Similarities and differences between kaiy in Persian medicine and moxibustion in Chinese medicine / 中西医结合学报

Kaiy (medieval cautery) is an ancient method of heat therapy in traditional Persian medicine (TPM). Some of its important applications have been neglected during the medical revolution. Meanwhile, different treatment modalities that incorporate heat, including moxibustion, have progressed in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, we reviewed the main TPM textbooks that were written specifically in the field of kaiy. We considered the traditional teachings in the context of contemporary information, gathered from the scientific literature about moxibustion and modern cauterization. Some surgical therapeutic indications of kaiy (e.g., debridement and coagulative procedures) have been advanced by the innovation of electro-cauterization. However, those therapeutic applications that were based on the TPM humoral theory for relieving body coldness or myofascial pains-which are similar to moxibustion usages-have not received the same attention. Apart from the broad similarities of kaiy and moxibustion as thermal therapies with similar indications, there is a striking correspondence between kaiy point mapping and acupoints. Therefore, further research on different kaiy aspects is recommended. Please cite this article as: Jaladat AM, Alizadeh Vaghasloo M, Atarzadeh F, Ayati MH, Kazemi AH, Akin E, Hashempur MH. Similarities and differences between kaiy in Persian medicine and moxibustion in Chinese medicine. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):354-360.

Association between increased expression of endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase in the human fallopian tube and tubal ectopic pregnancy

Tubal ectopic pregnancy [tEP] is the most common type of extra-uterine pregnancy and the most common cause of maternal mortality. Nitric oxide [NO] is a molecule that incorporates in many physiological processes of female reproductive system. Recent studies have demonstrated the possible role of endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase [eNOS] enzyme in the regulation of many reproductive events that occur in the fallopian tube [FT]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of eNOS in the FTs of women with tEP. In this case-control study, a total number of 30FTs samples were obtained from three groups including: 10 FTs of women that bearing an EP, 10 FTs from the non-pregnant women at luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and 10 FTs of healthy pregnant women [n=10]. Samples were fixed in 10% buffered formalin and then were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Localization of eNOS was seen in secretory and ciliated luminal epithelium and vascular endothelium of all groups. However, we did not observed the expression of eNOS in smooth muscle cells of all groups. Expression of eNOS in luminal epithelium of women with EP compared to non-pregnant women at luteal phase of menstrual cycle and healthy pregnant group showed statistically significant increase [p=0.00]. Significant difference in expression of eNOS was not observed in luminal epithelium of FTs of women at luteal phase compared to healthy pregnant groups [p=0.78]. This study indicates that changes in expression of eNOS in luminal epithelium of FT may lead to development of EP.

commemorating one thousandth anniversary of the avicenna's canon of medicine: gastric headache, a forgotten clinical entity from the medieval Persia

Although the connection between head and stomach and hence the condition known as [gastric headache] was well known to the ancients, it has received little attention since the early 20[th] century. Herein, we review the teachings of the medieval Persian physicians about the gastric headache along with the related signs, symptoms, types and causes. The medieval Persian scholars adopted the main ideas of the gastric headache from predecessors in the ancient Greece and Rome, added substantial sub-categories and details to the earlier descriptions and therapeutic options. The medieval Persian physicians' contributions to the concept of gastric headache influenced beyond doubt the later accounts of this condition

Molecular assessment of clonal fidelity in micropropagated grape [Vitis spp.] rootstock genotypes using RAPD and ISSR markers

Micropropagated plantlets derived from three different grape rootstock genotypes namely, Dogridge [Vitis champini], SO4 [V. berlandieri V. rupestris] and ARI-H-144 [V. vinifera V. labrusca] were subjected to randomly amplified polymorphic DNA [RAPD] and inter simple sequence repeats [ISSR] analyses in order to evaluate their genetic stability and/or detect likely existing variations among in vitro derived plantlets. A dozen RAPD [10-mer] and ten ISSR [dinucleotide contained repeats] primers were used for PCR and reproducible band profiles were obtained. The 84 and 81 distinct and scorable band classes [a total of 1,914 and 1,980 scorable bands] with an average of 7.0 and 8.1 bands per primer were obtained by RAPD and ISSR, respectively. Although higher numbers of bands were obtained by ISSR rather than RAPD, but none of the primers showed polymorphism among micropropagated plantlets and their respective mother plants. The profiles generated based on the two marker systems were found to be highly uniform and monomorphic. Cluster analysis further confirmed genetic stability of micropropagated plantlets. Jaccard's similarity coefficients obtained for both markers in mother plants and their in vitro regenerants were estimated to be 1.00 but three sets of genotypes were grouped into two major clusters with similarity coefficients of 0.53 [RAPD] and 0.63 [ISSR]. The molecular analyses precisely proved the production of genetically stable grape plantlets and certified the application of micropropagation protocol to be developed on a commercial scale