BCL-2 and bax expression in skin flaps treated with finasteride or azelaic acid

Despite all modern surgical techniques, skin flap that is considered as the main method in most reconstructive surgeries puts the skin tissue at danger of necrosis and apoptosis derived from ischemia. Therefore, finding a treatment for decreasing the apoptosis derived from flap ischemia will be useful in clinic. In present study, we evaluated the effect of azelaic acid 20% and finasteride on expression of BCL-2 and bax proteins after the skin flap surgery. For this purpose, 21 rats were entered in three groups including control, azelaic acid 20% and finasteride, all experienced skin flap surgery and then flap tissue was assessed for determining the expression of proteins in 5 slices prepared from each rat that were graded between - to +++ scales. Both azelaic acid and finasteride increased the expression of BCL-2 protein [p < 0.05] and decrease the expression of bax protein [p < 0.05]. These results suggested an antiapoptotic role for finasteride and azelaic acid in preserving the flap after the ischemia reperfusion insult

Medical publications [2002-2009] of Islamic countries; a medline-based study compared to non-islamic countries

The number of scientific publication by a country is an important indication of its science generation and development. The aim of this study was to compare the publications in medical sciences of Islamic countries from 2002-2009 with those of a number of developed countries. The PubMed and CIA World Fact Book were used to extract the number of publications and socioeconomic status of target countries, respectively. The number of publications, publications per million population, gross domestic product [GDP] per capita, population below poverty line [PBP] and type of publications of the countries were compared. The publications of Islamic countries increased from 6906 in 2002 to 21656 in 2009. There was a positive correlation between GDP per capita and publication per million. However, publication productivity did not decrease significantly with the increase of PBP. Turkey and Iran were top two among Islamic countries in terms of the number of publications and growth of the rate of scientific publication, respectively. Islamic countries do lag behind developed countries in terms of the number of publication and the rate of growth. There is a wide gap between developed and Islamic countries and among Islamic countries themselves in terms of the number and the rate of growth of publication in medical sciences