مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
سال هشتم شماره 5 (پیاپی 35، آذر و دی 1393)

In previous studies, it was indicated that there is an interaction between neutrophils and mesenchymal stem cells. On the other hand, it seems that the microenvironment of mesenchymal stem cells can affect the status of their related neutrophils. The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell pulsed with 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on neutrophils functions. In the present study, at first, after isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow of rats, these cells were pulsed with 50,100 and 200 nanomolar of vitamin D3 for 24, 48, and 72h. Then, mesenchymal stem cells co-cultured with neutrophils for 1 hour. Then, they were evaluated for phagocytosis activity against opsonized yeast, respiratory burst by NBT reduction assay, and viability by acridine orange/propidium iodide staining. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Dunnett tests. Significance level was considered to be p<0.05. Phagocytosis ability of neutrophils in all treatments was significant in the minimum concentration of 100 nanomolar. Respiratory intensity of respiratory burst of all the treatments showed significant difference in minimum concentration of 50 nanomolar. Furthermore, vitamin D3 at the minimum concentration of 50 nanomolar caused a significant increase in the mesenchymal stem cells ability for the survival of neutrophils (p<0.05). Altogether, it seems that the treatment of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells with vitamin D3 potentiates the function of mesenchymal stem cells in the increase of survival, phagocytic ability and respiratory burst of neutrophil.

Because of impairment of testosterone production and occurrence of oxidant disorders in testis of varicocele (VCL) patients, these patients are treated with testosterone and various antioxidant. This study was performed with the objective of determining the effect of co-administration of these two drugs on the serum biochemical parameters of rats. In this study, 30 male rats were divided into 5 groups (n=6, each) of control-sham and test groups. In the control-sham group, only simple laparotomy was performed. In the test groups, experimental VCL was induced in all test groups. No treatment was performed for the first test group. The second test group was treated with testosterone (44µg/kg, ip), the third group with vitamin E (150mg/kg, orally) and the fourth group with co-administration of testosterone and vitamin E. After the end of treatment period, anesthesia and heart blood sampling were performed, and after serum separation, serum levels of glucose, creatinine, urea, total cholesterol, and triglyceride were measured. The data were analyzed using two-way variance analysis. The significance level was considered to be p<0.05. In this study, the serum levels of the glucose, creatinine, urea, total cholesterol, and triglyceride significantly increased following VCL induction, as compared to control group (p<0.05). This was while single administration of testosterone and co-administration with vitamin E significantly reduced the serum levels of mentioned parameters (p<0.05). The results showed that co-administration of testosterone and vitamin E, in comparison with separate administration of each compound, improved the serum biochemical parameters in VCL-induced animals.

Anxiety is one of the psychological problems before surgery. Providing information and training of patients are vital components of nursing care for reducing anxiety level. This study was performed aiming at comparing routine education and Video CD on anxiety level before general surgery. In this study, 60 surgery candidate patients were randomly assigned into three 20 person groups. All patients completed demographic data and Spielberger questionnaires in their admission day. Then, Patients’ education was performed by two methods of lecture and video CD in the day before surgery. Then, patients again completed Spielberger questionnaire two hours before surgery. Data were analyzed using t-, ANOVA, and Tukey tests. A p<0.05 was considered significant. The mean total score of anxiety in three groups, in the day before surgery had no significant difference (p=0.51), but, a significant difference was seen among the three groups, in terms of anxiety 2 hour before surgery (p<0.032). Also, Tukey test showed a significant difference between the education and control groups (p<0.01). The results of this study showed that both routine and video CD educations decrease anxiety level before surgery. It is suggested that these educations to be placed in nursing care before surgery.

The Use of medicinal plants in the treatment of diabetesis of particular clinical importance. Reproductive changes has been reported in Diabetic males. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Descurainia sophia seed on serum testosterone concentration, histology, and sperm parameters of testis tissue. In this experimental study, 24 male rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: Healthy control (C) Diabetic control (D), and under treatment diabetic group that received extract of Descurainia sophia (DK) at a dose of 100mg/kg.bw. Diabetic groups became diabetic with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin, (65mg/kg.bw) and after completion of the treatment period, Heart blood sampling for determining the testosterone level was done for 42 days. Then, all rats were sacrificed and after dissection, sperms were collected from cauda epididymis, and their parameters, including count and morphology were evaluated. Testis samples were transferred into formalin and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Sudan Black B. Released spermatozoa were used to analyze sperm parameters such as sperm number and morphology. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test. Significance level was considered p≤0/05. In this study, D. sophia caused asignificant decrease in interstitial space (p<0.001) and abnormal sperm (p<0.001). Also, significant increases were observed in testosterone levels (p<0.001), seminiferous tubules, thickness of the epithelium (p<0.05), spermiogenesis index (p<0.001), and sperm count)p<0.001) compared to the diabetic and D. sophia. The results of this research revealed that D. sophia have positive effects in the treatment of destruction effects of diabetes on testis tissue.

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most important preventable causes of mental retardation in the world. In the recent years, overtreatment and under treatment episodes are considered as one of the most important causes of neurocognitive developmental disorders in patients with CH, which have been taken into consideration in recent years. The current study aimed to evaluate the frequency of overtreatment, undertreatment and dose of respective drug in these in patient with CH in Qom city. In a study performed according to the existing data (Routine Data Base Study) in Mirei Clinic of Qom city, 201 medical records and 823 thyroid function tests were extracted from 2006 to 2011. The data were analyzed using independent t- and chi-square tests. The significance level was considered p<0.05. Of 201 patients whose records were complete, respectively, 173 patients (86.07%) and 69 patients (34.3%) had at least one episode of overtreatment and undertreatment. In 151 (87.2%) and 30 (43%) patients, respectively, at least one episode of overtreatment and one episode of undertreatment were reported before 6 months of age. The mean weight and primary T4 in undertreatment patients were significantly higher. There was no significant difference between two sexes in the two groups of overtreatment and undertreatment. 449 (83%) out of 538 overtreatment episodes were in patients who took the treatment dose lower than recommended dose. According to the results of this study, the prevalence of overtreatment and undertreatment in first 6 month of treatment was more common. The highest incidence of overtreatment occurred with lower than recommended dose. Also, the weight and primary T4 can be a guide for adjustment of drug doses in patients with CH.

Anemia is one of the common complications of chronic renal failure and vitamin C can improve anemia through releasing iron from ferritin and its transfer from the reticuloendothelial system to transferrin. This study was performed with the objective of evaluating the effect of vitamin C supplementation on serum levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and ferritin in hemodialysis patients. In a double-blind clinical trial, 178 patients with chronic renal failure were randomly divided into three groups of intervention, control, and witness. In the intervention group, 250 mg vitamin C, 250 mg of vitamin C was injected intravenously at the end of each hemodialysis session three times a week for 8 weeks. In the witness group, same amount of placebo saline was injected at the same time, and no intervention was performed in the control group. Laboratory parameters, including serum levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and ferritin were measured at the beginning and end of the intervention. Data analysis was performed by Chi-square and one-way ANOVA. The significance level was considered to be p<0.05. There were significant differences in serum levels of hemoglobin and hematocrit in the intervention group,but, the changes of the serum level of ferritinwere not significant in any of the groups. The results of this study showed that vitamin C supplementation in hemodialysis patients can significantly increase the meanserum levels of hemoglobin and hematocrit, however, it cannot significantly change the serum ferritin level.

One of the most important factors that cause infertility in men is urogenital infections. In most cases, these infections cause impairment in parameters, (such as sperm count, motility, viability, and morphology) and sperm function, and also induction of inflammation in epididymis and prostate gland is occurred. Therefore, the identification of bacterial species causing infection and administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy can result in improvement of sperm parameters and consequently fertility. This study was performed with the purpose of determining the frequency of bacterial infection of seminal fluid in infertile men with unknown etiology. In this descriptive-analytical study, seminal fluid of 65 infertile men with unknown cause referred to Yazd Institute for Reproductive Sciences, were studied. At first, seminal fluid analysis was performed according to WHO guideline. Then, blood agar and EMB (eosin methylene blue) culture media were used for detection of bacterial infection. in semen. Supplementary microbial tests were used to detect bacterial species. Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between sperm parameters, between the two groups with and without infection. Significance level was considered less than 0.05. In this study, 40 specimens had bacterial infection. Seven different bacterial species were detected in these specimens, of which the staphylococcus aureus had the highest incidence, 16.9%, and pseudomonas and enterococcus had the lowest incidence, 1.5%. According to the high incidence of seminal infection in infertile men, use of microbial tests for infertile men with unknown etiology and attempting to treat urogenital infection are suggested.

Renal tissue is always susceptible to damage due to its determinant role in filtration and direct exposure to drugs. In this research, the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of ginger on the kidney tissue of epileptic rats treated with Lamotrigine, was investigated. In this study, 48 female rats were divided into 8 groups of 6 each. Two groups of rats were considered as control, one of which received normal water and food, and the second positive control group received lamotrigine orally at a dose of 10mg/kg daily. After epilepsy induction by the intraperitoneal injection of 40mg/kg pentylenetetrazole, the treatment group was divided into 5 groups of ginger treatment (50 and 100mg/kg) and lamotrigine. After 4 weeks, rats were anesthetized and after blood sampling and their kidney was removed and assessed by light microscopy (LM) after tissue sectioning and periodic acid-Schiff-staining. Data analysis was performed using ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test. p<0.05 was considered to be significant. The mean values of creatinine, urea, triglyceride, and total cholesterol significantly increased in epileptic rats and epilepteic rats treated with lamotrigine (p<0.05), and glumerolar and tubular epithelium shrinking was observed. Whereas, these parameters were significantly improved (p<0.05) in the rats treated with hydroalcohlic extract of ginger. The results of this study showed that hydroalcohlic extract of ginger together with antiepileptic drug lamotrigine has protective effect on kidney tissue.

Hydatid cyst is one of the parasitic zoonotic diseases in Iran and the world, and a significant percentage of hospital beds are annually allocated to these patients. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological status of hydatid cyst in hospitals affiliated to Qom University of Medical Sciences during a 12-year period. In this descriptive–analytic study, the medical records of all patients with hydatid cyst who underwent surgery in hospitals of Qom University of Medical Sciences from 2002 to 2013, were investigated. The demographical and clinical data were extracted from patients’ records. Data analysis was performed using chi square test. The number of patients during this period was 82. The mean age of patients was 38.80±17.20 (min=8 and max=69). 57.3% of the patients were female and 42.7% were male. The highest percentage of hydatid cyst was seen in menin the age group of 31-40 years (37.15%), and in women, in the age group of 21-31 (25.53%) were in the age group 21-30 years old. Frequency of the disease among housewives (51.3%) was higher than other occupational groups. Most of the patients (90%) lived in urban areas. Liver infection was seen in 74.3% of the patients. Considering that the highest frequency of the disease was reported in economically active age group and that housewives are more at risk for this disease, therefore training programs for the prevention and control of the disease appears to be essential for target groups.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disorder of insulin secretion and characterized by increased blood sugar and is diagnosed by the presence of hyperglycemia. Administration of insulin and some other hypoglycemic agents are base of the treatment of diabetes, which due to side-effects of insulin, more attention has been given to herbal medicine. This study was carried out with the purpose of determining the effect of marshmallow root on decrease of blood sugar in diabetic rats. In this study, 36 mature rats with mean weight of 180-250g were divided into six 6-rat groups. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 40mg/kg.bw streptozotocin to the animals. The extract was injected intraperitoneally to the rats at a dose of 200mg/kg of during 6 weeks. Also, the effect of glibenclamide was compared with that of marshmallow root for 40 days. Data were analyzed by mixed one-way ANOVA (repeated measurements in independent groups). In this investigation, blood glucose level in the group treated with the extract had no significant difference as compared to the group treated with glibanclamide (at a dose of 0.5mg/kg). According to the results of this study, hydroalcoholic extract of Althea root has hypoglycemic effects on the diabetized rats, which this effect is exerted by important compounds exist in Althea root, such as pectin, antocianine, cyanidine, and dioxybenzoic acid.

Regarding the important role and position of journals in presentation of the most up-to-date scholarly information, the scientific and meticulous evaluation of such sources is very essential. Te present research was carried out to determine the citation status in the articles of the Journal of Qom University of Medical Sciences. This research, as a descriptive-survey study, aimed to determine citation status of articles published in the Journal of Qom University of Medical Sciences using citation analysis during 2007-2013. In this study, the exploration of articles and bibliographic information (citations) of the articles of 24 issuesof the Journal of Qom University of Medical Sciences were investigated. One thousand and thirty-ninepersonstook part in writing 254 articles during 2007-2013. Most of the articles were written by co-authors,in the form of collaboration of 2,3, or 4 authors, and only 4 articles had been written as single author. Women significantly (40%) contributed to writing the papers. The most cited sources were related to data sources published during 2005 to 2009 (33.1%), and most of the citations were to journals (85.4%) and then to books. Most of the citations were to Latin sources (93.3%). The highest academic ranking order of the authors was assistant professor and then Master degree. The most referred Latin journal was “The New England Journal of Medicine” and the most referred Persian journal was “Journal of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences”. Considering that in this study, most of the citations were to journals, therefore, it is necessary to provide researchers with easy access to core and most cited journals in medicine and other related fields through valid databases. Also, it is essential that university library attempttoprovide data needs of researchers and faculty members, and also officials should try to equip the libraries with up-to-date sources.