Advanced Biomedical Research
Volume:9 Issue: 11, Nov 2019

Diabetes, a major metabolic disorder, seems to affect the fertility rates of women in various ways. Due to the uncertainty of the effects of diabetes along with superovulation treatment on the infertility, we investigate the effects of ovulation induction treatment as therapeutic approach on the expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) as two main factors which are involved in the implantation in the streptozotocin (STZ)‑induced type 1 diabetic rats.

Type 1 diabetes was induced by injections of STZ in Wistar rats. The animals were kept in diabetic conditions for 4 weeks, while some were treated with insulin for treatment. After treatment, the ovulation was induced by human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). The rats were then sacrificed and the expression of LIF and VEGFA was checked by immunohistochemistry staining method, and the relative expression of LIF and VEGFA was measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR) and Western blotting methods.

It was observed that diabetes and insulin treatment for diabetes altered the expression of Lif and VEGFA in both mRNA and protein levels. However, superovulation treatment seems to ameliorate this alternation for both factors.

According to our results, diabetes and insulin therapy could alter the expression of Lif and VEGFA genes and proteins that are effective in endometrial receptivity and implantation process. It seems in diabetic cases, the effect of hCG and hMG therapy by itself could regulate the level of expression and presence of these two genes and proteins.

Melatonin has anxiolytic and potential analgesic effects. Several studies have indicated the sedative and anti‑anxiety effects of melatonin when used as premedication before surgery. Hence, we assessed the efficacy of melatonin premedication in tourniquet‑related pain and analgesia in patients receiving intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA).

Fifty patients undergoing elective hand surgery under IVRA were randomly divided into two groups (25 patients each) to receive either melatonin 6 mg (melatonin group) or placebo (control group) as oral premedication. IVRA was achieved with lidocaine, 3 mg/kg, diluted with saline to a total volume of 40 mL. Anxiety scores, sensory and motor block onset and recovery times, tourniquet pain, and 24‑h analgesic requirements were recorded.

The onset of motor and sensory block was statistically significantly shorter in Group M (P < 0.001), and recovery of motor and sensory block was statistically significantly longer in Group M (P < 0.001). The time of starting tourniquet pain was longer in Group M (P < 0.001). The mean anxiety score in the study group was 3 ± 0.81 and in the control group was 4.20 ± 1.04 (P = 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference in the need for opioids between the two groups (P < 0.05).

Melatonin is an effective premedication before IVRA because it reduces patient anxiety, decreases tourniquet‑related pain, and improves perioperative analgesia.

One of the most common problems in the intensive care unit (ICU) is the incidence of pressure ulcer or bedsore. This research was conducted with the aim to compare the effect of henna and olive on pressure ulcer grade one in ICU patients hospitalized in the selected hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Science in 2016.

This study conducted on 108 ICU patients with pressure ulcer. Patients were randomly divided into three groups. The two intervention groups were treated with olive oil and henna oil, respectively, and the third group was the control group. Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire, Braden pressure ulcer risk assessment scale, and a table for daily record of the skin temperature before and within 1 week of the study. Data were analyzed in SPSS 22 using independent t‑test, repeated‑measures ANOVA, and Fisher’s exact test.

The results showed a significant difference between the two henna and olive groups in the mean score of pressure ulcer measured through the pressure ulcer scale for healing tool (P < 0.05). The mean area of the ulcer on days 4 and 7 in the henna oil group was lower than that in the olive oil and control groups (P < 0.001).

The results of this study showed that both henna and olive oils were effective in healing the pressure ulcer. However, henna oil showed better results in reducing the area of pressure ulcers over time.

Fatty liver disease is a common hepatic disorder that remains undiagnosed due to the high number of asymptomatic patients and lack of a proper noninvasive diagnostic tool. Liver biopsy, the gold standard of liver steatosis diagnosis, is an invasive method that can be replaced by fibroscan. Fibroscan can detect liver steatosis with high sensitivity and specificity, but it is not accessible around the world. In this study, we compared ultrasonography (US) as a cheap and accessible device with fibroscan method in detecting patients with liver steatosis.

We enrolled 77 patients in this study. US and fibroscan were done in each patient at a single day. Liver steatosis stages were recorded using US and fibroscan. The diagnostic performance of US was calculated, using fibroscan as the reference method.

The sensitivity and specificity of US in detecting fatty liver disease using fibroscan as a standard method were 73% and 69%, respectively.

Based on sensitivity and specificity achieved from US, this study suggests that ultrasound is a suitable method for detecting patients with liver steatosis obviating liver biopsy and fibroscan.

Uveitis and erythema induratum are two uncommon extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis (TB). In most circumstances, we cannot isolate mycobacterium from those sites, so diagnosis is difficult. In the presented case, panuveitis, erythema induratum, and persistent anogenital warts were found concurrently in a 19‑year‑old girl who had a history of pulmonary TB 10 years ago. Assessment of her immune condition ruled out any immunodeficiency state. Extrapulmonary TB and persistent warts responded dramatically to anti‑TB drugs and interferon‑gamma, respectively. Our case reveals that a constellation of these clinical manifestations may also occur in immunocompetent individuals.