Health Science Monitor
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Autumn 2022

 Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital anomaly, accounting for 28% of all congenital anomalies in infants. The present study was performed to determine the frequency, demographic characteristics, and clinical outcomes in neonates with CHD.

This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 341 neonates with CHD admitted to Motahhari Hospital in Urmia (Iran) during 2014-2020. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by SPSS.

Based on the results, the prevalence of CHD was 17 per 1000 live births, equal to 1.7%. The mean age of patients was 5.13 ± 6.41 days. Regarding gender, 61% of patients were boys, and 39% were girls. The mean birth weight and the mean gestational age of the patients were 3079.56 ± 735.547 gr and 37.14 ± 2.232 weeks, respectively. Also, the mean length of hospital stay was 5.87 ± 3.568 days. Ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation of the aorta, and transposition of the great arteries were detected in 29.9%, 19.1%, 11.4%, 9.1%, and 7.6% of the patients, respectively. Mortality was found in 23.8% of patients. In addition, 51.02% presented with respiratory distress, 34.31% with cyanosis, and 9.3% with a heart murmur.

CHD is a common congenital anomaly in hospitalized neonates. Intraventricular and atrial wall defects are the most frequent congenital disease in neonates with CHD, especially in the male gender.

Bruxism, known as human oral parafunctional habit, can be performed consciously or unconsciously during the day and night. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of bruxism and its related factors in students at Birjand University of Medicals Sciences (Birjand, Iran) in 2019.

In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, 659 students were selected. The instruments used were the Persian version of the Bruxism Questionnaire from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Emotional Stress Questionnaire Association and that of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Questionnaire (DASS-21). After collecting, all data were analyzed by the SPSS (p < 0.05).

In this study, 63% and 37% of students were female and male, respectively. The prevalence of bruxism in students was 31.1%. This value was significantly high in the students who had a history of bruxism in their family members (p < 0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship of age and stress with bruxism (p < 0.05), but relationship of gender, depression, and anxiety with bruxism was insignificant (p > 0.05).

The factors associated with bruxism were stress, family history, and age. Hence, it is suggested to consider stress as one of the important risk factors in the development of bruxism. By controlling this problem, bruxism and its subsequent results can be controlled.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (known as COVID-19), initially appeared in the Wuhan city of China in December 2019, has become a current medical issue around the world. Due to its highly contagious nature, COVID-19 has spread widely to all countries. As no effective treatment or vaccine is developed for this infectious disease, preventive measures are the only mandatory strategy to stop its human-to-human transmission. In the present spread of COVID-19, the discovery of antiviral drugs is crucially important as the development of these drugs often takes time. However, no specific drug has yet been approved for COVID-19. In this review, we focus on the available drug candidates used for the treatment of infections caused by COVID-19 to identify potential inhibitors through molecular docking.

Dear Editor:Appetite is regulated in humans through the interaction between the central nervous system and peripheral hormones. This process involves a delicate balance in external stimuli, circulating satiating and appetite-stimulating hormones, and correct functioning of neuronal signals. Any changes in this equilibrium can cause an imbalance in energy intake versus expenditure, often leading to overeating and potential weight gain resulting in overweight or obesity (1). Drug therapies with some antibiotics and prebiotics have been used to manage obesity and related metabolic disorders, but to no avail. Fungi are important because of their high fiber. One of the most intriguing medicinal mushrooms is the Basidiomycete fungus Ganoderma lucidum, which has been utilized for centuries to promote health and longevity. Ganoderma lucidum can be employed for weight loss and fitness with regular consumption. It is one of the most amazing and miraculous fungi found in nature in different colors, such as red, white, and bright yellow. Ganoderma fungi have different species, each of which is suitable for specific conditions. This fungus is among the most effective herbal medicines applied in traditional Chinese medicine and is still considered by countless people. Ganoderma is a herbal medicine used to bring health and well-being (2). Ganoderma contains active compounds that affect the body's metabolism. By increasing metabolism, more energy is consumed, preventing fat accumulation and obesity. When metabolism increases to a desired extent, it will lead to weight loss. Ganoderma allows more oxygen to be delivered to the body's cells through the blood, thereby elevating metabolism in the body (3). According to recent research on Ganoderma extract, researchers have found that Ganoderma is very effective in those on a high-fat diet, helping to lose weight and fat, reducing inflammation, promoting good gut bacteria, and reducing the risk of insulin resistance. As an example, people with autoimmune diseases such as lupus become obese and overweight after a while due to the use of hormones. In this case, consuming Ganoderma fungus helps the patient takes less medicine by strengthening and regulating the immune system, leading to weight loss (4). Kidney failure, heart disease, and heart problems cause excess water to build up in the body. In this situation, consuming Ganoderma fungus and improving the disease can help the patient lose weight by removing excess water from the body (5). Ganoderma lucidum has little effect on the weight of those who follow a normal diet. Therefore, it cannot be considered specifically as a weight loss drug. However, if the diet is improper, or obesity is due to chemical drugs, Ganoderma can be fully trusted in this regard. Even if a person does not have a specific complication, Ganoderma can be very effective in weight loss along with other factors, such as diet and exercise, by strengthening the immune system and improving metabolism.

Blastocystis sp. is a common parasite of humans with a vast variety of nonhuman hosts and global distribution. Based on molecular methods, distinct subtypes are isolated from different hosts. In this study, we detected human-isolated Blastocystis subtypes in the northwestern of Iran.

A total of 600 stool samples referred to health centers in Urmia and Maragheh cities in the northwest of Iran was randomly collected and examined using direct wet mount, formalin-ether concentration, a modified version of the Ziehl–Neelsen staining technique for the detection of parasitological items and using barcoding method (18S rRNA gene) for the molecular survey.

From 600 samples studied, 496 (82.7%) and 104 (17.3%) were male and female, respectively. Three subtypes, including ST1, ST2 and ST3, were identified from collected samples, and the frequent subtypes were ST3, ST1, and ST2, respectively.

While genetic similarity of Blastocystis isolated from human and animal did not show in this region, the zoonotic cycle of this parasite, probably by fecal contamination, exists in the study area. By identifying Blastocystis subtypes, it is possible to prevent the transmission and related complications.

Today, due to progressing technology and improving the standard of living of humans, the study of diseases has become more complex. This complexity has led to using new methods, such as the model of artificial neural networks (ANNs), to study many chronic diseases, especially tuberculosis (TB). The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism of disease relapse events by applying a multilayer perceptron artificial neural network (MLP-ANN) model among TB patients.

This retrospective cohort study examined information of 4,564 TB patients treated in Masih Daneshvari Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from 2005 to 2015. TB disease relapse was considered as a study event, and the relapse mechanism was investigated using an MLP-ANN model consisting of three layers.

Based on an MLP-ANN model comprising three layers, the power to accurately predict disease relapse in TB patients was 96%. Also, variables of family size, adverse effects of exposure to cigarette smoke, patient age, and education as very effective factors, and marital status, history of drug use, imprisonment, pulmonary TB, diabetes, and AIDS as effective factors were identified in predicting the mechanism of TB disease relapse.

Using an ANN model in the study of TB relapse due to its flexibility and high predictive accuracy can clarify any ambiguous aspects of this disease.

Despite the proper understanding of pathophysiological aspects and recent development in therapeutic approaches, the outcome of patients suffering from inflammatory myositis remains unsatisfactory. In addition, there is no clinical information and a clear outlook for this disease in the community. This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of patients with inflammatory myositis (response rate to treatment) and to determine the related and predictive factors of this outcome in these patients.

This historical cohort study was performed on 80 patients suffering from inflammatory myositis. By retrospectively reviewing the patient records in the hospital, basic information was extracted and through telephone calls, the outcome status of the disease, and response to treatment were assessed during follow-up and categorized as complete remission, partial remission, and no remission.

Within the follow-up time, 40.0% were completely treated (complete remission), 3.8% had no proper response to treatment (incomplete remission), and 13.8% did not respond to the treatment. Also, 23.8% did not refer for further treatment at least six months from the start of treatment. No death was reported within the follow-up time. We found an association between the quality of treatment response and baseline parameters, including the rate of receiving intravenous immune globulin regimen, time of symptoms onset, gender, different patterns of disease, and disease subtype.

 A notable number of inflammatory myositis patients still do not respond to routine treatment, and we, in fact, are at the forefront of managing the disease.

 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory syndrome that despite global health efforts to prevent its spread, it still has high fatality rates in many countries.

Based on the medical information of 4,372 COVID-19 patients referring to Dr. Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, Iran, the case-fatality rate (CFR) for COVID-19 was calculated, and the trend of this index was assessed using the artificial neural network (ANN) model.

In this study, the CFR for COVID-19 reduced by an average of 0.4% per day and reached 4.43% during 50 days of the epidemic onset. Predicting the daily trend of this index using ANN model also showed a very gentle downward trend. According to the prediction of this model, during the first 100 days and also the second 100 days from the COVID-19 epidemic onset, the CFR for this disease decreased by an average of 0.03% and 0.01% per day, and reached 3.87% and 3.05%, respectively,

The use of CFR for COVID-19 and prediction of the trend of this index for the future can provide valuable information on the diagnosis of the disease severity and evaluation of the effectiveness of control and treatment strategies, as well as assessment of the health care.