Serum HSP27 Antibody Titers in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Dementia.

Introduction: It is possible that immunological factors, including the heat shock protein family, are involved in the development of the different forms of dementia. We aimed to compare the levels of serum HSP27 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with grade 2 Alzheimer’s disease, 30 patients with grade 2 vascular dementia and 30 normal subjects as a control group were recruited during November 2011 to November 2013. Diagnoses were based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. MMSE was conducted on all patients for assessing the severity of disease. Biochemical parameters, including HSP27 were measured in all subjects. Demographic characteristics were collected for all subjects. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender and the levels of HSP27 between males and females in all groups. However there was a significant association between HSP27 with the severity and duration of dementia in patients groups. HSP27 levels were lower in the vascular dementia compared to those with Alzheimer’s dementia, but were higher than for controls. Conclusion: HSP27 antibody titers were positively related to the severity and duration of both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia and may be indicative of the role of this protein in the pathology of dementia.

Age and Gender as Determinants of Learning Style among Medical Students.

Background: An awareness of learning styles may help teachers modify their teaching methods to improve the educational outcomes of their students. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the learning styles of medical students during their basic science training at Mashhad University Medical School (MUMS). Methods: The VARK (Visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic learning styles) questionnaire was used to gather information on learning styles in 245 medical students during their basic science training at MUMS in 2014. The questionnaire was previously assessed for its validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Overall, 245 students (115 male/130 female) with a mean age of 22.17±2.27 years completed the questionnaire. Of these students 91.84% preferred a single- modal learning style and 8.16% of students preferred a multi-modal learning style. Of the students with a preference for a single modal learning style, 20% (45 students) had a preference for visual, and 53.33% (100 students) for auditory learning styles respectively; 22.22% (50 students) of students were categorized as single read-write and 4.44% (10 students) were classified as having a kinesthetic learning style preference respectively. Among the multi-modal group, 25% (5 students) of students preferred a bimodal and 75% (15 students) preferred a quad-modal learning style. There was a significant association between learning styles with age and gender (P<0.05), but there was no significant association between the preferred learning styles with marital status or place of residence (P>0.05). Conclusions: The key finding of our study was that learning style is age and gender dependent. Different teaching methods may be appropriate for men and women.