مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی گیلان
پیاپی 124 (زمستان 1401)

Cancer is the leading cause of death in the world after cardiovascular disease, and is the third leading cause of death in Iran.

This epidemiological study aims to investigate different types of cancers in Sowme’e Sara County, Guilan, Iran.

This analytical cross-sectional study is a part of the PERSIAN Guilan cohort study that was conducted on 10520 adult men and women in Sowme’e Sara County. The prevalence rate was determined per 100,000 people. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) were used for describing data. Statistical analyzes were performed in STATA version 13 software. 

In this study, 94 patients with cancer and 98 types of cancer were recorded. Most of patients were female (n=65, 68.4%). The mean age at diagnosis in men and women was 47.61±11.23 and 44.30±7.87 years, respectively (Total=45.58±10.09 years). The most common cancers were breast cancer, brain & central nervous system cancer, and prostate cancer. The minimum age for diagnosis in men and women were 23 and 19 years, respectively,.

Screening for breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men living in Sowme’e Sara County should be done which is currently underway using mammography and prostate specific antigen tests.

Background Aging is associated with metabolic disorders. Although the beneficial effects of exercise and resveratrol consumption in the health of the elderly has been reported, the combined effect of intermittent swimming and resveratrol consumption on the antioxidant system in liver tissue is not clear yet. 
Objective This study aims to investigate the combined effect of intermittent swimming and resveratrol consumption on the expression of superoxide dismutases (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and Malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver tissue of older rats.
Methods In this experimental study, 32 elder rats were divided into four groups: control, swimming, resveratrol and swimming+resveratrol. The resveratrol (100 mg) dissolved in 1% methylcellulose was administrated daily by gavage. The swimming was performed at three sessions per week. The GPx and SOD expression levels were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction method, and the MDA level was measured by ELISA method.
Results The GPx level in the swimming+resveratrol group were significantly higher than in the control (P=0.001), resveratrol (P=0.04) and swimming (P=0.002) groups. MDA levels in the resveratrol (P=0.001), swimming  (P=0.001) and swimming+resveratrol (P=0.001) groups were significantly lower than in the control group; in the swimming+resveratrol group, it was significantly lower than the resveratrol (P=0.001) and swimming (P=0.009) groups.
Conclusion It seems that intermittent swimming and resveratrol consumption have favorable effects on improving the antioxidant defense system and lipid peroxidation in liver tissue. Therefore, it is recommended to use intermittent swimming and resveratrol to prevent liver damage in the elderly.

Background Dental abnormalities are considered important, since they cause aesthetic and functional problems for people. Orthodontic treatment becomes more complicated when craniofacial abnormalities are accompanied with dental abnormalities. 
Objective This study aims to compare the frequency and type of dental abnormalities among patients with different skeletal malocclusion classes in northern Iran in terms of age and gender.
Methods Participants were 310 patients (32.9% Class I, 33.9% Class II, and 33.2% Class III). They were evaluated with respect to hypodontia, hyperdontia, impaction, microdontia, macrodontia, and dens invaginatus/evaginatus. Association of the prevalence of dental abnormalities with the type of malocclusion and gender was assessed by chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test, while independent t-test was used to determine its association with age.
Results The overall frequency of dental abnormalities was 33%. Class III patients had the highest rate of dental abnormalities (40.8%); however, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.105). Hypodontia and impacted teeth were the most frequent abnormalities in all malocclusion groups. Occurrence of tooth impaction differed significantly among the three malocclusion groups (P<0.001), where the highest rate belonged to the class III group. Hypodontia was more frequent in males (P=0.040). Tooth impaction and microdontia were the two abnormalities that showed significant association with age (P<0.05).
Conclusion Dental abnormalities in northern Iran is more prevalent among people with the skeletal class III malocclusion. The prevalence of some dental abnormalities is associated with gender and age.

Background Microparticles are one of drug delivery systems designed for sustained and controlled release of drugs for a long period of time. Clotrimazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent, which is generally used for treatment of Candida albicans and others fungal infections.
Objective The present study aims to fabricate Clotrimazole microparticles using beeswax (lipophilic coating) and polyethylene glycol (hydrophilic coating).
Methods In this study, Clotrimazole microparticles by polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and beeswax were prepared using spray drying technique. Morphology and size of the microparticles were assessed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Particle size analyses were performed using Zetasizer technique. The drug release rate was measured using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. To study the interactions between microparticles and carriers, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used. 
Results Size of the microparticles was below 1000 µm. The microparticles prepared from beeswax and PEG 6000 had quasicrystalline and crystalline morphologies, respectively. The maximum drug release rate in 6 hours was 80.53% in formulation F3 (microparticles prepared by beeswax) and 79.29 in formulation F6 (microparticles prepared by PEG 6000). The FTIR results showed probable interactions between clotrimazole microparticles and beeswax. 
Conclusion Both beeswax and PEG 6000 polymers result in similar rate of drug release; however, since beeswax has interactions with clotrimazole, PEG 600 formulation seems to be more appropriate for fabrication of clotrimazole microparticles.

Background Pneumonia is one of the severe infections in children, and empyema is one of its essential complications which causes more risk in affected children. Therefore, its early diagnosis is of great importance.
Objective This study aims to compare the value of two inflammatory markers including mean platelet volume (MPV) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in children with pneumonia associated with and without pleural empyema.
Methods This study was conducted on the data of 128 children aged 3 months to 14 years with bacterial pneumonia associated with pleural empyema and 128 children without pleural empyema. The MPV and NLR values and the patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics were analyzed in SPSS software version 18 software. The confidence interval for the area under the ROC curve was calculated using binomial exact method. The significance level was set at 0.05.
Results Of 256 children, 42.2% were girls, and most of children had ages <3 years (35.2%). Children with empyema had significantly higher NLR, platelet count, and MPV than children without empyema (P=0.040, 0.005, and 0.021, respectively). The MPV (P=0.020) and NLR (P=0.039) were significant predictors of empyema.
Conclusion The use of NLR and MPV may be useful in the early diagnosis of empyema in children with pneumonia.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has extensively affected the public physical and mental health, especially the medical staff working in the COVID-19 wards of hospitals.

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety sensitivity (AS), and resilience among hospital medical staff in Rasht, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is an analytical cross-sectional study. The study population consists of all medical staff working in the COVID-19 wards of Poursina and Razi hospitals in Rasht, Iran. Of these, 94 participated who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Weathers et al.’s post-traumatic stress disorder checklist, Reiss et al.’s AS index, and Connor-Davidson resilience scale were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and multiple linear regression analysis.

There was a significant negative correlation between PTSD and resilience (r=‌-0.405, P=‌0.001). and a significant positive correlation between PTSD and AS (r=0.633, P=0.001). The results of multiple analyses showed that resilience (B=-0.208, P=0.004) and AS (B=0.574, P=0.001) could significantly explain the PTSD in medical staff.

Resilience can be an important protective factor against PTSD in hospital medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The medial staff with AS may experience the symptoms of PTSD more.

Carbon tetrachloride (CCI4) is used as a chemical intermediate in industries. It can be converted into toxic reactive products of trichloromethyl radical under the influence of cytochrome P450 enzymes, and cause tissue damage, including liver damage, through oxidative stress. Liver transplantation is an effective treatment for liver failure but is limited due to the shortage of organ donors.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of human mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (hMSC-CM) on the oxidative stress induced by CCI4 in rats.

Twenty-one adult male Wistar rats matched for weight were randomly allocated into three groups of 7: control, treatment A (receiving CCI4), and treatment B (receiving CCI4+hMSC-CM). A single dose of normal saline was injected into the rats in the control group. Treatment group A and B received intraperitoneal injection of CCI4 along with olive oil with a ratio of 1:1. Twenty-four hours after CCI4 injection, the rats in group B were treated by injection of hMSC-CM for three consecutive days. Forty-eight hours after the injection of hMSC-CM, blood samples were collected from all rats. Oxidative stress markers including total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured and the data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance in SPSS software, version 25.

There was no statistically significant difference in TAC and MDA levels between different groups (P>0.05). The highest levels of TAC was observed in treatment group B, and the highest level of MDA was observed in treatment group A. 

The hMSC-CM has no significant effect on the oxidative stress in the liver. It is possible to achieve significant results by increasing the duration of treatment.

Mycophenolate mofetil as an immunosuppressive agent is widely administered in patients with kidney disorders and following organ transplantation. The amounts of xanthan gum and sorbitol, as two excipients of mycophenolate mofetil, are influential on the final quality and stability of the suspension. 

In this experimental study, we aim to optimize the levels of xanthan gum and sorbitol in the Mycophenolate mofetil powder. 
Methods A Central composite design was used to prepare the formulations. The amounts of xanthan gum and sorbitol were considered as independent variables while the sedimentation volume (F value) and concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) after preparation and after 3 months of storage at 45 ͦC were considered as dependent variables. The samples were prepared through wet granulation process. Chromatography analysis and determination of F value and API were then performed. 

Analysis of variance showed that the increase in the amounts of xanthan up to 75 mg provided higher F value and better protection of API after 3 months by 98%, while the increase of sorbitol from 10 to 25 g had no significant effect on these variables. Optimized sample composed of 16.69 g sorbitol and 68.81 mg xanthan gum. Predicted error was desirably less than 5%. 

The proposed formulation of mycophenolate mofetil powder for oral suspension with optimum amounts of xanthan gum and sorbitol has good stability. High level of xanthan gum and moderate level of sorbitol are recommended for preparing an optimal product.