BioMedicine

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) most commonly occurs in the cervical spine, usually involving two to three segments; however, the disease has the potential to occur anywhere in the spine. We encountered a fifty-one year old male with progressive unsteadiness and bilateral lower limb weakness for a period of six months which eventually became worse resulting in inability to walk without assistance. Neurological examination revealed normal upper limb function; however, the lower limbs demonstrated motor dysfunction...

BACKGROUND: Cystinuria as an autosomal recessive sickness is a relatively rare disease. Formation of cystine stones indicates cystinuria. Few studies are considered the cysteine crystal volume in management of cystinuria. Selenium may inhibit organization of crystal stone, growth and stone aggregation. Since the role of selenium on inhibition of cystine crystal formation is not known, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of selenium supplementation on cystine crystals volume in patients with cystinuria...

BACKGROUND/AIM: No published nation-based study has examined the relationship between weight loss and cancer in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate whether weight loss is an early clinical manifestation of cancer in Taiwan. METHODS: We conducted a nation-based, retrospective cohort study that analyzed the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program. There were 8210 subjects aged 20 to 84 years with newly diagnosed weight loss selected as the weight loss group from 2000 to 2012, and 32826 randomly selected subjects without weight loss as the non-weight loss group...

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that can damage the heart, arteries, eyes, kidneys and nerves, leading to death and early disability. Before the discovery of insulin as well as common anti-diabetes drugs, patients with diabetes were treated with medicinal herbs and traditional treatments. One of these effective medicinal herbs is Rhubarb. Rhubarb is prescribed in traditional medicine for various patients, including patients with diabetes. But its effect has not been scientifically reported so far...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Anxiety sensitivity, positive and negative affection and hope are the important factors in promoting mental health of students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral treatments on anxiety sensitivity, hope, positive and negative affect in female students of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research was a trail study with pre-test, post-test and control group...

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, diverse approaches have been existed for laparoscopic procedures. The most common laparoscopic entry methods included close and direct entry laparoscopy and open (Hasson) laparoscopy. There is no evidence regarding the superiority in safety and initial speed for the use of open and optical laparoscopic entry. Therefore, the sight of current study was to evaluate comparative survey of two methods of laparoscopic trocar insertion (Hasson and VisiportTM) in terms of speed and complications in urologic surgery...

Generally regarding as a safe treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) for the past 20 years, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is also an example of precision medicine where surgeons need to titrate individual patient's stimulating electrodes one by one down to the scale of micrometer for the maximum therapeutic effect. In order to prevent operation induced psychiatric complications and minimize any other potential side effects, we have followed 103 patients received this treatment provided by a single surgeon in the same medical institution from 2004 to 2017...

We report on a patient who had neurological deterioration attributed to C5 palsy post C3-C6 posterior decompression and instrumented fusion. A 60-year old man was admitted after a fall from an electric scooter. MRI of the cervical spine confirmed severe cervical spondylosis causing cord compression at C4/5 with associated cord oedema. He underwent posterior cervical decompressive surgery, and he remained neurologically stable post operatively. However, he subsequently developed acute left upper limb weakness limited to the C5 myotome 1 week after surgery whilst undergoing inpatient rehabilitation...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Little research is available on the relationship between weight loss and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Taiwan. We hope to evaluate whether weight loss could be an early clinical feature of undiagnosed HIV infection in Taiwan. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) Program. There were 4748 male subjects aged 1-84 with newly diagnosed weight loss as the weight loss group from 1998-2012 and 18982 age-matched male subjects without weight loss as the non-weight loss group...

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is a common cancer among women around the world. Due to the geographical differences in incidence, mortality and risk factors of cervical cancer, it is necessary to conduct different studies in different countries. This review study is aimed to investigate the most important aspects of cervical cancer in Iran. METHODS: Reviewing papers without time limitation was conducted with the keywords cervical cancer, Cervix uteri cancer and Iran in their title or abstract...

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of ENTONOX inhalation and spinal injection on the reduction of labor pain, the Apgar score of the neonates, and their side effects on new-born children and pregnant women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present clinical trial study is conducted among the pregnant women in the maternity ward of a child delivery hospital in Iran. All Participants were divided in two groups ENTONOX Inhalation and Spinal Anesthesia...

BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a life-threatening multisystem inflammatory condition affected any organ system. Considering the role of uric acid as a pro-inflammatory compound in high pulmonary arterial pressure, serum levels of uric acid and its relation to severity and duration of the disease were assessed in SLE patients. METHODS: As a cross-sectional study, 75 patients with SLE were enrolled in Imam Khomeini Hospital and Sahand Clinic. Serum uric acid level was measured by pars azmoon kit...

Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), a component of dietary food, possesses a powerful anticancer activity. Previous studies have shown that BITC produces a large number of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increases intracellular Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to the activation of the apoptotic mechanism in tumor cells. However, there is not much known regarding the inhibitory effect of BITC on cisplatin-resistant oral cancer cells. The purpose of this study was to examine the anticancer effect and molecular mechanism of BITC on human cisplatin-resistant oral cancer CAR cells...

In the body, mesenchymal progenitor cells are subjected to a substantial amount external force from different mechanical stresses, each potentially influences their behaviour and maintenance differentially. Tensile stress, or compression loading are just two of these forces, and here we examine the role of cyclical or dynamic mechanical loading on progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as on other cellular processes including cell morphology, apoptosis and matrix mineralisation. Moreover, we also examine how mechanical stretch can be used to optimise and ready biomaterials before their implantation, and examine the role of the circadian rhythm, the body's innate time keeping system, on biomaterial delivery and acceptance...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Little research is currently available on the relationship between weight loss and pulmonary tuberculosis in Taiwan. This study aimed to evaluate whether weight loss is an early clinical feature of pulmonary tuberculosis in Taiwan. METHOD: This population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program database. There were 6051 subjects aged 20 to 84 years with newly diagnosed weight loss from 2000 to 2012 as the weight loss group, and 24081 randomly selected subjects without weight loss from the same period as the non-weight loss group...

BACKGROUND: Menopausal women are widely reported to have poor sleep quality and sleep problems. It is not clear whether increases in sleep disturbance are brought about by hormone changes associated with menopause or due to psychosocial and physical problems. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 menopausal women aged between 40 and 60 without any known severe illnesses in the city of Qaen, Iran, from April 2015 to May 2016. Data were collected by Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index...

The content of nitric oxide (NO), 3-nitrotyrosine, advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and trans fatty acids (TFAs) in 16 kinds of cured meat products was examined. Results showed that NO and 3-nitrotyrosine levels were in the range of non-detectable to 4.6 μM/mg protein, and non-detectable to 0.49 nmol/mg protein, respectively. Carboxymethyllysine could be detected in 13 kinds of cured meat products; its content was in the range of 48-306 μg/100 g meat. Pentosidine was found in 14 kinds of meat products, in the range of 109-631 μg/100 g meat...

BACKGROUND: The incidence of kidney cancer from different areas of Iran was reported. Nevertheless, there is no available systematic reviews in this regard. Therefore, the present systematic review carried out to estimate the incidence rate of kidney cancer among Iranian people. METHOD: This systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) in September 2017. A search was concluded using Medline/ PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google scholar for international papers and four national databases (Scientific Information Database, MagIran, IranMedex, and IranDoc) for Persian papers...

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer has been known as one of the most common malignancy in the men and it is therefore very important to prevent and treat this cancer. In this study, the anticancer effects of 20 species of medicinal plants in Iran, especially those grown in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, were investigated on prostate cancer cell lines to identify potential natural alternatives for the development of prostate cancer anticancer drugs. METHODS: The plants were gathered from Chaharmahal va Bakhtyari and their aerial parts extracted through maceration method using ethanol 70%...