Shabnam Mohammadi

The Effects of Wet Cupping on Coronary Risk Factors in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial

High serum cholesterol is an important risk factor for cardiovascular events. It has been reported that regular blood donation is associated with a reduction in serum cholesterol. This study aimed to determine the effects of wet cupping on lipid profiles and anthropometric characteristics of patients with metabolic syndrome. One hundred and thirty-six patients aged 18 65 years with metabolic syndrome were recruited to participate in this trial. Ten patients were excluded due to exclusion criteria. Patients (n = 126) were randomly assigned into the control (n = 63) and experimental (n = 63) groups. Patients in the experimental group were treated with wet cupping combined with dietary advice. The controls were given dietary advice only. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were assessed at baseline and at six and 12 weeks after treatment. The significance of the data was analyzed using a repeated measure ANOVA. The lipid profile status did not differ significantly between the two groups (p > 0.05) whereas there was a significant difference between the two time points within each group (p < 0.05). In addition, several anthropometric parameters improved in both groups, but this did not differ significantly between subject groups. Wet cupping does not have a significant effect on anthropometric or biochemical indices compared to the effect of dietary advice alone

The effects of wet cupping on serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and heat shock protein 27 antibody titers in patients with metabolic syndrome

INTRODUCTION It has previously been reported that increased level of serum heat shock proteins (Hsps) antibody in patients with metabolic syndrome. It is possible that the expression of Hsp and inflammatory markers can be affected by cupping and traditional Chinese medicine. There is a little data investigating the effects of cupping on markers of inflammation and Hsp proteins, hence, the objective of this study was evaluation of the effects of wet cupping on serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and Hsp27 antibody titers in patients with metabolic syndrome. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Serum Hs-CRP and Hsp27 antibody titers were assessed in samples from 126 patients with metabolic syndrome (18-65 years of age) at baseline, and after 6 and 12 weeks after treatment. One hundred and twenty-six patients were randomly divided into the experimental group treated with wet cupping combined with dietary advice, and the control group treated with dietary advice alone using a random number table. Eight patients in case group and five subjects in control groups were excluded from the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 software and a repeated measure ANCOVA. RESULTS Serum hs-CRP titers did not change significantly between groups (p>0.05) and times (p=0.27). The same result was found for Hsp27 titers (p>0.05). CONCLUSION Wet-cupping on the interscapular region has no effect on serum hs-CRP and Hsp27 patients with metabolic syndrome.

Age and gender as determinants of learning style among medical students.

Background: An awareness of learning styles may help teachers modify their teaching methods to improve the educational outcomes of their students. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the learning styles of medical students during their basic science training at Mashhad University Medical School (MUMS). Methods: The VARK (Visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic learning styles) questionnaire was used to gather information on learning styles in 245 medical students during their basic science Original Research Article Mohammadi et al.; BJMMR, 7(4): 292-298, 2015; Article no.BJMMR.2015.335 293 training at MUMS in 2014. The questionnaire was previously assessed for its validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Overall, 245 students (115 male/130 female) with a mean age of 22.17 2 ± .27 years completed the questionnaire. Of these students 91.84% preferred a singlemodal learning style and 8.16% of students preferred a multi-modal learning style. Of the students with a preference for a single modal learning style, 20% (45 students) had a preference for visual, and 53.33% (100 students) for auditory learning styles respectively; 22.22% (50 students) of students were categorized as single read-write and 4.44% (10 students) were classified as having a kinesthetic learning style preference respectively. Among the multi-modal group, 25% (5 students) of students preferred a bimodal and 75% (15 students) preferred a quad-modal learning style. There was a significant association between learning styles with age and gender (P 0.05). Conclusions: The key finding of our study was that learning style is age and gender dependent. Different teaching methods may be appropriate for men and women.

Serum Hsp70 Antigen: Early Diagnosis Marker in Perinatal Asphyxia

Background: Perinatal asphyxia is an important cause of mortality and permanent neurological and developmental deficit. Early and accurate diagnosis would help to establish the likely prognosis and may also help in determining the most appropriate treatment. Studies in experimental animal models suggest that a protein called Hsp70 may be a good and potentially useful marker of cellular stress that may be clinically useful in determining the presence of neonatal asphyxia. Objectives: Regarding the importance of early and accurate diagnosis of asphyxia, we conducted this study, which is the first investigation of the comparison of the serum Hsp70 antigen level between asphyxiated and healthy infants. Patients and Methods: In this observational study, the serum concentrations of Hsp70 antigen were compared between neonates suffering from perinatal asphyxia (n = 50) and normal neonates (n = 51). The inclusion criteria for the cases were neonates who had reached term and had at least two clinical criteria of asphyxia. Exclusion criteria were babies with gestational age < 37 weeks, infants with congenital abnormalities or positive blood culture. Exclusion criteria in this group were the requirement to hospital stay during first week of the life or babies whose mothers had difficulties during pregnancy or delivery. Term neonates without major anomalies who had asphyxia during delivery were enrolled in the first six hours after delivery, and control group consisted of healthy term neonates without problems and normal delivery process in the first week of life. The cord blood was taken during labor to measure Hsp70 antigen level by using an in-house ELISA (The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Results: The median values of serum anti Hsp70 titers were significantly higher in asphyxiated neonates compared with non-asphyxiated neonates (0.36 [0.04 - 1.14] vs 0.24 [0.01 - 0.63]). At cutoff point = 0.3125 ng/mL, sensitivity was 58% and specificity 76% based on ROC curve. Conclusions: A significant difference between the serum concentrations of Hsp70 of the control and patient group was observed in this study. It is inferred serum concentrations of Hsp70 antigen may be a useful marker for the early diagnosis of that prenatal hypoxia.

Analysis of Amygdala Nucleus in the Rat Brain: A review study

Amygdale is one of the limbic related sub-cortical nuclei lying in the depth of temporal lobe and rostral of the inferior horn of lateral ventricle. In fact, amygdale is a nucleus complex that plays an important role in the emotional response, anger, fear, regulation of cardiovascular system, memory processes and learning and in pathophysiology of many diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, Alzheimer, anxiety and depression. With regard to important of the amygdala in many critical functions, the cerebral disease and because of ethical problems most studies were done on animal models especially rats. Hence, in this review paper we tried to investigate different aspects of the rat amygdala complex including cyto, myelo and receptoarchitectonic.

Therapeutic potential of umbilical cord blood stem cells on brain damage of a model of stroke.

INTRODUCTION Human cord blood-derived stem cells are a rich source of stem cells as well as precursors. With regard to the researchers have focused on the therapeutic potential of stem cell in the neurological disease such as stroke, the aim of this study was the investiga-tion of the therapeutic effects of human cord blood-derived stem cells in cerebral ischemia on rat. METHODS This study was carried out on young rats. Firstly, to create a laboratory model of ischemic stroke, carotid artery of animals was occluded for 30 minutes. Then, umbilical cord blood cells were isolated and labeled using bromodeoxyuridine and 2×10(5) cells were injected into the experimental group via the tail vein. Rats with hypoxic condi-tions were used as a sham group. A group of animals did not receive any injection or sur-geries were used as a control. RESULTS Obtained results were evaluated based on behavioral responses and immunohistochemistry, with emphasis on areas of putamen and caudate nucleus in the control, sham and experimental groups. Our results indicated that behavioral recovery was observed in the experimental group compared to the either the sham or the control group. However, histological studies demonstrated a low percent of tissue injury in the experimental group in comparison with the sham group. CONCLUSION Stem cell transplantation is beneficial for the brain tissue reparation after hypoxic ischemic cell death.

Important signals regulating coronary artery angiogenesis

Angiogenesis is a complex process of budding, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing microvessels, via migration, proliferation and survival. Vascular angiogenesis factors include different classes of molecules that have a fundamental role in blood vessel formation. Numerous inducers of angiogenesis, such as the members of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), angiopoietin (Ang), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), have an important role in angiogenesis. However, VEGF, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) expression appear to be important in intraplaque angiogenesis. Interaction and combined effects between growth factors is essential in endothelial cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, and endothelial cell-cell communication that ultimately lead to the microvessel formation. Since VEGF has a key role during angiogenesis; it may be considered as a good therapeutic target in the clinic. The essential function of several angiogenic factors involved in coronary angiogenesis and intraplaque angiogenesis in atherosclerosis are carefully considered along with the use of angiogenic factors in clinical practice.

The predictors of metabolic syndrome based on Walker Health-Promoting lifestyle in Iran 2016

BACKGROUND Understanding the metabolic syndrome has been the center of attention in recent years as a major risk factor of many diseases. Given the rising incidence of this disease and as the patient can compete against this disease with choosing healthy lifestyle, in the present study, we investigated the predictors of metabolic syndrome, based on Walkers health-promoting lifestyle in two large cities in Iran, in 2016. METHODS This cross-sectional study used two-stage cluster sampling to select 1128 patients, among patients who referred to health centers in Isfahan and Yazd. Data were gathered by Walker lifestyle questionnaire that evaluates health-promoting behavior (nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, and stress management) by self-report that were completed by interviews for illiterate and semi-literate individuals. Data analysis was performed by SPSS statistical software. RESULTS In this study, 576 women and 454 men participated with mean age of 56.19±12.11years and mean weight of 73.90±14.45kg. RESULTS showed that the highest mean score for different health-promoting behaviors was related to social responsibility (25.53±5.65) and the lowest was related to nutritional status (15.18±5.79). Regarding the strongest predictor of lifestyle, the results of regression analysis showed that the most direct impact was related to stress management (R2=0.343) and the least direct impact was related to social responsibility (R2=0.243). Among the structures, physical activity with overall effect of R2=0.621 was the strongest predictor of lifestyle based on Walkers pattern. CONCLUSION Considering the results of this study, the greater emphasis in planning and interventions to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome should be spotted on physical activity and stress management in patients with the metabolic syndrome.

Morphological Characteristics of Styloid Process in Temporal Bone

Introduction: Eagles syndrome is associated with severe pain and limitation in neck movements and dysphagia. This disorder is due to the prolongation or calcification of the styloid process and surrounding ligaments and the pressure on the neuromuscular bundle surrounding it. In addition, the morphometric study of styloid process is important for anthropologists and anatomists. Considering the importance of knowledge about morphometry of styloid process for dentists and anthropologists, this study investigated the morphometric characteristics of styloid process in dry skulls. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 24 dry skulls with no deformities and pathologic problems in 2017. The styloid process was longer than 2.5 centimeters considered as the long styloid process. The angle between the axis of Frankfurt and the longitudinal axis of the styloid process was measured as the anterior angle of the styloid process. Data were entered into SPSS version 20 and analyzed by descriptive statistics including percentage frequency, frequency, and t-test. P-value less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: The mean length of styloid process was 1.36±0.86 cm and the mean thickness of the styloid process was 0.14±0.41 cm. The angle between the axis of Frankfurt and the longitudinal axis of the styloid process was 54.45±16.18. The long styloid process was observed in 8.3 of the skulls. Conclusion: In the present study, the size of the styloid process was close to that of the Asian population, in particular Indians. The study of styloid process can be beneficial for physicians, dentists, anatomists, and forensic specialists. Studies with more specimens on the skull, as well as panoramic radiography and magnetic resonance images can provide us with complete information

Effect of cadmium and nickel on expression of CatSper 1 and 2 genes in mice

Abstract This study was designed to investigate the effect of the administration of cadmium and nickel on the histology of the testes, sperm parameters, and the expression of CatSper 1 and CatSper 2 genes in adult male mice. Despite the vital role of CatSper genes in male fertility, very little is known about the factors that regulate their expression. Thirty-two adult male mice were randomly allocated into four groups. The control group received no treatment. The sham group was injected with normal saline. The cadmium and nickel groups were injected with 2 mg/kg/day of cadmium chloride or 5 mg/kg/day of nickel chloride for 2-weeks as models for testicular injury. Histological study and the analysis of their sperm were performed according to WHO’s guidelines for the examination of human sperm. In addition, a prooxidant antioxidant balance assay and real-time PCR were performed 35 days after the treatment, as the duration of spermatogenesis cycle in mice is 35 days. The data were analyzed using SPSS software using ANOVA. Both nickel and cadmium injections caused a reduction in sperm parameters as well as a decrease in the thickness of the germinal epithelium. The administration of cadmium caused down-regulation in the expression of both CatSper1 and CatSper2 genes. Only cadmium increased the PAB values.