Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:14 Issue: 6, 2012 Aug

The P75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is a transmembrane protein that binds the nerve growth factor (NGF) and implements multiple functions in the nervous system. It is expressed widely during the development of the nervous system although its expression is dramatically decreased at adulthood. Though the P75 neurotrophin receptor has been identified more than 35 years ago, our knowledge about its structure and function has barely increased. In this review various methods are used to search databases and reliable scientific resources have been reviewed to give an up-to-date panoramic picture of the protein expression, structure, function, and its interaction with other known molecules. P75NTR not only in neurons but also in various types of glial cells is expressed. In addition to NGF, this receptor can also bind the tropomyosin kinase receptors. Some pathological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases and nerve damages are followed by the considerable increased expression of p75NTR. In this study, the role of p75NTR in the nervous system of human beings has been investigated and it has been illustrated that how spinal cord repair can improve by blocking of p75NTR. It seems that in addition to p75NTR, someother homologues are also involved in this pathway. Further studies are required to elucidate more details about the role of p75NTR in the development and function of the nervous system.

Migraine is a common headache with an unknown cause. Migraine is about three times more common in women (18.2%) than in men (6.2%). The recent studies have posed the possible relationship between the Helicobacter pylori infection and migraine headache. This study tries to analyze the effect of treating H. pylori infection on number and severity of migraine attacks. In this clinical pilot study, a number of 60 patients with migraine were examined in terms of infecting with H. pylori. Patients with the infections were treated by H. pylori eradication treatment standard triple regimen and the frequency and severity of their migraine attacks were measured for three months and finally the average of frequency and severity of attacks before and after treatment were compared. The average frequency of the migraine attacks in patients with the H.pylori infection who have been treated was 7.1 before treatment and 2.7 after treatment (p=0.001). Likewise, the severity rate of such attacks in such patients was 9 which decreased to 4.5 after treatment (p=0.002). According to our study, patients with migraine attacks are preferred to be examined tested in terms of infecting with H. pylori. Thus, and eradication of this infection can be effective in decreasing of the migraine attacks.

Bile gastritis (gastropathy) is a kind of gastritis which is caused by reflux of bile contents through duodenum on stomach. It can occur spontaneously without any former gastric surgeries which affect sphincter of pylorus. The positive impact of some certain drugs such as prokinetic agents e.g. metoclopramide, Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), cholestyramine and sucralfate in treating bile gastritis has been confirmed. This study has been conducted in order to analyze the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which is a harmless drug, on patients with the bile gastritis. In this clinical trial, all patients with dyspepsia who were qualified to undertake endoscopy were enrolled and then 60 patients with bile gastritis were selected for the study. The patients were divided into two groups; a group was treated by UDCA, omeprazole and sucralfate and another one was treated with placebo, omeprazole and sucralfate for two weeks. Finally, at the end of the third week of treatment patients were examined. A total of sixty 19-70 year-old patients (Mean: 46 years old) included in this study. At the end of the study, there was not found any meaningful difference between the two groups in terms of pain intensity, heartburn intensity, severity of bloating, vomiting and early satiety; however, each group independently showed improvement of the mentioned indices after termination of the treatment (p=0.0005). Adding UDCA to the standard treatment (sucralfate) is not clinically effective in curing the bile gastritis.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent joint diseases. Electrical muscle stimulation is effective to improve its symptoms. Today, action potential stimulation (APS) with various currents and periods is used to treat OA. This study aims at analyzing the effect of action potential stimulation in improving knee OA symptoms. In this clinical trial, patients with mild to moderate knee OA divided randomly in two groups each had 15 people. Along with the conventional exercises of physiotherapy, one group received 16 minutes action potential stimulation with the lowest intensity (sensible); but the other group besides receiving the conventional exercises of physiotherapy was connected into a plugged off machine for 16 minutes. Certain variables were measured and recorded four times. Comparing the variables before and after intervention did not show any meaningful difference between the two groups. But within group, pain with p=0.0001 showed a meaningful decrease. Decreasing of swelling (inflammation) in group 1 and 2 was meaningful with p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively. For group 1, knee flexion range was improved meaningfully between first and fourth times as p<0.031, but it was not meaningful for group 2. Duration of 50 meters walking and step up and down from three steps significantly decreased in both groups. Although there was no significant difference in variables between two groups, but within both groups’ pain and swelling decreased and functional ability increased, thus, it can be concluded that type of APS does not play a key role in treating knee OA.

This study aims at analyzing the effect of fatigue and instability on postural control parameters in both healthy people and patients with the chronic nonspecific low-back pain. In this non-experimental case-control study, oscillations of center of pressure were statistically analyzed in 16 healthy people and 15 patients with the chronic nonspecific low back pain. The analysis was conducted through two stages: before and after fatigue and under both stable and unstable surfaces. Under the pre-fatigue, stable condition, there was not any difference between the two groups. Both fatigue and unstable surface changed our variables (sway area, range, velocity, frequency and total power of the signal). All the changes in variables were significant in the low-back pain group; while changes in the healthy group only covered the time-domain variables. The effect of instability was higher than that of fatigue. The postural control system for patients with low-back pain before fatigue and under stable condition, revealed sufficient competence to provide postural stability and its function cannot be differentiated from that in healthy people. Meanwhile, different mechanisms were used by these patients to confront stability challenging factors and further neural activity was required to counteract such factors.

Peritonitis can be managed through local restoration, debridement during operation, lavage and a number of post-operative techniques such as drainage, continuous peritoneal lavage and re-operation in order to remove infective agents from the abdominal cavity as a way to prevent persistent peritonitis and sepsis. In this study, the results and complications caused by appendectomy without [diagnostic] peritoneal lavage in children with appendicular peritonitis were dealt with. A number of 30 children with the generalized peritonitis, a complication of perforated appendicitis, were studied. Fifty mg/kg ceftriaxone, 30 mg/kg metronidazole and sedatives were prescribed for all patients. Surgeries were performed by a single surgeon through making a small transverse incision in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen which included appendectomy and removing purulent discharges and debris collected around appendix without conducting peritoneal lavage. After surgery, the patients were examined in terms of incidence of complications, any more surgeries and treatment success for 6 weeks. Five patients developed wound infection and three patients developed abdominal abscess. No early obstruction after surgery was seen. Peritonitis in all patients was controlled with appendectomy and antibiotic therapy and relaparotomy was not practiced for any patient. With regard to simplicity and high speed of appendectomy without cleansing peritoneum and its shorter incision and similar complications with other studies, and its considerable success to control the disease progress and unnecessary relaparotomy for the patients used this method, it seems that this method can be a good substitution for the conventional method of making long incision at midline of the abdomen and cleansing peritoneum.

Foreign bodies such as starch powder can be pointed as potential causes to bring about peritoneal adhesion. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of starch-powdered surgical gloves and powder-free gloves on the formation of peritoneal adhesions. Sixty rats were divided randomly into two groups and then underwent laparotomy using surgical gloves, with and without starch powder (case & control groups). After two weeks, the place of injury was evaluated and the adhesion rate was recorded from 0 to 3 and then data were statistically analyzed. There was a meaningful difference between the two groups in terms of adhesion rate, as the adhesion rate was more in case group. Using surgical gloves without starch powder for surgery operations is suggested.

Varicocele is the most prevalent cause of infertility in men. This study examined the prevalence rate of the disease in wind instrument players and drivers. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 42 wind instrument players of a military band and 31 drivers working for Iran's military were selected and the varicocele rate in their left and right testis was analysed. The varicocele prevalence rate was higher in players than in drivers. Furthermore, the left testis was affected more than the right one by this disorder. It seems that both prevalence and rate of varicocele are higher in the left testis rather right one. Wind instrument players whose acts are along with valsalva maneuver suffer from this disease more than other people.

Patent ductus arteriosus or patent arterial duct (PDA) is a condition in which a structure called the ductus arteriosus, normal in fetal life, remains into infancy and onwards, when it should have disappeared. Thus, in this study we want to discuss about frequency of its symptoms and risk factors. It is a descriptive study which has been done among 100 newborns registered in Ghaem Hospital of Mashhad. Sampling was gathered easily. The most prevalent symptom among newborn babies was systolic heart murmur (89%). According to the obtained risk factors, hypoxia (71%) and acidosis (70%) are followed by prematurity (41%). Out of all registered newborn babies 68% were suffering from associated disorders. For achieving an on-time diagnosis of PDA, clinical examination of heart and respiratory symptoms must be examined very precisely. Newborn babies must be examined in terms of two risk factors: prematurity and light weight.

Dystocia is ranked as an important element in maternal mortality and disabilities across the undeveloped countries. The study has been carried out with the aim of estimating the diagnostic value of measuring external pelvic diameters of primiparous women. In this descriptive study, the correlation of external pelvic diameters of 447 primiparous women, who have been referred to Um al-Banin Hospital of Mashhad city was measured, while their cervix has been dilated ≥5 cm. progress of labor was controlled by a researcher who was unaware about the pelvic diameters. Regarding abnormal progress of labor in cesarean or vacuum, they were set as criteria to diagnose dystocia. The most sensitivity was related to transverse diagonal of Michaelis Sacral Rhomboid Area (60.7%) intertrochanteric line (57%). External measurement of pelvic diameters is useful to predict more than 60 percent of dystocia cases in the primiparous women.

A placental abruption or abruptio placentae (where in the placental lining has separated from the uterus of the mother) is one of the complications caused by trauma during pregnancy. It lets the blood flow to infiltrate in the uterine lining and to develop Couvelaire uterus (also known as uteroplacental apoplexy) and uterine atony (a condition in which a woman's uterine muscles lose the ability to contract after childbirth); however, it rarely develops considerable hemoperitoneum which needs hysterectomy. In this report, a unique case of placental abruption caused by trauma in a 28-year-old Afghan woman is introduced in which severity and duration of trauma because of delay in reaching health equipped center led to developing massive hemoperitoneum (infiltration of great amount of blood into the abdominal cavity) and its complications.

To explore the Application of the intramedullary nails for correction of deformity in the lower limbs and decrease the opportunity of refractures in children with osteogenesis imperfecta. From July 2005 to July 2009, 11 patients (5 males and 6 females), were recruited from Emergency and outpatient department having deformities of osteogenesis imperfecta in lower limbs. With 3 femurs and 5 tibias with deformity in lower limps were corrected by multiosteotomy and fixed with intramedullary interlocking nails, 6 (3 femurs and 3 tibias) for Rush nails; 6 (2 femurs and 4 tibias) for Ender nails; and 12 (6 femurs and 6 tibias) for flexible intramedullary nails. All patients were operated under general or spinal anesthesia. All deformities were perfectly corrected. All patients were available at final follow up, for 9 months to 36 months, mean 18 months. 2 patients had delayed union, 2 had superficial infection in the incision or pin tract, and 1 had refractures postoperatively. The results were excellent in 72.727% and good in 27.272% patients. Multiosteotomy and fixed intramedullary nails can correct the deformity in the lower limbs perfectly and decrease the opportunity of refractures in children with osteogenesis imperfecta, which has been proved to be a reliable method.