Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Volume:27 Issue: 3, Mar 2022

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the conspicuous causes of cancer‑related death worldwide. Considering the mounting incidence of this cancer in developing countries such as Iran, determining the influential factors on the survival of involved patients is noteworthy. Hence, we aimed to ascertain the survival rates and the prognostic factors in our GC patients.

In this retrospective cohort study, data of 314 patients with GC in a referral cancer center in Hamadan province of Iran were studied. The outcome of our study was survival time and the influential factors were gender, age at diagnosis, tumor history, tumor grade, surgery history, radiotherapy history, stage of disease, metastasis history, and lymph node involvement. Kaplan − Meier method and log‑rank test were used for the calculation and comparing the survival curves and Cox‑proportional hazard model was used for the multivariable analysis of prognostic factors.

In a total of 314 GC patients, the median age at the diagnosis was 63 years (range: 21–92) with most patients (74.84%) being males. The median follow‑up time was 2.42 years, and the median survival time was 2 years. The multivariable cox analysis of overall survival (OS) indicated that having distant metastasis increased the hazard of death by about 2.5 times (P < 0.0001, heart rates [HR]: 2.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.71, 3.75]), and receiving surgery as treatment, decreased the hazard of death up to 36% (P = 0.02, HR: 0.64, 95%CI: [0.46–0.89]). The other variables did not have any significant effects on the OS.

The results of this study showed that lower survival (greater hazard of death) strongly and significantly associated with having distant metastasis in patients with GC and receiving surgery could significantly decrease the hazard of death in these patients instead.

Triple‑negative breast cancer is a heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer. Claudin is an epithelial tight junctional protein, and also it is a receptor for clostridium perfringens enterotoxin and shows impairment of expression in several cancers. The chief purpose of this study is to assess the claudin‑4 expression in triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) Iranian patients and evaluate its correlation with some clinicopathological factors.

In this study, 81 TNBC patients were evaluated for the claudin‑4 expression by immunohistochemistry. The slides’ staining intensity was examined and scored from 0 to 3. Then, slides were reviewed to assess the percentage of cells with membrane and cytoplasmic staining; the obtaining scores were 1–4. Finally, added the resulting two numbers from two stages, and the final number was a maximum of 7. Final scores of 0–3 were considered the low expression, and 4–7 were considered the high expression. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using the Chi‑square test.

Eighty‑one women with breast cancer and a mean age of 49 ± 12 years participated in the study. In 80% of the patients, there was a high expression of claudin‑4 marker, and 20% had low expression. The expression level of the marker was not significantly correlated with age, tumor size, lymph node involvement, tumor grade, disease stage, Ki‑67, and metastasis.

The present study confirmed the high frequency of claudin‑4 antigen expression in TNBC patients, and no significant correlation was observed between the expression of antigen and demographic or clinicopathological factors.

This scoping review aimed to investigate the status of breast cancer (BC) preventive behaviors and screening indicators among Iranian women in the past 15years. BC, as the most common cancer in women, represents nearly a quarter(23%) of all cancers. Presenting the comprehensive view of preventive modalities of BC in the past 15 years in Iran may provide a useful perspective for future research to establish efficient services for timely diagnosis and control of the disease.

The English and Persian articles about BC screening modalities and their indicators in Iran were included from 2005 to 2020. English electronic databases of Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus, and Persian databases of Scientific Information Database (SID) and IranMedex were used. The critical information of articles was extracted and classified into different categories according to the studied outcomes.

A total of 246 articles were assessed which 136 of them were excluded, and 110 studies were processed for further evaluation. Performing breast self‑examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography in Iranian women reported 0%–79.4%, 4.1%–41.1%, and 1.3%‑45%, respectively. All of the educational interventions had increased participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practice in performing the screening behaviors. The most essential screening indicators included participation rate (3.8% to 16.8%), detection rate (0.23–8.5/1000), abnormal call rate (28.77% to 33%), and recall rate (24.7%).

This study demonstrated heterogeneity in population and design of research about BC early detection in Iran. The necessity of a cost‑effective screening program, presenting a proper educational method for increasing women’s awareness and estimating screening indices can be the priorities of future researches. Establishing extensive studies at the national level in a standard framework are advised

Quarantine, an unpleasant experience, was implemented in many countries to limit the spread of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which it could associated whit lifestyle changes. The present study aimed to determine the changes in Iranian’s lifestyle during COVID-19 pandemic.

In the present cross-sectional study, 2710 Iranian people completed an online researcher-made questionnaire asking lifestyle regarding COVID-19, which includes five sections about physical activity, stress and anxiety, nutrition habit, sleep disorders, and interpersonal relationship in addition to demographic data from January to February 2021, using the multistage cluster sampling method.

The participants’ mean age was 33.78 ± 11.50 years and 68.3% of them were female. Traveling, sightseeing, and family visits have been eliminated from 91%, 83.5%, and 77.5% of participants’ lives, respectively. There were increase in stress level (P < 0.001), weight of the participants (P < 0.001), sleep problems (P < 0.001), and healthier foods (P < 0.001) but decrease in interpersonal communication(P<0.001) and the amount of physical activity( P < 0.001).

In summary, this study indicates some changes in lifestyle of Iranian people, including changes in some eating practices, physical activity, social communication, and sleeping habits during the pandemic. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, a comprehensive understanding of these behaviors and habits can help develop interventions to mitigate the negative lifestyle behaviors during COVID-19 pandemic.

second‑generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are associated with metabolic side effects in child and adolescents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the metabolic effects of adding topiramate on aripiprazole in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) aged between 6 and 18 years.

A 12‑week, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled, randomized trial was conducted in the child psychiatric units of university hospitals. Forty patients aged between 6 and 18 years with new diagnosis of BD participated in the study. Eleven patients were excluded. Subjects received aripiprazole plus topiramate (Group 1, n = 15) or aripiprazole (Group 2, n = 14) for a 3‑month period. Young mania rating scale (YMRS) was used for measuring the manic symptoms severity. Primary outcome measures included weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, abdominal circumference, and blood pressure. Secondary outcome measures included fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, fasting insulin, and fasting lipid profile. Changes in metabolic profile during the study were obtained by using repeated measures of variance.

During a 3‑month follow‑up, YMRS measures decreased significantly in both groups with a significant difference between groups (P < 0.05). The mean of weight, BMI, and high‑density lipoprotein levels in group 2 were significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the mean of low‑density lipoprotein level in group 1 was decreased (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in anthropometric parameters and metabolic indices between groups (P > 0.05).

Adding topiramate on aripiprazole is effectivefor controlling bipolar disorder as well as metabolic adverse effects of SGAs in juvenile patients.

Fatigue is the most common symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). Although MS‑related fatigue (MS‑F) strongly affects quality of life and social performance of patients, there is currently a lack of knowledge about its pathophysiology, which in turns leads to poor objective diagnosis and management. Recent studies have attempted to explain potential etiologies as well as treatments for MS‑F. However, it seems that without a consensus on its nature, these data could not provide a route to a successful approach. In this Article, we review definitions, epidemiology, risk factors and correlated comorbidities, pathophysiology, assessment methods, neuroimaging findings, and pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments of MS‑F. Further studies are warranted to define fatigue in MS patients more accurately, which could result in precise diagnosis and management.

COVID 19 may affect organs other than lungs, including liver, leading to parenchymal changes. These changes are best assessed by unenhanced computed tomography (CT). We aim to investigate the effect of COVID 19 on liver parenchyma by measuring the attenuation in CT scan Hounsfield unit (HU).

A cohort of patients, who tested COVID 19 polymerase chain reaction positive, were enrolled and divided into two groups: fatty liver (FL) group (HU ≤ 40) and nonfatty liver (NFL) group (HU > 40) according to liver parenchyma attenuation measurements by high resolution noncontrast CT scan. The CT scan was performed on admission and on follow up (10–14 days later). Liver enzyme tests were submitted on admission and follow up.

Three hundred and two patients were enrolled. Liver HU increased significantly from 48.9 on admission to 53.4 on follow up CT scan (P<0.001) in all patients. This increase was more significant in the FL group (increased from 31.9 to 42.9 [P =0.018]) Liver enzymes were abnormal in 22.6% of the full cohort. However, there was no significant change in liver enzymes between the admission and follow up in both groups.

The use of unenhanced CT scan for assessment of liver parenchymal represents an objective and noninvasive method. The significant changes in parenchymal HU are not always accompanied by significant changes in liver enzymes. Increased HU values caused by COVID 19 may be due to either a decrease in the fat or an increase in the fibrosis in the liver.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics, and outcomes of hospitalized children with suspected COVID‑19 infection in Isfahan.

In this cross‑sectional study, all children aged<15years, who hospitalized as suspected case of COVID‑19 were enrolled. During this study, all demographic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics as well as follow‑up data and outcomes of the hospitalized children were recorded by pediatric residents using a questionnaire. The findings of studied populations in the two groups of definite/or suspected and negative COVID‑19 patients were compared.

During 6 months’ period, 137 children with suspected COVID‑19 infection were evaluated. Mean age of studied population was 4.3 (0.38) years. The most common symptoms in order were fever, cough, dyspnea and diarrhea. The most common computed tomography scan findings were bilateral ground glass and subpleural involvements. The rate of mortality was 7.3%. COVID‑19 polymerase chain reaction test was positive in 22% of the patients. Based on the specialist’s diagnosis, 30/25 patients were definite/or suspected to COVID‑19 and reminder (79) were negative. O2 saturation <90%, was significantly higher in children with definite/or suspected diagnosis for COVID‑19 (46.7% vs. 22.4%, P < 0.05). Dyspnea and shivering were significantly higher in children with definite/or suspected diagnosis for COVID‑19 than those negative for COVID‑19(P < 0.05).Mean duration of hospitalization was significantly associated with level of lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.05).

The clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings of our studied population were similar to other studies, but outcome was not similar which may be due to our studied population (inpatients cases). It is suggested that a better understanding of the infection in children may give important insights into disease pathogenesis, health‑care practices, and public health policies.