ABSTRACT
Vitamin D receptors are widespread in brain tissue, and the active form of vitamin D has been documented for its neuroprotective effects. This study was conducted to determine the association between vitamin D level and cognitive disorders. This descriptive-analytical cross sectional study was conducted within the framework of the "Amikola Health and Aging Project [AHAP]", [2011-12], conducted on 1616 older people, aged>60 years in the city of Amirkola, Iran. Serum levels of vitamin D were measured in morning blood samples and mental status was investigated using Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]. Data was analyzed with T test, ANOVA and Chi-square, and P-values <0.05 were considered significant. The mean age of study participants was 68.81 +/- 7.1 years. Among them 509 [31.5%] had cognitive impairment and 1103 [68.4%] did not. There was significant association between serum vitamin D level and normal and abnormal MMSE in women [P=0.029], but not in men [P=0.49]. Mean serum vitamin D level in participants with normal MMSE was 34.45 +/- 32.79 ng/ml and in participants with abnormal MMSE was 32.80 +/- 29.39 ng/ml but this finding was not significant [P=0.31]. Serum vitamin D level in older persons with normal MMSE was higher than in those with abnormal MMSE, although it was not significant. In this study, there was no association between serum vitamin D levels in older people with or without cognitive impairment
ABSTRACT
Bell's palsy is the most common disorder of the facial nerve, developing some acute changes in the face. Considering its probable viral etiology, antiviral therapy is recently added to the classic regimen. This study has been conducted to compare the effectiveness of two regimens of prednisolone versus prednisolone plus acyclovir in the treatment of Bell's palsy. This clinical trial study was performed on 496 patients with Bell's palsy who divided into two groups; the first group was treated with oral prednisolone and the second group with oral prednisolone and acyclovir. The patients were evaluated at the end of the second week, first, third and sixth months after treatment. The outcome of therapy in two treated groups were compared. Two hundred and forty eight patients [108 males and 140 females] with average age of 20-39 and 248 patients [135 males and 113 females] with the same mean age were treated with prednisolone and prednisolone plus acyclovir, respectively. At the end of the study, the recovery rate in the combined regimen group was 95.06% [237 patients] and in the prednisolone regimen group was 91.2% [226 patients] [p= 0.035]. The result of this study shows that combination of prednisolone plus acyclovir is the preferred regimen of therapy in Bell's palsy
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Prednisolone , Acyclovir , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Cerebrovascular disease [CVD] or stroke is the third cause of mortality and morbidity after CHD and cancer. Incidence of stroke has been decreasing because of identification and prevention of its risk factors. It is important to know the distribution of its risk factors because most of them are preventable and curable. This study was performed on 250 patients with diagnosis of CVD by neurologists and was hospitalized in Babol Yahyanejad hospital from autumn 2000-02. The type of stroke was defined by brain CT scan. The information including age, gender, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, history of IHD or CVD and smoking were gathered from the files and analyzed by Chi-square test and [P<0.05] was considered significant. Stroke happened more in people aged 65 to 74 years [42.4%] and in women [52%]. Hypertension as the most common risk factor significantly differed from the others [P=0.000]. The second and third risk factors were IHD and diabetes, respectively. Also the hemorrhagic type was significantly higher than ischemic type and lead to more death cases. It is recommended to do a screening program for detection and treatment of asymptomatic hypertension and also further studies on high prevalence of stroke in women and determining the cause of IHD being the second risk factor rather than diabetes in this region