Comparison of the efficacy of massage and aromatherapy massage with geranium on depression in postmenopausal women: a clinical trial

Depression exacerbates the physical problems in menopause in addition to influencing the individual, occupational and social functioning of women. This study was conducted to determine the effect of aromatherapy massage on depression in menopausal women. In this clinical trial, 120 menopausal women were selected based on the inclusion criteria and were randomly divided into three groups namely control, aromatherapy massage and massage group. Data collection tool in this study was demographics questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]. In aromatherapy massage group, essential oil of geranium [2%] in almond oil was used. Both groups were treated for 8 weeks, once a week for 30 minutes and their depression rate was assessed before and after the intervention and were compared with the control group. ANOVA and t-test were used for data analysis. Aromatherapy massage reduced the mean depression score [MD: 0.51, 95%CI]. Massage therapy also reduced depression score [MD: 0.20, 95%CI] [P < 0.001]. To detect the effects of aromatherapy and massage therapy separately, the mean depression score was compared and aromatherapy massage reduced the depression score more than massage therapy [MD: -0.31, 95%CI]. The results of this study consider aromatherapy massage beneficial in improving symptoms of depression and recommend it as a complementary therapy

[Effect of glycerin on indomethacin release profile from their liquisolid compacts]

The increasing effect of liquisolid systems on dissolution behavior of poor soluble drugs has been proved. In this research, the effect of glycerin, as a nonvolatile solvent, on release profile of indomethacin was evaluated. The Avicel as carrier and silica as coating powder material in 20: 1 ratio were used. Indomethacin was dispersed in glycerin with different ratios. The binary mixtures of Avicel and silica were added to the mixture containing the drug and glycerin under continuous mixing. Starch as disintegrate was mixed with all formulations for a period of 10 minutes. After preparing several formulations, the release profiles were evaluated. To evaluate any interaction between indomethacin and the other components in liquisolid formulations, the differential scanning calorimeter [DSC] was used. The results showed that liquisolid formulations exhibited significantly higher drug dissolution rates in comparison with directly compressed tablet. The enhanced rate of indomethacin dissolution from liquisolid tablets was probably due to an increase in wetting properties and surface area of drug particles available for dissolution. Also, it has been shown that the fraction of molecularly dispersed drug [F[M]] in the liquid medication of liquisolid systems was directly proportional to their indomethacin dissolution rate [D[R]]. An attempt was made to correlate the percentage drug dissolved in 10-minutes with the solubility of indomethacin in glycerin. The liquisolid compacts technique can be a promising alternative for the formulation of water insoluble drugs, such as indomethacin into rapid release tablets

effect of folic acid supplementation in beta-thalassemia major: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

Folic acid is a coenzyme for many important biochemical reactions including synthesis of purines, pyrimidines, and nucleoproteins. The recommended daily allowance of folic acid is 65 - 200 micro g/day for infants and children. The recommended dose for deficiency states is 1000 micro g/day; the effects of excess amounts of folic acid are unknown. The role of folic acid in preventing progression of arteriosclerosis is rather a new issue. Thrombotic events related to slightly elevated levels of homocystein in adults may be decreased by daily consumption of 1 mg of folic acid together with 5 - 100 mg of pyridoxine

[Comparison of different methods of extraction of oil from shark liver and from fish and the amounts of A and D vitamins in them]

Background and aim: shark liver oil and fish oil are good sourcse of vitamins A and D. Vitamin A is essential for the immune system, bone growth, night vision and cellular growth. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium and phosphor, which are required for skeletal growth. Fish and shark liver oil contains essential fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, which may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease

Method: in this research, different methods of extraction of oil [mechanical system, extraction with solvent, alkaline digestion and Bligh and Dyer] from shark [Carcharhinus Macloti] liver and clupeonolla grimi were applied and compared. Vitamin A and D were determined by pharmacological methods

Results: the results showed that Bligh and Dyer was the best method due to higher stability of vitamins. More than 45% w/w oil was obtained from 100g of liver by this method. This method was not suitable for clupeonolla grimi because of less oil content. The mechanical method was preferred for low quality oil with lower price

Conclusion: the shark liver has a high percentage of A and D vitamins and could be used as a raw materials for pharmaceutical aims. The amounts of vitamin D3 and oil extracted from shark liver, were higher than cultrirntris fish, but its vitamin A content was lower than the cultrirntris fish oil