مجله فیض
سال بیست و هفتم شماره 5 (پیاپی 133، آذر و دی 1402)

Evidence shows that glutamate receptors play a role in the occurrence of gastrointestinal damage caused by diabetes. Therefore, in this study, the protein expression pattern of glutamate receptor N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and pannexin-1 (Panx-1) channel, which has an important functional relationship with glutamate receptors, in the stomach of type 2 diabetic rats were investigated. We also assessed the effect of long-term treatment with insulin on the possible changes of the mentioned proteins.

In this experimental study, 18 male Wistar rats weighing approximately 80-90 grams were randomly assigned into 3 groups (6 rats each): 1) control with standard diet, 2) type 2 diabetes: high-fat diet for 3 months + single dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg), and 3) type 2 diabetes + insulin treatment. The protein content of NMDA receptor as well as Panx-1 was detected using western blot method and compared among groups.

In the stomach of type 2 diabetic rats, the expression of Panx-1 protein was significantly decreased (P<0.001), while the expression of NMDA receptor (P<0.001) showed a significant increase. Insulin treatment improved the expression level of Panx-1 protein in diabetic rats, in addition, insulin treatment decreased the expression level of NMDA receptor in diabetic rats (P<0.05).

The present findings indicate important changes in protein levels of NMDA receptor and Panx-1 channel and their possible role in the occurrence of sensory-motor and secretory damage related to diabetes. The correction of the above changes may play a role in improving the functional damage caused by type 2 diabetes.

The use of testosterone enanthate is popular among athletes, especially resistance sports. Considering the side effects of using testosterone enanthate, it seems necessary to find alternative methods. The present study compares the independent and interactive effects of resistance training, testosterone and palm pollen extract on the expression of FNDC5 and IGF1 genes in brown adipose tissue in male rats.

In this experimental study, 36 male rats were randomly assigned into 6 groups: control, resistance training, palm pollen extract, testosterone enanthate, palm pollen extract + resistance training and testosterone enanthate + resistance training. The resistance training program was implemented for 4 weeks (5 days per week). On training days, palm pollen extract gavage (100 mg/kg) and testosterone injection (2 mg/kg) were performed. 48 hours after the last intervention, rats were sacrificed, brown adipose tissue was collected and sent to the laboratory, and the expression of FNDC5 and IGF1 genes was measured by real-time PCR.

In rats, resistance training increased the expression of FNDC5 and IGF1 genes in brown adipose tissue (P=0.001). Testosterone also increased the expression of FNDC5 gene in brown adipose tissue (P=0.013). However, palm pollen extract had no significant effect on the expression of FNDC5 and IGF1 genes in brown adipose tissue. Also, no significant synergistic effect was found between research variables (P>0.05).

Based on the present findings, both resistance training and testosterone significantly increased the expression of FNDC5 gene in brown adipose tissue in rats, but had no significant effect on IGF1. Palm pollen extract had no significant effect on the expression of FNDC5 and IGF1 genes in brown adipose tissue in rats.

Thiophanate methyl fungicide, which is used to control the most common fungal diseases in agricultural products, causes high cytotoxic effects in cells through changes in the physiological homeostasis. The present study was conducted to evaluate the histopathological changes following the use of thiophanate methyl fungicide in the brain tissue of Wistar rats.

In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups of 8, one control group and three groups receiving thiophanate methyl poison dissolved in corn oil with doses of 1328 (group A), 996 (group B) and 664 (group C) (mg/kg body weight). At the end, Nissl and hematoxylin-eosin staining was done to evaluate the damage caused in the brain tissue.

Evaluations on the brain tissue showed a range of pathological changes in the cerebral cortex of group A and necrosis of neurons in all groups receiving thiophanate methyl poison, followed by a decrease in the density of neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and the amount of this decrease in all areas of the CA2,3 area in groups A (106.40±5.12) and B (126.10±5.22) was higher than group C (161.30±6.79) (P<0.05).

Thiophanate methyl fungicide causes a decrease in the density of neurons in these areas in the central nervous system through damage to the cells of the cerebral cortex and the main areas of the hippocampus, which increased the severity of this damage after increasing the dose of the fungicide.

Hypertension are an important risk factor for many diseases. Literature indicates different cognitive activities and executive functions, such as weaker working memory in hypertension patients compared to healthy. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determin the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy on working memory indicators of patients with hypertension.

The present study was a double-blind randomized clinical trial, based on a pre- and post-test design and a two-month follow-up with a control group. The research population included all people with hypertension in Rasht city (north of Iran) who visited Heshmat Heart Hospital in 2021. From this population, 34 volunteers were selected by purposive sampling and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The tool used in this study was Kirchner's 1 and 2 BACK test (computerized version) and a mindfulness therapy was performed during 8 sessions of 120 minutes once a week for the intervention group.

Before the intervention in the pre-test, the mean working memory indices of the intervention group and the control group were not significantly different. At the end of the intervention in the post-test, the mean working memory indices of the intervention group (1-back, correct answers = 75.17, reaction time = 462.61; and 2-back, correct answers = 67, reaction time = 495.81) and the control group (1-back, correct answers=69/35, reaction time=617/75; and 2-back, correct answers=59/71, reaction time=663/56) were significantly different (P<0.0001). In other words, the therapy based on mindfulness was effective in improving working memory indices of patients with hypertension. Also, the outcome did not change in the follow-up phase in both groups, which indicates the stability of the therapy in the intervention group.

Mindfulness therapy is effective on working memory indicators of patients with hypertension. Therefore, it is suggested that the mentioned intervention be used in medical centers to improve the cognitive activities of patients with hypertension, although it seems necessary to conduct more studies in this field.

Allergic rhinitis is the most common atopic disorder and a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, which can lead to disruption and decrease the patient's quality of life in the long term. This study was conducted to compare the effects of desloratadine and montelukast combined treatment with desloratadine monotherapy on clinical symptoms and quality of life of patients with persistent allergic rhinitis.

This double-blind controlled clinical trial was conducted in the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic of Metini Medical Training Center affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences, on 56 patients with persistent allergic rhinitis. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups to receive combined treatment of montelukast (10 mg) and desloratadine (5 mg daily) or single drug treatment of desloratadine for a period of 6 weeks. At the beginning and end of the study, the quality of life and severity of clinical symptoms were evaluated by completing the miniRQLQ questionnaire and nasal symptom score in both groups.

In the intervention group (combined treatment of montelukast and desloratadine) and the control group (single drug treatment of desloratadine), the quality of life increased significantly after receiving the treatment compared to before (P<0.05), although in the intervention group, this increase was more than that in the control group. Moreover, the intensity of clinical symptoms decreased significantly after receiving the treatment compared to before (P<0.01), although this reduction was more in the intervention group.

It can be concluded that in patients with stable allergic rhinitis, the combined treatment of montelukast and desloratadine and the single drug treatment of desloratadine are effective in improving the quality of life and reducing the severity of clinical symptoms.

Obesity is a multifactorial phenomenon that can endanger people's health by causing metabolic disorders. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of high and moderate intensity interval training on the serum levels of irisin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in obese male students.

In this quasi-experimental study, 30 obese male students with an age range of 28 to 38 years and a BMI > 30 were randomly assigned into three groups of 10; including high intensity interval training, moderate intensity interval training and control. The training program was implemented for 8 weeks and 3 sessions per week. Irisin and BDNF indices were measured after 12 hours of fasting, 24 hours before and after the research.

Irisin levels were significantly increased in the high intensity interval training group (P<0.0001, Es=0.34) and the moderate intensity interval training group (P<0.0001, Es=0.37). No significant difference was observed in the comparison between groups. Also, the levels of BDNF in the high intensity interval training group (P<0.0001, Es=0.53) and the moderate intensity interval training group (P<0.0001, Es=0.36) were significantly increased. No significant difference was observed in comparison between groups.

It is possible that interval training with both high and moderate intensity can improve the health status of obese people by having a favorable effect on irisin and BDNF indicators.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown cause characterized by polyarthritis and extra-articular symptoms. Rheumatoid arthritis has been investigated in patients suffering from COVID-19 infection in several studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of COVID-19 infection in the intensity of rheumatoid arthritis.

In this retrospective cohort study, the medical files of 104 rheumatoid arthritis patients with COVID-19 infection were reviewed. Patients were evaluated in terms of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity in the first two weeks of COVID-19 infection based on DAS28 criteria and compared with their disease activity index before COVID-19 infection. Anti-CCP test was used to differentiate the activity of rheumatoid arthritis from the symptoms of viral infection.

The mean age of the patients was 53.3±13.6 years and 84 (80.8%) were women. The mean duration of rheumatoid arthritis in the patients was 95.09±84.05 months. The severity of the COVID-19 disease was severe-critical in 19.3% of patients. The disease activity of 76.5% of the patients did not differ before and after exposing to COVID-19, and only in 14 (13.5%) patients the disease activity intensified after contracting COVID-19. All patients with intensified disease activity had positive Anti-CCP, which was significantly lower in the other two groups. Also, the percentage of mortality in patients whose disease activity was intensified was significantly higher than the other two groups. In terms of outcome, the mean length of hospitalization in patients was 7.3±3.5 days and 10 patients (9.6%) died.

The findings of the present study show that infection with COVID-19 does not have a significant effect on the intensity of rheumatoid arthritis disease, however, it is necessary to conduct more studies in this field.

The tomm40 gene encodes the Tomm40 protein, which is a translocase in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Changes in the tomm40 gene can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction. In this study, the association between rs2075650 polymorphism of the tomm40 gene and the possibility of type 2 diabetes was investigated.

In this study, blood was collected from 101 healthy people and 119 people with type 2 diabetes, and the DNA of the samples was extracted by salting out method. After designing the primer according to Tetra-Primer Arms method, PCR test was performed and polymorphism results were observed on agarose gel.

The frequencies of AA, AG and GG genotypes were 14.28%, 80.67% and 5.05% in the patient group and 15.84%, 81.18% and 2.98% in the control group, respectively. Also, the frequencies of A and G alleles were calculated as 54% and 46% in the patient group and 56% and 44% in the control group, respectively. The statistical analysis showed that the rs2075650 polymorphism of the tomm40 gene has no significant association with the risk of type 2 diabetes in the studied population (P<0.05).

The rs2075650 polymorphism of the tomm40 gene was not related to the possibility of type 2 diabetes in the studied population. It is suggested to conduct more studies in populations with a large sample size to confirm the findings.

Prostate cancer among men is the second most common cancer in terms of age-standardized incidence (ASR=16.6) and the third most common cancer in terms of mortality in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of rs11672691 PCAT19/CEACAM and rs2987983 ESR2 gene polymorphisms with the possibility of prostate adenocarcinoma in Iranian population.

In this case-control study (n=176), 87 men with prostate adenocarcinoma were examined as the case group and 97 men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as the control group. Both groups had referred to Labafinejad Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Tetra-primer ARMS-PCR method was used to determine the genotype of each participant for rs11672691 (NC_000019.10) and rs2987983 (NC_000014.9) polymorphisms.

According to Fisher's exact test between the genotypic distribution of the two polymorphisms rs2987983 and rs11672691, there was no significant difference between the two groups of adenocarcinoma and BPH (P<0.05). A significant difference was observed between the genotype distribution of rs11672691 polymorphism and PSA>10 (P=0.028) and in other cases there was no association between different levels of PSA with these two polymorphisms.

The findings of this study reveal that the two polymorphisms rs11672691 and rs2987983 have no association with the risk of prostate cancer in the Iranian population.

In liver transplant patients, the occurrence of postoperative complications increases the length of hospitalization, care of patients and the costs of treatment. The aim of this study was to predict the complications of hepatic encephalopathy in liver transplant patients using the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm in active middle-aged women.

The statistical population included 652 patients, among them, 165 active middle-aged women with encephalopathy symptoms who underwent liver transplantation during 2011-2022 were included. SVM algorithm was used to predict the complications of hepatic encephalopathy in liver transplant patients and MATLAB software was used for data analysis.

Using 14 features related to laboratory, anthropometry and lifestyle data, the SVM algorithm can predict people with and without hepatic encephalopathy complications with 81.2% accuracy and 74.6% precision.

According to the accuracy of the SVM algorithm on the data, it seems that this system may help physicians predict the risk of hepatic encephalopathy complications after transplantation with high accuracy and the lowest cost. Computer-based decision support systems can reduce poor clinical decisions and also minimize costs associated with unnecessary clinical trials.

Lesions originating from endometrial tissue in extrauterine organs such as pelvic peritoneum, ovaries and intestines are called endometriosis. This condition, which is related to infertility, is associated with chronic pain in most women. Although the exact cause of this condition has not yet been fully determined, the immunological, hormonal and neurological factors are involved in the mechanisms that cause its symptoms. The gold standard method for diagnosing this disease is laparoscopy, which, due to its invasiveness nature, delays the diagnosis of this disease by 7-11 years, and may lead to irreversible consequences. Therefore, there is always a need for non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis of the disease. In this review, the diagnostic value of MicroRNAs (MiRs) in endometriosis was discussed. The expression of a number of MiRs in the tissue and serum of patients with endometriosis increases for various reasons, and the rapid investigation of these biomarkers can help in the early and non-invasive diagnosis of this disease by preventing harmful complications. In general, although it is difficult to identify genes that are related to endometriosis, it can be very helpful in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment management of this disease.In this narrative review, at first, the classification and investigation of clinical symptoms as well as some hypotheses about the cause of endometriosis are examined, and finally, some biomarkers that have acceptable sensitivity and characteristics for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis are introduced.

Urinary incontinence is very common in multiple sclerosis patients, which affects various aspects of relationships and quality of life. The aim of this narrative review is to collect approved methods of physiotherapy treatments which are effective in healing urinary incontinence in these patients.

In this study, investigations conducted from 1997 to 2023 regarding urinary incontinence physiotherapy for patients with multiple sclerosis were reviewed. A search was made in different databases of Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct for retrieving English articles using the keywords urinary incontinence, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, multiple sclerosis. Out of 40 retrieved articles, 23 articles were reviewed that properly considered the design, evaluation of the results and complications of the treatment and the existence of the control group.

The review of various studies showed that the strengthening and electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles, the use of biofeedback electromyography, sacral magnetic stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, skin stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve are effective treatments without side effects for patients with multiple sclerosis.

Physiotherapy with different exercise methods and electrotherapy heal urinary incontinence and improve quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients, and the combination of treatments has a greater effect.