نشریه دانشور پزشکی
پیاپی 158 (فروردین و اردیبهشت 1401)

Increasing of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in Covid-19 patients has been reported in various studies. Genetic variants of the IL-6 receptor are involved in the beginning and progression of severe infections, autoimmunity, and also inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between SNP (rs2228145) of IL-6 receptor with the severity of Covid-19 patients.

In the present cross-sectional and analytical study, 180 patients with Covid-19 entered voluntarily and were classified based on the severity of the disease in 4 groups: mild (90 patients, age 46.40 ± 15.8), moderate (45 patients, age 50.4 ±16.4), severe (25 patients, age 59.70 ±24) and critical (20 patients, age 15.30 ± 60.8). Peripheral blood samples were taken from patients and after DNA extraction, genotyping was performed by RFLP PCR and electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and Chi-Square or ANOVA.

The mean age of patients in the outpatient group and the intubated inpatients were 46.40 ± 15.8 and 60.30 ± 15.8, respectively (P-value <0.001). Also, the frequency of diabetic patients in the outpatient group and intubated group were about 21% and 45%, respectively (P-value <0.05). A significant difference was observed in the CC genotype between outpatient and inpatient groups (P-value <0.01) as well as intubated patients (P-value <0.05).

The frequency of rs2228145 variants in Covid-19 patients with different severity is diverse and CC genotype can be a predictor of prognosis in admission to the ICU and intubation.

Obesity is a low-grade systemic inflammatory condition that is closely associated with many chronic diseases. Therefore, the purpose of present study was to determine the effect of four-week aquatic aerobic training with and without caloric restriction and vitamin D supplementation on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum concentrations and body composition in overweight and obese women. 40 overweight volunteer women (30-50 years old and BMI 35-30 kg.m2) were randomly divided into four homogeneous groups; (aerobic training: AT, aerobic training with Calorie restriction: AT+CR, aerobic training with supplementation: AT+VD, aerobic training with caloric restriction and supplementation; AT+CR+VD). Training intensity was %55-85 of reserve heart rate and all subjects participated in training for one month and three days a week. Body composition and blood samples were collected before and after the training period to determine the serum levels of BDNF. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni's post-hoc test at α<0.05. According to data, body composition indexs decreased significantly in all groups (P<0.05). Also, the level of BDNF in all groups was significantly higher than pre-test, while this increase was statistically significant only in the-AT+RC+VD- group (P=0.012). Combination of aerobic exercise with caloric restriction and vitamin D supplementation has seemingly more cumulative effects compared to each of variables alone and it might be more effective therapeutic method to improve BDNF levels and body composition.

Methotrexate can induce testicular tissue damage and infertility by increasing the activity myeloperoxidase and destroying mitochondrial membrane. Diosgenin is a steroidal sapogenin with antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diosgenin on mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and neutrophil infiltration in methotrexate-induced testicular injury in the rat.

40 rats were divided into 5 groups: control, diosgenin-treated control with a dose of 50 mg/kg, methotrexate, two groups of diosgenin-treated methotrexate at doses of 10 or 50 mg/kg. Methotrexate at a dose of 20 mg/kg was injected intraperitoneally one day after diosgenin administration. Diosgenin was administered daily for two weeks at doses of 10 or 50 mg/kg. At the end, the rats were anesthetized and the testis was removed. MPO and MMP in testicular tissue were measured. For statistical analysis, one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-test were used.

The MMP of the methotrexate group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group (p=0.003). The diosgenin-treated methotrexate group at a dose of 50 mg/kg showed a significant increase as compared to the methotrexate group (p=0.008). The level of MPO in the methotrexate group showed a significant increase as compared to the control group (p=0.009). The diosgenin-treated methotrexate group at a dose of 50 mg/kg showed a significant decrease as compared to the methotrexate group (p=0.039).

Diosgenin reduces the harmful effects of methotrexate on MPO and MMP in testicular tissue.

Loneliness is one of the most common problems of elderly aging, which greatly affects the health of the elderly. Lifestyle is one of the most important factors affecting health. This study was conducted to explore the relationship between loneliness and healthy lifestyle in the elderly 60-75 years in Gonabad city in 2017.

In this cross-sectional study, 263 elderly people in Gonabad were selected by stratified random sampling. In order to collect information, a questionnaire of demographic information, feeling of loneliness and healthy lifestyle in the elderly was used. Descriptive and inferential statistical tests (independent t-test, analysis of variance and Spearman correlation coefficient) and SPSS version 20 were used to analyze the data. Significance level less than 0.05 was considered.

The mean score of loneliness and stuttering style of elderly was 65.26±11.65 and 153.19±27.95. Furthermore, a significant and reverse relationship was detected between loneliness and healthy lifestyle in the elderly. Thus, lifestyle score was higher in the elderly who had less loneliness (P=0.00, R=-0.72).

The results of this study show that reducing loneliness  has an effective role in improving lifestyle of elderly. With this in mind, the role of supporting nursing caregivers, educating specialist staff in the field of egalitarian medicine, family counseling and mental health for the elderly and their families are highlighted.

The educational environment has a fundamental role in the quality and efficiency of education. One of the models for measuring environment is Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is used for analysis of students’ perception of educational environment. So, the aim of this study is evaluation of educational environment in viewpoints of medical and dental students of Shahed University based on DREEM model.
In this descriptive cross-sectional study, educational environment was evaluated using DREEM standard questionnaire. The 50 item questionnaires including five domains of learning, teachers, student’s academic self-perception, educational atmosphere and student social self-perception were distributed among 155 interns and 70 stagers in medical and dental students of Shahed University, Tehran. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21 software and appropriate Mann-Witnney statistical test.
The mean score for the questionnaire was 89.10 out of 200 (44.55%) that means semi-desirable environment. The lowest mean score of students’ perceptions was related to learning (37.7%) and highest score was related to social self-perception (48.43%). Scores of teachers and social self-perception domain were significantly higher in females. Scores of teachers, academic self-perception and educational atmosphere in dental students were significantly higher than medical students.
Students’ perception from educational environment was semi-desirable. The obtained results can be utilized to better understand and resolve educational environment issues in schools of medicine and dentistry of Shahed university.

Obesity is involved in the apoptosis of cardiac cells and the development of cardiovascular diseases. Exercise training and diet modification can affect apoptotic indices. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and high-protein diet (HPD) on the apoptotic indices of caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 in the cardiac tissue of obese rats. In the present experimental study, 40 obese male rats were divided into five equal groups, including HIIT (90% VO2max, 5 sessions per week, 10 weeks), HPD, HIIT+HPD, obesity control-1 (OC-1), obesity control-2 (OC-2), and eight non-obese rats were also considered in the non-obese control (NC) group. Cardiac tissue was extracted 48 hours after the last intervention session to measure the levels of caspase-3, Bax, and Bcl-2 proteins. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney tests (P≤0.05). The caspase-3 and Bax levels in the HIIT+HPD group was significantly lower than in the HIIT, HPD, and OC-1 groups. On the other hand, the HIIT and HPD groups showed a significantly higher Bcl-2 level than the OC-1 and NC groups. Also, there was a significantly higher of Bcl-2 to Bax ratio in the HIIT and HIIT+HPD groups compared with the OC-1 group. According to the results of the present study, a combination of HIIT and HPD improves the apoptotic status of cardiac tissue. It seems that the combination of HIIT and HPD provides the necessary adaptations to inhibit obesity-induced apoptosis in the cardiac tissue of obese rats.

The experience of diabetes by children can be stressful for parents. On the other hand, diagnosing depression in adolescents is important. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols on parental stress and depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The present study was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included all adolescents aged 12-15 years with type 1 diabetes referred to the Iranian diabetes society and their parents in 2020. Forty-four participants were selected using convenience and purposive sampling, after which they were randomly divided into two groups (n=22). Parenting stress index (Abidin, 1990) and Child behavior checklist (Achenbach, 1991) were used to assess parental stress and adolescent depression, respectively, before and after treatment. The experimental group received the program during seventeen sessions. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance. There were significant differences between the groups in terms of parental stress (P<0.005) and adolescent depression (P<0.001), indicating the effectiveness of unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols on decreasing parental stress and also depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The unified transdiagnostic treatment protocols are effective in decreasing parental stress and also depression in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Exercise is a low-cost and accessible way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the traditional approaches of exercise are not time efficient. So, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sprint interval training (SIT) on cardiac muscle fibrosis and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in cardiac tissue of the healthy male Wistar rats.
  In this experimental study, twenty adult male wistar rats (250-220 g) were divided into two groups: control (n=10, Co) and SIT (n=10, ST). The training was performed for 5 weeks after a one-week familiarization period and maximum speed test. Cardiac fibrosis and tissue levels of MDA and TAC were assessed. The independent samples t-test was used for data analysis.
  Results revealed that the tissue fibrosis percent was significantly lower in the ST group (4.34±0.64) compared to the Co (8±1.5) group (P=0.003). The MDA levels in the ST (1.5mM±0.13) was significantly lower than CO (2.56±0.22 mM) group (P˂0.001). Moreover, TAC level in ST group (1.27mM±0.10) was significantly higher than the CO group (0.74mM±0.06) (P˂0.001).
  Based on the findings of this study, SIT is a useful low-cost exercise method which may help reduce lipid peroxidation and cardiac fibrosis; additionally it may increase total antioxidant capacity in cardiac tissue