niloofar deravi

Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is an anionic surfactant, which has a wide range of usage in the health sector and in dental pharmaceutical products, especially in toothpastes. The objective of this review was to investigate the effects of SLS containing dentifrices on oral and periodontal health, possible side effects, and its benefits. A thorough literature search was done using databases of PubMed and Google Scholar and finally, 40 articles were included in the study. This narrative review revealed the sources of discrepancy and conflicting results regarding the impact of SLS on oral cavity as well as a lack of sufficient evidence in most topics. Hence, the evidence suggests improved drug bioavailability when used as a solubilizer, improved plaque control, and reduction in bad breath. On the other hand, SLS can serve as a risk indicator of prolonged oral wound healing time, recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

With the widespread application of ionizing radiation in medical practice, concerns have been increased regarding the hazardous effects of radiation. Studies have demonstrated that some variables such as body dimensions affect the absorbed radiation dose. In this study, the association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and absorbed dose in Computed Tomography (CT) is investigated.

A total of 550 adult patients (age ≥ 15 years) were included in the study. The height and weight of the patients were recorded for BMI calculation. Dosimetry data were acquired from digital imaging and communications in medicine dose reports. The patients were categorized into five groups according to their BMI, the categorized information was then imported into ImPACT Dose software for calculation of Size-Specific Dose Estimate (SSDE) and organ and effective doses. The relationship between patient BMI and the effective dose was also determined.

A higher BMI contributed to increased radiation dose and SSDE in patients who had undergone chest or abdomen-pelvis CT examination (p < 0.05). 

The radiation dose is related to a patient’s BMI and rises with an increase in BMI. Accordingly, it is suggested that BMI and other variables, such as the type of scan and other body dimensions, which affect the radiation dose, can be used to estimate the radiation dose before performing CT. This estimation can be considered for the justification and optimization of CT examinations.

For the last three decades, the world population has experienced new epidemics of coronaviruses. The world is currently witnessing the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic, which is a disease that comes from a novel coronavirus called Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The available genetic and clinical proofs suggest a similar route to those of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and SARS. The clinical manifestations of infections caused by coronaviruses including SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 are pneumonia, bronchitis, or other serious respiratory infections. Various transmission ways (e.g., nosocomial transmission) and transmission through moderately symptomatic or non-symptomatic infected individuals have caused great concerns. Although no certain treatment has so far been developed for this disease, and prevention is the main applied strategy for these viruses, some medications can be used to help with this disease. Corticosteroids can be mentioned as an example of these medications. This article specifically reviewed the evidence regarding the effectiveness of the corticosteroid therapy for the coronavirus family (i.e., SARS, MERS, and COVID-19) and showed that there are insufficient data to recommend corticosteroid therapy for patients suffering from COVID-19.

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a vasculitis with multisystem and multiorgan involvement. Cardiac involvement in BD is a rare complication with a poor outcome that manifests itself in different forms. In this study, we aimed to investigate cardiac involvement in BD.

This is a retrospective study based on cardiac manifestations in BD according to the data of the Behçet’s Disease Unit, the Rheumatology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, from registered patients from 1975 until June 2017. Cardiac manifestations consisted of pericarditis, myocardiopathy, myocardial infarction, stable ischemic heart disease, endomyocardial fibrosis, thrombosis, and valvular and coronary involvement. All the patients’ baseline and demographic data were recorded in a designed questionnaire. The laboratory workups, imaging, and pathological tests were also performed.

We studied 7650 patients with BD, of whom 51% were male. In the entire study population, 47 patients manifested cardiac involvement: valvular involvement in 6.1%, myocardial infarction in 23.4%, stable ischemic heart disease in 20%, pericarditis in 21.3%, intracardiac thrombosis in 2.1%, coronary aneurysm in 2.1%, heart failure in 12.8%, and dilated cardiomyopathy in 4.3%.

The prevalence of cardiac involvement in our patients with BD was 0.6%. A multidisciplinary approach can reduce mortality and morbidity rates. Consequently, we suggest that echocardiography and other cardiac diagnostic tests be routinely considered for early diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

 Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is the most frequent fungal disorder in healthy and normal women.

 The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antifungal susceptibility of clinical isolates Candida albicans and Candida glabrata, the two most common candida species in Iranian patients with VVC.

 One hundred and eight clinical isolates of candida, including; C. albicans (n = 77) and C. glabrata: (n = 31) were isolated from the 108 patients with VVC. The in vitro activity of caspofungin (CAS), amphotericin B (AMB), voriconazole (VRC), itraconazole (ITC), fluconazole (FLC), and nystatin (NYS) were determined according to the CLSI M27-A3 and CLSI M27-S4.

 Our results were shown 8 (25.8 %) and 6 (7.8 %) C. glabrata and C. albicans isolates resistance to FLU, respectively. Furthermore, resistance to VRC and ITC were observed in 8.4%, and 3.7% of all isolates, and six isolates (5.6%) had intermediate MIC to CAS.

 We reported 8 (25.8 %) and 6 (7.8 %) C. glabrata and C. albicans isolates resistance to FLU, respectively. Furthermore, resistance to VRC and ITC were observed in 8.4% and 3.7% of all isolates, respectively.

Since the emergence in December 2019, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic that has infected so many people all around the world. As there are no vaccination or antiviral treatment available yet, public health measuresplay a substantial role in the management of this pandemic. Governments of affected countries have imposed different quarantine policies and travel bans. As quarantine can have many controversial aspects, this review intends to clarify its role in diseasecontrol and other aspects of human everyday life with due attention to a couple of epidemics in the past (SARS, MERS, and flu) and ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

We conducted a thorough search in PubMed, Research Gate, Google Scholar, Excerpta Media Database (EMBASE), and Web of Science databases and collected all relevant articles to Quarantine in the past epidemics (SARS, MERS, and flu) as well as ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 176articles were extracted in our primary search process. Primarily, 53 articles have been excluded because of duplication. The other 44 articles have been excluded due to different reasons (Lack of usefulinformationand eligibility of data). Finally, 79articles were selected for more evaluation(published untilApril 2020).

By having previous epidemics, including SARS, MERS, and flu, in mind, quarantine and isolation seem to be proper choices for this situation. But, as this epidemyis bigger than former ones, stricter public health measurements, such as serious social distancing and community-wide containment, are recommended.

Different kinds of substances has been used for wound dressing, however, some disadvantages such as unsatisfactory mechanical stability, poor flexibility, severe shrinkage, low porosity, hard separation from the wound site, and non-antibacterial activity, has been reported. Over the last two decades, much effort has been made to find suitable biopolymer materials for wound healing applications. Chitosan has revealed various biological properties like biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic and non-allergenic, antibacterial effects thus can be used for the production of biofilms and nano-scaffolds. The poor solubility and thermal properties of chitosan restrict its widespread uses, but this polysaccharide is highly compatible with other biopolymers, and researchers are using this property to improve the limitations of chitosan and produce various types of chitosan-based hybrids materials. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of various chitosan-based nanoscaffolds as wound healing dressings.

This narrative review was performed using ISI Web of Science, PubMed, SID, Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct and articles published up to Jan 2020 were included. The keywords of chitosan, chitosan-based scaffolds, chitosan-based composite, and wound dressing were used.

Many researches have been accomplished to obtain chitosan-based scaffolds, including the construction of chitosan based blends and composite scaffolds and etc. The results of most of these researches showed positive effects of chitosan, and its nanocomposite scaffolds/biofilms in blood clotting, activated platelet activity, facilitated tissue regeneration and wound healing process.

The use of chitosan-based scaffolds is effective in biological dressings and wound healing. Futuristic and innovative approaches in chitosan derivatives and nanocomposites can lead to the preparation of suitable co-polymers and the production of wound dressings with the desired properties. the authors hope that this review will help for researchers.

Naringenin is a natural compound with potential anti-cancer effects against several cancer types.  Also, its precise molecular mechanisms regarding tumor growth suppression has not been completely elucidated. In the current study the apoptosis-inducing and anti-proliferative effects of Naringenin together with cyclophosphamide were studied in breast cancer cells and the participation of JAK2/STAT3 pathway was investigated. In this regard, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were cultured and hence, treated with different concentrations of Naringenin. Apoptosis was measured via flowcytometric analysis of annexin V binding and cell viability was assessed via MTT assay. Protein and gene expression were investigated via Western blotting and real-time PCR, respectively. The function of caspase enzymes were also assessed. The results exhibited that Naringenin triggered apoptosis and markedly decreased cell viability. Furthermore its coadministration with cyclophosphamide improved its anti-tumor properties. Moreover, Naringenin up-regulated the expression of BAX while decreased the expression of Bcl-2. Caspases 3 and 9 were activated by Naringenin, an influence, which was augmented via cyclophosphamide. Docking studies revealed an interaction between Naringenin and STAT3 that was confirmed via attenuation of STAT3 phosphorylation subsequent to treating the cells with Naringenin. Furthermore, Naringenin exhibited the capacity to suppress the function of IL-6 in modulating apoptosis-associated genes expression. Overall, these results indicated that a Naringenin- cyclophosphamide combination impairs proliferation signaling and induces apoptosis to a greater extent than either compound alone and can serve as a potent chemotherapeutic regimen for breast cancer treatment.