Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:24 Issue: 2, Apr 2022

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most common medical disorder, and the number of medicines available to address CVDs is on the rise; meanwhile, complications and drug interactions aremajor concerns. CVD patients’ medications include hypertension, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure. However, their administration is associated with side effects such as oral dryness, change in taste, and a burning sensation in the mouth.

This study aimed to evaluate medicine-related oral complications of patients with heart failure.

Following a cross-sectional design, 340 patients (146 men and 194 women) referring to heart clinics in Birjand (Iran) from March to September 2016 were evaluated. The mean age of participants was 60.13 ± 9.35. Participants were interviewed using standard checklists, and a complete clinical examination of the oral cavity for the presence of any oral mucosal lesions was performed using a mirror and dental probe. Data were analyzed using SPSS v. 22.

The most common side effect of heart failure medications was oral dryness (28.8%), followed by bitter taste (11.2%) in the mouth. The side effects were proportional to the patient’s age and the time since receiving the medication.

Educational pamphlets are suggested to be separately prepared for patients and cardiologists about ways to prevent oral side effects of medications and oral considerations. Dentists can use supportive treatments and sialagogue medications to improve oral complications upon appropriate referrals.

Globally, 1.5 to 3 million people are exposed to snakebites each year. More than 100,000 of these cases, primarily in the tropics, result in death. This study includes an analysis of a university hospital’s three-year experiences of distal extremity snakebites.

This study includes 68 patients presented at the Emergency Department (ED) of Gaziantep University Hospital with snakebites on distal extremities (hands, fingers, and feet) between 01/03/2014 and 01/03/2017.

A total of 68 patients had wet snakebites on their distal extremities. Forty-seven patients (69%) were male, 21 (30.9%) were female, and the mean age was 43.03 ± 18.13 years. Snakebites most commonly occurred in September (26.5%, n = 18). Twenty-five (36.76%) patients had systemic symptoms (grades 2, 3, and 4). Also, 98.5% (n = 67) of patients received only antivenom therapy. Compartment syndrome was observed in one patient (1.5%), and this patient was treated with antivenom therapy and plasmapheresis. The most common local finding was pain (88.2%, n = 60). Also, 2.94 ± 2.5 vials of antivenom (range 0 - 10) were used per person on average, whereas the mean duration of hospitalization was 2.51 ± 1.5 (range 1 - 8) days.

This study focused on hands, fingers, and feet because these parts can be protected (ie, preventing bites) by wearing shoes and protective gloves. Also, there was no mortality due to extremity snakebites. The most common long-term complications were paresthesia and movement limitation. It is recommended that high-risk populations (like agricultural laborers, nature travelers, and documentary teams) be taught appropriate first aid practices after snake bites.

Mental disorders in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) can further deteriorate patients’ physical and mental conditions and exert an undesirable impact on different aspects of their lives.

This research aimed to determine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depressive symptoms in patients discharged from the ICU and identify the associated factors.

In this cross-sectional study, 106 patients aged 18 years or over hospitalized for at least 48 hours in the ICUs affiliated with Babol University of Medical Sciences were enrolled by the census method for six months. At ICU discharge and four weeks later, they were examined by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Post Trauma Symptom Scale (PTSS)-10.

The prevalence rates of anxiety, depression, and PTSD were 60.3%, 26.4%, and 17.9%, respectively. These symptoms decreased after four weeks of discharge (P≤0.001). There was a significant correlation between the duration of ICU stay and anxiety symptoms (r = 0.210, P = 0.032). Furthermore, there was a significant association between a history of physical illness before ICU admission and anxiety (P = 0.03).

Screening of ICU-admitted patients for PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms is recommended; however, the frequency of these symptoms is expected to reduce one month after ICU discharge.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease, primarily affecting young women of childbearing age. SLE is rare in the elderly and represents clinico-biological characteristics in this age group different from those of young patients.

To determine the clinical-biological and prognostic specificities of 12 cases of SLE emerged after the age of 50 years and compare them with some cases of early-onset SLE.

On a total of 203 SLE patients, 12 cases aged of 50 years and above were examined. All SLE patients were who had been diagnosed according to the ACR and SLICC criteria and followed up during 2006 - 2019 in two western Algeria hospitals.

Twelve patients with late SLE were diagnosed during the research period. The mean age of attack in this age group was 59.17 ± 11.10 years, and the mean age of clinical diagnosis was 67.67 ± 10.95 years. Among the concerned cases, ten patients (83.3%) were postmenopausal women, and two participants weremen (16.7%) with an F/M gender ratio of 5 : 1. Themean duration of follow-up was 8.5 ± 4.33 years. The most frequent revealing clinico-serological characteristics were dermatological, articular, hematological, and pulmonary damage (58.3%, 91.7%, 58.3%, and 33.3% respectively), the positivity of anti-dsDNA antibodies (75%), anti-Sm/anti-SSA (41.7%), and hypocomplementemia (25%). Moreover, renal and neuropsychiatric damage was rare after the age of 50 years. The leading cause of death was stroke, with a significantly higher mortality rate in the elderly group (P < 0.001).

SLE in the elderly is rare, its diagnosis may be delayed due to the insidious onset, and its low prevalence and similarity and comorbidity with other more common disorders make its diagnosis difficult, especially in this subgroup.

One of the causes of arterial endothelial dysfunction in adulthood is obesity or overweight in childhood or adolescence.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a selected after-school physical activity protocol on peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), C-reactive protein (CRP), miR-125a-5p level, and lipid profile of male children with overweight/obesity.

Twenty-four boy children with overweight/obesity (aged 13 - 15 years) were assigned to after-school physical activity (APA, BMI = 27.5±1.4 kg/m2 , n = 12) and control (CON, BMI = 26.28 ± 2.3 kg/m2 , n = 12) groups. The APA participants took part in exercise intervention for 12 weeks, three sessions per week. Changes in VO2peak, CRP, miR-125a-5p, and lipid profile of participants were assessed before and after exercise interventions.

There were significant reductions in CRP (-27.7% vs. 9.7%), miR-125a-5p (36.7% vs. 7.6%), fat percentage (-8.24% vs. 0.7%), LDL (-17.66% vs. 1.9%), and triglycerides (-15.7% vs. 5.9%) in APA and CON groups after 12-week exercise intervention (P < 0.05). In contrast, a significant increase was found in HDL (7.7% vs. -0.6%) and VO2peak (4.83% vs. -1.6%) (P < 0.05). There were significant between-group differences in all measured variables, except for BMI.

After-school physical activity effectively improved the endothelial dysfunction and lipid profile of adolescents with overweight/obesity. Therefore, based on the positive effects of these physical activities performed out of school, further use of afterschool physical activity programs is suggested.

Codon optimization is an efficient approach to achieve a higher level of heterologous gene expression and generate productive recombinant mammalian cell lines. In our previous work, based on the codon usage preference of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, a codon-optimized human interferon-beta (opt-hIFN-β) gene was redesigned and transiently expressed in a suspension-adapted CHO (CHO-s) cell line. Our results indicated a 2.8-fold increase in the expression level of the codon-optimized gene compared to the unmodified sequence.

In the current work, based on our previous results, a stable CHO-K1 cell line expressing the opt-hIFN-β gene was engineered, in which the opt-hIFN-β gene expression was confirmed by dot and western blotting analyses.

The designed opt-hIFN-β sequence was digested and cloned into a pcDNA3.0 shuttle vector downstream to the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. The verified recombinant plasmid was then linearized and transfected into a CHO-K1 cell line to integrate the opt-hIFN-β gene into the CHO-K1 genome. The transfected cells were then grown under the selective pressure of 450 µg/mL of G418 to develop a stable CHO-K1 cell line expressing the opt-hIFN-β gene. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and dot and western blotting analyses were carried out to verify hIFN-β protein expression.

ELISA and dot and western blotting analyses confirmed the expression of hIFN-β in the stably-transfected CHO-K1 cells.

Stable expression of the opt-hIFN-β gene in the CHO-K1 cell line was verified by ELISA and dot and western blotting analyses. This study was a pioneering work for further production of recombinant hIFN-β in the bioreactor.

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a collection of conditions that puts people at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The present study aimed to evaluate the association of periodontal disease severity and its parameters with MetS in a group of northwestern Iranian patients.

The current study was conducted on 100 participants aged 25 - 78 (50 patients with MetS and 50 without MetS). Clinical and laboratory characteristics, periodontal components, including clinical attachment level (CAL), pocket depth (PD), and bleeding on probing (BOP), and the number of missing teeth were recorded. The differences between the two groups were evaluated by an independent sample t test.

The MetS group demonstrated significantly higher CAL, BOP, and missing teeth, which markedly increased by the number of MetS components. Nonetheless, the two groups did not reflect any difference in PD. Moreover, compared to participants without MetS, patients afflicted with MetS presented with more severe periodontal disease. Furthermore, CAL, BOP, and missing teeth were higher in patients with dyslipidemia, hypertension, and central obesity without dysglycemia than in the control group (P < 0.05).

MetS patients demonstrated more severe periodontal disease, and the number of MetS components increased the odds of the disease. In addition, higher periodontal parameters (except for PD) were detected in participants with MetS. Moreover, no considerable change was observed in the obtained results upon the elimination of diabetic patients.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging and potentially dangerous disease. Pregnancy is accompanied by partial suppression of the immune system, making pregnant women vulnerable to viral infections. This study aimed to report a pregnant woman with coronavirus. A 30-year-old female patient, third pregnancy, parity two, 18 weeks pregnant, who complained of mild cough, was referred to the health center. Diphenhydramine was prescribed by the visiting doctor. However, the next day, the coughs intensified, and she developed a fever of 38 degrees, shortness of breath, and high blood pressure of 140/90. She went to the emergency department of Imam Ali Hospital in Amol, Iran, and received oxygen therapy and serum therapy. Complete blood count, differential count, fasting blood sugar, and computerized tomography of lungs were requested. She received B complex seroflo spray and three doses of immunoglobulin. On the seventh day, the patient’s coughs and fever stopped. Moreover, the shortness of breath improved. The patient was quarantined at home for two weeks and used cefixime, diphenhydramine syrup, pantoprazole capsules, and seroflo spray for ten days at home. Approximately three months after COVID-19 treatment, the general condition of the patient was good, and she was monitored only for blood pressure daily