[Association of vitamin D and cognitive disorders an older population of Amirkola]

Vitamin D receptors are widespread in brain tissue, and the active form of vitamin D has been documented for its neuroprotective effects. This study was conducted to determine the association between vitamin D level and cognitive disorders. This descriptive-analytical cross sectional study was conducted within the framework of the "Amikola Health and Aging Project [AHAP]", [2011-12], conducted on 1616 older people, aged>60 years in the city of Amirkola, Iran. Serum levels of vitamin D were measured in morning blood samples and mental status was investigated using Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]. Data was analyzed with T test, ANOVA and Chi-square, and P-values <0.05 were considered significant. The mean age of study participants was 68.81 +/- 7.1 years. Among them 509 [31.5%] had cognitive impairment and 1103 [68.4%] did not. There was significant association between serum vitamin D level and normal and abnormal MMSE in women [P=0.029], but not in men [P=0.49]. Mean serum vitamin D level in participants with normal MMSE was 34.45 +/- 32.79 ng/ml and in participants with abnormal MMSE was 32.80 +/- 29.39 ng/ml but this finding was not significant [P=0.31]. Serum vitamin D level in older persons with normal MMSE was higher than in those with abnormal MMSE, although it was not significant. In this study, there was no association between serum vitamin D levels in older people with or without cognitive impairment

Internet addiction, prevalence and epidemiological features in mazandaran province, northern Iran

The concept of internet addiction, also called internet addictive disorder or pathological internet use, entered the medical lexicon in 1995. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of internet addiction among north Iranian internet users and to explore the epidemiological features associated with internet addiction.1856 internet user volunteers' from Mazandaran Province cities were surveyed, using Farsi version of Young's Internet Addiction Questionnaire during 2005-2006. 424 dependent users were enrolled. The incidence rate of internet addiction was 22.8%. Dependent users spent a mean of 14.4 hours per week [SD=13.7] compared to non-dependent users who spent a mean of 9.0 hours per week [SD=10.4]. The dependent users were 256 males and 165 females. Dependent users predominantly used the two-way communication functions available on the internet like chat rooms. The present study suggests that internet addiction is common among northern Iranian internet users. In addition, chat rooms are most addictive web environment among this population

[Comparison of recovery duration of Propofol and Thiopental Sodium in ECT]

Thiopental sodium is not and ideal intravenous drug for inducing general anesthesia and compared to intravenous anesthetic drugs like propofol has a long standing recovery time. The aim of this study was to compare the recovery duration of propofol and thiopental sodium in ECT [Electroconvulsive therapy]. Methods: In a clinical trial, 70 patients aged between 15-40 years old in ASA class I and II were selected for ECT. They were randomly divided into two groups of 35 patients. After patient monitoring, 2-3 mg/kg thiopental sodium or 1-1.5 mg/kg propofol [Randomly in each patient] and then 0.5 mg/kg succinylcholine were administered. Patients were ventilated with mask and oxygen [100%]. After ECT, seizure and recovery durations were recorded. During these procedures, blood pressure and heart rate were recorded before and after anesthetic induction and 1 and 5 min after ECT. Findings: Mean recovery duration of propofol and thiopental sodium were 5.49 +/- 2.57 min and 6.4 +/- 3.69 min, respectively [P=0.233]. Also, seizure duration of propofol and thiopental sodium were 32.06 +/- 13.78 sec and 35.06 +/- 10.08 sec [P=0.302]. Hemodynamic changes [Systolic blood pressure] in two groups were not significant except at 1 minute after seizure [P<0.05]. Conclusion: According to the results, there was not a significant difference between two groups in seizure and recovery duration. But propofol can prevent increasing hemodynamic response to ECT better than thiopental sodium. In patients with hypertension or restriction of thiopental sodium, propofol can be a suitable replacement