Sex and Age Determination by Measurement of Foramen Magnum Dimensions on Computer Tomography Scanning Study in the Iranian Population.

BACKGROUND: Individual distinguishing evidence may be an imperative field of measurable investigation which demonstrates higher correct expectation rates. This process of recognizable Evidence is facilitated by the assurance of sex and age. In circumstances where there are fragmented and mangled skeletal remains, sex assurance is moderately troublesome, and it becomes important to set up the precision of cadaver bones. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate sexual dimorphism and age determination by measuring foramen magnum (FM) dimensions in the Iranian population using digital computed tomography scan. METHODS: The study sample consisted of a modern adult Iranian population of 120 males and 109 females (age range: 15-50 years). Length, width, and area of FM, also FM index were measured on base skull computed tomography scan. RESULT: All of the parameters of FM (length, width, area, and FM index), were larger in men than women. The accuracy of sex determination was up to 50.2. The highest accuracy for sex determination was FM width (67.9). This study also helps craniofacial surgeon for exact reference value of FM, which are authorize neurosurgeons' accessibility to the brain stem approach and FM region with minimum retraction. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded from the result, that morphometric analyze of FM is useful for sex determination but cannot be suitable for age determination.

The effect of risperidone and electroconvulsive therapy on corrected QT interval in electrocardiogram of psychiatric patients.

BACKGROUND: Some types of antidepressants and antipsychotic medications have cardiovascular side effects that can be life-threatening. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is capable of generating physiological stress and may lead to increased QT interval followed by arrhythmias. Risperidone can also increase the risk of arrhythmia by increasing the corrected QT (QTc) interval. Since many patients require co-administration of risperidone and ECT, this study aimed to investigate the concurrent effect of ECT and risperidone administration on the QTc interval. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, 60 patients (18-65 years) admitted in 22 Bahman Psychiatric Hospital (Qazvin, Iran) that were candidate for treatment with risperidone, ECT, or both methods were concurrently divided into three groups. The groups included patients treated with ECT, risperidone, and combination treatment (risperidone and ECT). At the beginning of the study, electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained for all patients and QT was performed manually, and finally, QTc interval was measured two times for each group. Required information was collected through medical records. Then, inferential statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), was used to determine differences between different variables. RESULTS: A significant increase in heart rate (HR) in the third group compared to first and second groups was observed. None of the treatments had a significant effect on QTc interval, but the QTc interval increased slightly in groups treated with the ECT alone and particularly, the ECT plus risperidone in comparison to the baseline values. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that risperidone, ECT, and their concomitant combination did not affect the QTc interval. Therefore, risperidone and ECT are safe and their combination can also be a good option for refractory patients undergoing ECG monitoring and cardiopulmonary devices.

Evaluation of Attention Bias in Morphine and Methamphetamine Abusers towards Emotional Scenes during Early Abstinence: An Eye-Tracking Study.

INTRODUCTION: We hypothesized that inappropriate attention during the period of abstinence in individuals with substance use disorder can result in an inadequate perception of emotion and unsuitable reaction to emotional scenes. The main aim of this research was to evaluate the attentional bias towards emotional images in former substance abusers and compare it to healthy adults. METHODS: Paired images of general scenes consisting of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images were presented to subjects for 3 s while their attentional bias and eye movements were measured by eye tracking. The participants were 72 male adults consisting of 23 healthy control, 24 morphine former abusers, and 25 methamphetamine former abusers. The former abusers were recruited from a private addiction quitting center and addiction rehabilitation campus. The healthy individuals were selected from general population. Number and duration of first fixation, duration of first gaze, and sustained attention towards emotional scenes were measured as the main variables and the data were analyzed using the repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: A significant difference was observed between former morphine abusers and healthy control in terms of number and duration of first fixations and first gaze duration towards pleasant images. DISCUSSION: Individuals with morphine use disorder have more problems with attending to emotional images compared to methamphetamine abusers and healthy people.

cAMP-Epac Pathway Stimulation Modulate Connexin-43 and MicroRNA-21 Expression in Glioma Cells.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant astrocytic gliomas are the most common and lethal brain malignancies due to their refractory to the current therapies. Nowadays, molecular targeted therapy has attracted great attention in treatment of glioma. Connexin 43 (Cx43) and micro ribonucleic acid-21(miR-21) are among molecules that are involved in glioma development and progression. These molecules showed potential to be as target molecules with regard to glioma. Some studies have reported that cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling could be effective on Cx43 and miR-21 in tissues other than in brain. We investigate possible relationship between ß-adrenergic receptor and its newly described downstream, exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) signaling pathway and expression of Cx43 and miR-21 in low (1321N1) and high grade (U87MG) glioma cell lines. METHODS: We treated cells with ß-adrenergic agonist and Epac activator with and without adenyl cyclase inhibitor. Cx43 and miR-21 expression were measured with real-time PCR. RESULTS: Our data showed that in 1321N1 cells, ß-adrenergic-Epac pathway stimulation up and down-regulated Cx43 and miR-21 expression respectively. Whereas, in U87MG cells these interventions had no effect on Cx43 and miR-21 expression. DISCUSSION: These findings demonstrate that low grade astrocytoma cells have better response to our pharmacological interventions.