مجله علمی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی کردستان
سال بیست و هشتم شماره 6 (پیاپی 129، بهمن و اسفند 1402)

In healthy people, dopamine stimulates ghrelin secretion. The level of dopamine release  and ghrelin is lower in the patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In the present study,we investigated the effects of doplamin and L-dopa on relative gene expression of ghrelin in PCOS model rats.

In the first step of the study, PCOS was induced in 25 female Wistar rat (Rattus norvegicus) by injection of estradiol. Then, the rats received saline, dopamine (5µg), L-dopa (5µg) or simultaneous injections of sulpride (10µg/kg), SCH23390 hydrochloride (10µg/kg) and dopamine or L-dopa respectively via third cerebral ventricular. In the second part of the study, 15 PCOS rats received saline L-dopa (100mg/kg) or dopamine (50mg/kg) intraperitoneally. Hypothalamic and ovarian samples were dissected. Mean relative ghrelin gene expression was determined by real- time-PCR method. 

Mean relative gene expression of ghrelin significantly decreased in the hypothalamus and ovary of the rats with PCOS compared to those in the intact rats. Intraventricular injection of dopamine or L-dopa significantly increased the hypothalamic ghrelin gene expression in comparison to that in the rats in the PCOS group. Dopamine or L-dopa did not significantly increase the gene expression of ovarian ghrelin in comparison to that in PCOS group. Injections of sulpride and SCH23390 significantly blocked the stimulatory effects of dopamine or L-dopa on the ghrelin gene expression in hypothalamus compared to those in the dopamine or L-dopa group.

The dopaminergic pathway may be involved in increasing ghrelin gene expresion extremely via hypothamic level in PCOS condition.

Cardiac electrophysiology study (EPS) is the study of the electrical system of the heart. One of the most common methods of treating cardiac arrhythmias is ablation. The main problem with this method is determination of the position of the heart that must be be ablated. Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is used as a non-invasive, safe and fast tool to understand the electrical activity of the heart. The aim of this study was to identify the focal atrial tachycardia ectopic foci based on ECG signal analysis using sparse decomposition algorithm.

12-lead ECG signals of 48 patients with focal atrial tachycardia were recorded and stored. After preprocessing the ECG signals, by using Pan-Tompkins algorithm, each pulse of each signal was separated. Sparse coefficients of test data were calculated based on the sparse decomposition algorithm and the test data were classified. 4 anatomical position in the right atrium, one in the septum and 4 anatomical position in the left atrium were considered as 9 classes and the position of the ectopic foci in each test data was determined.

At first, the location of the ectopic foci was identified in the right or left atrium, and then the exact anatomical position in each atrium was estimated. The average accuracy of identifying the position of ectopic foci in 5 runs of algorithm was 81.27±2.78. The mean accuracy of identification of ectopic foci was 61.73% in 4 anatomical position of right atrium, 64.05% in septum and 65.16% in 4 anatomical position of left atrium.

Based on the findings of the study, the location of the ectopic foci of focal atrial tachycardia can be identified with appropriate accuracy using ECG signal analysis before performing electrophysiological study.

Radiotherapy is a major modality for cancer treatment. One of the most important complications of breast radiotherapy is esophagitis. Esophagitis can reduce patient’s quality of life. Because of increasing role of radiotherapy in cancer treatment and importance of attention to quality of life in cancer patients, evaluation of radiotherapy complications is essential.

This was a descriptive analytic study and included 34 breast cancer patients who had referred to the radiotherapy center of Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj and received radiation therapy. Based on a standard questionnaire of esophagus complications, patients were assessed for the symptoms of esophagitis for six consecutive weeks. In addition to demographic characteristics and assigning a code to every patient and weekly follow ups for searching esophagitis symptoms, amount of received radiation dose and other dosimetric indecies were calculated and the results were analyzed.

According to the results, mean prescription dose was 50 Gy and the average of mean dose and maximum dose received by esophagus were 2.60 and 29.78 Gy respectively. The most and least rates of complications were found in the third and first weeks respectively.

In the patients who had received breast radiation therapy in the radiotherapy center of Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj in 2020, incidence of esophagitis was significantly correlated with the mean dose of radiation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of pollution and concentration of heavy metals in agricultural soil, wheat and flour and to evaluate the consequent health risks in the residents of Bijar city in 2021.

To determine the total content of heavy metals, after acid digestion, the dry soil samples were converted into powder and prepared according to the steps of acid digestion for reading by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). Extraction from the samples was also done by acid digestion method. In the flour sample, direct acid digestion was done. For non-carcinogenic risk assessment studies, two routes including direct consumption (ingestion) and dermal absorption of heavy metals were considered. To calculate carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks, we considered heavy metals including cadmium, lead, zinc and arsenic.

The concentrations of heavy metals studied in the soil, wheat and flour samples of four regions were similar to one another and no significant differences were observed. The results of the risk assessment showed that the soil samples of all four studied areas were in class III (moderate risk) in regard to the carcinogenic risk of arsenic. Also, the soil samples of all four regions showed a low cancer risk in relation to cadmium. All other samples showed a low risk less than 10-6. In all of the samples of flour, wheat and soil from the four regions, we found no risk higher than 10-4 and, thus they were considered safe.

The results of this study showed non-carcinogenic risk in relation to zinc, lead, arsenic, and cadmium based on the results of examined samples, but the concentration of some of these metals, such as arsenic, is close to the risk level for the vulnerable populations such as children, and appropriate measures should be taken to evaluate and reduce these heavy metals concentrations.

To control complications in infants with respiratory distress syndrome, surfactants and auxiliary drugs such as budesonide are used to reduce the inflammatory reactions of the airways. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of intratracheal administration of survanta and survanta with budesonide in premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome.

This clinical trial included 50 premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome, hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit in Qazvin Children's Hospital, in 2019. The patients were divided into two groups. One group (25 cases) received intratracheal survanta (1 milliliter) + budesonide (0.25 milligram) and the other group (25 cases) received only intratracheal survanta. Using SPSS 21 software, data were analyzed by  descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact and T-test (p<0.05).

In the survanta+budesonide group, we found intraventricular hemorrhage in 50% and also death in 50% of the cases. In the pregnant women over 31 years of age and female infants receiving survanta + budesonide, no complications were seen. The effect of Survanta + budesonide compared to survanta on reducing complications in the infants (p = 0.048), in regard to the mothers' age group; 31 years and under 31 years (p = 0.049), and over 31 years of age (p = 0.046), female (p=0.047) and male (p=0.050) showed  significant differences.

Administering survanta with budesonide resulted in better efficacy and fewer side effects. Budesonide can be used as an adjuvant treatment. Appropriate therapeutic measures are important for the improvement and survival of the newborns with respiratory distress syndrome.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which is characterized by symptoms such as dyspnea and cough is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Limited studies have shown that vitamin D3 can have a positive impact on reducing the disease severity and preventing exacerbations in the patients with COPD. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the correlation of the serum vitamin D3 level with the severity of disease in COPD patients referring to the clinic of Ali-Ibn Abi Talib Hospital in Rafsanjan in 2015-2016.

This descriptive-correlational study included 70 patients with COPD. Diagnosis of COPD was confirmed by spirometry. In all patients, serum vitamin D3 level was measured then variables such as the severity of the disease (from spirometry score in GOLD criteria), the severity of dyspnea according to MRC dyspnea scale and the number of exacerbations were measured. Using software SPSS 20, data were analyzed by Spearman correlation.

Among 70 COPD patients, 17 (24.2%) had severe vitamin D3 deficiency and 21 (30%) had insufficient vitamin D3 level. Significant moderate correlation was observed between the serum vitamin D3 level and severity of the disease based on the results of spirometry (r=0.587 and p=0.000). Also, vitamin D3 level showed significant inverse relationships with the frequency of exacerbations (p = 0.000) and the severity of dyspnea (p = 0.05).

The study findings indicated that vitamin D3 deficiency among COPD patients was prevalent. Moreover, there was a clear association between vitamin D3 deficiency and the severity of COPD. Therefore, treatment of vitamin D3 deficiency can potentially prevent the severity and frequency of exacerbations in these patients.

Considering the need to perform a food challenge test in suspected food allergy cases, the purpose of this study was to investigate the results of the open oral food challenge (OFC) test in children with allergies and compare its results with their skin prick test (SPT).

In this descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study, we reviewed the records of 63 allergic children with a positive SPT to cow milk, egg, or wheat, who had referred to the allergy and immunology subspecialty clinic in Kashan, Iran. The patients with positive SPT for the studied allergens, received complete allergen restriction diet for 3 months. After 3 months, open OFC test was performed according to the protocol. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Chi-square test to investigate the relationship between the response type in OFC and qualitative variables).

The mean age of the children was 6.46±3.14 years and more than half of them were girls. Most children were allergic to cow milk (54%). 25.4% of allergic children responded negatively to the open OFC test. 26.5%, 29.4%, and 16.7% of the children who were allergic to cow milk, egg, or wheat, respectively, responded negatively to the open OFC test, and these differences were not statistically significant. In all three food allergen groups, skin-mucosal symptoms were the most common finding which was indicative of a positive response to the open OFC test.

The open OFC test results in children with a positive SPT to cow milk, egg or wheat indicated a relatively high failure rate of the test in the children. We recommend attention to food sensitivities in the evaluation of these patients. After confirmation of food sensitivities by existing methods; it is necessary to prevent consumption of these allergens and observe safety tips when dealing with these allergens

Considering the high prevalence of dental caries, early detection of occlusal caries, which is difficult is very important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two methods of clinical observation and DIAGNOdent laser in the diagnosis of occlusal caries.

In this experimental study, 75 qualified molar teeth were evaluated for occlusal caries by clinical observation and DIAGNOdent laser techniques. Then, after caries removal (as gold standard), the depths of cavities were measured with a probe. Finally, data analysis was performed using SPSS 21 software and kappa test. Efficiency, agreement and correlation between the mentioned methods were determined.

The efficacy of occlusal caries detection is significant in both clinical observation and DIAGNOdent methods compared to the gold standard (For both: P = 0). According to evaluation of agreement with gold standard, Kappa value was 0.59 for clinical observation and 0.29 for DIAGNOdent laser. Evaluation of the correlation between the two methods, the r value for clinical observation and gold standard was 0.7 and for laser and gold standard was 0.54.

The significant relationship between both clinical observation and DIAGNOdent laser with gold standard showed occurrence of diagnostic error in both methods. However, clinical observation is a more effective way to evaluate early occlusal caries in comparison to DIAGNOdent. Clinical observation and the gold standard also have a direct and relatively strong relationship

Impairment of social interaction is one of the prominent features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this study was to compare the effects of visual activities schedule (VAS) and social narratives (SN) on social interaction in the children with ASD.

In a quasi-experimental and single-subject study with ABAB design, eight boys with ASD were selected from a population of 7-12 year-old children by convenience method in Welfare Centers in Mashhad City. The children assigned to two groups including visual activities schedule and social narratives groups. In order to determine the content of each intervention, target behaviors recognized through interview with family, mentor, and observation of the child’s behavior.Each group attended 20 intervention sessions (five times a week; 30 minutes per session). The information collected through systematic observation and Autism Social Skills Profile and data were analyzed using baseline diagrams, effect size, and improvement percentage.

Findings showed that 15.34% and 10.45% of social interaction in children with ASD were due to receiving visual activities schedule and social narratives respectively. In addition, visual activities schedule and social narratives led to improvement of 16.09% and 9.24% in social reciprocity, 11.27% and 7.93% in social participation, 38.70% and 16.34% in detrimental social behaviors respectively. Systematic observation showed that visual activities schedule led to increased social reciprocity and social participation in four children and reduced detrimental social behaviors in one child respectively. Although, social narratives led to improvement of social reciprocity in four children, social participation in two children and detrimental social behaviors in three children.

Since, both interventions (visual activities schedule and social narratives) were effective in the improvement of social interaction, it seems that similar intervention for children with ASD can improve social interaction and prevent behavior disorders.

The importance of oral and dental health is more in the elderly than other age groups and various factors can affect it. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of oral and dental health in the elderly with the amount of salivary immunoglobulin-A (IgA), the presence of chronic and systemic diseases, and some demographic indicators such as age, gender, residential place, marital status, economic status, compliance with oral and dental hygiene, smoking and educational level. It seems that the aforementioned factors are related to the oral and dental health of the elderly.

In this systematic review we searched Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed and SID databases for Persin and English articles between 2010 and 2020. Finally, 19 articles were selected.

Based on our literature review, it seems that the presence of age-related diseases, whether chronic or systemic can influence the oral and dental health. Moreover, increased salivary IgA levels could be directly associated with oral and dental problems. Some other factors including better economic status and maintenance of oral and dental health can be related to the improvement of the oral health specially in the elderly. Although, higher education level, city of residence, lack of smoking habit, gender and marital status did not  show definite effects on maintaining oral- dental health, but can affect this process.

Consequently, self-care educations for maintaining the oral-dental health and also follow up of the old patients with chronic systemic diseases had positive effects on the improvement of the oral and dental health.

Scientific evidence has shown that SARS-CoV-2 can infect intestinal epithelial cells and probiotics are capable of inducing immune responses against respiratory viruses. Since there have been no specific guidelines or treatment for the patients with COVID-19, we performed this systematic review of studies to investigate the effect of probiotics on COVID-19 infection.

This study included relevant English original articles in the international databases of PubMed and Scopus using the keywords of "severe acute respiratory syndrome", "coronavirus 2", "sars-cov-2", "2019 novel coronavirus", "2019 nCoV", "new coronavirus, COVID-19", "probiotics" and the "combination of these keywords" between the beginning of 2018 and 20 July 2022.

A total of 424 articles were found among which 6 articles met the inclusion criteria for this study. The findings of this study showed that fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea were the main symptoms of the patients with COVID-19. Also, consumption of probiotics using bacterial formula (Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium spp) can be an effective treatment option to reduce the incidence of secondary infections and modulate immunity in the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

It seems that administration of probiotics in order to modulate the intestinal-lung immune axis as an adjunctive treatment can be useful for prevention and management of COVID-19 infection.

Monitoring alcohol consumption in population is very important for planning public health and evaluation of the efficiency of intervention strategies. The aim of this study was to use wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to estimate alcohol consumption in a Kermanshah City and calculate risk assessment using the margin of exposure (MOE) approach.

Raw composite wastewater samples (5 hours) were collected form the entrance of Kermanshah wastewater plant over a 30 days’ period. Ethyl sulfate metabolite was used to measure the alcohol content of the samples, which is excreted in the urine after consuming alcohol by humans and enters into the wastewater collection network. After centrifugation and filtration, the samples were directly injected into the liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS for analysis. After calculation of alcohol consumption rate with back-calculation method, the results were used for risk assessment by MOE.

In general, the average amount of alcohol consumption during sampling in the society was 0.332 ml per person of equal age and over 15 years of age (adult) per day, which was equal to 0.121 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. We found no significant difference in the amount of alcohol consumption between the weekend and working days of the week, and also between  sampling days in Ramadan and ordinary  days. In 90% of the samples taken, the risk associated with alcohol consumption was higher than MOE=100 and only in 3 samples the MOE value was in the "risk" category.

The results of this study showed that wastewater-based epidemiology can provide appropriate timely and transisional  information on alcohol use and its associated exposure risks in the community. Also, the amount of alcohol consumption in the population in our study was much lower than those in the European and American countries.