Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:21 Issue: 4, Oct 2019

The deleterious effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiations occur through non-thermal and thermal effects. Thermal effects occur particularly at long wavelength radiations with heating properties and increase temperature of the tissue. The non-thermal effects are due to the changes in structure and functions of cell membrane, genetic effects, extracellular /intracellular signaling pathways, and oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress referring to overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and /or deficiency in antioxidant defense mechanisms acts like a double-edged sword. Therefore, modification of endogenous antioxidants activity and production of ROS have a significant role in controlling such conditions.

The current review study focused on the effects of oxidative stress after exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiations on cell functions and antioxidant defense.

The results of many studies suggested that exposure to both ionizing and non-ionizing radiations (e.g., radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted from mobile phones and other wireless technologies) may activate oxidizing events, which transform the atomic structure and change macromolecules structures such as proteins, lipids, and DNA.

It can be concluded that physiological responses of cells to injurious stimuli by changes in ROS production cause impairment of cell functions via oxidative damage, and also cause a physiological phenomenon known as adaptive response. In fact, rate of ROS production, redox state of the cell, previous exposures to harmful agents along with other factors contribute to the prevalence of each of such responses

As an ancient zoonosis, cystic echinococcosis still is prevalent among livestock worldwide. Early diagnosis is of utmost clinical importance.

Herein, we compared the efficacy of ELISA with native antigen B and a commercial ELISA kit to detect human hydatidosis in Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran.

The current study consisted of 90 serum samples, including 50 samples obtained from hydatid-affected patients approved by surgery, 20 samples from patients affected by other diseases (having anti-Toxoplasma antibody, giardiasis, hepatitis, etc.), and 20 serum samples from healthy individuals. Native antigen B was prepared from sheep-isolated hydatid cysts. Checkerboard procedure was performed to determine the optimum dilution of antigen, serum and conjugate. Commercial ELISA was done using Vircell indirect immunoenzyme assay to detect anti-hydatidosis IgG. The cut-off point for native ELISA was the sum of two-fold standard deviation and the mean optical density of all negative samples.

Using commercial ELISA kit and native ELISA test, 22 out of 90 and 52 out of 90 sera were positive for hydatid-specific IgG, respectively. Compared to the operation, the sensitivity of native and commercial ELISA tests was 100% and 44%, respectively. However, the specificity was not determined due to the lack of surgical information among the heterologous and control groups. In comparison to the commercial ELISA, both tests showed the same sensitivity (97%), while the specificity of native and commercial ELISA was 95% and 96%, respectively.

Developing ELISA tests using native antigens would be a reliable method to improve the efficacy of human hydatidosis detection.

Procrastination is considered as an avoidance by which students get rid of negative experiences such as anxiety, however, underlying mechanisms in this relationship are not fully known. While mindfulness and acceptance are correlated with procrastination and anxiety, to date, the role of mindfulness and acceptance in procrastination have not been fully studied. This study aims at investigating whether mindfulness and acceptance can increase the prediction of academic procrastination over and beyond trait anxiety. The statistical community was Shahed University. A total of 111 students were selected through cluster sampling method. They were assessed on different variables, including mindfulness (KIMS), acceptance (AAQ-II), anxiety (TAI), and procrastination (PASS). Data were analyzed in SPSS-23 using hierarchical regression. Results showed that there is a significant correlation between anxiety and procrastination. Furthermore, this study showed that acceptance and mindfulness did not contribute to the prediction of academic procrastination over and beyond trait anxiety. Non-acceptance of private experiences is one route to anxiety, which can lead to lack of persistence to avoid the tasks. Cultural differences may explain the findings.

It has been well documented that exercise training (ET) induces beneficial effects on the central nervous system (CNS); however, the underlying mechanisms are less known. We presumed that actin cytoskeleton regulatory proteins such as ADP-ribosylation factors 6 (ARF6) and tropomodulin 2 (TMOD2) may be important elements of Exercise-Induced Neuroplasticity (EIN). We evaluated this hypothesis in the present study.

We randomly divided 12 male Wistar rats into control (C) and training (T) groups. The T group was exposed to six weeks of moderate-intensity treadmill running. The ARF6 and TMOD2 gene and protein expressions in the cerebellum of male Wistar rats were assessed by the real-time PCR and western blot analysis.

The results showed that TMOD2 and ARF6 gene and protein expressions were significantly higher in the T group than in the C group.

It seems that chronic treadmill running increases TMOD2 and ARF6 gene and protein expressions in the cerebellum and these changes probably lead to the improvement of brain function.

Most anti-cancer drugs target mitosis and induce apoptosis in cancerous cells. In the immune system, proliferation and apoptosis of lymphocytes are indeed essential modulating elements.

In this study, we have investigated the effect of vincristine on normal resting and normal proliferating lymphocytes comparing with cancerous cells.

Resting and proliferating splenocytes from mice and BCL1 (mouse lymphoma cell line) were cultured with different concentrations of vincristine for 48 hours, and cell lysates were prepared. The activity of caspases 3, 8, and 9 in cell lysates was measured using specific chromogenic substrates DEVD-pNA for caspase 3, IETD-pNA for caspase 8, and LEHD-pNA for caspase 9, the activity calculated as µmol/min/mg protein.

In the BCL1 cell line, the activity of both caspases 8 and 9 and caspase 3 increased at the presence of vincristine (5 µg/mL). In resting splenocytes, however, only a mild increase in caspase 9 activity was observed without any change in the activity of caspases 8 or 3. In the same situation, the activity of caspase 3 and 9 (but not caspase 8) elevated in proliferating cells exposed to vincristine. Nearly similar results were obtained with higher concentrations of vincristine (up 20 µg/mL).

The results suggesting that vincristine may induce internal pathways of apoptosis in normal and cancerous cells while extrinsic pathway was induced in cancerous cells. On the other hand, the effects are highly dependent on the activation status of normal cells, and affirms that responding immune cells should be more seriously noticed when side effects of anticancer drugs are estimated

Stroke can be classified into ischemic and hemorrhagic types with respect to disturbance in blood flow. Although serum lipids are well-known risk factors for atherosclerosis, the relationship between serum lipid profile and type of stroke remains unknown. Previous studies have reported controversial results regarding the role of dyslipidemia in different types of strokes.

The aim of this study was to compare the serum lipid profile of patients with ischemic stroke (IS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS).

A total of 201 patients with IS and HS, who were admitted to the neurology ward of Ali-Ibn Abi-Talib Hospital and had not used any lipid-reducing drugs, were evaluated on the first day of admission. The serum lipid profile, including triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), was measured in these patients.

The participants were 48.8% male and 51.2% female. The serum TG level was significantly higher in IS patients in comparison with HS patients. The findings showed a significant association between the type of stroke and serum level of HDL-C.

The results indicated a significant association between the lipid profile and type of stroke.

Occasionally rheumatologic syndromes are the presenting symptom of an underlying malignancy.

The main goal of this cross-sectional study was to determine the presence of rheumatic manifestations by age, gender, type of solid tumors, and the stage of disease.

The patients who suffered from solid tumors and referred for first time chemotherapy, were studied. All the extracted data from the questionnaire was collected and analyzed using SPSS (2016) software.

Four hundred and one patients were studied. Sixty-four patients had rheumatologic manifestations. The most representative age group was 61 - 70 years, the most common rheumatologic manifestation observed was fibromyalgia (30 female and 4 male). Most rheumatic syndromes were observed in breast cancer (31 patients) and stage 4 of breast cancer was the most common stage (38 patients). The presence of associated rheumatologic manifestations was as follows: fibromyalgia (53.1%), arthropathy (15.6%), polymyalgia rheumatica (10.9%), Raynaud’s phenomenon (9.4%), frozen shoulder (9.4%) and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (1.6%). In this study, with the exception of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, rheumatic manifestation is more common in female patients.

From the findings, most rheumatologic manifestations (RMs) are gender dependent. These results can be used as a tool for more effective treatment and monitoring clinical studies of RM in patients with solid tumors especially fibromyalgia and breast cancer. If there is early recognition of the disease, it will lead to timely diagnosis and it is essential to improve outcomes in patients with paraneoplastic syndromes. Therefore, rheumatologists must work closely with oncologists to identify those paraneoplastic syndromes

Among the available supplements, 17 β-estradiol (E2) has strong proliferative effects on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

The current study aimed at evaluating the effects of E2-primed MSCs therapy in a rat model of ulcerative colitis.

After the isolation of MSCs, cells were co-cultured with E2 for 24 hours. Colitis was induced by acetic acid in four groups; the control colitis, MSCs-treated, E2-primed MSCs-treated (E2-MSCs), and normal. MSCs and E2-MSCs were injected into the peritoneum in two distinct groups. After 10 days, the rats were evaluated for the level of nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, total protein, and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) in colonic homogenates.

The cell therapy with E2-MSCs in rats with colitis had a more desirable outcome; indeed, it resulted in a favorable regression in clinical score and inflammatory profile in rats with colitis than the MSCs-treated. The levels of myeloperoxidase, nitric oxide, and malondialdehyde were significantly diminished and, conversely, the total protein levels were significantly increased in rats with ulcerative colitis receiving E2-MSCs compared to rats with colitis receiving untreated MSCs. On the same side, the level of proinflammatory cytokines reduced significantly in E2-MSCs rats than the MSCs group.

E2-MSCs decrease colonic damage significantly, which is probably associated with the prominent reduction of lipid peroxidation, neutrophil infiltration, and the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the colonic tissue. Therefore, it seems that E2 effectively surmounts the limitations of MSC application and makes it an ideal choice for cell therapy in inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis