Systematic review of single and combined treatments for different types of striae: a comparison of striae treatments.

Striae distensae (SD) or stretch marks are among the most common forms of atrophic scarring and cosmetic problems, especially in women, that negatively affect quality of life. The main causes of SD vary widely, but the most significant ones include obesity, pregnancy, high corticosteroid levels, weight changes, endocrine disorders and genetic predispositions. Various modalities are available for the treatment of SD; however, there is still no gold standard therapy for this condition. Given the many questions concerning the preferred therapeutic modalities for SD or their overall cost-effectiveness, this comprehensive systematic review discusses the most prevalent, recent and promising therapies for SD in three main categories, including single therapy, therapeutic comparisons and combination therapy. A systematic search was carried out in Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar for original articles published on the treatment of SD by 20 May 2019. One hundred articles were reviewed and divided into three categories. In the single therapy category, we found that laser and other light-based devices and topical treatments are the most commonly applied interventions. In the therapeutic comparison category, we found that most of the common therapeutic modalities are equally effective and there is no significant difference between them in side-effects and treatment duration. In the combination therapy category, we found that the combination of two or more modalities is usually better than using each one alone.

Development and validation of diabetes empowerment questionnaire in Iranian people with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes self-management education programmes which have been reported to improve the self-efficacy of diabetic people can lead to their empowerment. Specialized diabetes nurses also play a fundamental role in empowering patients with diabetes through improving their knowledge and self-care. AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure empowerment in Iranian people with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Important subscales of patient empowerment were identified by an expert panel. The subscales included active self-care, coping with personal and social concerns, basic knowledge related to diabetes management and patient-physician communication. Questions related to each subscale were generated and the expert panel renewed the questionnaire to ensure relevance and clarity of the items. Patient focus groups were conducted to establish the face validity of the questionnaire. The final questionnaire consisted of 15 items organized in three subscales. In a population-based study, a sample of 378 people with type 2 diabetes was recruited. Reliability coefficient (Cronbach's α) was calculated for all of the subscales. Convergent validity was assessed by Pearson's product moment correlation. The scree test was used to select significant subscales. FINDINGS: Two hundred forty-seven female and 131 male subjects with type 2 diabetes filled out the questionnaire. Three subscales were derived from factor analysis considering item-component loading of 0.4 as significant: 'active self-care' (Cronbach's α: 0.78), 'basic knowledge related to diabetes management' (Cronbach's α: 0.72) and 'coping with personal and social concerns' (Cronbach's α: 0.51). The scree plot of the eigenvalues of 15 items proposed three subscale solutions. Internal consistency reliabilities for the three subscales were acceptable (α: 0.51-0.78). CONCLUSIONS: The Diabetes Empowerment Questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool to assess patient empowerment in Iranian people with type 2 diabetes.

Prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the Islamic Republic of Iran: systematic review and meta-analysis.

We estimated the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the Islamic Republic of Iran by systematic review of all available studies in the country between 1996 and 2004 and aggregation of the data using meta-analysis and meta-regression methods. In those > 40 years the prevalence was 24% and it increased by 0.4% with each year after 20 years of age. The risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.7% greater in women than men (P < 0.001). The prevalence of type 2 diabetes appears higher in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in other developing countries but because of differences in age pyramids, the crude prevalence is not an appropriate indicator and age-adjusted or age-specific prevalences should be used.

Prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the Islamic Republic of Iran: systematic review and meta-analysis

We estimated the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the Islamic Republic of Iran by systematic review of all available studies in the country between 1996 and 2004 and aggregation of the data using meta-analysis and meta-regression methods. In those > 40 years the prevalence was 24% and it increased by 0.4% with each year after 20 years of age. The risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.7% greater in women than men [P < 0.001]. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes appears higher in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in other developing countries but because of differences in age pyramids, the crude prevalence is not an appropriate indicator and age-adjusted or age-specific prevalences should be used

Bovine liver abscesses pus and the status of some important minerals.

This research was conducted to determine selenium, copper, zinc, iron, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium concentration in the pus of cow liver abscess. The liver has a large reserve of function and approximately three-quarters of its parenchyma must be rendered inactive before clinical signs of hepatic dysfunction appear. Local suppurative infections of the liver cause significant losses in feedlot and grain-fed cattle because of the frequency ofrumenitis in those cattle leading to hepatic abscess formation. Also we know some minerals that can alter and uphold the specific immunity. At the presence of adequate amount of zinc, the formation of hepatic abscess may reduce. For this reason and to determine the mineral concentration in pus, the present study was designed on 40 slaughtered cattle with liver abscess in Shahrekord district. For measuring the minerals concentration, Potentiometric Stripping Analyzer (PSA), atomic absorption spectrometry were used. Results showed that the concentration of Se, Zn, Fe, Cu, Ca, P and Mg in pus were 0.551A+/-0.046 (mg kg(-1)), 6.41A+/-2.32 (mg kg(-1)), 18.18A+/-14.03 (mg kg(-1)), 6.63A+/-4.83 (mg kg(-1)), 221.8A+/-85.82 (mg kg(-1)), 0.85A+/-0.32 (g kg(-1)) and 40.64A+/-21.72 (mg kg(-1)), respectively. The concentration of mentioned minerals in liver parenchyma's were determined 1.06A+/-0.15 (mg kg(-1)), 82.91A+/-32.22 (mg kg(-1)), 62.29A+/-22.12 (mg kg(-1)), 39.22A+/-28.17 (mg kg(-1)), 0.12A+/-0.04 (g kg(-1)), 1.81A+/-0.56 (g kg(-1)) and 0.15A+/-0.07 (g kg(-1)), respectively. For determining the correlation between mineral concentration in pus and liver parenchyma, Pearson correlation was used at The level of p<0.05. The correlation between pus Fe and Cu and also Ca and Se were significantly positive (pvalue = 0.000228, r = +0.871) and negative (pvalue = 0.0305, r = -0.623), respectively. In liver parenchyma the correlation between Zn and Ca (pvalue = 0.0487, r = 0.535) and also Fe and Cu (pvalue = 0.0317, r = +0.596) were significantly positive.