ABSTRACT
Background: Cancer can lead to fatigue and the manifestation of psychological symptoms in patients, including depression, anxiety, and stress
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between fatigue and psychological symptoms in patients with gastrointestinal cancer
Materials and Methods: The study had a descriptive, cross-sectional design. We assessed levels of fatigue and the psychological health of 70 patients with gastrointestinal cancer who had been referred to the cancer institute in Tehran, Iran in 2014.We used the Rhoten Fatigue Scale to assess patients' levels of fatigue and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale [DASS-21] to assess their psychological symptoms. We performed a correlation analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression to compare the relationship between fatigue and psychological symptoms in the cancer patients
Results: There was a significant relationship between psychological symptoms, including depression, stress, and anxiety and fatigue in patients with gastrointestinal cancer [p<0.05]
Conclusion: Our study results demonstrate that the severity of fatigue is related to the extent of psychological symptoms [depression, anxiety, and stress] in patients with cancer. A patient's depression and anxiety predicts the fatigue
ABSTRACT
Background: Multiple sclerosis [MS] is a chronic disease characterized by degradation of the central nervous system myelin which may impair the balance of patients. Core Stability Exercises have been the focus of attention for repairing the stability of some patients
Objectives: To assess the effect of core stability exercise on the balance of patients with multiple sclerosis
Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental [pretest-posttest study with no control group], 15 MS patients have been selected according to convenient sampling and Expanded Disability Status Score [EDSS] of less than 4.5. Participants performed core stability program according to the Jeffreys protocol [2002] at 9 O'clock in the morning over 8 weeks in summer 2015. Static [in second] and dynamic [in centimeter] balances were measured using modified stork and modified star [Y] tests respectively. Data were analyzed in SPSS-16 using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to ensure normal distribution of data, and paired t-test to compare mean values before and after exercise program as they have normal distribution
Results: Mean and standard deviation of static balance were 3.56 +/- 1.81 and 11.17 +/- 6.36 in pretest and posttest in the dominant foot, and 3.67 +/- 1.89 and 9.42 +/- 2.94 in the non-dominant foot, respectively. The sum of the 3 measurements in Y balance was 256.01 +/- 32.68 and 340.68 +/- 38.33 in pretest and posttest in the dominant foot, and 262.35 +/- 42.49 and 344.55 +/- 47.25, respectively, in the non-dominant foot [p
Conclusion: The core stability exercise program positively and significantly improved static and dynamic balance of patients with multiple sclerosis
ABSTRACT
Background: Temporal variation of stroke onset is suggested in some studies contained somewhat varieties. It is proposed that some predisposing changes occur in some ascertained times consequently resulted in stroke occurrence in some special times
Objective: To determine the circadian and circaseptan variation of stroke onset
Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted from March 2012 to February 2013 in an academic hospital in the North of Iran. All patients with acute onset of neurological symptoms were enrolled in the study after being diagnosed as a stroke patient. The diagnosis was made by a neurologist using brain imaging. Age, gender, history of diabetes and hypertension, time and date of stroke onset were recorded for all patients. The data were analysed using Chi-square test in SPSS software version 19
Results: A total of eight hundred sixty-nine patients with mean age of 67.5il2.4 years [55.6% women 44.4% men] were admitted during one year study. Eighty-five percent of stroke cases were ischemic in nature and the others were hemorrhagic type. Distribution of cases during a day was not uniform [p < 0.0001]
The peak of stroke onset occurred in the mornings [7-9 a.m.] followed by a second peak in the evenings [7-9 p.m.]
In addition, the distribution of cases during the week was also not uniform [p < 0.016]
Conclusion: Stroke occurrence has a diurnal variation probably resulted from circadian physiologic changes. Although there is a circaseptan variation in the times of stroke record, it seemingly isn't related to physiologic changes
ABSTRACT
Background: Professional identity is a part of human identity and career has a beneficial impact on psychological health
The importance of personality in job achievement has also been increasingly concerned in economics
Objective: To compare the Big Five personality factors between employed and persons
Materials and Methods: This study was an applied cross sectional analytic descriptive research of a comparative type which was conducted from January 2012 to March 2012
The sample size was thirty in each group of employed and unemployed subjects, chosen randomly from male population of a city in the North of Iran with purposive sampling method. Age and education level of subjects were controlled according to labor market conditions. For collecting data, the NEO inventory was used; five factors of personality can be assessed by which. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 19 through descriptive and inferential statistics using independent t-test
Results: A total of thirty employed and 30 unemployed men in the age range of !lW§|pears participated in the study
The neuroticism score was higher in unemployed persons [p = 0.001]
The openness score resulted in no significant difference between employed and unemployed people [p = 0.96]. The scores of extroversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness were significantly higher among employed people rather the ones [p = 0.01, 0.001 and 0.01, respectively]
Conclusion: Personality traits except openness have significant relationship with employment, neuroticism may have a negative relationship, and the other personality traits maybe in the positive relationships with employment
ABSTRACT
Background: Epilepsy is the second common neurologic disorder. Althoug many antiepileptic drugs have been formulated to control the seizures, but not all seizures have been controlled by them. Uncontrolled epilepsy can actually reduce the patients' quality of life
Objectives: Identifying the proportion of adult intractable epilepsy among epileptic patients in an area in the North East of Iran
Materials and Methods: All epileptic patients who admitted to neurology clinic of a teaching hospital associated with Islamic Azad University of Mashhad in 2014 that were eligible for inclusion criteria enrolled this cross-sectional study. After fulfilling the informed consent, interview, examination and EEG were done
The data was expressed and analyzed by using Mean+/-Standard deviation and the Likelihood Ratio Chi-Square test in SPS! software version 22. Significance level was considered as less than 0.05%. Results: From 171 patients, 59 patients with epilepsy [34.5%] met the criteria for intractable epilepsy [37.5% male, 31.3% female] with mean age of 28.2+/-8.5 years. The mean duration of disease was 14.5+/-8.4 and 11+/-8.8 years in patients with refractory epilepsy and controlled epilepsy respectively [t-test=2.5 and p=0.013]
The seizure frequency was significantly higher in pharmacoresistant patients than pharmacoresponsive ones [7.15+/-8.4 vs. 0.29+/-7 per month p=0.0001]
Also taking Carbamazepin and Clobazam and Primidone were associated with intractable epilepsy [p<0.05]
Conclusions: Our results accounted that about one-third of patients with epilepsy are categorized in refractory epilepsy with higher duration of disease
ABSTRACT
Aims: We conducted this study to determine if there is any correlation between Classical Multiple Sclerosis and Chlamydophilia pneumoniae infection by ELISA (IgM, IgG, IgA). Study Design: cross sectional study Place and Duration of Study: The present study was performed in the Department of Microbiology, Guilan University of Medical Sciences between April 2012 and April 2013 Methodology: Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection certified by ELISA in patients (n=46) and control (n=46) using commercial assays (anti- C. pneumoniae IgG, anti- C. pneumoniae IgM, and anti- C. pneumoniae IgA kits). Data were analyzed by using four statistical tests (Pearson chi square, Kendall's tau, and Spearman's rho). Results: Seropositivity to anti- C. pneumoniae IgG was seen less frequently in patients versus controls (69.0% versus 81.4%; P=0.187). Seropositivity to anti- C. pneumoniae IgA was also observed less frequently in patients than in controls (7.2 % versus 11.6%; P= 0.479).However anti- C. pneumoniae IgM antibodies were seen more often in classical multiple sclerosis patients than it was in controls ( 11.9% versus 2.3%; P= 0.085). Conclusion: We concluded that recent or past C. pneumoniae infection has no correlation in initiation or protection of CMS.
ABSTRACT
Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of MLC601 in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease (AD). Study Design: This is an open-label pilot study. Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted at three university referral centres in Iran from September 2009 until November 2011. Methodology: One-hundred and twenty four outpatients with mild to moderate AD who had previously failed to tolerate or benefit from treatment with Rivastigmine for 6 months at a dose of 2 to 12 mg per day were switched to a MLC601 regimen of one capsule three times per day for up to 18 months. Outcome measures included adverse events (AEs), withdrawal rate, and changes in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the cognitive subscale of the AD Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog) relative to baseline measurements. Results: Two patients were lost to follow up, and 122 patients completed the 18-month trial. The mean age of the participants was 65.3±6.4 years (range 54-82), and 77 (63.1%) of the participants were female. Improved cognitive function was observed in the first 6 months of the regimen (ADAS-cog=-3.1±10.1; MMSE=1.2±3.0), and the stabilisation of cognitive decline was observed over the remaining 12 months (ADAScog=- 1.6±7.6; MMSE=0.8±4.2). AEs were predominantly gastrointestinal and occurred in 7.3% of patients. Conclusions: MLC601 showed good tolerability and promising effects on cognitive function in AD patients during 18 months of treatment.