Chronic Diseases Journal
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Autumn 2022

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of cognitive rehabilitation and neurofeedback (NFB) on attention, working memory, processing speed, and anxiety among dyslexic children.

The method of the present study was quasi-experimental with a pretest- posttest, follow-up design and a control group. The statistical population of the study included all dyslexic students (boys and girls) of 7 to 10 years of age in Peiyk Enghelab School, District 2 of Karaj city, Iran, who were referred to Irana Counseling Center in 2018. The subjects were selected through available sampling method and were randomly divided in two groups of 15 people (Cognitive Rehabilitation and NFB). The educational content included cognitive rehabilitation sessions and NFB training. The data collection tools included ‎the Integrated Visual and Auditory (IVA) function test‎, Wechsler Memory Scale, Clinical evaluation of Q, and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS)‎. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used in SPSS software to compare the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation and NFB on attention, working memory, processing speed, and anxiety in dyslexic children.

The findings showed a greater increase in attention, memory, and processing speed scores in the NFB group, compared to the cognitive rehabilitation group, and in contrast, a greater decrease in anxiety scores in this group in the follow-up phase. Moreover, the continuation of the results of neurofeedback treatment compared to cognitive rehabilitation was observed.

Based on the findings, it can be concluded that NFB can be used to increase attention, working memory, and processing speed, as well as reduce the anxiety of dyslexic children. The results of such studies can help psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors provide useful treatments.

Regarding the importance of nursing education promotion, there is a need to use methods to create nurses' knowledge and skills. This study aimed to compare two training methods on nurses' skills in using ventilators in medical-surgical (Med-Surge) department.

This quasi-experimental study was performed in the internal and surgical wards of Amir Al-Moemenin Hospital in ArakCity, Iran, in August 2019 to May 2020. The samples were 100 nurses who were selected through convenience sampling and were randomly divided into two groups of 50 samples. After the pretest administration, nurses in the control group were educated using face-to-face or usual method education; in the experimental group, they were trained using video-based education. After ten days, the post-test was completed. Finally, dataanalysis was done using SPSS software.

The mean total score of the performance was significantly different among the two groups after the intervention (P < 0.001), so that after the intervention, the mean of performance score in video-based education was higher than the usualmethod.

It seems that the use of video-based education enhanced the clinical skills of nurses. Therefore, it is recommended to use more video-based education to enhance clinical nurses' learning.

Angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8) that was originally called betatrophinis a novel growth factor which is mainly secreted by the liver and associated with diabetes. Hence, it can be considered as a clinical parameter for diagnosis or treatment of diabetes. However, there are more unknown features about its relationship with diabetes that need to be clarified. The aim of this study was to understand the role of progress of diabetes on betatrophin levels. Therefore, serum betatrophin level of newly diagnosed patients and patients with chronic diabetes and its relationship with metabolic parameterswere investigated.

In a cross-sectional study, previous diabetic patients were compared with new diabetic patients in terms of betatrophinand other parameters, and matching on age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) was performed.New cases were recognized by endocrinologist and chronic patients were selected in diabetes center of Tohid Hospital, Sanandaj, Iran, in 2015-2016. Background information including height, weight, waist circumference, abdomen circumference, and hip circumference were collected. Fasting blood sugar (FBS) was measured by glucometer and separated blood sera were used for insulin and betatrophin measurement by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

The mean values of the betatrophin in the new and chronic diabetic individuals were 10.30 ± 6.31 and 10.71 ± 6.31 ng/ml, respectively, and no significant differences were seen between two groups. There was no significant relationship between betatrophin with metabolic parameters; however, a positive correlation with FBS in the newly diagnosed and a negative correlation with FBS in the chronic patients were observed.

Betatrophin is closely associated with glucose metabolism. It seems that chronic diabetes does not alter betatrophin levels.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection continues to wreak havoc across the developed world and now seems to have gained a strong foothold in developing countries including India. The mortality rate in severe/critically ill patients with COVID-19 is high. The present study was conducted to analyze the clinical and laboratory markers that discriminate severe/critically ill patients from those with mild/moderate COVID infection early for better clinical management of the disease.

This laboratory-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 517 confirmed cases of COVID-19 disease. The patients were divided into mild/moderate and severe/critical groups. Correlation analysis between COVID-19 disease severity and clinical and biochemical parameters was performed on the confirmed COVID-19 infection patients admitted to Shri Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College, Yavatmal, from March 15, 2020, to July 20, 2020. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used for the variables with normal distribution. Cut-off values for critically ill patients were speculated through the receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curvevia SPSS software.

The study population included 517 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. The median age of the patients was 34 years (IQR: 22–47; range: 18-64 years), with a male to female ratio of 1.2:1. Moreover, 176 (34.04%) patients had one or more co-morbidities, and hypertension (11.5%)and diabetes mellitus (DM‎)(10.44%)were the most common coexisting co-morbidities.A significant difference was observed between the mild/moderate group and severe/critically ill patients group in the laboratory parameters of serum ferritin, D-dimer, CRP, LDH, prolactin, albumin, ionic calcium, cTnI, and IL6.

Clinicians should consider age, co-morbidities, and laboratory parameters like lymphopenia, elevated D-dimer levels, elevated CRP, IL6, serum ferritin, cTnI, and low levels of ionized calcium in risk stratification to predict the severity of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients.

Primary health care (PHC) is one of the best structures for managing and responding to health-related crises. The current study was conducted with the aim to review the experiences of other countries in using the PHC system to deal with a contagious disease crisis and provide solutions for the management of communicable diseases for Iran’s health system.

This systematic review was conducted in July 2021 based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). This checklist includes the essentials for transparent reporting of scoping reviews. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were searched to identify the most important strategies for strengthening PHC in response to communicable disease disasters.

Based on the study inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 32 studies were included in the final analysis. The experiences of the countries were categorized based on the 6 health system building blocks presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) and 17 sub-categories. Experiences of the countries in strengthening PHC in responding to communicable disease crises were reported in the 3 categories of unity of command and support for primary care at the macro level, development and updating of protocols and guidelines, and involvement of PHC stakeholders in decision-making.

Health systems in each country are a function of the economic, social, cultural, and political conditions of that country, and it is very difficult to find countries with identical health systems. Therefore, the proposed policy options need to be used with caution and the circumstances of the country must be taken into account.

Loneliness is an emotional state, in which a person experiences a very strong feeling of intimacy and isolation, and in the period of coronavirus outbreak, most people feel lonely; thus, it is important to identify the factors that affect the feeling of loneliness in this period. This study was conducted with the aim to develop a model of loneliness based on personality traits and cognitive emotion regulation with the mediating role of coronavirus anxiety.

The present study was a descriptive-correlational study and the statistical population included all citizens of Qom province, Iran, in 2020. Thus, 400 people were selected through case-sampling as a research sample and were asked to complete the UCLA Loneliness Scale, NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Cognitive Emotion Regulation ‎Questionnaire (CERQ)‎, and Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and regression methods. Moreover, Path analysis was used due to the existence of a mediating variable.

Personality traits, cognitive emotion regulation, and anxiety associated with Australia-virus account for 40% of the variance in feelings of loneliness.

These results suggest that patients with viral diseases are mediated in terms of personality traits, cognitive regulation, and loneliness.

Based on the increasing spread of chronic diseases and their destructive role, a borderline personality disorder is the most common personality disorder in the group of chronic mental diseases. This research aims to compare the effectiveness of family-centered schema therapy, with and without supportive therapy. It was done to reduce the symptomsof patients with borderline personality disorder.

This semi-experimental research was conducted with a pre-test/post-test design. 30 people were selected by census method based on the research inclusion criteria from among all patients with a definite diagnosis of borderline personality disorder at Quds Hospital in Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran, in the spring of 2021. They were randomly divided into intervention and control groups, and the intervention group received 12 hours of family-oriented intervention and supportive therapy in a group manner in 8 sessions. The data collected through the Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index (BPDSI) were analyzed by comparing the amount of borderline personality disorder in the research units before and after the intervention using SPSS statistical software.

The average symptoms of borderline personality disorder in supportive therapy and family-centered schema therapy were equal to 13.64 and 11.00, respectively, before the group intervention and 11.24 and 7.92, after the intervention.

The combined treatment of family-centered schema therapy with therapeutic support has caused more reduction in the symptoms of borderline personality disorder than the family-centered therapy without therapeutic support; therefore, it is suggested that the combined mode of family-centered schema therapy and therapeutic support should be prioritized in therapeutic interventions.

Physical activities have effects on the improvement of motor performance. Age-related changes revealed that different factors were effective on the reaction and response time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of exercise and physical activities on thereaction and response times in older people.

The study method was casual-comparative and the study population consisted of older people of SanandajCity, Iran. 30 inactive persons were randomly selected and 30 active and available persons were also selected in this city, and their reaction and response times were measured. The reaction and response times were measured by the reaction timer made by Takei Company (model YB1000) and through the Nelson's Speed of Movement Test, respectively. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (K-S test) and independent t-test were used for data analysis of the descriptive statistics (P < 0.05).

K-S test revealed that results had a normal distribution. According to the findings, exercise and physical activity had a positive effect on reaction and response times, so that the results of the independent t-test showed that the active group had significantly lower reaction time (P< 0.001) and response time (P < 0.001) than the inactive group.

Exercise and physical activities lead to the decrement in reaction and response times through the positive physiological and psychomotor changes.