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Amaurosis After Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Injection in a Seven-year-old Girl: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
No full textA seven-year-old girl was referred for the treatment of her primary teeth. An inferior alveolar nerve block was administered using 1 mL of 2% lidocaine. Shortly after the injection, the patient experienced pain, erythema, blurred vision, and temporary loss of vision in her right eye. Based on these symptoms, a diagnosis of transient vision loss due to the anesthetic injection was made. The situation was explained to the child and her parents, assuring them that the complication was temporary. The right eye was covered with wet gauze, and all symptoms resolved within 20 minutes. A follow-up ophthalmological examination showed no abnormalities, and the procedure was successfully completed without further complications. A one-day follow-up revealed no issues
Evaluation of the effect of melatonin on patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICU: A double-blind randomized clinical trial
No full textIntroduction and objectives: This research aims to examine the efficacy of melatonin as an adjuvant therapeutic agent for COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation was conducted on a group of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Individuals were allocated into 2 groups: one group received a combination of 18 mg of melatonin and standard treatment for 14 days; the other group received a placebo in addition to standard treatment. Patients were evaluated at the beginning of the study as well as the 7th and 15th days to analyze changes in clinical symptoms, P/F ratio, and inflammatory markers. Results: The study included patients with an average age of 57.80 ± 17.96 years, with an equal gender representation. The average length of hospital stay was 19.83 ± 4.45 days. Hypertension and diabetes were commonly observed comorbidities. There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics between the 2 groups (P > .05). Additionally, there were no significant distinctions between the 2 groups in terms of clinical symptom improvement, mortality rate, adverse effects, and various blood markers (P > .05). Conclusion: Our study's findings suggested that melatonin is unlikely to significantly affect the clinical status of COVID-19 patients
A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Relationship between Statin Intake and Esophageal Cancer
No full textBackground: Esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor with a low survival rate. Statins, commonly prescribed for their lipid-lowering effects, have been suggested to possess potential chemopreventive properties against various cancers, including esophageal cancer. Objectives: This systematic review studied the association between statin intake and esophageal cancer. Methods: To conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis, we reviewed studies published between 1980 and June 2023 in Web of Science (WOS), Embase, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases according to the PRISMA guidelines. Data extraction, quality assessment, and statistical analyses were performed using predefined protocols. We used various statistical tests conducted by Stata statistical software. Statistical significance was considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: Twenty-one studies were collected and analyzed. The meta-analysis demonstrated that the odds ratio (OR) of esophageal cancer in patients treated with statins was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.57-0.75, p <0.001) compared to the non-receiving group. The ORs for case-control and cohort studies were 0.67 (95% CI:0.54-0.83, p < 0.001) and 0.62 (95% CI:0.55-0.71, p < 0.001), respectively. The investigation into the relationship between the statins intake and the incidence of esophageal cancer did not reveal any indication of publication bias according to both Begg's test (p = 0.966) and Egger's test (p = 0.113). Conclusion: The results revealed that the odds of esophageal cancer in patients treated with statins decreased by 35% compared to patients not treated with statins. However, further well-designed prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and understand the underlying mechanisms of statins in preventing esophageal cancer
Selenium Concentrations in Patients with Depression: A Case-Control Study
No full textBackground: Evidence suggests that dietary micronutrients may be associated with depression. The role of selenium as a risk or protective factor for depression was contradictory. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between serum selenium concentrations and depression. Methods: This casecontrol study was conducted from 2018 to 2020 in Shahrekord, y]Iran. The case and control groups included patients with or without depression, respectively. Seventy-two participants were selected using the conventional method. In addition to recording demographic variables, the blood selenium concentration of the participants was measured. Results: There was no difference between case and control groups in terms of mean levels of blood selenium (P>0.05). Results showed that there was no statistically significant interaction between the effects of gender and group (P=0.51), age and group (P=0.13), Body mass index (BMI) and group (P=0.52) on blood selenium concentrations. However, females had significantly more selenium concentrations than males in both groups (P=0.005). Conclusion: Despite some confirming evidence for the association of depression and blood selenium concentration, this study did not show such a relationship. However, blood selenium concentration was higher in women than men in both group
Examining the Challenges of Using Accompanying Midwife from the Perspective of Midwives and Pregnant Women Referring to Hospitals in Shahrekord
No full textBackground: The presence of accompanying midwives (doulas) in the delivery room always entails many challenges. This study was carried out to determine the challenges of attendance with training from the point of view of midwives and expectant mothers in selected hospitals of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran. Methods: The present study was a descriptive study on 70 midwives working in the delivery block, 120 pregnant mothers, and 20 trained attendants. The sampling of midwives and doulas was performed using the census method, and the sampling of pregnant mothers was conducted using the convenience method. The study tool included questionnaires made by the researcher about demographics and socioeconomics, therapeutics, and psychological challenges for the group of mothers and midwives. The face validity and content validity of the questionnaires were confirmed by midwifery professors and reproductive health specialists, and their reliability was confirmed by internal consistency. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS software (version 21). Results: In this study, 70 midwives working in selected hospitals of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, 120 pregnant mothers, and 20 trained attendants were examined. Most of the pregnant women (n = 39, 32.5) mentioned that the most important motivation for requesting a doula during pregnancy and labor was to overcome the fear of childbirth. Most of them (n = 101, 84.9) also stated that they used doula services at the right time. Meanwhile, 54 women (45) were familiar with doula services during pregnancy, and most of them (n = 67, 56.3) stated that doula services can be useful and effective in all three stages of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Conclusions: There are dissatisfactions and challenges regarding the support of doulas during pregnancy and childbirth. Therefore, it is recommended to provide the necessary training to healthcare providers, especially obstetricians, midwives, and mothers, regarding the importance and place of doula’s supportive care in this era. Additionally, doula activities should be integrated and promoted in the care of the health team. © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences
The Perceived Support Received by Women with Breast Cancer during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study
No full textBackground: Women with breast cancer in Iran face challenges requiring support. Yet the provision of support may have changed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the perceptions of women with breast cancer about the support they received during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Iranian women with breast cancer. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed via conventional content analysis. Results: Participants (n = 33) were Iranian women aged 29-58 years. All women included were married and were working in the role of a housewife. Women's perceptions of breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic of support were identified under two main categories; Constructive support and Lack of support. Sub-categories related to constructive support included receiving support from family, peers, and nurses. Sub-categories related to lack of support included a perceived lack of spousal and sociocultural support. Conclusion: Anti-stigma interventions (AS interventions) are suggested to increase both spousal and sociocultural support in this context. Further studies may usefully be conducted with the participation of Iranian women's family members in order to gain a deeper understanding of the support received and required by Iranian women with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond
PeptiHub: a curated repository of precisely annotated cancer-related peptides with advanced utilities for peptide exploration and discovery
No full textPeptihub (https://bioinformaticscollege.ir/peptihub/) is a meticulously curated repository of cancer-related peptides (CRPs) that have been documented in scientific literature. A diverse collection of CRPs is included in the PeptiHub, showcasing a spectrum of effects and activities. While some peptides demonstrated significant anticancer efficacy, others exhibited no discernible impact, and some even possessed alternative non-drug functionalities, including drug carrier or carcinogenic attributes. Presently, Peptihub houses 874 CRPs, subjected to evaluation across 10 distinct organism categories, 26 organs, and 438 cell lines. Each entry in the database is accompanied by easily accessible 3D conformations, obtained either experimentally or through predictive methodology. Users are provided with three search frameworks offering basic, advanced, and BLAST sequence search options. Furthermore, precise annotations of peptides enable users to explore CRPs based on their specific activities (anticancer, no effect, insignificant effect, carcinogen, and others) and their effectiveness (rate and IC50) under cancer conditions, specifically within individual organs. This unique property facilitates the construction of robust training and testing datasets. Additionally, PeptiHub offers 1141 features with the convenience of selecting the most pertinent features to address their specific research questions. Features include aaindex1 (in six main subcategories: alpha propensities, beta propensity, composition indices, hydrophobicity, physicochemical properties, and other properties), amino acid composition (Amino acid Composition and Dipeptide Composition), and Grouped Amino Acid Composition (Grouped amino acid composition, Grouped dipeptide composition, and Conjoint triad) categories. These utilities not only speed up machine learning-based peptide design but also facilitate peptide classification
Efficacy of preladenant in improving motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopamine depletion and severe motor impairments. Preladenant, an adenosine A2 receptor antagonist, is an investigational treatment for PD. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to critically evaluate the efficacy of Preladenant in improving motor symptoms in patients with PD. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to March 2023, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing Preladenant with placebo in PD patients were included. The primary outcome was the change in daily ON time without troublesome dyskinesia. Secondary outcomes included the change in daily OFF time and adverse events. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Results: Four RCTs with a total of 2097 PD patients were included. Pooled analysis showed that Preladenant could generally increase daily ON time (pooled effect 0.15 and 95 % CI:- 0.19-0.48) and reduce daily OFF time (pooled effect-0.04 and 95 % CI:- 0.43-0.36) compared to placebo, however it was not significant. The included studies had moderate to high heterogeneity. No significant differences in adverse events were observed between Preladenant and placebo. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that Preladenant may improve motor fluctuations in PD patients by increasing ON time and reducing OFF time. However, the high heterogeneity among studies warrants further large-scale, high-quality RCTs to confirm these findings and establish the long-term safety and efficacy of Preladenant in PD management
Novel therapeutic strategy for obesity through the gut microbiota-brain axis: A review article
No full textBackground: The interaction between commensal bacteria and the host is essential for health and the gut microbiota-brain axis plays a vital role in this regard. Obesity as a medical problem not only affect the health of the individuals, but also the economic and social aspects of communities. The presence of any dysbiosis in the composition of the gut microbiota disrupts in the gut microbiota-brain axis, which in turn leads to an increase in appetite and then obesity. Because common treatments for obesity have several drawbacks, the use of microbiota-based therapy in addition to treatment and prevention of obesity can have other numerous benefits for the individual. In this review, we intend to investigate the relationship between obesity and the gut microbiota-brain axis as well as novel treatment strategies based on this axis with an emphasis on gut microbiota