Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Jan 2020

Around 50% - 60% of patients with multiple sclerosis suffer from different levels of anxiety and depression. Patients with multiple sclerosis, due to their unique conditions, have limitations on using medications and psychotherapies to manage their depression and anxiety.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a spirituality education program on the anxiety and depression of patients with multiple sclerosis.

A pretest-posttest two-group randomized-controlled trial was conducted in 2018 on a convenience sample of 64 patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients were randomly allocated to an experimental group and a control group. In the experimental group, patients received spirituality education in eight 90-min weekly sessions. The Beck Depression and the Anxiety Inventory were used for data collection. For data analysis, we used frequency distribution tables, repeated measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA), and independent t-test.

The post-test mean scores of depression and anxiety were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the results of the RM-ANOVA test illustrated that in the experimental group, the depression score significantly decreased from 22.86 ± 3.86 at baseline to 14.27 ± 4.62 after the intervention (P < 0.001). Additionally, the anxiety score in this group significantly decreased from 20.82 ± 4.26 at baseline to 13.55 ± 4.74 after the intervention (P < 0.001).

The findings show that spirituality education is effective in reducing the symptoms of depression and anxiety among patients with multiple sclerosis.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) is the factor causing AIDS. The virus is categorized into retroviruses that attack and destroy the immune system of the body and cause lethal infections.

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in the improvement of sleep quality and perceived social support of the patients with HIV/AIDS.

The present study is randomized controlled trial research. The study population included individuals with HIV-AIDS from Ahvaz county’s center of behavioral disease counseling. The study sample volume consisted of two groups, named mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and control groups, each one contained 15 individuals who were selected randomly. The experimental intervention was undertaken during eight 1.5-hour sessions that were held once a week. To gather the data, the sleep quality scale, perceived social support questionnaire, SCL-90-R scale, and demographic factors questionnaire were used. Multivariate covariance analysis and SPSS-22 Software were utilized for analyzing the data.

In terms of gender, the experimental group consisted of 8 (53.3) women and 7 (46.7) men. In the control group, 4 (26.7) were women and 11 (73.3) were men. The mean (standard deviation) age of the participants in the experimental group was 35.7 (7.42) and the mean (standard deviation) of the age of the control group was 37.8 (9.1). The results showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy had a significant effect on sleep quality (F = 27.98, P < 0.001) and perceived social support (F = 36.20, P < 0.001) in patients with HIV/AIDS.

It can be concluded that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is effective in improving the sleep quality and perceived social support of patients with HIV/AIDS. Based on the results of this study, it seems that by teaching mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, patients’ sleep quality and perceived social support can be reduced.

Treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is one of the effective therapeutic strategies for treating stroke. Its effectiveness is associated with the period between the onset of symptoms and initiation of the treatment. An earlier intervention can result in better results and prognosis.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of public education regarding stroke warning signs on pre-hospital delay and frequency of tPA therapy in stroke patients referring to the emergency department.

In this quasi-experimental study, the research population included all stroke patients referring to an emergency department in an urban area of Iran in 2016 - 2018. Educational intervention included the distribution of educational pamphlets through the city, the installation of banners, radio training programs, etc. began in November 2017 and lasted one year. Patients’ information was collected one year before and one year after the intervention. Data were analyzed with independent t-test and chi-square test using SPSS version 18 software.

According to the results, in the post-intervention phase, the frequency of referrals in all three intervals (less than 3 hours, 3 - 6 hours, and more than 6 hours) were increased compared with the pre-intervention phase. There was no significant difference regarding the frequency of treatment with tPA between two intervals.

Based on the results, public education can raise awareness regarding the symptoms of stroke and prevent serious neurological defects after ischemic stroke, based on which the used intervention is highly recommended.

Non stress test (NST) is the most common and the first recommended test to assess the health of the fetus especially in high risk pregnancies in most studies. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of non-stress test on fetal, neonatal and maternal outcomes to prevent chronic consequences in delivery health centers of West Azerbaijan.

This was a classic case-control study conducted on 984 subjects in West Azerbaijan. The method of sampling was census during the last two years (2014 - 2015). Of 984 subjects, 500 subjects had undergone NST (case group) and 484 subjects had not been undergone NST (control group). Data were collected using records of mothers and checklist including variables related to maternal characteristics such as fetus characteristics, and the results of the NST. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 24 software. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.

In the case group, 71.6% had a positive or reactive response and 28.4% had non-reactive test response. The rate of fetal death in centers without NST was 2.18% and fetal deaths were higher in centers without NST and all deaths in centers with NST occurred when this test was non-reactive (P < 0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship between NST with exposure to meconium and fetal distress. The main cause of NST was the premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) (41.7%). Post-term, meconium-stained amniotic fluid, decreased fetal movement (DFM) and post-term were other common causes. Meanwhile, 24.4% of mothers had abnormal movement tests, and this result was more non-reactive NST compared with reactive NST (P = 0.001).

Using non stress test to observe the abnormal results of this test, midwives working in centers can quickly decide on appropriate referrals of mothers to hospitals and delivery centers, in such a way that this referral prevents mothers from developing adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes.

Clopidogrel is a platelet inhibitor drug widely used in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the prevention of stent thrombosis. Genetic variation within CYP2C19 gene causes variable clopidogrel response. The FDA has recommended CYP2C19 genotyping in the patients taking clopidogrel, especially in the population with high prevalence rates of CYP2C19 *2 and *3 alleles.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CYP2C19 gene polymorphisms in the population received Drug-Eluting Stents following PCI in the southwest of Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 102 patients undergoing PCI. Demographic characteristics and risk factors of patients were collected using a questionnaire and CYP2C19 genotyping was carried out by PCR-RFLP. Then CYP2C19 allele and genotype frequencies were determined and analyzed using χ2 test.

Data analysis showed that the frequencies of CYP2C19*1, CYP2C19*2, and CYP2C19*3 allele were 79.4%, 15.2%, and 5.4%, respectively. The frequency of CYP2C19*1/*1 genotype was 60.8%. Moreover, CYP2C19*1/*2, CYP2C19*1/*3, CYP2C19*2/*3 heterozygote genotypes were shown in 28.4%, 8.8%, and 2.0% of the subjects, respectively. None of the patients had CYP2C19*2/*2 or CYP2C19*3/*3 genotypes.

The results of this study showed a high prevalence of CYP2C19*2 polymorphism in the population lived in the southwest of Iran. The frequency of CYP2C19*1/*2 genotype is compatible with the majority of the Iranian population and more similar to Caucasian populations.

Shift work can be considered a cause of health problems and a risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of aerobic physical activity on cTNI, visceral fat and plasma biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk among shift workers of Sarir Plast Industrial Group.

The present research is a semi-experimental research that was carried out on the shift workers of the Sarir Plast Industrial Group. Thirty workers, with an average of 5 years of shift work history, were selected through judgmental sampling technique and were then randomly assigned to the two groups of aerobic physical activity (n = 15) and control group (n = 15). Based on the schedule, the experimental group performed 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week with 50% - 70% THR intensity. Both before and immediately after the plan, the activity, height, BW, VF, cTNI, TC, TG, HDL, LDL, vLDL and VO2, max were measured. For data analysis, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Levene’s test, Mbox-test, and ANCOVA were employed (P < 0.05).

The BW, VF, TC, TG, and LDL significantly decreased in the post-test for the experimental group, while the value of HDL and VO2, max increased. However, cTNI and vLDL did not change significantly (P < 0.05).

Aerobic physical activity was effective in reducing the risk factors of CVD in shift workers. It appeared that aerobic physical activity could be used as a non-pharmacological approach to prevent CVD in shift workers.

Overweight and obesity are dangerous factors in the incidence of many cardiovascular diseases in overweight and obese men.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of caffeine supplementation and aerobic training on lipid profile and resting blood pressure in overweight and obese men.

In this quasi-experimental study, 40 male volunteers aged 40 - 50 years who met the inclusion criteria were selected and randomly divided into the four groups of: (1) control, (2) caffeine supplementation, (3) aerobic training, and (4) training + caffeine supplementation. Written consent was obtained from all the subjects. Groups 3 and 4 performed training according to the training protocol for eight weeks and three sessions per week, and groups 2 and 4 consumed 5 mg/kg caffeine daily. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test, and P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Aerobic training as well as caffeine supplementation and aerobic training had a significant effect on the improvement of lipid profile and mean arterial blood pressure in overweight and obese men (P ≤ 0.05), but caffeine supplementation had no effect on any of the lipid profile variables (i.e., LDL, HDL, CHOL, and TG) or mean arterial blood pressure in overweight and obese men (P > 0.05).

It seems that aerobic training can have beneficial effects on lipid profile and blood pressure in overweight and obese men.

One of the age-related disorders is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) that impairs learning and memory. It appears that the use of non-pharmacological methods due to fewer complications can help improve the memory process.

The present study aimed to review the effect of voluntary and forced training with Royal Jelly (RJ) consumption on learning and spatial memory of rats with AD.

We divided 46 rats with AD into seven groups of eight rats including (1) RJ, (2) voluntary training, (3) forced training, (4) forced training with RJ, (5) voluntary training with RJ, (6) control, and (7) sham. During eight weeks, groups 1, 4, and 5 received RJ 100 mg/kg daily; groups 2 and 5 ran on running wheels for three sessions of 60 min per week and groups 3 and 4 swam for three sessions of 60 min per week. Twenty-four hours after the last training session, learning and spatial memory were measured by the shuttle box and Y maze, respectively. Shapiro-Wilk, one-way ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA test with Bonferroni’s post hoc test were used for data analysis (P ≤ 0.05).

Training and RJ had significant effects on the increase of Step-Through Latency (STL) (P ≤ 0.05) and the Percentage of Alteration (PA) (P ≤ 0.05), as well as the decrease of Time spent in Dark Compartment (TDC) (P ≤ 0.05). Training and RJ consumption had a significant interactive effect on the decrease of TDC (P ≤ 0.05).

It appears that training simultaneously with RJ consumption has interactive effects on improving memory in rats with AD.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is one of the main causes of mortality in the world. The role of Von Willebrand Factor (VWF) is very important in platelet adhesion, microcirculation, and acute stenosis and it contributes to the development of atherothrombotic processes.

We decided to evaluate the level of VWF in diabetic and non-diabetic patients as an effective factor in CAD.

This study was performed on 65 patients (32 diabetic patients and 33 non-diabetic patients), who referred to an Echocardiography and Angiography Department. They were evaluated for the VWF level, blood group, and fasting blood glucose. Patients underwent echocardiography, angiography, and, if necessary, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) during the hospitalization. They also underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) if they needed the surgery. After 40 days, we evaluated the anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), mortality, major adverse cardiac events (MACE), heart failure, and limb ischemia.

The VWF level was significantly higher in diabetic patients (P < 0.0001). Also, the increased VWF levels were significantly more frequent in diabetic patients under CABG than in non-diabetic patients under CABG (P = 0.013). There was a significant relationship between positive MACE and increased VWF levels.

The level of VWF in diabetic patients increases cardiovascular problems. Therefore, it seems that these patients can benefit from VWF-reducing drugs. Clinical research can be promising in this field.