مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 722 (هفته دوم امرداد 1402)

The research aims to determine the effect of aerobic exercise, Gallic acid, and Kaempferol on neurogenesis caused by the side effects of the paclitaxel drug in mice with breast cancer.

36 female BALB/c mice were randomly divided in to six groups, including the negative control group, breast cancer group (induced with 4T1 cell line injection), cancer-chemotherapy group (10 mg/kg injected paclitaxel), cancer mice treated with chemotherapy+supplement (Gallic acid and Kaempferol), cancer mice treated with chemotherapy+aerobic exercise, cancer mice treated with chemotherapy+supplement+aerobic exercise for eight weeks. The gene expressions were measured by the Real Time-PCR method. Genes were selected using bioinformatics software.

The expression level of JAG1 was decreased in the chemotherapy group. Moreover, the expression level of JAG1 was significantly reduced by Gallic acid, Kaempferol supplements, and aerobic exercise compared with the breast cancer and cancer-chemotherapy groups. In addition, Gallic acid and Kaempferol supplements, along with aerobic exercise, significantly declined JAG1 gene expression compared with other groups. The expression levels of the BDNF and NGF genes were increased in the cancer group treated with chemotherapy+supplement and chemotherapy+aerobic exercise group. The expression genes of BDNF and NGF in the cancer group treated with chemotherapy+supplements+aerobic exercise significantly increased compared to other groups.

Aerobic exercises+supplements declined the side effects of paclitaxel and improved the neurogenesis.

Psoriasis patients treated with immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory drugs are at higher risk of infections, also infections can trigger psoriasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the rate of COVID-19 infection with different severity of symptoms in psoriasis patients treated with immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory drugs.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in the summer of 2021 in the Isfahan city. The studied population consisted of psoriasis patients with electronic medical records in Siddiqa Tahereh Medical Center and Al-Zahra Hospital. During phone calls with patients, duration of psoriasis disease, drug used, dose of drug used, history of COVID-19 infection, disease severity (hospitalization, death) and recurrence or exacerbation of psoriasis after COVID-19 infection, were investigated.

38% of psoriasis patients treated with immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory drugs were infected with COVID-19, 75% were outpatients and 23.5% were hospitalized. In psoriatic patients, 39% of whom treated with Methotrexate (MTX), 40% of whom treated with Adalimumab, and 48% of whom treated with Infliximab mentioned a history of COVID-19 disease. In 22% of patients, the recurrence of psoriasis following COVID-19 was observed. The most history of infection with COVID-19 was reported in psoriasis patients treated with Infliximab, Adalimumab, and MTX, respectively.

By suppressing the immune system and reducing its function, immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory drugs can directly increase the chance of contracting COVID-19 and its severity.

The presence of platelet cold agglutinins is a rare phenomenon that causes K-EDTA independent pseudo thrombocytopenia at laboratory temperature. If the peripheral blood smear is not examined, this phenomenon can cause a misdiagnosis of thrombocytopenia.

The present study examined the platelet count of a 52-year-old man undergoing hemodialysis in the laboratory for the presence of cold agglutinins. The patient's blood sample was collected using K3-EDTA and sodium citrate anticoagulant. The number of platelets was counted at different times and temperatures with a cell counter machine. Peripheral blood smear was examined at the same time as the platelet count by the device. No sign of bleeding was observed in the patient.

At the time of sampling, platelet count was 164x109/L, but it decreased drastically after storage at laboratory temperature. Moreover, at the end of the peripheral blood smear, a large number of platelet clumps were observed.

Platelet cold agglutination is a rare phenomenon that can lead to laboratory error by inducing pseudo thrombocytopenia. This issue has to be taken into consideration in cases of severe thrombocytopenia without clinical symptoms. Since cold antibodies do not affect in-vivo platelet function, such cases do not show any clinical symptoms; however, it has to be considered in situations such as surgeries performed in hypothermic conditions.