Internal Medicine Today
Volume:28 Issue: 2, 2023

Aims:

 Because cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, finding a better way to treat it seems essential. Doxorubicin is one of the most common drugs in the treatment of cancer, which has many negative and toxic effects. Therefore, efforts to produce effective anticancer drugs through screening natural compounds, such as animal toxins continue. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Naja naja oxiana snake venom in comparison with doxorubicin on the proliferation rate and concentration of malondialdehyde in the human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) and fibroblast cells (HFF).

Methods & Materials:

 HeLa and normal fibroblast cancer cell lines were exposed to different concentrations of snake venom and doxorubicin for 24 and 48 hours. The amplification rate was determined using trypan blue staining and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration was measured to evaluate the effects of oxidative stress. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 19.

Findings:

 The results showed that with increasing concentration and treatment time with snake venom and doxorubicin, the cell proliferation rate decreases, and MDA content increases. The highest decrease in proliferation rate and increase in MDA concentration were observed in the HeLa cancer cell line treated with 500 µg/mL of snake venom for 48 hours.

Conclusion:

 In comparison with doxorubicin, snake venom has a significant inhibitory effect on the HeLa cancer cell line with minimal effect on normal fibroblast cells.

Aims :

Bloody diarrhea is mainly caused by infectious agents (bacterial and parasitic), especially Shigella or Entamoeba species, and causes high mortality, especially in children. This study was conducted to compare the effects of azithromycin and cefixime on the treatment of dysentery in children referred to Zahedan University Medical Centers.

Methods & Materials :

The participants of the present experimental study were 116 children aged 6 months to 5 years referred to Zahedan University Medical Centres diagnosed with dysentery by pediatricians with blood reported in their diarrhea stools. Dysentery was considered diarrhea with blood or diarrhea confirmed by stool tests. At the beginning of the study, patients’ names and contact numbers were obtained from patients’ families at the clinic. The blocking method with quadruple blocks was used for random allocation. The patients studied were in groups A and B. Group A received azithromycin for five days, with 12 mg/kg on the first day and 6 mg/kg over the next four days. Group B also received cefixime at 8 mg/kg daily for five days. Then, on the fifth day after the start of treatment, they were called to check the cases. Finally, the information was recorded and analysed.

Findings:

 In the present study, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the average time of cessation of fever (P=0.887), the average time of cessation of blood excretion in feces (P=0.101), the average time of cessation of abdominal pain (P=0.133), and the average time of cessation of diarrhea (P=0.189). 

Conclusion :

In general, there was no clear clinical difference in the use of cefixime and azithromycin in the clinical recovery of children with dysentery. As a result, depending on the patient’s condition and the severity of the disease, it is recommended that the correct choice of these drugs be based on the physicians’ clinical experience and the patient’s condition.

Aims :

Hypertension is one of the most common health problems with chronic consequences. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of self-healing training on psychological well-being in women with hypertension.

Methods & Materials:

 The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and two-month follow-up design and control and an experimental group. Thirty women with hypertension referred to the health centers were selected according to convenience sampling and randomly divided into experimental and control groups (n=15 per group). The research instruments included Ryff’s scale of psychological well-being (1989). Repeated measures were utilized to analyze the data.

Findings:

 The results indicated that the mean total scores of the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up of psychological well-being scale in the experimental group were equal to 213.20, 199.86, and 200.86 respectively, and it was equal to 185.26, 1977.33, and 200.06 in the control group. Also, self-healing training significantly increased psychological well-being in participants in the post-test and follow-up stages (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

 The self-healing training increased psychological well-being in women with hypertension to strengthen the role of the individuals by reducing physiological stress, treating destructive cellular memories, lifestyle modification, and relaxation techniques. Therefore, this method can be used as a new approach with relatively lasting effects to increase the self-care skills of patients with hypertension in health-related centers.

Aims :

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common in farmers due to the high workload in agriculture. Because several factors, such as physical, personal, and psychological factors in saffron harvesters can influence persons’ physical conditions and expose them to the risk of MSDs, the present study aimed to investigate muscle fatigue and determine the prevalence of MSDs and related factors among Gonabad saffron harvesters.

Methods & Materials :

This cross-sectional study was performed on 84 saffron harvesters in Gonabad city, Iran. Data collection tools included a standard Nordic questionnaire to assess the prevalence of MSDs and the muscle fatigue assessment (MFA) method to assess body muscle fatigue. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 20.

Findings:

 The prevalence of MSDs in saffron harvesters in the shoulder, wrist, ankle, upper back, lower back, elbow, neck, thigh, and knee was 91.7, 90.5, 92.9, 8.48, 50, 88.1, 15.5, 50, and 47.6%, respectively. The results of the MFA evaluation also showed that the risk of muscle fatigue in the neck, right wrist, and right arm is very high in 98.8%, 49.4%, and 36.5% of employees, respectively. There was a significant relationship between MSDs in the past 12 months and age, sex, medical history, and working hours, and between muscle fatigue and age, smoking, and exercise (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

 The highest prevalence of symptoms of MSDs was in the shoulder, wrist, and ankle areas. Due to the significant prevalence of MSDs among saffron harvesters, it is necessary to consider ergonomic interventions, soft movements at regular intervals, and raising awareness in the form of educational programs.

Aims:

 Despite various government measures, control of COVID-19 requires immediate action, including vaccine production. Given the role of vaccine acceptance factors in future planning, this study aimed to unfold the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Gonabad.

Methods & Materials:

 This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 292 people in Gonabad city, Iran, in 2021. The random multi-stage sampling method was used to select two groups of samples: Vaccinated and unvaccinated. The data collection tool consisted of a demographic checklist and a researcher-made questionnaire on the reasons for accepting or rejecting the COVID-19 vaccination. Data were collected by telephone and analyzed by SPSS software, version 23 using mean, standard deviation, and the Chi-square test at a significance level of less than 0.05.

Findings:

 Most of the research participants were women (51%). The Mean±SD age of the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups was 57.55±12.24 and 55.38±41.1 years, respectively. Two factors of living with people at risk (88.5%) and respect for the rights of others (80.9%) were the most important reasons for accepting and worrying about the side effects of the vaccine (63%). Worrying about the content and lack of knowledge about the effectiveness of the vaccine (45.3%) were mentioned as the most important reasons for not accepting the COVID-19 vaccination.

Conclusion:

 Considering the importance of two factors, including the concern about the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine and concern about the content and ineffectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine in rejecting COVID-19 vaccine, increasing public awareness and knowledge about the effectiveness of vaccines in the country seems necessary to plan and invest on a large scale in the country through reliable sources as well as efforts to reduce the fear of the consequences of vaccination.

Aims:

 The current study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of psychological interventions (mental-educational) on the quality of sleep among patients with chronic diseases in Iran during 2003-2021.

Methods & Materials :

The current study is a meta-analysis in terms of purpose. The population included all master’s and PhD. dissertations and theses, studies published in scientific journals, and studies published by Iranian authors living abroad. The instrument applied for the analysis of the data was the meta-analysis checklist, and the stages of the meta-analysis were conducted according to the technique proposed by Howitt and Cramer (2005).

Findings :

After investigating 57 studies, 31 studies including 1813 participants were found to meet the entry criteria. The results showed that the total effect size is 0.99. The compound level of significance related to the studies was found to be P<0.0001, which indicated the significance of the total effect sizes obtained in the psychological studies on the quality of sleep among patients with chronic diseases.

Conclusion:

 The effect size of the psychological interventions conducted on the quality of sleep among patients with chronic diseases in Iran is high according to Cohen’s table. Hence, implementing this novel therapeutic approach can be considered an effective method in the enhancement of the quality of sleep in patients with chronic physical disease.

In recent years, the synthesis of nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) by plants has been done on a larger scale because it is faster and cheaper. There is also an increase in pathogenicity caused by antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In this study, the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by using an extract of mountain pistachio (Pistaciaatlantica) and its antimicrobial properties have been reported.

The extract of Pistaciaatlantica as the reducing agent was used for the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles. The formation of nanoparticles was confirmed using a spectrophotometer (UV). The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed to determine the Z-Average (d.nm) and the dispersion index (PDI) of the nanoparticles using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and its inhibitory activity and lethality (MBC) against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were investigated. The diameter of the aura of bacterial growth was also measured.

The UV-Vis spectrum shows an absorption band of about 350-450 nm, which represents the biological Ag nanoparticles. Size and morphological properties of nanoparticles were performed by DLS which show that hydrodynamic diameter (Z-Average) is 1132 nm and PDI number is 0.373, indicating a uniform particle size distribution and nanoparticle stability. The inhibitory and lethal properties of Pistaciaatlantica nanoparticles on S. aureus species (PTCC 1764) are 12.5 micrograms per milliliter. Also, the diameter of the halo of bacterial growth is 12 mm which was observed at a concentration of 1000 μg/mL.

Pistaciaatlantica bio-silver nanoparticles had good antimicrobial activity against S. aureus

Electromagnetic waves (EMF) are powerful waves that have always been used in advanced industries. The daily effects of waves are evident in today’s life. This research aims to investigate the effect of EMF on the healthy tissue of the kidney, bladder, and ureter.

In this experimental study, 100 rats were randomly selected and divided into 2 equal groups. The treatment group included 50 rats influenced by EMF waves (1 mT) for 8 hours daily over 8 weeks. The control group, including 50 rats without irradiation was kept for 8 weeks. At the end of the period, all rats were killed via the euthanized method, and the kidney, bladder, and ureter were sampled and after tissue passage, were stained by hematoxylin and eosin stain and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) nick end labeling methods.

The histopathological changes and cell damage in the kidney, bladder, and ureter included atrophy and necrosis of cells, disorganization, hyperemia, and bleeding in the covering, muscular, and connective tissues. Meanwhile, in the kidney tissue, from the point of view of the induction of ptosis, a large part of the nephrons undergo apoptosis. The results of the statistical analysis were obtained via the Mann-Whitney test method. The result was P≥0.05, indicating a statistically significant effect.

It is recommended that exposure to EMF for a long time must be avoided.