Thrita
Volume:8 Issue: 23, Jun 2019

Diabetes is one of most widespread diseases that disturb the mental and physical health of patients.

The aim of study was searching a therapeutic method to enhance the diabetic’s health by supposing the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on the well-being and glycemic of patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran.

In a randomized, single-blinded clinical-trial study, from January 2016 to February 2017, a total of 30 type 2 diabetic patients of Yazd Diabetes Research Center, with purposeful sampling method, were selected randomly and put in two groups (Experimental and Control groups). While participants of both groups continued their drug therapy, the experimental group received 10 sessions of 90 minutes (a session per week) group positive psychotherapy while the control group remained on the waiting list. Data were gathered before the intervention and two weeks after intervention. At the end of the treatment sessions three of the experimental group (n = 12) and two of the control group (n = 13) were excluded from the study for their absence in post-test. Data were gathered by demographic form, general well-being questionnaire (GWB), and Glycemic test (HbA1c). SPSS software, version 16 with P = 0.05 level, Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S), chi-square, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for analyzing data.

The results showed that positive psychotherapy significantly increases mental well-being, and its subscales in comparison with the control group (P < 0.01). Also, other results showed that glycemic in the experimental group in comparison with the control group significantly decreased (P < 0.05).

It can be deduced that positive therapy intervention can be effective in mental well-being and to some extent, blood glucose of diabetics. So, this therapy can be used when diabetic patient’s psychological factors should be carefully considered.

One of the most common agricultural pesticides is organophosphorus pesticides. Diazinon is one of the most widely used organophosphorus pesticides used in the fight against pesticides in the country. Much research has recently been done on the impact of exercise on brain function and several biological mechanisms have been proposed for the effects of exercise and physical activity on brain function. It is said that resistance training increases neuronal plasticity due to an increase in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Research has shown that IGF-1 can cross the blood-brain barrier and play an important role as a neurotrophic factor, especially in the hippocampus, and activate various important central mechanisms related to cognitive processes. Exercise also affects the expression of angiogenic genes such as PDGF and VEGF.

We randomly divided 40 male Wistar rats weighing 250 ± 50 g into eight groups of five and treated them with diazinon, berberine chloride, and resistance training. The groups were treated for five weeks. At the end of the fifth week, the levels of IGF-1, PDGF, and VEGF gene expression in hippocampal tissue homogenates were measured using Quantitative real-time PCR. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test.

The results showed that resistance training and berberine chloride significantly increased the levels of IGF-1, PDGF, and VEGF gene expression in poisoned rats.

Based on the results of this study, resistance training and berberine supplementation have significant effects on reducing the harmful effects of diazinon toxin (P < 0.05) and increasing IGF-1, PDGF, and VEGF gene expression in poisoned rats.

Studies have shown that physical activity and the consumption of the medicinal herb saffron affect patients who have testicular problems and those who are prone to apoptosis. In this study, the effects of simultaneous eight-week exercise and crocin usage on the oxidation and anti-oxidation indices of male rats’ testicles subjected to apoptosis were investigated.

In this experimental study, 56 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 7 groups. The groups receiving supplement, exercise, and supplement received oral doses of 10 and 50 mg per kg of body weight for 8 weeks. The control group received only normal saline and the same amount of supplement as gavage. Fourty-eight hours after the last exercise session and after 10-12 hours of fasting overnight, blood samples were collected from animals after anesthesia and measured by dye-matase and catalase activity and the concentration of malondialdehyde in testicular tissue was measured. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 20 (P < 0.05).

The results showed that in all groups except the sick group through exercise and receiving a dose of 10 and 50 mg per kg crocin, dismutase and catalase indices increase, and the malondialdehyde index decreased and the T4 (doxorubicine + 10 mg crocin) group significantly increased in the antioxidant index and decreased in oxidative index (P < 0.05).

The findings of this study showed that endurance training and crocin dose-dependent injections by decreasing the toxicity of doxorubicin reduced the oxidative stress and free radicals and made good compatibility in the antioxidant system of testicular tissue in male rats.

Maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) is the first relationship between a mother and her child, which generally begins during pregnancy. The maternal psychological state affects fetal growth and health. MFA is associated with the mental and psychological condition in pregnant women.

The aim of this study was the estimation of the variance of MFA, according to the personality traits in pregnancy.

Using a descriptive correlational study design, we studied pregnant women who were more than 24 weeks pregnant and were referring to the obstetric ward of the Kowsar Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, during May to June 2015. The sample size was estimated to be 200 women by Morgan’s table. A total of 29 participants were removed due to incomplete questionnaires, and 171 participants were selected. Data collection tools included demographic obstetric questionnaires, including obstetric information and demographic data, Cranly’s MFA scale, and NEO personality scale. Data were analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression, by using SPSS version 16.

Findings from data analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between components of NEO personality with maternal-fetal attachment. Extroversion index (P < 0.001, R = -0.51) had the most significant relationship with MFA. Almost 33% of the variance in maternal-fetal attachment was predicted by personality trait. The extraversion (β = 0.48, P < 0.001) is the highest level of prediction. Neuroticism (β = 0.175), openness to experience (β = 0.131) and conscientiousness (β = 0.237), predicted the maternal-fetal attachment positively. Agreeableness (β = -0.026) was not predicted in the maternal-fetal attachment. In demographic variables, they were not predicted of MFA. There was a significant correlation between parity and maternal-fetal attachment (R = 0.190, P = 0.013).

Personality traits (except agreeableness) predict MFA for pregnant women. In addition, the psychological health of the mother and baby can be improved by identifying mothers based on personality traits, and therefore, by promoting behavioral attachment, health care providers should identify mothers who need additional psychological support during their pregnancy.

Curcumin is a plant derivative with biological effects, including potential for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is known that monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) is involved in PD due to its role in the degradation of various neurotransmitters like dopamine, the main declined factor in PD. Since MAO-B inhibitors (e.g. safinamide) are used as the support for the treatment of PD, we planned to evaluate the in silico interaction of curcumin with one subunit of the MAO-B enzyme in comparison with safinamide. The crystal structure of human MAO-B (PDB entry code 3PO7) was selected from the Protein Data Bank (https://www.rcsb.org). The molecular structures of curcumin (CID: 969516) and safinamide (CID: 131682) were obtained from PubChem (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Chimera 1.8, AutoDock Tools-1.5.6 software and AutoDock4 software were used for this in silico study. The results revealed that the binding energies (ΔG)s of the conformations of curcumin and safinamide, showing the best down ΔG, were -11.15 kcal/mol and -11.09 kcal/mol, respectively. Moreover, the inhibition constants (Ki)s of both ligands were near quantities. Hence, it may suggest that curcumin and safinamide form nearly similar stability with the subunit of the MAO-B enzyme. More experimental studies may reveal the similarity of curcumin with safinamide about the inhibitory effect on MAO-B.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive cognitive disorder that is generally age-related. Although there has been great research focusing on this disease, there is still a lack of reliable therapeutic methods. Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide has a critical function in neuropathology of AD. Stem cell therapy provides treatment by improving the neuronal system in neurodegenerative disorders. Human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) are the most appropriate sources of stem cells due to their safety, high proliferative potential, and easy isolation.

The present study was designed to evaluate the histological and behavioral alterations after intravenous administration of hADSCs in the AD rat model.

In this study, 32 male rats were used in four groups, as follows: control, sham, AD rat model, and hADSCs-treated group. We used Morris Water Maze (MWM) for evaluating behavioral changes and Nissl staining for determining the histological studies.

In this study, the AD model was confirmed by behavioral and histological analysis. Behavioral results showed that the spatial memory improved after hADSCs injection in the AD rat model while the time spent in the target quadrant was significantly higher in the hADSCs-treated group than in the AD rat model group. On the other hand, the number of dead cells significantly decreased in the hADSCs-treated group as analyzed by Nissl staining.

Our findings revealed that hADSCs could transfer into the brain and improve memory and neuronal damage in the AD rat model.