مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
سال شانزدهم شماره 5 (پیاپی 124، امرداد 1401)

  The physical and mental health of war veterans depends on paying attention to their psychological problems. This study aims to compare the memory performance of disabled Iranian veterans with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

This is a retrospective cohort study conducted in 2016-2017. Participants were 30 veterans with PTSD and 30 veterans without this disorder in Iran who had records in the Foundation of Martyr and Veterans Affair. The diagnosis of PTSD or its absence was previously made by a psychiatrist and approved by the medical commission of the Foundation of Martyr and Veteran Affairs. The sampling method was done using a purposive method and was done based on the inclusion criteria. The data collection tool was the Wechsler memory scale (WMS). Data analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of variance.

There was a significant difference between the two groups in all WMS subscales (general information, orientation, mental control, logical memory, digit span, visual memory, associate learning).

Memory performance of disabled Iranian veterans with and without PTSD is different in all dimensions.

  Zinc oxide nanoparticles as a new generation of antimicrobial substances, are of interest in medicine and food industry. This study aims to investigate the antimicrobial effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by using Bunium persicum plant extract.

In this study, the biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles by Bunium persicum extract was performed by zinc acetate precursor. The structure and morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Zetasizer. Then, the antimicrobial effects of synthesized nanoparticles against some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were assessed by the disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods.

The synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles had spherical to polygonal shapes with an average size of 100 nm. The minimum inhibitory concentration of nanoparticles against the study bacteria was in range of 3.125 to 25 μg/mL.

The extract of Bunium persicum plant can be a good candidate for the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles with significant antibacterial effects.

  Kidney transplantation is the safest way to treat chronic renal failure, but for many reasons many patients are reluctant to have a kidney transplant. Identifying these factors can facilitate the transplant process and improve the quality of life of patients undergoing dialysis. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the reasons for refusing kidney transplantation among Iranian patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD).

In this qualitative study, 18 patients with PD were selected from four provinces of Iran using a purposive sampling method. The data were collected by semi-structured interviews and the content were analyzed by a conventional content analysis.

Results led to the identification of three main categories: Difficult process, unacceptability of outcome, and familiarization with PD. According to patients, kidney transplantation is a long-term procedure that causes financial stress and physical and social problems and there is a risk of transplant rejection. On the other hand, patients were accustomed to performing PD and considered it a part of their life.

Iranian patients undergoing PD have many reasons to refuse kidney transplantation. Full coverage of kidney transplants by the insurance organization, reduction of transplantation time, and provision of medical and psychological counseling can reduce these barriers to accepting kidney transplants by patients.

  A significant increase in mental problems among students have been reported during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and fear of COVID-19 and the relationships between them among college students, approximately two years after the onset of the pandemic in Iran.

In this descriptive study, 148 students were recruited from the University of Bojnord using a convenience sampling method. The depression, anxiety stress scale (DASS) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and Pearson correlation test were used to analyze the data.

The results show that 15.5% of students had depression, 12.8% had anxiety, and 14.2% had stress and fear of COVID-19 symptoms. The mean score of DASS in this study was not significantly different from the scores reported in the beginning of pandemic. The fear of COVID-19 had no significant relationship with depression, anxiety, and stress.

The levels of depression, anxiety and stress two years after the COVID-19 pandemic do not differ from their levels at the beginning of the pandemic among college students, but the fear of COVID-19 level is significantly lower. Acceleration of the vaccination and the increase of awareness about the disease might be reasons for improvement in the psychological status of students.

  Breast cancer, as the most common cancer, is the cause of death in many women around the world. This study aims to predict the immune system performance based on stress coping methods and defense mechanisms in women with breast cancer.

The study population includs all women with breast cancer in Tehran and Guilan provinces of Iran in 2019, from whom 250 were selected by a purposive sampling method. Data were collected using the warning signs of immunodeficiency list, the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Coping Inventory. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis in SPSS software, version 22.

The results of regression analysis showed that the emotion-focused coping as well as mature, neurotic, and immature defense mechanisms could significantly predict the immune system performance (P<0.05). Together, these variables were able to explain 28% of the variance in the immune performance.

In women with breast cancer, the immune system function can be predicted by their used defense mechanisms and stress coping strategies.

  Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most important health-threatening diseases in Iran and other countries. Glucantime is currently used to treat this disease, but due to its side effects and high resistance, alternative therapies such as the use of nanoparticles have been considered by researchers. This study aims to investigate the anti-leishmania activity of silver nanoparticles on Leishmania major in vitro.

This is an experimental study on the anti-leishmania activities of silver nanoparticles at different concentrations of 0.75-0.96 µg/ml after 24, 48 and 72 hours of exposure to 106 live Leishmania major promastigotes. The numbers of live parasites were counted by Trypan Blue on a neobar slide using optical microscope (Hemocytometer method). Glucantime and distilled water were considered as positive and negative controls, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated by SigmaPlotTM software, version 13. All reactions were done three times and their average was considered as final result.

All concentrations of silver nanoparticles had anti-leishmania activity, where the concentration of 96 µg/ml had the highest effect (100%) 72 hours after exposure. The IC50 was obtained 36.67, 27.2 and 21.08 µg/ml after 24, 48 and 72 hours of exposure, respectively.

Silver nanoparticles have an inhibitory effect on the growth of Leishmania major in different concentrations. However, further in-vivo studies are needed to determine the effictivness of silver nanoparticles.

  Cherubism is a rare hereditary autosomal dominant fibro-osseous disease that is characterized by painless, bilateral, symmetric swelling in the jaw with multilocular radiolucent lesions in the maxilla, mandible, or both, and give the patient a typical “cherubic” appearance. It occurs in children, especially boys, aged 2-5 years. The aim of this study was to report a case of cherubism at an uncommon age that did not improve with age.

The patient was a 23-year-old man complaining of bilateral jaw pain along with swelling and multiple bilateral radiolucent lesions with a previous history of childhood cherubism. In the examination, bilateral and symmetric swelling of the face, especially in the maxilla region, with eyes raised to heaven were evident. The pain was more in the vicinity of the condyle. No abnormal manifestations were observed by the intraoral examination. In the radiographic view, multiple bilateral and symmetric lucent lesions were observed on trunk and mandible, continued to the neck of the condyle.

Despite the common manifestations and age in patients, cherubism can show different manifestations; lack of attention to the patient’s history can lead to misdiagnosis by the pathologist and unnecessary treatments. Due to being a self-limiting condition, non-invasive treatments are preferred; however, surgical management is sometimes required for cosmetic reasons.