مجله فیض
سال هجدهم شماره 5 (پیاپی 78، آذر و دی 1393)

Despite the advantages of the vitrified embryos, some negative aspects of the survival and cleavage of such embryos are reported. This study aimed to examine the effect of freezing period on the viability and cleavage of two-cell mouse embryos. In this experimental study, following the induction of ovulation in female NMRI mice, mating and confirming the presence of vaginal plug, female mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, 48-44 h after hCG injection. The two-cell embryos were collected by flushing and incubated for 24 h in an incubator with CO2 stream, 37˚C. Embryos were divided into the 6 groups: the control group, freezing for 24 hours, 72 hours, one week, two weeks and one month. After the completion of the freezing periods, the embryos were thawed by the standard methods and their viability and cell division were examined. Not only the percentage of embryos survived after freezing period showed a significant difference compared to the control group, but there were also significant differences between the experimental groups (P<0.05). Embryo development after different freezing periods showed a significant decline compared to the control group (P<0.0001) and also between the experimental groups (P<0.05). The freezing period for two-cell mouse embryos has negative effects on the embryo survival and cell division. It seems that freezing in two-cell stage embryos can reduce the ability to evolve to the higher stages. The best time to transfer to the frozen embryos to the uterus of female mice would be in 8-cell stage to provide the opportunity to continue the development of the reproductive system.

Saffron has the various significant pharmacological effects.Vitamin D3 is also involved in differentiation and functions in various cells. This study aimed to investigate the synergetic effects of the aqueous extract of saffron and vitamin D3 on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts. Flushing method was used to extract mesenchymal stem cells. Immunocytochemistry agonist CD44 antigen was also used to verify the identification of stem cells. In the experimental group, cells were treated with 600,700,800 mg/l doses of the saffron extract and the above-mentioned doses of saffron with 5×10-7 M of vitamin D3 were used to induce differentiation. The control group did not receive any treatment. Cell differentiation was evaluated by the alkaline phosphatase activity assay after 10 days and Alizarin Red staining was also performed 21 days after the treatment. Alkaline phosphatase activity in the vitamin D3 and saffron groups showed a significant increase compared to the control groups. The activity of this enzyme in the combined treatment groups showed a significant increase compared to their single use. The Alizarin Red staining showed the differentiative effects of vitamin D3, saffron and their coadministration in the differentiation of stem cells into osteoblast.The saffron and Vitamin D3 coadministration has the most profound effect on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell into osteoblast. The results indicate that the coadministration of saffron and vitamin D3 has a significant effect on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell into osteoblast cells.

Leptin as an adipokine via its direct metabolic effects on peripheral tissues responses to various endocrine paths and regulates them. Chemerin is also a newly known adipokine that regulates the adipogenesis and metabolism of adipocytes. This study aimed to examine the effect of endurance training (ET) on leptin and chemerin adipokines in inactive lean men. In a semi-experimental study, 20 inactive lean men were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups. General characteristics of the subjects, serum levels of leptin and chemerin (using ELISA method) were assessed before and after the training. Blood sampling was performed after the twelve-hours fasting, at 8 A.M. An ET protocol consisted of twelve weeks pedaling on cycle ergometer (3 sessions per week, intensity 60-70% of the reserved heart rate, duration of each session 20-40 min). After an ET period, no significant changes were found in body weight, BMI, and body fat percent (P>0.05), while maximal oxygen uptake was improved (P=0.004). Moreover, the ET had no significant effects on serum concentrations of chemerin and leptin (P>0.05). Performing a twelve-week ET has no significant effect on serum concentrations of leptin and chemerin in inactive lean men. It seems that this lack of change is likely the result of consistency of weight and fat mass following the training period. Obviously, cardio-respiratory function of the subjects was improved following the twelve-week endurance training.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of metacognitive therapy (MCT) on metacognitive beliefs, metaworry, and the signs and symptoms of patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In this study, all patients with GAD referred to the psychiatric clinic of Baghiyatallah hospital (during 2012-2013) were selected and assigned into the four (MCT, combined treatment, pharmacotherapy and control) groups. Patients under MCT and other patients were evaluated 6 and 4 times, respectively by metacognitive (MCQ-30) and metaworry questionnaires (MWQ), Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), Beck depression inventory (BDI-II) and Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HARS). Data were analyzed using the indices for trend changes, slope, Cohen rate of variability, interpretation of the changes of variables in the graphs; the recovery percent and effect size were used to determine the clinical significance. MCT and combined treatment (in post-treatment and follow-up phases) significantly decreased the metacognitive beliefs and metaworry in the patients received MCT and also could help to control the patient's anxiety and depressive signs and symptoms. Moreover, pharmacotherapy had only effect on the control of anxiety and depressive signs and symptoms in post-treatment, but after the termination of pharmacotherapy, the patients to some degrees experienced a recurrence of the signs and symptoms. MCT (with or without pharmacotherapy) shows high efficacy during less than half of the sessions of constitutive therapies (e.g. cognitive/behavioral therapy) in terms of controlling the underlying mechanisms of pathological anxiety.

Improving the quality of life (QOL), as the most important goal of therapeutic interventions, is considered in the chronic diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of different treatments on QOL in patients with acute coronary syndrome. This cohort study was performed, using the convenience sampling, on 167 patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome in Kashan Shahid-Beheshti hospital during 2013-2014. Under the supervision of a cardiologist and based on the standard protolab, the QOL of the patients who were received a drug therapy, angioplasty or bypass graft was evaluated before and two months after receiving the treatments using the short form-36 (SF-36) tools. One-hundred and sixty-seven patients (mean age, 56.5± 10.22) were studied. Among them 50.3% were female. Angioplasty and drug therapy had positive effects on the mental health and bodily pain dimensions and increased the total score for QOL. Moreover, drug therapy had a positive impact on the social activity dimension (P=0.01). Coronary artery bypass graft improved the role playing dimension (P=0.005). No significant difference was found in QOL among the three groups: drug therapy; angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft (P=0.67). Different therapeutic interventions improve the QOL in the acute coronary syndrome and can have a positive effect on some life dimensions of patients.

This study aimed to assess the effect of supratarsal dexamethasone injection-topical cromolyn combination versus topical cromolyn in patients with vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) referred to Matini hospital during 2012-2013. This analytical study included 168 eyes of 84 patients with moderate to severe VKC. Patients were randomly divided into two groups. Both eyes of each patient in group1were assigned to receive cromolyn drop (every 6 hours for 3 weeks) and both eyes of each patient in group 2 were assigned to receive a 0.5 ml injection per eye of dexamethasone sodium phosphate in supratarsal area in addition to topical cromolyn. All of the patients were followed-up for 3 weeks after the treatment and evaluated for the removal of itching, epiphora and redness. Although the effect of the two treatment methods on subsiding of patient`s itching was not significantly different, the elimination of inflammation, redness and tearing in patients treated with cromolyn-dexametasone was significantly better than the other group (P<0.001). This study showed that the elimination of the signs and symptoms was more significant in patients with combination therapy compared to cromolyn (P<0.001). Moreover, 68.3% of the patients with combination therapy have eliminated itching and epiphora, and inflammation and redness were resolved in 88.1% of the patients, but in the cromolyn group, itching, redness and inflammation became worse or had no change in 50% of the patients. Combined supratarsal injection of dexamethasone and topical cromolyn is an appropriate treatment for the moderate and severe VKC.

The extensive use of poliovaccines has eliminated the wild-type poliovirus in most parts of the world. These conditions were caused due to the utilization of oral polio vaccine (OPV) and inactive polio vaccine (IPV). Since most of the quality control tests for these vaccines are performed on cell beds sensitive to poliovirus, the identification of the most sensitive cell line to poliovirus is a necessity. Five monolayer cell lines (Vero, HeLa, Hep-2, MRC-5 and L20-B) were prepared in cell culture flasks (25 cm2). Then serial dilutions of three types of poliovirus with specified titers were added to each cell beds. The inoculated cells were then incubated at 33°C for 14 days and were monitored daily for the presence of cytopathic effects for polioviruses. The results showed that the sensitivity of L20B cell line to polioviruses was more than the other cells. The result also indicated that the sensitivity of cells to poliovirus was declined in Hep-2, HeLa, MRC-5 and Vero cell lines, respectively. It can be concluded that the L20B, Hep-2 and HeLa cell lines, due to their higher sensitivity to triple poliovirus serotypes are considered for vaccine quality control tests.

Asthma is the most common childhood chronic disease. The increased prevalence of the disease has been contributed in conducting the various studies on the mechanism of asthma. One of the main factors that are assumed to be more effective in asthma is serum vitamin D level. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the serum vitamin D level among the asthmatic children (5-15 years) in Isfahan during 2012-2013. This study was conducted on children referred to the pediatric clinics in Isfahan during 2012-2013. Children with and without asthma were divided into the case and control groups, respectively. Then, the serum level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D was measured. This study included 196 asthmatic and 200 non-asthmatic children. The vitamin D levels were 25.79±17.42 and 30.33±16.37 for the case and control groups, respectively; this difference was statistically significant (P<0.008). Moreover, 59.7% of the patients with asthma and 46% in the control group were vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D levels in severe and non-severe (mild and moderate) asthma were 24.75±15.90 and 26.26 ± 18.10, respectively. No significant correlation was found between the asthma severity and vitamin D level (P= 0.3). Due to the low levels of vitamin D among the asthmatic patients, the regular control of serum vitamin D is recommended to treat the patients in case of deficiencies. Also, life style and food diet should be modified and directed towards eliminating the nutritional deficiencies in the society.

Effusional otitis media (EOM) is a common childhood disease, which can affect the hearing development. Considering the numerous theories on the involvement of bacterial factors and the contradictory data on the prevalence of the culture-positive EOM, this study aimed to evaluate the bacteriological examination of the discharge in resistant EOM in patients (age: 2-16 years) and to study the type of probable pathogens and the rate of their resistance to antibiotics. This cross-sectional study was performed on 90 patients with resistant EOM admitted to Matini hospital, Kashan, for ventilation tube insertion. After identification of the samples, the antibiogram test (according to CLSI standards) was performed. The bacteriological assessment of 90 patients, using the disk diffusion method, indicated that 52.2% of isolates were positive and 47.8% negative. Streptococcus pneumoniae had the highest sensitivity to ciprofloxacin (100%) followed by Erythromycine (66.7%). All isolates were resistant to Cotrimoxazole (100%). Moreover, the highest antibiotic resistance in patients with EOM was seen against the ampicillin (82.98%) followed by amoxicillin (78.72%). The most sensitive antibiotics in the antibiogram test were ciprofloxacin with 63.83%, and vancomycin with 51.09% susceptibility. Results of the study reveal the important role of bacteria in EOM and also the antibiotic resistance in these patients. Therefore, we recommend the annual examination of the status of antibiotic resistance in patient with EOM to prevent the antibiotic resistance.

Resistance-type exercise training has been shown to represent an effective interventional strategy to increase muscle mass, strength, and function in diabetes. The myokines released from skeletal muscle have multiple metabolic and hypertrophic effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the resistance training has an effect on IL-6 and TNF-α inflammatory cytokines in skeletal muscle of diabetic rats. Rats were divided into the control, training, diabetic control and diabetic training groups. Training groups performed the resistance training consisted of climbing a ladder (1 m) with increasing weight added to the tail. The IL-6, and TNF-α levels were measured in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) skeletal muscle using the ELIZA. The results of this study showed that the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α in EDL skeletal muscle was increased in diabetic rats. Resistance training did not change the levels of inflammatory cytokines in EDL skeletal muscle. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the cytokines and glucose levels. Resistance training had no significant effect on the level of inflammatory cytokines in skeletal muscle of diabetic rats. The increased level of inflammatory cytokines and myokines could act as a compensatory mechanism for skeletal muscle in diabetes. It seems that the training exercise alone could not change the myokine level for skeletal muscle.

Stem cells are believed as the premier hope to regenerate the defected tissues. In this regard, enhancing the efficient derivation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, as the best model of pluripotent stem cell, facilitates capturing of the efficient derivation of human ES cells. Small molecules play a critical role in improving the efficiency of generating the pluripotent stem cells by inhibiting signaling pathways related to differentiation. This study aimed to evaluate the role of some molecular signaling pathways (e.g. JAK/STAT, MAPK/ERK, PI3K/AKT, WNT/GSK3 and TGF-β) in the cells involved in producing and maintaining ES cells. In this review study, the relevant articles to signaling pathways and embryonic stem cells were selected from PubMed database. In addition, the procedure for the efficient derivation of mouse ES cells was analyzed using small molecules under different conditions, like 2i and R2i culture. The R2i culture condition increases the efficiency of generation and maintenance of ES cell lines from different types of mouse strain. Thus, findings showed that by inhibiting the MEK and TGF-β pathways in this process, the higher frequency of cells would be maintained at ground state of pluripotency with no differentiation. To understand the molecular effects of R2i culture condition on enhancing the efficiency of generating the mouse ES cells, the assessment of key pluripotency and differentiation gene expressions as well as the epigenetic changes within the ES cell derivation process seems to be essential.

Phelan-McDermid syndrome is a rare genetic disorder with an unknown prevalence. The overall developmental delay as a hallmark of the syndrome requires the rehabilitational interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of motor rehabilitation on an established syndrome of Phelan-McDermid. Case Report: In this study, a four-year old child with Phelan-McDermid syndrome diagnosis is reported. His gross motor skills and upper extremity functional skills were delayed. Accordingly, a 12-week motor rehabilitation program was planned and carried out. Findings of this case report show that the common approaches to motor rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy and motor delay are applicable for children diagnosed with Phelan-McDermid syndrome. However, further studies are required to generalize the findings.

Neuropsychiatric disorders are among the known complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The involvement of both peripheral and central nervous systems has also been reported in SLE.Case Report: A 32 year-old woman presented with 15 days history of progressive dysphagia, the nasal intonation of voice with no significant previous medical illness. The neurologic examination showed a marked bulbar (involvement of 9, 10, 11 cranial nerves) and cervical palsy. Other systemic examinations were normal. Hematologic tests, ESR, CRP, renal and hepatic tests and a chest x-ray PA were normal. Moreover, the CSF analysis and electrophysiological studies (EMG, NCV) were normal. The ANA and Anti-ds DNA tests were positive for two consecutive times. Brain MRI revealed infarct lesions in RT cerebellar hemisphere and dorsal brainstem. A diagnosis of vasculitis secondary to liked-lupus was made based on laboratory tests and imaging. Then intravenous immunoglobulins (0.4 g/kg/day) and 0.5 g methyl prednisolone for 5 days were administered. She was discharged for the rheumatologic follow-up. It can be concluded that SLE should be considered in any patient with obscure neurological problems.