International journal of physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology最新文献

Background: Obesity is a global crisis due to its significant contribution to mortality and morbidity. This study discovered an association between body mass index (BMI) with pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and aerobic capacity (VO₂ max) in medical students of Zydus Medical College and Hospital, Dahod, Gujarat.

Aim: The study aimed to determine the effect of obesity on cardiopulmonary health of medical students.

Objectives: The study objectives were as follows: 1. To compare PFT parameters and VO₂ max between obese and non-obese students. 2. To study the correlation of BMI with PFTs and VO₂ max.

Material and methods: BMI was calculated with the formula BMI = weight/height². PFTs were assessed with computerized spirometry. Aerobic capacity was calculated with Astrand 6-minute Cycle Test. Statistical analysis was done with unpaired t-test.

Results: This study found a significant difference in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 minute (FEV₁), slow vital capacity (SVC), maximum ventilatory volume (MVV), and VO₂ max between obese and non-obese students (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between BMI and forced mid-expiratory flow (FEF_25-75), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), MVV, SVC, expiratory reserve volume (ERV), and MVV and negative correlation with FVC, FEV₁, lung age, and VO₂ max in non-obese students. There was also a positive correlation between BMI and PEFR, SVC, FVC, FEV₁, lung age, MVV, ERV, and a negative correlation with FEF_25-75 and VO₂ max in obese students.

Conclusion: As BMI is inversely related to cardiopulmonary function, students having high BMI can be motivated toward a healthy lifestyle.

Background: Recent studies have shown that physical exercise significantly modulates immunocyte dynamics and possibly plays a significant role on immune function. This study examined the responses of some selected immune system parameters to isometric handgrip exercise and identified possible effects of intensity and duration of the exercise protocols.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-two (N=192) sedentary pre-hypertensive subjects, aged between 30-50 years were recruited into the study. They were randomly distributed into three groups of 64 subjects each. A detailed explanation and a demonstration of the exercise protocol were given to the subjects and they were asked to report at the Exercise Physiology unit of the Physiotherapy department, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, Delta State at 4.00 pm daily for the exercise practice. The training session for each day took place between the hours of 4.00 pm and 8.00 pm daily (FMC/ASB/A81.VOL.XII/101). The subjects performed a 24 consecutive day's isometric handgrip exercise at 30% Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC). At the end of the 24 days, group one (GP1) discontinued with the exercise protocol, while group two (GP2) and group three (GP3) continued with the exercise protocol for another 24 consecutive days nevertheless GP3 performed at an increased intensity of 50% MVC. The clinical trial was registered with Nigeria Clinical Trial Registry, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja Nigeriawith Trial No: 1216582 (https://www.nctr.nhrec.net/viewTrials.php?TID=1216582).

Results: At the end of the study, the result shows thatthe number of CD4 cells and CD4/CD8 ratio significantly (P<0.05) increased while the CD8 cell decreased in GP2 and GP3. It was further shown that increase in duration produced a more significant change compared to an increase in intensity of the isometric effort.

Conclusion: The study established that isometric handgrip exercise alters the circulating levels of the immune system parameters which could have positive beneficial effects on the prehypertensive individuals as the number of CD4 cells and CD4/CD8 ratio increased especially when practiced over a longer duration.

(1) Background: Several recent studies on the clinical value of spirometry indexes demonstrated high sensitivity of FEF_25-75 as a marker of bronchial obstruction in asthmatics with normal baseline spirometry. Our study aims to evaluate the clinical value of maximal mid-expiratory flow in children with asthma. (2) Methods: For two years, 257 children were included - 211 with asthma and 46 healthy controls. Pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry, atopic status determination and asthma control assessment were performed. (3) Results: The small airway obstruction (SAO) group (FEV₁≥80%, ММEF_25/75<65%) demonstrated significantly lower values for FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, PEFR, МMMF_25/75 and a significant higher bronchodilator response (BDR, ΔFEV₁% init. ≥12%) compared to normal baseline spirometry group (FEV₁>80%, MMEF_25/75≥65%) (Р<0.0001). In addition, we found a statistically significant difference in FEF_25-75/FVC median between asthmatics and healthy controls (Р<0.0001) regardless of the FEV₁ value. Children with SAO have a 2.338-fold higher risk of poor asthma outcome (OR 95% CI [1.077-5.294]) and a 6.171-fold (OR 95% CI [2.523-15.096]) greater probability of demonstrating positive BDR, compared to children with normal baseline spirometry. MMEF_25/75 was found to be a good predictor for positive BDR with AUC 0.843 (CI 0.781-0.845) and a best cut-off value of 58.1% (77.8% sensitivity and 78.8% specificity). (4) Conclusion: Our results confirmed that a small but substantial group of asthmatic children with normal baseline FEV₁ and low MMEF_25-75 are at higher risk for poor asthma outcomes.

Background: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a standard technique for diagnosing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The parameters for the diagnosis of COVID-19 included the history of exposure to positive COVID-19 patients, clinical signs and symptoms related to the disease, inflammation factors in the blood test or positive antigen-antibody test, and chest computed tomography (CT) findings. The current study evaluated the chest CT scan findings in patients with respiratory problems following positive RT-PCR of COVID 19.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 120 patients referred to Ali Ibn-Abi Talib Hospital in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, Iran, with respiratory symptoms between Dec-2019 to Dec-2020. Two radiologists reviewed the chest CT scans of these patients using the checklist that included parameters such as the types of involvement (consolidation/grand-glass/crazy paving, etc.) and the patterns of involvement (central/peripheral), and the pleural findings.

Results: The CT scan was conducted in 107 patients with a typical condition and 11 patients with an atypical form of the disease. The frequency of the typical CT image of COVID-19 in the male group was significantly higher than that in the female group (P=0.004). The frequency of reverse halo sign, septal thickening, cardiomegaly, and crazy paving was significantly higher in males than in females (P≤0.05). Also, there was a significant difference between age groups based on the number of involved lobes (P=0.04).

Conclusion: Chest CT scan is an important diagnostic method for COVID 19 with high sensitivity. The parameters in the CT scan are beneficial for the diagnosis of COVID 19. In addition, some characters in CT scans in the male gender are more specific.

Objectives: Women might face different issues after menopause. Reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) is one of these problems that put a heavy burden on the healthcare system, especially in developing countries. Studies assume that along with increased age, lack of physical activity and hormonal issues, some other factors might take part in this process. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is one of the assumed factors. Here we aimed to assess the relation between serum levels of OPG and BMD in postmenopausal women.

Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, 90 postmenopausal women were entered. Our cases were divided based on former medical documents into two groups of osteoporotic women (n=45) and healthy women (n=45). All cases were then analyzed using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and BMD and T-score were assessed for each case in different sites. Serum levels of OPG were also assessed using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were then analyzed using SPSS software.

Results: There were higher OPG levels in osteoporotic women compared with healthy women (P<0.001). We also indicated a significant difference in BMD between two groups of postmenopausal women in different sites (i.e. lumbar vertebrae L2-L4, trochanters, femoral neck and hip). We showed there is a reverse relation between serum OPG levels and BMD in lumbar vertebrae (r=-0.4, P=0.002), hip (r=-0.3, P=0.03) and femoral neck (r=-0.3, P=0.02) in both groups. There is a reverse relation between BMD and serum levels of OPG in postmenopausal women.

Conclusion: OPG levels are higher in osteoporotic women and have a reverse relation with BMD.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. Epileptic individuals are faced with seizures, which are largely caused by enhanced neuronal excitability and/or decreased neuronal inhibitory activity. SCN2A encodes a neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel, Na_V1.2 that is primarily found in excitatory neurons throughout the brain. Na_V1.2 is most concentrated within the principal neurons of the corticostriatal circuit, which includes pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex and medium spiny neurons in the striatum. In the early stage of adult development, the Na_V1.2 channel plays critical roles in generation and propagation of action potentials in these neurons. Gain of Function variants of SCN2A results in unprovoked seizures and epilepsy, while loss-of-function variants of SCN2A is a leading cause for autism spectrum disorder as well as intellectual disability. Previous studies have shown that full deletion of Scn2a gene in mice is lethal and partial disruption of Scn2a gene (less than 50%) leads to inhibition of neuronal excitability. A recent study from Dr. Yang's laboratory revealed an unexpected result from mice with severe Na_V1.2 deficiency and they demonstrated that severe deletion of Scn2a gene (around 68% gene disruption) in Na_V1.2 triggers neuronal hyperexcitability in adult mice. Their findings may explain the puzzling clinical observation that certain individuals with Na_V1.2 deficiency still develop unprovoked seizure. With the knowledge that using sodium-channel blockers simply exacerbates the seizure, the need for understanding the intrinsic nature of the Na_V1.2 channel provides an important research topic in the future.

Background: Marine algae are a huge Pandora's box of rich nutrients and huge medicinal compounds. These therapeutic compounds are investigated widely for their anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-diabetic properties.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the antioxidant and anticancer effect of the marine algae Cladophora glomerata (collected from Hare Island-Tuticorin region) on HT-29 colon cancer cell lines.

Methodology: The marine algae, Cladophora glomerata, was collected, processed, and authenticated. Methanol, Ethyl acetate, Chloroform, and Hexane extracts were prepared using a hot solvent extraction process. These extracts were subjected to SOD assay and MTT assay. 5 Fluorouracil was used as the positive control.

Results: The antioxidant activity of the SOD assay was found to be 85.66±0.81, 80.10±1.25, and 98±0.93 U/mg protein for methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and hexane extracts, respectively. L-Ascorbic acid was used as the positive control whose SOD antioxidant value was found to be 139±1.24 U/mg protein. The IC50 value of methanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, hexane algae extracts, and 5 Fluorouracil against HT29 cell lines was calculated to be 28.46±0.65, 48.56±1.19, 93.7±0.91, 88.53±0.83, and 8.2±1.3 μg/ml, respectively.

Conclusion: From the above study, we can infer that the methanol extracts of the algae Cladophora glomerata have excellent anticancer activity. Therefore, these compounds can be purified and analyzed further for a potential lead as an anticancer molecule.

Background: COVID-19 is still an important public health problem. After a pandemic, there is already new emerging mutant type of COVID-19. Starting from mutant with few mutations, the new mutant types with several mutations occur. Omicron variant is the new variant of concern that starts outbreak from Africa and might be the new problem worldwide.

Method: Pathogenesis may change as a result of molecular changes. An important possible effect of mutation is a change in binding affinity with receptor. Here, the authors performed a study to assess the effect of mutations of ACE2 receptor binding affinity in important COVID-19 variants, beta, delta and omicron variants.

Results: According to the analysis, change of binding affinity to receptor in each studied mutated variant comparing to classical wild type SARS CoV2 is observed.

Conclusion: This exploratory research on changes in ACE2 receptor binding affinity revealed that changes do occur and may contribute to the pathophysiology. The omicron variation has a greater degree of alteration than the well-known significant variants, beta and delta. Rapid spread due to simpler transmission is envisaged as a result of affinity modification. Nevertheless, the authors only examined the affinity with bioinformatics analysis. It is different from experimental analysis, therefore, it may not real and further studies are required for confirmation.

Background: An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures the brain's electrical activity. Here we decided to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two drugs, hydrate, and nasal dexmedetomidine, in creating sedation during EEG in children.

Methods: This clinical trial was performed in 2020-2022 on 65 children that were candidates for sedation for EEG with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) code IRCT20210614051574N8 (https://www.irct.ir/trial/61860). Pediatrics were randomized into two groups. Children in the first group received intranasal dexmedetomidine at a dose of 2-3 µg/kg 10 minutes before the procedure. The second group received 5% chloral hydrate syrup at a dose of 50-100 mg/kg orally 10 minutes before the procedure. For each patient, sleep onset latency and sleep duration were also measured. It should be noted that the patient's level of consciousness and sleepiness were checked by AVPU (alert, verbal, pain, unresponsive) criteria.

Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the mean sleep onset latency (P = 0.59), sleep duration (P = 0.12), heart rate (P = 0.30), respiratory rate (P = 0.26), and SPO2 (P = 0.27). Analysis of covariance by adjusting for age and sex in both groups showed that the mean sleep duration (P = 0.04) and heart rate (P = 0.03) in the oral chloral hydrate group were significantly higher than in the nasal dexmedetomidine group. But the mean of other variables was not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion: The mean sleep duration and heart rate were significantly lower in the intranasal dexmedetomidine group compared to the oral chloral hydrate group.

Background: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most important pathogenic bacteria in gastric mucosa both in adults and pediatrics. Here we aimed to investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in pediatrics with gastrointestinal complaints by the endoscopic method and using pathology reports.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was performed in 2019-2020 in Imam Hossein hospital affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences on medical documents of pediatrics that underwent gastric or duodenal biopsy via endoscopy. We collected data regarding patients' age, gender, place of residence, type of gastrointestinal complaints, and prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection from the medical reports. We also investigated the possible correlation between the presence of Helicobacter pylori and the type of complaints among patients.

Results: A total number of 400 pediatrics entered the study. Abdominal pain was the most common complaint (42%). Helicobacter pylori infection was found in 31 cases (7.8%). The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in boys (10.7%) was significantly higher than in girls (4.6%) (P = 0.02) and was significantly related to the age group of children (P<0.001) in the way that Helicobacter pylori infection was more common in higher ages. There was no significant relationship between the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and the type of complaint (P = 0.29).

Conclusion: We showed that the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection is low among pediatrics with gastrointestinal complaints and this issue could cast doubt on the high prevalence rates and importance of this infection in children.