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Role of the First Childbirth and its Associated Factors on Sexual Satisfaction and the Quality of Sexual Life of Married Women
No full textBackground and aims: Sexual satisfaction (SS) and a desirable quality of sex life are known as prerequisites for the physical and mental health of individuals. This study was designed to evaluate the role of the first childbirth and its associated factors in life satisfaction and the quality of life of married women in Shahrekord.
Methods: This self-control cohort study was conducted on 124 married women who were planning to have their first pregnancy from January 2018 to February 2019. The convenience sampling method was used to select the samples. The questionnaires utilized in this research included the Demographic Information Questionnaire, the Married Women’s Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Sexual Quality of Life-Female Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by independent t test, chi-square, and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS, version 22.
Results: The mean scores of SS and the quality of sexual life before pregnancy and one year after delivery were 63.45±13.62 and 52.38±13.59, as well as, 88.40±14.19 and 71.08±13.29, respectively. In this study, there was a significant relationship (P±0.041) between changing the quality of sexual life and good economic status of individuals, as well as irregular menstrual status and contraceptive methods (natural birth control). Further, the relationship between residence and change in SS was significant so that people living in cities had the most change in SS compared to those living in rural areas (P±0.046).
Conclusion: SS and its dimensions, including physical and psychological barriers, dominant cultural values, and husband-related factors, as well as the mean score of the quality of sex life one year after delivery, were lower than before pregnancy.
Keywords: Quality of sex life, Sexual satisfaction, Nulliparous wome
The effects of bromelain on osteoarthritis symptoms: A systematic review
No full textBackground and aims: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common skeletal and excruciating disease worldwide. This study aimed to investigate bromelain’s effect and underlying mechanism on OA symptoms.
Methods: This systematic review was designed according to the PRISMA guidelines. An extensive search was undertaken in various databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Scopus. Finally, 14 articles were retrieved considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The desired data were extracted and entered into an Excel file, and the outcomes of the studies underwent investigation.
Results: Bromelain downregulates inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-1β, and interferon γ expression in synovial fibroblasts. In addition, bromelain inserts analgesic effects by decreasing vascular permeability to bradykinin and inhabitation its generation. Bromelain counteracts by increasing the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iONS) levels, and lipid peroxidation while reducing those of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and prolidase. Another main antinociceptive effect property of bromelain is associated with its anti-inflammatory effect by relieving neuroinflammation and synovial membrane inflammation.
Conclusion: Bromelain indicated good therapeutic effects on reducing OA symptoms due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Although no specific bromelain-related side effects were not reported in the included studies, it is recommended that more laboratory studies should be conducted with different doses and appropriate methodology.
Keywords: Bromelain, Osteoarthritis, Arthritis, Systematic revie
Letter to the Editor concerning “Predictive factors for respiratory failure and in‑hospital mortality after surgery for spinal metastasis” by Jaipanya P, et al. (Eur Spine J [2023]: doi:10.1007/s00586-023-07638-z)
No full textEffects of swimming exercise during pre-adolescence on learning and memory in adult rats: behavioral and electrophysiological approaches
No full textIntroduction: The positive impact of physical activity on age-related memory impairment is well documented. There is no clear report on the effects of pre-adolescent exercise on cognitive abilities in adulthood. Methods: Male Wistar rats (4-week-old) were randomized to a non-swimmer (control, n=20) and swimmer (n=20). The swimmer group trained for 30min a day, 6 days per week, 6 weeks. After the last day, behavior (through passive avoidance learning and radial maze) and electrophysiological techniques were evaluated in rats. Results: Swimming exercise led to a decrease in the number of trials in the passive avoidance test. In addition, swimming reduced the number of working memory and reference memory errors in the radial maze task. On the radial maze task, the two groups showed equal learning ability in finding the baited food arms by day 15. The results of the recall tests showed that the number of total memory errors and working memory errors was significantly lower in the swimmer group than in the non-swimmer group. Exercise also improved both Population spike (PS) amplitude and field-excited postsynaptic potential slope. Conclusion: These results revealed that swimming exercise could improve memory by increasing synaptic plasticity in rats. © 2023, Iranian Society of Physiology and Pharmacolog
Utero-ovarian low grade endometrial stromal sarcoma, a case report
No full textIntroduction: Endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) is a rare malignancy of uterine in middle aged women. There are numerous subtypes for ESS which share the same clinical picture of uterine bleeding and pelvic pain. Consequently, diagnosis and treatment modalities of LG-ESS with metastasis are challenging. However, both molecular and immunological study of samples can be useful. Case presentation: In this case study, we report a 52-year-old woman presenting with the chief complaint of unusual uterine bleeding. There was no specific finding in her past medical history. The CT study revealed enlarged bilateral ovary with a significantly large left ovarian mass and suspicious mass in uterus. By the diagnosis of ovarian mass, patient went under total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO), greater omentectomy, and appendectomy followed by post-op hormone therapy. Her follow-up was uneventful. The IHC and pathological study of samples revealed incidental LG-ESS uterus mass with metastasis to ovaries despite her primary diagnosis. Discussion: LG-ESS has low metastasis rate. Surgical modalities and neoadjuvant therapies are recommended base on the stage of ESS. In the following study, we represent a case of incidental LG-ESS with bilateral ovarian invasion who was initially diagnosed as an ovarian mass. Conclusion: Our patient was successfully managed by surgical intervention. Despite scarcity of LG-ESS, it is advised to consider LG-ESS as a differential diagnosis in management of patients with a uterus mass with bilateral ovarian involvement
Nano‐delivery systems as a promising therapeutic potential for epilepsy: Current status and future perspectives
No full textEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder caused by aberrant neuronal electrical activity. Antiseizure medications (ASMs) are the first line of treatment for people with epilepsy (PWE). However, their effectiveness may be limited by their inability to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB), among many other potential underpinnings for drug resistance in epilepsy. Therefore, there is a need to overcome this issue and, hopefully, improve the effectiveness of ASMs. Recently, synthetic nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have received attention for improving the effectiveness of ASMs due to their ability to cross the BBB. Furthermore, exosomes have emerged as a promising generation of drug delivery systems because of their potential benefits over synthetic nanoparticles. In this narrative review, we focus on various synthetic nanoparticles that have been studied to deliver ASMs. Furthermore, the benefits and limitations of each nano-delivery system have been discussed. Finally, we discuss exosomes as potentially promising delivery tools for treating epileps
Striving for Being in the Line of Life: Personal Active Ageing Strategies in Iranian Seniors
No full textActive ageing is a multidimensional, relative, and context-dependent concept with different paths and outcomes. This qualitative study aimed to explore personal active aging strategies in a specific context. Following a directed thematic analysis procedure, we conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 39 seniors (men and women) between the ages of 60-97 years selected with purposeful sampling, data collection and analysis were concurrent. We used directed content analysis to analyze the data from interviews, written narratives, and field notes. The reliability of data was fulfilled following Lincoln and Guba criteria. We stopped data collection when no new concepts were added, and data saturation occurred. Based on the experience of seniors, we identified four categories: (a) Reventive, (b) Coping, (c) Internal Self-Control, and (d) Opportunity Exploiting Strategies. These described the active aging strategies when encountering age-related change. Utilizing these strategies, the senior accompanied the lifetime. The finding suggests that active aging is a continuous process in confronting age-related change. The identified strategies can help promote active aging by familiarizing the elderly with opportunities of life and training them in how to use these strategies
Ferulic acid exerts a protective effect against cyclosporine‐induced liver injury in rats via activation of the Nrf2/HO‐1 signaling, suppression of oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and halting the apoptotic cell death
No full textDrug-induced liver injury is one of the main challenges that leads to the withdrawal of several drugs in the clinical setting. Cyclosporine is one of the drugs that its long-term administration exerts devastating effects on the hepatocytes. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of ferulic acid, a natural compound found in plants, on cyclosporine-mediated hepatotoxicity. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were treated with cyclosporine and/or ferulic acid to evaluate the function as well as the morphology of liver cells. We found that ferulic acid dose-dependently recovered the functional as well as histopathological parameters of liver cells, as revealed by the improvement of hepatocellular vacuolation, portal fibroplasia, and necrosis. Moreover, this phenolic compound was able to restore the balance of the redox system in cyclosporine-treated rats by activating the nuclear factor (NF) erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling axis. Of note, the protective effects of ferulic acid against cyclosporine-mediated liver toxicity were not restricted only to induction of the potential antioxidant property, as in the presence of this agent, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin-1β was also diminished. Ferulic acid also shifted the equilibrium between the expression levels of proapoptotic to antiapoptotic proteins and thereby prevented the development of cyclosporine-induced liver injury. Overall, these findings highlighted that ferulic acid can reduce cyclosporine-induced liver injury due to its antioxidant properties
Empowerment and self-efficacy in patients with chronic disease; a systematic review study
No full textIntroduction: It is crucial for patients with chronic disease to learn the skills they need to manage their illnesses, which is called empowerment. Objectives: This review study aimed to evaluate the need for empowerment and self-efficacy in patients with chronic disease. Methods: The keywords were looked up in articles published between 2014 and 2023 using electronic databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the search engine Google scholar. All obtained pertinent papers and books were analyzed based on the search method and the established criteria, and all redundant and unrelated items were excluded. Results: Results showed that empowerment and self-efficacy were conducted as a technique or strategy to guide patients and caregivers. An empowerment and self-efficacy model can promote quality of life (QoL) in chronic disease patients. Despite empowerment being beneficial for patients with chronic illnesses in previous studies, it should also be implemented for patients with other diseases. Conclusion: Given this literature results, the empowerment and self-efficacy model can improve the QoL in patients with chronic illnesses. Registration: This study has been compiled based on the PRISMA checklist, and its protocol was registered on the PROSPERO website (ID: CRD42023417639)
IgA vasculitis nephritis (Schönlein-Henoch purpura with nephritis) following COVID-19 vaccination
No full textIgA vasculitis nephritis (Schönlein-Henoch purpura nephritis) is an autoimmune circumstance characterized by palpable purpura involving the lower limbs, arthralgia, abdominal pain and kidney involvement. It is possible that a cytokine storm following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could lead to an immunological dysregulation responsible for IgA vasculitis nephritis in these cases. Reactivation or first onset of IgA vasculitis nephritis is uncommon; however, there have been increasing reports of this disease, as a complication of COVID-19 vaccination. It is possible that COVID-19 mRNA vaccination may trigger several auto-inflammatory and autoimmune cascades. Previous research has shown that Toll-like receptors play a role in the development of IgA vasculitis nephritis. Following injection of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, the uptake of double-stranded RNA by-products will trigger Toll-like receptors, leading to a series of intracellular cascades starting an innate immunity-driven process of cell-mediated and humoral-mediated immunit