Advanced Biomedical Research
Volume:8 Issue: 11, Nov 2018

Sneezing transiently elevates cerebral blood flow. We speculated that induced sneezing, following embolism would restore arterial flow, thereby diminishing infarct volume and improving neurological deficits.

Male rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) using prepared clots (embolization) and randomized into four equal groups as follows: (1) pre‑MCAO‑induced sneezing (PRMIS), (2) post‑MCAO‑induced sneezing (POMIS), and (3) pre‑ and POMIS (PRPOMIS) and the control group (eight rats per group). In the treatment groups, rats’ sneezing episodes were induced before MCAO in PRMIS group or before regaining consciousness from surgical anesthesia in other treatment groups by cutting their whiskers during their anesthesia and subsequently inserted them into the rats’ nostrils. Infarct volume was evaluated by 2, 3, 5‑triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining, and neurological deficits and brain edema were assessed by Bederson scale deficit scores 24‑h post‑MCAO.

The infarct volume and brain edema reduced and neurological deficits improved in the induced sneezing groups as compared with the MCAO control group. Compared to the control group, the highest improvements in the infarct volume and neurological deficits were seen in the PRPOMIS group, and POMIS group showed the most significant differences concerning the results of both ischemic and nonischemic brain edema. The highest protective effect was observed in the central region of the MCA territory.

The reduction in ischemia‑induced brain injury, brain edema, and neurological deficits by sneezing suggest that brief episodes of acute hypertension after stroke can increase blood flow to the ischemic area and improve recovery

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is actively involved in tumor invasion. The main hallmark of EMT is downregulation of the adherens junction protein E‑cadherin due to transcriptional repression. Candidate E‑cadherin transcription repressors are members of ZEB family, ZEB2 belong to the ZEB family transcription factor that is pivotal for embryonic development and tumor progression. ZEB2 (zinc finger E‑box binding homeobox 2) is most widely known as an inducer of EMT. Growing evidence have shown the involvement of microRNAs in cancer progression. In this study, we demonstrate that miR‑30a is a potent suppressor of melanoma metastasis to the lung.

In this study, miR‑30a has been transfected into B16‑F10 melanoma cells, and then cells were injected intravenously into C57BL/6 mice. Then, the mice were sacrificed and nodules in the lungs were enumerated.

Ectopic expression of miR‑30a in melanoma cell line resulted in the suppression of pulmonary metastasis. We also found that transfected miR‑30a into melanoma cells could increase E‑cadherin and decrease ZEB2 expression.

Our findings showed that increased expression of miR‑30a in melanoma inhibited metastasis in vivo by targeting ZEB2 and E‑cadherin.

Meniscus plays an important role in weight‑bearing and energy absorption. Moreover, its function is optimal to maintain joint stability and congruous. Treatments for meniscus damage or meniscus tear include open or arthroscopic repair and meniscectomy. One of the most important factors that influence patients’ recovery outcome is restoration technique. The purpose of this study was to compare the strength of recently new method of meniscus repair, submeniscal horizontal sutures, and single vertical loop suturing techniques in meniscus repair.

An experimental study was conducted to study 12 ruptured medial meniscuses of bulls, which were divided into two groups of six meniscuses equally. In this study, submeniscal horizontal and vertical loop suturing techniques were compared based on their resistance to tensile forces and the stability of repaired gaps.

In this study, submeniscal horizontal and vertical loop knots were 104.3 ± 12.5 N and 110.7 ± 16.4 N, respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups. To measure the stability of the gap, 95.4 ± 8.7 N tensile force was applied to submeniscal and 124.6 ± 11.7 N to vertical loop techniques. There was significantly different in gap stability between horizontal and vertical loop techniques in meniscal repair (P = 0.02).

The results of this study indicate that knot resistance in submeniscal horizontal is similar to vertical loop resistance. The stability of the restored gap in vertical loop technique is more than submeniscal horizontal techniques. Vertical loop causes greater stability against tensile force.

Branchio‑oculo‑facial syndrome (BOFS), a rare, multiple‑malformation congenital disorder, is characterized by facial anomalies, including associated cutaneous and ocular abnormalities. We report a new case of BOFS in an 11‑year‑old male child with bilateral cervical erythematous scaly linear plaque associated with scar formation and erosion. Although BOFS is very rare, physicians, especially dermatologists, should be aware of the cutaneous and histopathological features of BOFS due to impacts of the associated anomalies.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the therapeutic effects of ephedrine and lidocaine in treatment of intraoperative hiccups in gynecologic surgery under sedation.

This randomized clinical trial in Isfahan was done on fifty female patients referring to Shahid Beheshti Hospital who needed to have sedation for medical interventions and they afflicted hiccups during surgery or sedation. Patients divided into two groups of 25 randomly assigned to one of the two groups of ephedrine or lidocaine. Ephedrine group received 5 mg/kg of medicine, while the lidocaine group was under treatment with 1 mg/kg lidocaine. Patients were monitored about systolic and diastolic blood pressure, MAP, heart rate, duration of hiccup, frequency of betterment, duration of intervention, and recovery at 15‑min intervals of surgery and recovery.

Hiccups were resolved in 14 cases (56%) in the lidocaine group, while the improvement of such problem was achieved in 24 cases (96%) in ephedrine group (P < 0.001), so that the two groups did not have any significant difference in terms of the time of onset but the stop time of hiccups (relative to its start time) in the ephedrine group with the mean value of (2.40 ± 1.16) was significantly lower than the lidocaine group with the mean of 19.64 ± 22.76 min (P = 0.014). In addition, no complications were observed in the two groups.

Ephedrine has been more successful than lidocaine as a stimulant in controlling hiccups, and it has been able to suppress hiccups in a higher percentage of patients at a shorter time.

Bipolar disorders (BD) in parents can have different effects on children and perhaps as a reason of the incidence of various psychiatric disorders in them and they may show a particular parenting style due to features of their disease. Given a crucial role of parenting style in upbringing children, this study aimed to evaluate different styles of parenting and its relationship with psychiatric disorders in children of parents with bipolar disorder (PBD) compared with controls.

In this case–control study, 500 parents with children aged 6–17 years were included that 250 of them with BD were selected as the case group and 250 of them were healthy as control group. The parents were selected according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders‑5 (DSM‑5) by a physician. Psychiatric disorders in children were assessed by The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school‑age children (KSADS). The collected data were analyzed with SPSS (version 20).

According to KSADS, there was significant difference between two groups of children in depression, mania, attention‑deficit hyperactivity disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (P < 0.05). In authoritative dimension, parenting styles were effective in the incidence of psychosis (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 0.775 [0.63–0.95]) and led to a decrease of 0.320 times in the chance of oppositional defiant disorder incidence (OR [95% CI]: 0.320 [0.21–0.74]; P = 0.043) but an increase of 1.129 times in the chance of cigarette/tobacco use (OR [95% CI]: 1.129 [1.02–1.25]; P = 0.016).

The chance of psychiatric disorder’s incidence in children of PBD was so far more than children of healthy parents. Hence, the incidence of some psychiatric disorders in children can be associated with parenting styles.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of memantine in the acute treatment of geriatric with bipolar disorder (BD) hospitalized for mania.

This study conducted on 70 patients older than 60 years with BD in the acute phase of mania. Oral sodium valproate was prescribed in both groups. The intervention group received memantine tablet and the placebo group received a placebo tablet based on a same procedure. Severity of mania, cognitive changes, and quality of life (QoL) were assessed and recorded 4 and 8 weeks after the beginning of the study. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS (version 20) using independent samples t‑test, analysis of variance in repeated observations, Chi‑squared test, and Fisher’s exact test.

Mania severity score had no significant difference at the beginning of the study, but 4 and 8 weeks after the intervention, it was reduced significantly in both groups (P < 0.001) that was higher in memantine group (P = 0.038). The mean increase in score of cognitive variations was 6.74 in the memantine group and 3.62 in the placebo group with a nonsignificant difference (P = 0.125). The scores of each dimension of QoL in the two groups showed that in all four dimensions, the patient’s physical, psychological, social, and environmental status increased significantly by time (P < 0.001).

According to the results of this study, memantine as an adjuvant to administration of sodium valproate may have a significant effect on decreasing the intensity of mania in the long run.

Ameloblastic carcinoma (ACA) is a malignant neoplasm with overlapping histopathological features of benign aggressive solid multicystic ameloblastoma (SMA). This often leads to misdiagnosis with direct implication on the management protocol. The need of the hour is to adopt reliable tissue biomarkers to differentiate these lesions accurately that will help to implement an appropriate treatment modality. Few studies to differentiate ACA and SMA in literature with a limitation of a single marker and lack of availability of cases have prompted us to undertake this study. Thereby, this study is aimed at resolving the diagnostic dilemma in differentiating ACA and aggressive SMA using SOX‑2, OCT‑4 and CD44.

Tissue samples involved 40 archival cases of histopathologically confirmed cases of ACA (n = 20) and SMA (n = 20). The sections were subjected to immunohistochemical staining using antibodies to SOX-2, OCT-4 and CD44. Nuclear staining for SOX-2 and OCT-4 and membranous reactivity for CD44 was considered positive.

The expression of SOX-2 and OCT-4 in ACA was statistically significant when compared to SMA (P < 0.001). CD44 showed an insignificant statistical value of <0.077 in differentiating ACA and SMA. SOX-2 and OCT-4 expression in ACA showed a significant correlation coefficient of 0.616 at P < 0.004.

SOX‑2 and OCT‑4 could serve as independent novel markers in resolving the diagnostic dilemma between ACA and aggressive SMA.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Vitamin D supplementation on prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the pediatrics.

This randomized, triple‑blind, placebo‑controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2014 among 68 children and adolescents with recurrent UTI. They were randomly assigned to two groups, receiving either Vitamin D (1000 IU/daily) or placebo for 6 months. The serum concentration of Vitamin D before and after the study and the frequency of UTI during the study were recorded.

Overall 33 patients in the group of receiving Vitamin D and 32 in the placebo group completed the trial. The mean serum level of Vitamin D had a significant increase in the intervention group (15.80 ± 8.7 vs. 20.56 ± 8.30 ng/mL, P < 0.001) and significant decrease in the placebo group (20.43 ± 13.28 vs. 17.43 ± 9.99 ng/mL, P = 0.041). During the trial, the frequency of UTI was not significantly different between the two groups studied (P = 0.72). Both before and after the trial, the frequency of Vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and adequacy was not significantly different within and between groups (P > 0.05).

The findings of this trial revealed that Vitamin D supplementation with the mentioned dose have not significant impact on preventing recurrent UTI. Future studies with higher doses of Vitamin D and longer follow‑up are suggested.