مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
سال پانزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 108، فروردین 1400)

Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is a serious and increasing liver dis-ease, which develops into cirrhosis, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Rosmarinic Acid (RA) is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the role of RA on a mouse model of NASH-induced liver fibrosis.

In this research, C57/BL6 mice were divided into 4 equal groups, as follows: the control, RA, NASH, and NASH+RA groups. In the third and fourth groups, NASH was induced by Methionine-Choline Deficient (MCD) diet for 8 weeks. In the RA and NASH+RA group, RA was intraperitoneally injected daily for 8 weeks in mice. After 8 weeks, the explored animals were sacrificed and the blood and liver samples were obtained. Then, Trichrome-Masson staining, serum, and molecular analyses were performed.

After RA administration, the plasma levels of ALT and AST decreased. RA administration also reduced TGFβ and α-SMA genes expression. Finally, the histopathological evaluation revealed that RA administration decreased NASH-induced liver fibrosis.

It seems that RA administration improves NASH-induced liver fibrosis through the inhibition of the α-SMA/ TGF-β signaling pathway.

Dialysis patients encounter numerous psychological distress, aggravating their psycho-social problems. Currently, the third wave of psychological treatment has surpassed other treatments in solving the problems of these patients. The current study aimed to compare the effects of metacognitive therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on blood pressure in hemo-dialysis patients.

This was a randomized clinical trial with pre-test, post-test and follow-up and a control group design. This research was performed on 54 patients undergoing hemodialysis at Imam Ali Hospital in Karaj City, Iran. The study participants were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly divided into three groups; metacognitive therapy, ACT, and control. The intervention groups individu-ally received metacognitive therapy and ACT for 8 sessions. All research groups were measured in the pre-test, post-test stage and their blood pressure was measured using a hand sphygmomanometer. The collected data were analyzed using repeated-measures Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).

The current research results indicated that metacognitive therapy and ACT were effective in re-ducing blood pressure among the study subjects (P=0.001). Additionally, the achieved results remained consistent in the follow-up phase.

According to the collected results, the provided interventions can be used as useful and complementary therapies along with pharmacotherapy and other evidence-based interventions for in-dividuals with hypertension receiving dialysis.

Dandelion (Taraxacum sp) is one of the valuable medicinal plants which its antifungal properties have been proven, but so far, no study has been done to investigate the antifungal effect of Taraxacum peregrinium, a native species of Iran. In this study, the effect of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of dandelion root on three species of Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Trichophyton rubrum were compared with fluconazole and nystatin, as antifungal drugs.

In this study, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Iranian dandelion root were prepared. To evaluate the antifungal effect of dandelion root extracts and two standard antifungal drugs, fluconazole and nystatin, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was recorded by evaluating the growth rate of fungi using broth microdilution method, according to the light absorption obtained from spectrophotometer. At the end of the work, the data were analyzed by ANOVA test.

The results of this study showed that dandelion root ethanolic extract had inhibitory properties on all three studied fungal strains and showed the highest inhibitory effect on Candida albicans with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 150 µg/mL. The aqueous extract of dandelion root did not show any antifungal effect. Fluconazole and nystatin had a greater antifungal effect than ethanolic extract of dandelion root in all three fungal strains.

Due to the various therapeutic effects and no significant side effects, dandelion root can be used as an adjunct therapy in the treatment and control of various fungal infections. Therefore, it is suggested to identify and isolate the compounds in Taraxacum peregrinium and other species of dandelion native to Iran and to evaluate the identified components in terms of antifungal effect.

The green nanoparticle synthesis method using plants due to a cost effective and environmental compatibility has been extensively noticed. In this study, the biosynthesis of Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite by using extract of Eryngium caucasicum and its antifungal properties has been reported.

Synthesized Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was characterized by using UV-Visible spectroscopy, XRD, and FESEM analyses. The antifungal potential of Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was evaluated using Disc diffusion assay.

The formation of Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite has confirmed through UV–visible spectroscopy (at 425 nm). XRD results revealed the crystalline nature of Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite and FESEM analysis exhibited spherical shape with size 26-42 nm. It was also detected that the Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite at a concentration of 150μg/ml had the highest inhibition on Cryptococcus neoformans compared to Fusarium thapsinum, Candida albicans, Pyricularia oryzae, Fusarium semitectum and Candida glabrata.

The results of this study showed that the Green synthesis of Ag/Fe3O4 nanocomposite by aqueous extract of Eryngium caucasicum, which is a new, non-toxic, simple, cost-effective, fast and environmentally friendly technique, have high antifungal activity.

Ischemia-Reperfusion injury, followed by the production of oxygen free radi-cals and oxidative stress are the main limitations of ovarian tissue transplantation. We aimed to investi-gate the effects of quercetin as an antioxidant on the quality of autotransplanted mouse ovaries.

In total, 36 female NMRI mice were divided into 3 groups of control, autografted, and auto-grafted + quercetin (50 mg/kg/day). Treatment was performed one day before till 7 days after transplan-tation and 28 days after transplantation; ovaries were removed for stereological assessments. Serum samples were collected on days 7 and 28 post-transplantation to measure the level of malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, estradiol, and progesterone. The obtained data were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test at the significance level of P<0.05.

The mean total volume of the ovary, the volume of the cortex, and the volume of the medulla, the mean number of different types of follicles (P<0.001), the level of estradiol (P<0.05), progesterone (P<0.001), and total antioxidant capacity (P<0.01), and the recovery rate of the estrous cycle (P<0.001) significantly decreased in the autografted group, compared to the controls; however, the mentioned parameters significantly increased in the autografted + quercetin group, compared to the autografted group (P<0.01). A significant increase was observed in the level of malondialdehyde on days 7 (P<0.001) and 28 (P<0.01) post-transplantation in the autografted group, compared to the control group; however, this parameter was compensated to the control level in the autografted + quercetin group.

The present study findings revealed indicated that quercetin could improve tissue quality and the function of autotransplanted mouse ovaries.

Molar-Incisor Hypomineralizationis (MIH), a developmental enamel defect of incisor and molars, can lead to the fear of dentistry in children. The current study aimed to evalu-ate the dental fears of children aged 8 to 12 years with MIH and children with permanent first molars without hypoplasia using the standard Dental Subscale of the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS).

In this descriptive- cross-sectional study, the participants included 200 students aged 8-12 years in Isfahan City, Iran, in 2020. Moreover, the study subjects were selected from the second to sixth-grade students. In total, 52 patients with MIH and 148 patients with permanent first molar without hypoplasia were selected to participate in this research. The CFSS-DS was used to collect the necessary information. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS by descriptive statistical tests.

The Mean±SD CFSS-DS score was obtained as35±15, indicating the average dental fear in the participating children. Moreover, 62.5% of children were afraid of dentistry. The rate of dental fear in girls was 9 times higher than that in boys (P<0.05). Additionally, the rate of dental fear in children with MIH was 46 times higher than that in their counterparts without this disorder (P<0.05). The frequency of dental fear in children with severe disorder was significantly higher than that in children with mild defects (P=0.000).

The fear of dentistry in children with MIH was significantly higher than that in children with molar teeth without hypoplasia.

Teledentistry is among the concepts introduced into the dental field that facilitated the efforts of dentists and hygienists in this field. In numerous countries, including Iran, the financial resources and equipment for cities with hospitals or dental clinics are insufficient. Furthermore, the necessary human resources, such as dentists, secretaries, etc. are unavailable to operate in these centers. This study explored the benefits of using this new technology.

This was a diagnostic value study using a cross-sectional design, i.e., conducted in Qom City, Iran, in 2019. This research was performed with the aid of a dentist and an assistant. Initially, the den-tist examined the explored patient’s mouth, and the assistant, after being trained in the principle of photography, captured the research participant’s mouth. Then, the photo was illustrated to the dentist after two weeks and the dentist expressed his opinion. Comparing the two comments was established using the DMFT index. Descriptive statistics were used to report the mean and standard deviation and frequency of the collected data. Furthermore, SPSS was used to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of caries diagnosis by photographic versus face detection method.

The sensitivity of the DMFT method in detecting healthy teeth was positive and high, i.e., ap-proximately 79.0%. Moreover, the feature of the telemedicine method for the detection of decayed teeth was calculated to be about 94.0%, i.e., a significant percentage.

Based on the obtained data, due to the advances in technology and the development of infrastructure communications in the country, especially in Qom Province and in Iran, given the distance dimension in Iran, telecommunication dentistry can be a novel method used in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases. Accordingly, it could help reduce the costs imposed on the patient, espe-cially its latent costs (including the waste of time).

Failure to treat hypertension often leads to fatal complications; thus, there is an urgent need to develop and expand effective psychological interventions in this respect. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on depression and anxiety in patients with hypertension.

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and a control group design. In total, 24 patients with hypertension in Birjand city, Iran, in the second half of 2020 participated in this research. The study subjects were selected from the eligible subjects who volunteered to participate in the study. Besides, they were chosen by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (n=12/group). The experimental group participated in eight ACT sessions developed by Hayes et al. (2011); however, the control group remained on the waiting list. Data collection tools were the Beck Depres-sion Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-II) (2000) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck et al., 1988). The col-lected data were analyzed in SPSS using repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at the significance level of P=0.05.

The current study results revealed that ACT was effective in reducing depression (P<0.01) and anxiety (P<0.01) in patients with hypertension; these results remained consistent until the follow-up step (P<0.01).

The obtained data indicated the effectiveness of ACT in reducing depression and anxiety in patients with hypertension. Thus, this intervention can be used as a complementary therapy to improve psychological problems in patients with hypertension.