فصلنامه علوم پزشکی دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی
سال سی و چهارم شماره 4 (پیاپی 118، زمستان 1403)

Biological and microbial synthesis processes of nanoparticles are a safe and useful option compared to physical and chemical methods due to their compatibility with the environment and nature and their cost-effectiveness. Probiotics have beneficial effects in improving the body's immune system and are a suitable alternative in the treatment of bacterial infections. The aim of this study was the synthesis of protein nanoparticles containing silver with the probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium breve.

First, probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium breve were cultured and then silver albumin nanoparticles (Ag-Alb-NPs) were synthesized. X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) tests to investigate the physical and chemical properties of Ag-Alb-NPs used.

Ag-Alb-NPs had spherical, crystalline, semi-crystalline morphology and structure. They had O-H, N-H and C-H bonds, C=C bonds in aromatic rings and C-N bonds in amine compounds and O-H and C-H bonds in CH2 and CH3 groups, N-H, C-O bonds in the structure of C-O-C and C-OH functional groups. In addition, DLS results of albumin-silver nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles showed that they were 259 and 85.3 nm in size, respectively, and the graph was of single peak type.

In general, it was concluded that the synthesized Ag-Alb-NPs had suitable structural and physicochemical characteristics that can be used for future studies.

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) are one of the most common complications affects up to 80% of future mothers. A phase III randomized clinical trial demonstrated the efficacy of the doxylamine-pyridoxine combination [under the trade names of Diclectin® in Canada]. Doxylamine succinate-pyridoxine hydrochloride sustained release combination has been considered as a safe and well-tolerated formulation by pregnant women. Due to the high prevalence of NVP in Iranian pregnant women, we aimed in this study to formulate this combination.

Direct compression method was used to prepare this formulation. First, tablets containing two active agents were prepared. Eudragit L100 and L10055 were used to coat the tablets. Then the coated tablets, were exposed to acidic conditions to ensure their stability in the stomach environment. All in-vitro evaluations were done. The analysis of the APIs was done using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detection, the HPLC method was developed and fully validated.

Based on the dissolution test and release profile, the formulation containing 3.5% croscarmellose in the core and Eudragit L100-55 as coating polymer showed optimum similarity to the famous brand. In the optimized formulation, no significant release was detected in pH equal to stomach and total release happened in the intestine pH, similarity and difference factors for pyridoxine and doxylamine were 78% and 3% ,71% and 4%, respectively.

In this study, a comparable formulation of pyridoxine and doxylamine with famous brand was prepared for the management of NVP.

Pre-eclampsia (PE) can cause brain damage before birth. However, its mechanism is not clear. The present study evaluated the effect of cinnamic acid (CIN) on the expression of inflammatory cytokines of the forebrain and neuronal damage in the hippocampus of PE model fetuses induced with l-NAME.

25 pregnant female rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: control group (no treatment), PE+NS group (daily injection of 250 mg l-NAME from embryonic day (ED) 15 to 20 to induce PE and then one hour later normal saline gavage), PE+CIN25, PE+CIN50 and PE+CIN100 groups (CIN gavage with doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg, respectively, one hour after l-NAME injection). On the ED21, after cesarean section, the fetal brain was dissected. The content of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in the forebrain and cell density in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the fetal hippocampus were measured.

A significant increase in TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in the forebrain along with a decrease in neuronal density in the CA1/CA3 regions was seen in the PE+NS group compared to the control group (p<0.05). While in the groups receiving CIN, they showed a significant decrease in TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in the forebrain and an increase in CA1/CA3 neuronal density compared to the PE+NS group (p<0.05).

CIN improved the inflammation and reduced cell damage in the hippocampus of PE model fetuses through modulating the level of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the fetal forebrain.

The aim of this study was to evaluate endurance training and nettle consumption on the expression of caspase 8 and p53 genes in mice with melanoma.

The subjects included male Wistar rats that were randomly divided into 4 groups, including control, exercise, extract and exercise + extract, after two weeks of adjustment. Exercise program included 30 minute of running on a treadmill without incline at a speed of 16 meters per minute for the first week, and one meter per minute was added every week until it reached 22 meters per minute in the eighth week. One week after melanoma induction, the experimental group consumed 30 mg / kg / day of nettle ethanol extract orally for 8 weeks. RT PCR was used to evaluate gene expression.

The use of nettle extract and endurance training significantly increased the level of caspase 8 and P53 in rats with melanoma in different groups (p=0.047, p=0.03, respectively). Also, there was a significant difference in the gene expression level of caspase 8 and p53 between the control group and train and extract groups (p=0.039, p=0.017, respectively).

The results showed that physical training and consumption of nettle extract could possibly be effective in the expression of p53 as an inhibitor and the expression of caspase-8 as a primer in apoptotic function and the treatment of melanoma cancer.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that causes the degeneration of neurons in the hippocampus, cognitive disorders, memory disorders, and imbalance. This disease is three times more prevalent in women than men. The present study compared the destruction of astrocytes in the hippocampus and the subsequent functional disorders in both males and females without hormonal intervention.

20 adult rats were used in this study. The animals were randomly divided into 4 groups: male control, female control, male MS and female MS. In the MS groups, MS was induced by 0.02% cuprizone orally. Then they were subjected to a behavioral study for 6 weeks, and at the end of the experiment, a tissue sample from the hippocampus was studied. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 software. The data were presented as mean ± standard error. Analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance.  

There were weight loss, reduced brain anatomical parameters, neuron destruction and imbalance in both male and female sexes compared to other groups, and the severity of neuron destruction was more in the hippocampus of males than in females.

Although MS is more common in women than men, the severity of the destruction of brain structures and nerve cells is greater in men.

Colorectal cancer is among the most common cancers in developed and developing societies. Studies have shown that lifestyle and especially stress can be effective in getting this condition. Considering the key role of norepinephrine in the occurrence of stress and the frequency of use of stress-suppressing drugs such as propranolol, this research aimed to investigate the cytotoxicity of norepinephrine and propranolol on colorectal cell lines by the MTT assay method.

The Caco-2 cell line was purchased from the cell bank of the Pasteur Institute Research Center of Iran. After cell culture, it was treated with serial concentrations (0-100μg/mL) of propranolol and norepinephrine for 24, 48, and 96 hours, and the toxicity of the treatments was evaluated with the MTT assay test, compared to the control group.

After 24 hours of cell culture with the treatments, there was no significant change in the growth rate of the cells. After 48 hours, only propranolol at a concentration of 30.11 μg/mL could lead to 50% mortality. After 96 hours, propranolol with a concentration of 3.42 μg/mL and norepinephrine with a concentration of 91.1 μg/mL showed 50% growth inhibition.

According to the data obtained from the research, it seems that although both additives had a toxic effect on the cells, propranolol had more toxicity on Caco-2 colorectal cancer cells than norepinephrine. Further studies are suggested in the field of new clinical applications for propranolol.

The alfalfa plant with the scientific name Medicago Sativa is called the queen of forages due to its high nutritional value. On the other hand, studies have shown that alfalfa has an effect on the intestinal microbial composition and its function. Inulin is also a compound with natural prebiotic properties that is used in various products. The aim of this study was to investigate carbohydrates, and in-vitro antimicrobial and the prebiotic activities of alfalfa extract compared to inulin.

Extraction from the aerial part of alfalfa was done by maceration method. Then the carbohydrates and prebiotic effect of alfalfa extract compared to inulin on the growth of two bacteria lacticasei bacillus casei and lactiplanti bacillus plantarum and also its effect on the antimicrobial activity of their supernatant were investigated.

Alfalfa extract showed more prebiotic properties than inulin, so that growth and antimicrobial effect of two bacteria, Lacticasei bacillus casei and Lactiplanti bacills plantarum, in the medium containing 2.5% extract were more than the medium containing inulin with the same amount.

In this study, an acceptable prebiotic property was obtained for alfalfa extract compared to the inulin, which makes alfalfa a suitable candidate for further studies to modulate the intestinal microbiome of humans and animals.

Hyperglycemia affects pathways involved in pulmonary arterial blood pressure. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between diabetes and pulmonary hypertension in patients with chronic respiratory disease referred to Bu Ali Hospital in Tehran.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 149 cases of patients with chronic respiratory disease in Tehran's Bu Ali Hospital from 1395 to 1401 were examined. Information was extracted from the files and recorded in the data collection form.

The data of 149 patients with mean age of 65 ± 8.6 years were analyzed. The prevalence of pulmonary hypertension and type 2 diabetes were 14.8% and 32.9%, respectively. No relationship between pulmonary hypertension and gender (p=0.34), smoking (p=0.64), type of diabetes medicine (p=0.70), age (p=0.97), FEV1/FVC (17 p = 0.05) and BMI (p = 0.06) was found. There was a significant relationship between pulmonary hypertension and diabetes (p<0.001), duration of diabetes (p=0.03), HbA1c (p<0.001) and FBS (p<0.001).

The prevalence of diabetes in patients with chronic respiratory disease with pulmonary hypertension is higher than in patients without pulmonary hypertension. More studies are needed to evaluate the impact of diabetes and hormones involved in blood sugar control in patients with chronic respiratory diseases with diabetes.

Osteoporosis is a well-known problem in patients with spondyloarthropathy that may begin even in the early stages of the disease and cause debilitating complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between disease severity and low bone density in patients with axial spondyloarthropathy.

In this study, 65 patients with axial spondyloarthropathy were included in the study, and the data including age, gender, BMI, CRP, 25(OH) vit.D, HLAB27, MRI of the sacroiliac joint and bilateral hip, disease duration, disease activity and the last BMD test was extracted from their records and analyzed with statistical software.

Mean (and standard deviation) age, BMI, the duration of the disease, CRP, and ASDAS- CRP were 37.5±5/9 years, 24.7±1.8 kg/m2, 73.9±33.5 months, 14.2±3.2, and 2.2±0.5, respectively. 21.5% of patients had osteoporosis, 90/8% were HLAB27 positive, 78.5% had sacroiliac joint involvement and 66.2% had vitamin D deficiency. Gender (p=0.75), age (p=0.11), involvement of sacroiliac joints (p=0.13) and positive HLAB27 (p=0.75) were not significantly different in patients with and without osteoporosis. While, vitamin D deficiency (p<0.001), BMI (p<0.001), disease duration (p=0.01), CRP (p<0.001), and disease activity (p=0.004) were significantly higher in patients with osteoporosis.

The results of this study showed that disease activity, CRP, disease duration, BMI and vitamin D level are related to osteoporosis in these patients. Therefore, patients who have these risk factors should be prioritized to check bone density.

Considering the value and status of the family institution, special attention should be paid to the problems of women affected by marital infidelity. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of solution-focused brief couple therapy (SFBCT) on forgiveness and sexual intimacy of women affected by marital infidelity.

This study was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest & follow-up control group design. The statistical population consisted of women affected by marital infidelity in Tabriz City in 2023. In total, 30 people were selected by the purposeful sampling method and randomly divided into two groups (15 people in each group). Members of experimental group received their treatment in 6 sessions of 1.5 hours; however, the control group did not receive any treatment. The measurement tools were Rye et al's forgiveness and Bagaroozi's sexual intimacy questionnaires. Data analysis were done by repeated measures analysis of variance test.

SFBCT increased forgiveness and sexual intimacy of women affected by marital infidelity in the post-test, compared to the control group (P<0.001). The effect of SFBCT on forgiveness and sexual intimacy was lasting in the follow-up phase (P<0.001).

It seems that solution-focused brief couple therapy can increase the forgiveness and sexual intimacy of women affected by marital infidelity; so it can probably be a useful therapeutic strategy to improve the marital relationship of women affected by marital infidelity.

Overweight and obesity are among the health problems that most people resort to diets to eliminate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of self-compassion therapy on eating habits and guilt in women with a series of dietary breakdowns.

The present study was an analytical-descriptive study. The statistical population of the study was all women who had experienced successive dietary failures and referred to nutrition consultants in Tehran. The statistical sample of the study included 36 women with diet failure experiences who were tested by purposive sampling method based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The statistical sample of the study was divided into two equal groups of control (n = 18) and experimental (n = 18) groups. To collect data, two questionnaires, including Garner and Garfinkel attitude towards eating and Kugler and Jones guilt, were used. Analysis of covariance in two stages of pre-test and post-test in SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Significance level in this study was considered as 0.05.

،he treatment method of self-compassion treatment significantly reduced the attitude of eating in the experimental group (P>0.01). Also, the level of guilt in them significantly decreased (P>0.01).

According to the research results, it can be concluded that compassion treatment method is able to reduce psychological disorders that cause failure in diets.

Considering the tendency of the new generation, especially students, to use virtual spaces, it seems that the internet can be considered as a medium of influence in academic and personal life. The aim of the study was to predict body dysmorphic based on internet addiction and loneliness in medical students.

The type of present study was descriptive-correlation. 190 medical students from west of Mazandaran were included in the study by stratified random sampling method. Data were collected using Kimberly Young's Internet Addiction Questionnaire, Rabiei et al.'s body dysmorphic Questionnaire, and Russell's Loneliness Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test and stepwise regression were used for analysis.

The results showed that there was a significant relationship between internet addiction and feeling lonely with body dysmorphic in West Mazandaran medical students (P<0.01). The results of the regression analysis showed that in the first step, the feeling of loneliness variable alone predicts 44% of the variance of the body dysmorphic variable (P<0.01). In the second step of this analysis, the variable of internet addiction was added as another variable after the variable of loneliness into the prediction equation of students' body dysmorphic, and with the addition of this variable, the predictive power increased to 50% (P<0.01).

the variables of internet addiction and feeling of loneliness are predictors of body dysmorphic in medical students, in such a way that body dysmorphic disorder increases with more feeling of loneliness and higher dependence on the internet.

Klebsiella pneumoniae, as a gram-negative bacterium, rarely causes infective endocarditis. In this study, a 71-year-old patient with diagnosis of mitral valve infectious endocarditis by K. pneumonia, through a blood culture test and chest X-ray, was reported. Unfortunately, due to severe bilateral pulmonary infiltration, the patient went into septic shock and expired.