مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 732 (هفته چهارم مهر 1402)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder that impairs cognitive functions. Imipramine is an antidepressant drug with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on the brain. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of imipramine on memory impairment, focusing on insulin signaling pathway and synaptic plasticity in rats treated with streptozotocin (STZ).

In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: control, STZ, STZ+imipramine, and imipramine. An animal model of AD was induced by intraventricular injection of STZ (3mg/kg; 3μl/ventricle). Elevated plus maze and passive avoidance tests were used to examine cognitive functions. 24 h after STZ injection, treatment with imipramine (20mg/kg) was done intraperitoneally for 14 days. The expression level of insulin and the factors involved in the insulin signaling pathway (IR, IRS2, PI3K, Akt, and mTOR) were investigated by Real-time PCR and the protein level of Reelin (a factor involved in synaptic plasticity) was evaluated by western blot technique. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that STZ caused memory disorders in rats and decreased the expression level of insulin and factors involved in the insulin signaling pathway, and also the protein level of Reelin. In contrast, imipramine reduced memory disorders and increased the expression of the mentioned factors in the hippocampus of animals treated with STZ.

Imipramine appears to reduce memory disorders in STZ-treated animals through its effects on the insulin signaling pathway and protein involved in synaptic plasticity.

Predicting the probability of autism from parents' cognitive characteristics plays an important role in preventive behaviors. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between parents' cognitive characteristics and the severity of socio-verbal deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 28 child members of the Kerman autism center and their parents were referred to this center were considered during six months in 2022. Data were collected through two questionnaires of the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (Garz) and the Persian version of the Short Cognitive Assessment Test in Schizophrenia.

In this study, 28 children (including 20 boys and 8 girls) with autism with an average age of 8 ± 2, along with their parents, were included in the study. There was no statistically significant relationship between the average score of children's stereotyped behaviors, the average score of children's relationships, and the average score of social interactions of people with autism with the average scores of different cognitive domains of parents.

Considering the lack of correlation between the variables, it is more important to focus on academic interventions and characteristics of the disease to determine the severity of socio-verbal defects and stereotyped behaviors, while some factors like the small sample size of the study reduce the possibility of generalization.

Application and interpretation of statistical significance of association are the basic and necessary principle in medical research. Traditionally, hypothesis testing and reporting p-values are widely used to quantify the statistical significance of observed results. In the last two decades, the calculation of a p-value in research and especially the use of a threshold to declare the statistical significance of the p-value have been challenged. The limitations of p-value, such as the dependence of its value on the sample size and not reflecting the clinical significance, have been repeatedly mentioned. The statisticians and methodologists recommend do not report p-value alone, and reporting of effect size index with corresponding confidence interval is mandatory. However, many researchers do not pay attention to this and do not even interpret the p-value correctly. The present study intended, to provide an integrated instruction for reporting the statistical and clinical significance in medical sciences with the approach of hypothesis testing (reporting p-value).