We investigated the effects of ²⁵Mg-Porphyrin-Fullerene nanoparticles, (²⁵MgPMC16) smart ferroporphyrin nanoparticles, on PC12 cells exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion. In order to explore its effect on cells under oxygen-glucose deprivation conditions, the cultures were pretreated with ²⁵MgPMC16 24 hours prior to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion. To initiate the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion, the cell culture medium was replaced with a glucose-free medium and the cells were transferred to a humidified incubation chamber in a mixture of 95% N₂ and 5% CO₂ at 37° C for 30, 60 and 120 min. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Exposure of PC12 cells to 30, 60 and 120 min oxygen-glucose deprivation significantly decreased the cell viability. Pretreatment of the cultures with ²⁵MgPMC16 significantly increased cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Pretreatment, the cultures with MK-801 (10 µM), a non-competitive NMDA antagonist, has attenuated the cell death after 30 min oxygen-glucose deprivation. We concluded that ²⁵MgPMC16 could protect PC12 cells against oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion-induced cell injury in a concentration-dependent manner. That could be due to the effect of ²⁵MgPMC16 on ATP synthesis and the antioxidant effects of its components.

Capecitabine, an effective anticancer drug in colorectal cancer chemotherapy, may create adverse side effects on healthy tissues. In the present study, we first induced colon adenocarcinoma with azoxymethane, a carcinogen agent, and then investigated the potentiality of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer to improve capecitabine therapeutic index and decrease its adverse side effects on healthy tissues like liver and bone marrow. Other variables such as nanoparticle concentrations have also been investigated. Drug loading concentration (DLC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) were calculated for capecitabine/dendrimer complex. Experimental results showed an increase in DLC percentage resulted from elevated capecitabine/dendrimer ratio. Capecitabine/dendrimer complex could reduce tumor size and adverse side effects in comparison with free capecitabine form.

Antioxidants have protective effects against free radicals-induced neural damage in Parkinson's disease (PD). We examined the effects of ellagic acid (EA) on locomotion, pallidal local EEG, and its frequency bands' power and also cerebral antioxidant contents in a rat model of PD induced by 6-hydroxidopamine (6-OHDA). 6-OHDA (16 µg/2µ l) was injected into the right medial forebrain bundle (MFB) in MFB-lesioned rat's brain. Sham group received vehicle instead of 6-OHDA. PD-model was confirmed by rotational test using apomorphine injection. EA (50 mg/kg/2 ml, by gavages) was administered in PD+EA group. One group of MFB-lesioned rats received pramipexole (PPX; 2 mg/kg/2 ml, by gavages) as a positive control group (PD+PPX group). Motor activity was assessed by stride length, rotarod, and cylinder tests. Pallidal local EEG was recorded in freely moving rats. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) besides Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured in both striatum and hippocampus tissues. MFB lesion caused significant reduction of stride-length (P<0.001), bar decent latency (P<0.001) and frequency bands' power of pallidal EEG (P<0.001). Use of 6-OHDA caused a reduction in the GPx (P<0.001) and SOD (P<0.001) activities while increased significantly the levels of MDA (P<0.001) in MFB-lesioned rats. EA significantly restored all above parameters. The results show that EA can improve the motor impairments and electrophysiological performance in the MFB-lesioned rats via raising the cerebral antioxidant contents. Therefore, EA can protect the brain against free radicals-induced neural damage and may be beneficial in the treatment of PD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychological disorders of childhood. Methylphenidate is highly effective in the treatment of ADHD. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of combined Parent behavioral management training (PBMT) and medication treatment (Methylphenidate) in reducing ADHD symptoms in 6-12-year-old children, using randomized sampling. A total of 50 children with ADHD were assigned into two groups: an experimental group of PBMT and a control group of medication treatment (Methylphenidate) without other interventions. Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-48) was employed before and after interventions to determine the effects. Descriptive Statistics method (consisting of Mean and Standard deviation) and Statistical inference method, (including t-test and Levene's Test) were used for data analysis.  Findings revealed that the combined behavioral intervention of PBMT and methylphenidate treatment is more effective in reduction of ADHD in children. The difference of means between pre-test and post-test of CPRS in the experimental group was equal to 10.77, and it was equal to 1.88 in the control group. In addition, PBMT was more effective in the case of younger parents (P<0.025). However, parents’ education level did not affect the behavioral intervention (P<0.025).The findings suggest that combined intervention of PBMT and methylphenidate is effective in reducing the symptoms of ADHD in children.

Mental rotation is a cognitive motor process which was impaired in different neurologic disorders. We investigated whether there were deficits in response pattern, reaction time and response accuracy rate of mental rotation in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients compared to healthy subjects and whether cognitive dysfunctions in MS patients were correlated with mental rotation deficits. Moreover, we showed whether there was a difference between upper and lower-limbs mental rotation in MS patients. Thirty-five MS patients and 25 healthy subjects performed hand mental rotation (HMR) and foot mental rotation (FMR) tasks. Visual information processing speed, spatial learning and memory ability, and visuospatial processing were assessed by Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test–Revised (BVMT-R), and Judgment of Line Orientation Test (JLO) respectively in MS patients. Reaction time for both hand and foot stimuli increased, and response accuracy rate for hand stimuli decreased in MS patients compared to healthy subjects, but response pattern of mental rotation in MS patients persisted. Similar to healthy subjects, MS patients performed upper-limbs mental rotation more easily than a lower-limbs mental rotation with more speed and response accuracy rate. Reaction time and response accuracy rate were correlated with the mentioned cognitive functions. MS patients made use of the correct response pattern for problem solving of increasing orientation from upright stimuli. Reaction time and response accuracy rate altered in these patients and this alteration might occur along with impairment in motor planning. Subjects’ better responding to hand stimuli was due to more familiarity with hand stimuli. The correlation of mental rotation ability with cognitive functions indicates the possible role of cognitive functions in mental rotation.

The clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ) has been developed to measure the health status of COPD patients. The aim of this study was to translate CCQ into the Persian language and assess the validity and reliability of the translated version. We used a forward-backward procedure to translate the questionnaire. In a cross-sectional study 100 COPD patients and 50 healthy subjects over 40 years old were selected to assess the reliability and construct validity of the instrument. The face and content validity were used for the questionnaire validity. Validity was examined in a population of patients with COPD, using the Persian validated version of the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (PSGRQ). In order to assess the questionnaire’s reliability, the Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha were calculated. Test-retest reliability was tested by re-administering the Persian version of the CCQ (PCCQ) after 1 week. Test-retest carry out of data demonstrates that the PCCQ has excellent reliability (ICC for all 3 domains were higher than 0.9). Internal consistency was found by Cronbach’s alpha to be 0.96, 0.94, 0.97, and 0.98 for the symptom, mental state, functional state and total scores respectively. In addition, the correlation between the components of PCCQ and PSGRQ showed satisfactory construct validity. Analyzing the data from healthy subjects and patients divulged that the PCCQ has acceptable discriminant validity. In general, the PCCQ had satisfactory reliability and validity for assessing health-related quality of life status of Iranian COPD patients.

Drug and Poison Information Centers (DPICs) have a critical role in the fulfillment of rational drug use programs and provide services to the scientific community with the aim of improving the health and safety of drug use. This was a retrospective study on recorded calls of DPICs in Iran from March 2012 to March 2013. Data consisted of general information; drug and poisoning information, medical history and also the distribution of a number of calls collected by DPICs in Iran. The centers received a total of 171769 calls. Most calls were made by the patients (56.1%) and then the patients’ relatives (38%). Also, 67% of the patients were determined as female. The calls mostly were focused on Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) (15.3%), indications (14.0%) and drug evaluations (11.8%). Anti-infective agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and vitamins with 9.6%, 7%, and 6.8% frequencies were the highest frequently asked questions, respectively. Based on the results, patients do not receive enough information about their medications, from physicians and pharmacists. The DPICs have an important role to guide the people and provide the accurate drug and poison information and fill the absence of information that is not provided by medical staff. So, based on the important role of these centers, it is worth the Iran DPICs being introduced more to people, and we need more advertising around the country.

Quality of clinical education for medical students has always been a concern in academic medicine. This concern has increased in today’s time-squeeze while faculty members have to fulfill their complementary roles as a teacher, researcher, and practitioner. One of the strategies for program evaluation is obtaining trainees’ feedbacks since they are the main customers of educational programs; however, there are debates about the efficacy of student feedback as a reliable source for reforms. We gathered Likert scores on a 16-item questionnaire from 2,771 medical students participating in all clerkship programs in a multidisciplinary teaching hospital. An expert panel consisting of 8 attending physicians established content validity of the questionnaire while a high Cronbach’s Alpha (0.93) proved its reliability. Summary reports of these feedbacks were presented to heads of departments, clerkship program directors, and hospital administrators, at the end of each semester. Analysis of variance was used for comparing hospital scores across different time periods and different departments. Significant changes (P<0.001) were observed in mean scores between different semesters (partial η2=0.090), different departments (partial η2=0.149) as well as the interaction term between departments and semesters (partial η2=0.111). A significant improvement in mean clinical education score is noticeable after three semesters from the beginning of the survey. Periodic, systematic trainee’s feedback to program directors can lead to an improved educational performance in teaching hospitals.

The efficacy of methods like e-learning as a supplement to traditional face-to-face instruction needs to be evaluated in dental courses. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of posting case presentations on one of the educational websites of  the virtual school of Tehran University of Medical Sciences called “SARMAD” to enhance the ability of senior dental students to diagnose tooth discolorations and offer treatment plans. This experimental study had a pre-test/post-test control group design and was conducted on 63 senior dental students. After filling out the primary questionnaire and obtaining a written informed consent, students participated in a pre-test and were then randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. Fifteen case presentations were posted on the university website (SARMAD) during 6 weeks and discussed. Then, students participated in a post-test. Students’ perspectives and their satisfaction with the website were assessed by a questionnaire. For ethical purposes, the same program was also offered to the controls. The post-test score was significantly higher than the pre-test score in the intervention group (P<0.001); but in the control group, the post-test score was only slightly higher than the pre-test score (P=0.128). In the intervention group, 70% stated that they would suggest this method as an efficient educational modality; 93.3% stated that this method would be beneficial as a supplement to conventional education; 16.7% ranked the SARMAD website excellent, 30% ranked it good, 33.3% acceptable, 16.7% moderate and 3.3 poor. It appears that this instructional modality may be efficiently used as a supplement to traditional instruction in undergraduate dental curricula.

Asthma is one of the most common diseases in childhood, which has been increased during last decade because of epidemiological pattern changes with climate and industrialization of the communities. There are some controversies on the relationship between air pollution and asthma. Tehran, as the capital of Iran, is one of the densest populations and is one of the most polluted cities in the world. This study was performed to search effects of various air pollutants using GIS-based modeling on the rate of hospitalizations due to asthma in children in Tehran. Information of patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of asthma in a referral pediatric hospital was checked and the total number of admissions in the same age range (2 to 14 years) during a 2-year period (March 2009-March 2011) were calculated. Information about air pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide, obtained from the air quality control center. Days of the year divided into GOOD and NONGOOD days according to the guideline for reporting of the daily air quality index (AQI). Two thousand two hundred nineteen cases enrolled in the study and asthma admission to total admission ratio compared with air pollutants data in admission day (725 days), using nonlinear regression method. Analysis of the data revealed that there is a significant relationship between NONGOOD nitrogen dioxide (P=0.01), ozone (P=0.01), and sulfur dioxide (P=0.04), levels and admission due to asthma in children, but There was no significant relationship between carbon monoxide levels and asthma admission in children. A significant relationship between nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulfur dioxide concentration in air and admission due to asthma at levels other than GOOD, reveals air pollutants levels can be significantly harmful to children before AQI reaches to hazardous levels.

Warfarin-induced skin necrosis (WISN) is a rare complication of anticoagulant therapy associated with a high incidence of  morbidity and mortality requiring immediate drug cessation. At particular risk are those with various thrombophilic abnormalities, especially when warfarinisation is undertaken rapidly with large loading doses of warfarin. Cutaneous findings include petechiae that progress to ecchymosis and hemorrhagic bullae. With the increasing number of patients anticoagulated as out-patients for thromboprophylaxis, we are concerned that the incidence of skin necrosis may increase. We present a case of WISN with low protein C level. He was a 50-year-old male who came to our department because of acute infarction in irrigation area of the superior cerebellar artery. He had intermittent atrial fibrillation and was started on anticoagulant therapy.  After few day of therapy, he developed skin necrosis, and his level of protein C was low. Warfarin-induced skin necrosis is a rare but serious complication that can be prevented by routine screening for protein C, protein S or antithrombin deficiencies or for the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies before beginning warfarin therapy.