Journal of

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Background and Aim: Skin cancer is one of the most common human cancers. Its incidence rate trend is increasing in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, incidence rate and geographical distribution of skin cancer to identify the high risk areas in Kurdistan province, Iran. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the collected data were analyzed using version 16 of SPSS software, and t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for comparison of the means. The distribution map of skin cancer in the province was prepared using Geographic Information System (GIS) software, version 9.3 between the beginning of 2006 and the end of 2010. In order to investigate the reason for high rates of skin cancer in some cities, ultraviolet (UV) radiation distribution map was also prepared. Results: Sanandaj with 17.55/100000 had the highest and SarvAbad with 3.73/100000 had the lowest incidence rates. The number of male patients (542) was nearly two times of female cases (324), (P<0.0001). In addition, skin cancer was about two times more prevalent in urban (%68.01) than rural (%31.99) residents (P=0.008). Conclusion: Life style of men and their sun exposure because of their job seemed to be a major risk factor in increasing the incidence of skin cancer in Kurdistan province, Iran. There was no correlation between the skin cancer incidence at the district level and UV index. Further research is recommended to explain this finding.

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Background and Aim: Cosmetic surgery is performed to change the appearance of people and improve their
self-esteem and according to the available reports, Iran ranked first in cosmetic surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the socio-cultural attitudes about cosmetic surgery and its related factors among female students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 340 female students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2017 with a stratified sampling method. To gather data, we used socio-cultural attitudes questionnaire and recorded demographic variables. Data were analyzed with SPSS 24 software using t-test, ANOVA and linear regression tests.

Results: The age group of 21-30 years were the most frequent participants (56.7%). Most of the students were medical students (24.4%). They often received information about cosmetic surgery via the internet (63.2%). There were significant statistical relationships between social and cultural attitudes with the field of study and father's job (P<0.05). The results of regression analysis showed that the variables of the father's job and body mass index evaluation predicted the social and cultural attitudes.

Conclusion: It is recommended to conduct similar studies other universities of the country and compare them with the findings of this research.

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Background and Aim: Burns are among the most common causes of wounds. One of the medications used in these cases is silver sulfadiazine 1%, which has many side effects. Therefore, people turn to traditional compounds for treatment of these ulcers . Despite the widespread use of lime water in combination with olive oil and Ziziphus in Iran, little research has been done to prove their benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the topical effect of Ziziphus and olive oil and lime water combination on the healing rate of third-degree burns in mice.

Methods: In this study, 24 male Balb/c mice with a mean weight of 25±5 g were used. After anesthesia, a 1 cm² third-degree burn was created with a special device. The mice were randomly divided into four groups and received normal saline, Ziziphus poultice, olive oil-lime water, or silver sulfadiazine 1% daily. Pictures were taken weekly for three weeks. Then the area of the wounds was measured and the percentage of healing was calculated. Repeated measure ANOVA was used to analyze the data.

Results: In all weeks, the percentage of wound healing in the second to fourth groups was significantly higher than that of the first group, but was not significantly different from each other.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed the positive effect of Ziziphus leaves and the combination of olive oil and lime water on the healing rate of third-degree burn wounds in mice.

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Background and Aim: Cicatricial (scarring) alopecia is a group of disorders in which permanent hair loss results from replacement of hair follicles by fibrosis or hyalinized collagen, which includes two types: primary such as discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), lichen plano pilaris (LPP), frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), Folliculitis decalvans, and secondary like kerion and burn. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of different types of scarring alopecia in patients referred to Imam Reza Dermatology Clinic in Ardebil in 1397.

Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 96 patients referred to the dermatology clinic of Imam Reza Hospital, Ardebil, Iran, were evaluated. Epidemiologic and pathologic causes of primary and secondary cicatricial alopecia were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS version 16 software.

Results: The most common causes among patients with primary cicatricial alopecia were DLE (51.16%), LPP (6.25%), acne keloidalis (4.16%), folliculitis decalvans (2.08%), FFA (2.08%) and pseudopelade of Brocq 1.04%). In patients with secondary cicatricial alopecia the most common causes were kerion (55.2%), followed by morphea cutaneous lymphoma and burn (1.04%).

Conclusion: Considering that the majority of patients in rural area had kerion (92.45%), we can prevent the spread of the disease by improving hygiene standards as an important factor in controlling this disease in order to early diagnosis and treatment.

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Background and Aim: Oral hydrolyzed collagen is one of the newest and most popular systemic supplementations for skin rejuvenation. However, there are limited information in case of Middle Eastern consumers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of an oral collagen supplement for improvement of skin elasticity, hydration and roughness.
 

Methods: It was a 12-week, before-after clinical study, conducted on 20 participants (18 women and two men) aged 44.15±5.36 years with skin type III-IV. Skin elasticity parameters (R0, R2, R5 and R7), skin hydration and friction, as well as the thickness and echo density of the dermis, were measured after six and 12 weeks daily intake of the study product, as well as four weeks after stopping its use (week 16). Participants’ satisfaction was assessed on the basis of their answers to the standard questionnaire, and tolerability of the product was assessed by monitoring the adverse effects.
 

Results: A significant improvement was detected in R2, R5 and skin friction at week 12 (P<0.041, P<0.012 and P<0.01, respectively). At week 16, the values remained at an increased level, which indicates the stability of the results. The increase of dermis density in week 16 was also significant (P=0.03). Moderate overall satisfaction was reported with the treatment, and a few gastrointestinal complications were reported.
 

Conclusion: The study demonstrated that oral collagen peptides could significantly improve the skin elasticity, roughness, and dermis echo density, and they also proved to be safe and well-tolerated.