[Quality of studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iran]

The aim of this research was to investigate the quality of studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Iran. All studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Iraniangeneral population as well as school children over 15 were identified through searching several databases including PubMed, ISI WOS, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Irandoc, EMBASE, IranPsych, IranMedex, and Scientific Information Database as well as reference lists of the accessed documents, unpublished reports, conference proceedings and dissertations. The original studies, which contained an estimation of the prevalence of "any psychiatric disorder" [overall prevalence] among a sample of general population or high school students in the country were selected. A quality assessment checklist was developed based on the following criteria: accurate description of research questions, random sampling, representativeness of the study sample for a defined target population, using the same method of data collection for the entire sample, using valid and reliable tools, and proper analysis of the results. The assessment was performed on those studies on the prevalence of any psychiatric disorder in the country that had used random sampling [43 studies]. It showed that in only about 40% of the studies the sample was representative of the target population. In more than 25% of the studies, validity and reliability of the Persian translation of the instruments were not assessed or were not reported. In total, nearly a third of studies had acceptable quality [random sampling, application of valid and reliable tools, and sample representing the target population]. Although this research - as part of a systematic review-was based only on a group of prevalence studies in psychiatric disorders, its findings indicated that a significant proportion of these studies are non-compliant with key quality measures. Instead of mere emphasis on increasing the number and quantity of studies, policy makers should employ strategies to improve research quality

[ trend of pharmaceutical research in Iran compared to Middle East and North Africa: a scientometrics study]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Iranian trend of research in pharmaceutical sciences published in international publication and to compare it with that in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa in 1996-2006 through scientometrics methods. In this ecological study, the data were extracted from ISI: Web of Science, Scopus and International Pharmaceutical Abstract [IPA] databases. The indexed documents of authors from Iran as well as 13 other regional and North African countries in mentioned databases in the fields relevant to pharmaceutical sciences including pharmacy, pharmacology, toxicology and medicinal chemistry in the last 11 years [1996-2006] were retrieved and quantitatively analyzed. Analysis of indexed pharmaceutical documents from the Middle East and North African countries [1996-2006] showed that Iran ranks second in the ISI/WOS, Scopus and IPA. However, Iran has achieved the first rank in the WOS and Scopus in the years 2004-2006 and in IPA in the last two years [2005-2006]. Ranking of normalized indexed pharmaceutical documents based on GDP and population showed Iran fell to the forth rank in Scopus and IPA and the fifth in WOS. Iran has managed to stand on the first place of science production within the field of pharmaceutical sciences among Middle East and North Africa in the last 11 years. Maintenance of the acquired rank requires planning and paying enough attention to utilization of research potentials of universities and research centers within the field of pharmaceutical sciences and the interdisciplinary sciences

Prevalence of mood disorders in Iran

To study the prevalence and demographic characteristics of mood disorders among Iranian adults. In this cross-sectional population-based epidemiological study [age 18] in Iran, 25180 individuals were selected through a randomized cluster sampling method for a diagnosis using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia [SADS]. They were then interviewed at home by 250 trained clinical psychologists. The estimated lifetime prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder [MOD] and Minor Depressive Disorder [mDD] were 3.1% and 0.3% respectively. Also, the estimated lifetime prevalence of Bipolar Mood disorder [BMD] type I and type II were 0.1% and 0.7% respectively. The current prevalence of MDD, mDD, BMD-I and BMD-II were 1.8%. 0.2%, 0.04%, and 0.3% respectively. Mood disorders were associated with female gender, lower education, being married, being middle-aged, living in cities, and not being a homemaker. The prevalence of mood disorders was lower among Iranian adults than reported in Western studies, and a number of demographic associations differed from those reported in Western studies: Important cultural differences in the nature or manifestation of depression are implied by these results

Determination of ginkgolides A and B in ginkgo biloba leaves by HPLC using activated charcoal

Ginkgo biloba [GB] preparations are now among the leading herbal medicines that exert a broad spectrum of possible clinical applications. Several methods have been reported for quantification of ginkgolides of GB and its pharmaceutical preparations and the HPLC techniques are now considered to be the method of choice. However, most reported HPLC methods are not simple and their work-up procedure are inadequate. The present paper describes a simple and non-expensive method for extraction and determination of ginkgolides A and B in GB leaves and their phytopharmaceuticals. The method is based upon extraction of ginkgolides from aqueous solution by activated charcoal, followed by extraction with Methanol and injection of the Methanolic solution into chromatographic system. Ginkgolides were separated on an ODS column with a mobile phase of water-methanol [67:33 v/v] at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and were detected at 220 nm. The mean recoveries of ginkgolide A and B were 97 and 98.4%, respectively. This method is simple and can be used for routine analysis of GB extracts and phytopharmaceuticals preparations