مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 657 (هفته اول فروردین 1401)

In the past decades, problems in treating infections caused by resistant pathogenic bacteria were coupled with an increased focus on herbal active ingredients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-biofilm, antibacterial and antioxidant effects of S. khuzestanica and to determine its chemical composition.

Satureja khuzestanika leaf was prepared from the Natural Resources Center of Isfahan Province. The antibacterial effect of extracts and essential oils was determined by well diffusion method and their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were determined by microdilution method on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. The antioxidant activity was also investigated by measuring the reduction of radical capacity. The chemical composition of the plant was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The MIC of methanolic extract and essential oil of S. khuzestanica were 12.5 and 31.25 mg/ml for S. aureus, respectively. In all cases, there was a direct relationship between the diameter of the growth inhibition zone and the concentrations of the plant extracts. The essential oil of the plant at a concentration of 50 mg/ml inhibited 100% of the biofilm production of both bacteria. Essential oil also had the highest antioxidant activity with 86% inhibition of DPPH. The level of antioxidant activity of extracts showed a significant increase with increasing the concentrations (P < 0.001). Carvacrol with 32.61% was the main compound of S. khuzestanica and then Cymene, Terpinene and Bisabolone was more than other compounds.

The results showed that S. khuzestanika essential oil and extracts have antibacterial effect against S. aureus and antibiofilm effect on S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. This plant contains compounds with antimicrobial activity and antioxidant properties.

To predict the success rate of tympanomastoidectomy surgery, there exists various toolkits such as Middle Ear Risk Index (MERI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the success rate of MERI in predicting the outcome of tympanomastoidectomy in Alzahra and Ayatollah Kashani hospitals in Isfahan in 2019.

In this Times Series study, 87 patients with Chronic Otitis Media (COM) underwent tympanomastoidectomy and, while assessing the middle ear risk index, underwent regular postoperative follow-up three times. Surgical outcome and MERI scores were compared to evaluate its efficacy in predicting the outcome of the operation.

According to the index, the severity of the disease was mild in 17 patients, moderate in 29 patients and severe in 41 patients. According to the results of our study, the success of surgical outcome was not significantly associated with the score obtained by MERI, but postoperative conduction hearing loss was significantly improved.

The findings of the present study indicate that determining the value of MERI in order to predict the success rates of tympanomastoidectomy requires further studies with a larger sample size and also taking in to account other possible variables that affect the outcome of tympanomastoidectomy.

The use of chemotherapy drugs in combination with ultrasound exposure increases their synergic effect at lower doses. It can play an important role in the treatment of drug-resistant cancers, such as melanoma. Also, in this method, reducing the dose of the drug minimizes side effects on healthy cells. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ultrasound-mediated chemotherapy with dacarbazine on malignant cell death and apoptosis induction in melanoma. 

After culturing B16F10 melanoma cells in-vitro, the optimal concentration of dacarbazine was determined by MTT assay. The effect of ultrasound on cell survival was also investigated separately by the same method. In the next step, the cells were treated with the optimal concentration of dacarbazine at intensities of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 w/cm2 and were observed for 3 minutes. After 24 hours MTT assay was used to measure cell viability. The level of apoptosis induction by treatments was also measured using flow cytometry.

The survival rate of melanoma cells treated in combination with dacarbazine and ultrasound at 2 w/cm2showed the greatest decline. Also, the rate of apoptosis at 1.5 w/cm2in combination with dacarbazine increased significantly.

The use of ultrasound in combination with dacarbazine can be effective in improving the response of melanoma to treatment and reduce the overall toxicity to non-cancerous cells.