Role of apoptosis in CNS emphasizing spinal cord injuries: a commentary

Apoptosis is a kind of programmed cell death that is naturally necessary for homeostasis and some processes like organogenesis and implantation of embryo; so it is not pathologic and harmful all the time. The purpose of this commentary was to describe the ways of stimulating and inhibiting the apoptosis process; because rather in the therapeutic protocols we should stimulate or inhibit the process in order to minimize the effects of the traumas and injuries. For using the first results in therapeutic protocols; for example, in order to take action against tumors, we should stimulate apoptosis with chemotherapeutic drugs or other alternatives. On the contrary, in physical traumas of spinal cord, we should inhibit apoptosis with chemical drugs or other alternatives in order to reduce secondary paralysis and other side effects. By collecting the present results and comparing them with our previous original articles, we reached some ideas for the future original research and therapeutic proposals

[ history of palaeopathology and palaeodemography]

The symptoms of today's disease can help scientist to take a diagnostic approach toward those of the ancient times. The knowledge of the survey of disease in the ancient times is called pathology. Ancient pathology focuses on the source, evolution and progression of diseases in the human groups in history. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a lot of precise and detailed descriptive research, often dealing with pre-Columbian "syphilis", was performed. Then, in the early twentieth century a number of scholars, strived to carry out research on various issues, ranging from trephination to schistosomiasis. However, it was not until Hooton, Stewart, and some others who combined paleopathology with paleodemography that scientists succeeded to get a population perspective on health. More recently, Jarcho and Brothwell, working on bone pathologists, gained a better understanding of the ancient diseases of the mummies. This cooperation among scholars, the most prominent one being William Ortner, led to a revolution in the study of bone biology and responses to diseases. Owing to the spread of this knowledge in the world, the aim of this article is make readers familiar with this field, and encourage them to work in and promote this field, exploring the ancient legacy of this country

[Transformation of the term of pleura]

Each word can be changed over time. Understanding the terminology changes in any knowledge is imperative and it prevents the researchers of that knowledge from taking mistakes. This article is trying to perform the semantic transformation of the term of pleura

[Avicenna's contribution to contraception]

Throughout history, there have always been different opinions about the necessity and methods of contraception in different cultures. Persian medical scientists in the medieval era illustrated different contraceptive methods in their manuscripts. Avicenna, for example, discussed different types of contraceptive methods in Canon, one of the most important medical books written in the 10th century AD. In this paper, we describe the indications as well as two types of contraceptive methods derived from canon of Medicine: Physical and psychological methods and pharmacological Methods [Materia Medica]. Reviewing such issues can not only present Avicenna's professional and scientific knowledge but also help researchers in modern medicine to conduct experiments to find newer and more efficient prevention methods with fewer side effects

[Consideration on Trephinated skull in the Sahre-e Sukte [Burnt City] in Sistan]

Cranial trephination is a technique which was used by ancient people to trephine skulls with some instruments. There are different types of trephination, the most common and primitive of which were trianglular and quadrangular in shape. A group burial was found in an archeological excavation of Burnt City in Sistan province in 1977. Out of the 13 skeletons, one skeleton belonged to a 13th years old girl who had a triangular perforation in the right parietal area [Number: GTT1003J]. In this research, after assessing the skull damage, cephalometric caliper gauges with salt and volume were checked in Tehran medical history museum. Cephalometric considerations showed unusual indexes [Skull index: 76.61; Upper facial index: 58.94] being classified as mesocephalic and Euryprospic. These indexes shows the skull were larger than usual. Also, Owing to the presence of porothic hyperostosis [PH], the patient is probably suffering from anemia. According to the findings the surgical operation was successful. Since there was certain treatment other than the operation for this ailment, the operation was probably performed following certain cultural and or ethnic beliefs