of DSF on demethylation of the tumor suppressor gene, RASSF1A, in Hela cell line.

Hela cells were cultured and treated with different doses from 2.5 to 37.5µM during 24, 48 and 72 hours. MTT assay was carried out to find half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50). The methylation specific PCR (MSP) assay was applied to evaluate methylation pattern.

The IC50 of DSF was determined at the 2.5, 12.5, and 15µM after72 hours. The MSP results showed partial demethylation at mentioned concentrations after 72h but unmethylated band was not observed after 24h.

Our findings indicated that, IC50 of DSF exerted a biphasic effect in Hela cell line and at least 72 hours treatment is needed for the epigenetic reversion of DSF on RASSF1Ain Hela cell line.

One of the common problems in contemporary world is addiction and its side effects. Dependency and addiction due to drug consumption is a chronic disorder which is followed by cultural, psychological, social, and spiritual effects. The aim of the present research was comparing behavioral-cerebral systems with alexithymia among addictive and normal people.

The statistical population was all referred people to therapy centers of addiction in Ilam among which 40 cases were selected by accessible methods and also 40 cases of normal people without addiction background were selected based on their age, gender, education level, and married conditions by homogeneity procedure. Research method was comparative. Questionnaire of characterization by Wilson and questionnaire of Alexithymia by Toronto were used as research instrument to collect the data. Also, SPSS software and multi variable analysis were used to analysis the collected data.

The findings showed that activated systems of behavior and fight-flight in people with addiction background  was more than normal people, while behavioral deterrent system activities in normal people was more than people with addiction background (P<0.001).  Also the mean scores of Alexithymia in people with addiction background was significantly more than that of normal people (P>0.001).

So, by identifying people that their behavioral activating system is more active than that of normal ones the risky group can be determined and then they can be benefited from behavioral and educational programs to be prevented from the likelihood of addiction in these groups. Also, cultivating capabilities of control and emotion regulation helps to prevent addiction and also helps people to adopt with changes and stress factors.

In recent years the relationship between electromagnetic fields and coronary artery disease is attracted a considerable attention. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation is the initial step in the development of atherosclerosis. Paraoxonase1 (PON1) protects LDL and High density lipoprotein (HDL) against oxidative processes, thus preventing the formation of atherogenic (oxidized-LDL) ox-LDL molecules. In this study we investigated the effects of static magnetic fields (SMFs) and extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) on PON1 activity as one of the independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Pooled serum sample of 20 healthy men were exposed to SMFs and EMFs flux densities of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 mT for 60, 120 and 180 minutes at 25°C and then PON1 activity was measured spectrophotometrically using paraoxon as substrate.

EMFs of 0.125-1 mT had no effect on PON1 activity. Exposure to magnetic flux density of 2 mT leads to a significant increase in PON1 activity in 1 hour (P <0.05). Magnetic flux density of 3 and 4 mT, after 1hour of exposure, lead to an increase of PON1 activity to 1.2% and 2.8%, respectively (P <0.01).

PON1 activity is influenced by a variety of agents like environmental, pharmacological, and lifestyle factors as well as age and sex. According to the finding of this study ELF-EMFs can alternate the serum activity of PON1 in vitro. If this effect of EMFs on PON1 activity has proven in vivo, it can be considered as an effective factor in coronary artery disease.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is one of the most causes of neonatal infections. The bacterium colonizes genitourinary tracts of pregnant women and transmits to infants. The aim of this study was investigating colony PCR and culture methods to detection of GBS in pregnant women.

Hundred pregnant women, at the 35th and 37th weeks of pregnancy, were selected from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit of the Moatazedi and Shahid Chamran Hospitals in Kermanshah province. Specimens were collected from vaginal introitus and investigated by selective culture and colony PCR methods. Then, antibiotic resistance tests were performed according to the latest guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI).

Prevalence of GBS colonization was shown to be 5% and 6% by the culture and colony PCR methods, respectively. Also, resistance rate to erythromycin, penicillin, vancomycin, and the clindamycin were determined to be 50%, 16.66%, 16.66% and 33.33 %, respectively. Moreover, the highest resistance was for erythromycin and the appropriate antibiotics were penicillin and then vancomycin.

A higher prevalence of GBS colonization in pregnant women in the Kermanshah city of Iran was detected using colony PCR method compared to culture method.

The involvement of secreted frizzled-related protein5 (SFRP5) and adiponectin, two important adipokines produced by adipocytes, in cardiovascular diseases demand further assessment. Therefore, in this study the relation of the adipokines and atherosclerosis was evaluated in Rat.

For the study, thirty male Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups (each group contain 15 rats): Control group, received a normal diet and the high cholesterol diet (HCD) group which received an additional 2% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid for 15 weeks. At the end of treatment, HCD-induced atheroma plaques were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining of aortic tissue sections. Furthermore, serum levels of SFRP5 and adiponectin in the two groups of rats were measured by immunoassay and their relationships with the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the experimental group were analyzed.

The serum level of SFRP5 and adiponectin was significantly decreased in HCD rats compared with the control group (P<0.05).  There was also an inverse relation between the serum level of the two adipokines and atherosclerotic plaque formation (P<0.05). 

Serum levels of SFRP5 and adiponectin are decreased in rats fed with high cholesterol diet, highlighting the involvement of the two adipokines in atherosclerosis.

Theory of mind is one of the most important aspects of cognitive faculty. The theory of mind is impaired in individuals who suffer from mental disorders like autistic children. The ‘autistic-like’ behaviors also have been reported in the congenitally blind children. This study was conducted to examine the presence or absence of theory of mind and its function in congenitally blind children.

A number of 20 individuals containing 10 bilingual congenitally blind children from Baghcheban elementary school of Ilam city as a case group and 10 sighted ones as a control group were selected. Three kinds of false belief cognitive tests appropriate for the congenitally blind children were designed. The collected data were analyzed using one sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, independent t-test along with Levenn test and one-way and two-way Analysis of Variance.

Considering the performance of congenitally blind children in false belief tasks, the blindness just had effect on the story narration task (P<0.05(, while it did not have any effect on the two other tasks. The same performance of the male and female subjects indicated that gender did not have any impact on the development of the theory of mind (P>0.05).

The findings showed only the story narration task was affected by blindness, because this task was more dependent on visual sense. Therefore, blindness results in delay in evolution of theory of mind. To fix this delay, the congenitally blind children should be exposed to further tactile and olfactory inputs.

Antifungals have always been considered as one of the astonishing discoveries of the 20th century. This is correct, but the real marvel is the development of antifungal resistance in hospitals, communities, and the environment concomitant with their use. Fungal infections have emerged as an important clinical threat, with significant associated morbidity and mortality.  This study is designed to provide a comprehensive view of antifungal agents and related agents. Information was based on the expertise of some literatures. Over the past decades, the incidence and diversity of fungal infection has grown in association with an increasing number of immunocompromised patients. An understanding of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties of the classes of antifungal compounds is vital for the effective management of invasive fungal infections. This review provides a summary of the pharmacologic principles involved in treatment of fungal diseases.  Clinical needs for novel antifungal agents have altered steadily with the rise and fall of AIDS-related mycoses, and the change in spectrum of fatal disseminated fungal infections that has accompanied change in therapeutic immunosuppressive therapies.