Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Tenderness, pain, muscle weakness, and limited range of motion (ROM) are symptoms of myofascial pain syndrome, which leads to restrictions on physical, occupational and social activities and ultimately reduction of productivity and quality of life. Different methods of rehabilitation are used to improve the symptoms of these patients. One of the new methods is the use of kinesio tape. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of kinesio tape on neck pain and disability and also muscle strength in myofascial pain syndrome.
Methods: In this single-blind randomized clinical trial, from June to November 2017 in Imam Hossein Hospital of Mashhad, Iran, thirty individuals (male and female) with Myofascial pain syndrome were divided into two groups (treatment and control), randomly by lottery. In treatment group, the kinesio tape with appropriate tension was applied directly over pain place and on upper trapezius muscle; and control group received placebo kinesio tape (kinesio taping without tension). In this study, before and three days after application of kinesio taping, numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), neck disability index (NDI) and manual muscle testing (MMT) were used to assess pain, disability and strength, respectively.
Results: To compare the effect of treatment, the mean of variables were compared with independent sample t-test before and after treatment. Pain and strength of upper trapezius were significantly different in both groups (P< 0.05), but in neck disability there was not significantly difference (P< 0.05). Then, for a closer examination, the paired t-test were used to compare the mean of disability before and after the treatment and result showed a significantly different in the treatment group and was not significantly different in the control group.
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, kinesio tape can reduce neck pain, increase the strength of upper trapezius, and ultimately reduce the disability of neck in myofascial pain syndrome. Therefore, this method can be used in rehabilitation clinics to improve the symptoms of patients with myofascial pain syndrome.

Background: Ovarian fibroma is the most common benign solid tumor of the ovary. The most common symptoms are abdominal discomfort and pain. Ovarian fibroids are associated with Meigs syndrome in 1% to 10% of cases. The aim of study is report of a case of Meigs syndrome
Case presentation: A 65-year-old menopausal woman who complained of abdominal pain was referred to our academic hospital of Mashhad, Iran, in April 2018. In abdominal examination, a soft mass with size of 200×100 mm, was detected. Also leukocytosis and increase in CRP was observed. Marker CA125 was higher than 200. In CT scan in right adnexa heterogeneous mass 170×100 mm with enhancement was reveled. pleural effusion was reported in the both lungs and collapse of underlying lung tissue in Chest X-ray. Explorative laparotomy was performed. Ascites and inflamed omentum covered the surface of right ovary was detected. The huge solid-cystic hemorrhagic, irregular mass with a specific pedicle that enclosed in the capsule in right adnexa was seen. Right salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. The result of final pathologic was benign proliferative lesions of mitotic fibroblasts were reported according to ovarian fibroma.
Conclusion: In case of accompanying ovarian mass with ascites and pleural effusion, after the exclude of ovarian malignancies, Meigs syndrome should be considered in differential diagnosis.

Background: Sesame oil can be used to treat cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, by reducing the levels of fibrinogen and factor VII. The aim of this study is to prepare a microemulsion containing sesame oil as a drug nanocarrier for improving the aqueous solubility and therapeutic effects of this vegetable oil on the reduction of the fibrinogen and factor VII levels in animal model.
Methods: This experimental study was performed for microemulsion preparation and animal test at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Cardiovascular Research Center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, respectively, from April 2015 to January 2017. To prepare the microemulsion samples, Tween 80 and span 80 were selected as surfactant couple and surfactant ratios of 8:1, 9:1 and 10:1 were determined for construction of pseudo-ternary phase diagrams. The Zealand white rabbits were categorized in three groups: receiver of base diet group, high cholesterol diet and high cholesterol diet plus microemulsion.
Results: The average particle size of the samples was in the range of 16.64±0.1 to 21.16±0.2 nm with a uniform particle size distribution. Zeta potential was in the range of -10.7 to 18.4 mV, refraction index was approximately 1.39. Electrical conductivity coefficient was in the range of 297 to 311 μz and pH of all the samples were approximately 6.42 for all samples. All of the microemulsion samples were physically stable and the prepared sample with 9:1 surfactant ratio was selected to investigate the animal test due to the higher oil percentage in comparison with the other samples that be stable over 6 months. Significant decrease in the levels of fibrinogen and factor VII in the third group of rabbits was observed compared to the other groups.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed the effective performance of nanostructured drug delivery systems in the form of microemulsion to improve the aqueous solubility and therapeutic effects of hydrophobic compounds such as vegetable oils.

Background: Cerebral aneurysm disease causes intracranial hemorrhage by rupturing, which can eventually, lead to organ failure or death. For this reason, it is important to anticipate the reasons for rupturing of a cerebral aneurysm from biomechanical point of view. Investigating this disease may even help the physicians to find treatments and predict the patient’s situation. This research was conducted to understand risks of development and rupture of a patient-specific cerebral aneurysm.
Methods: In a computational simulation, fluid-structure interaction method has been used for a patient-specific case. Also, considering the speed of the systole as the initial condition of the problem, the blood fluid domain has been solved in three types of fluid mathematical models (Newtonian, non-Newtonian Carreau, and non-Newtonian power-law). Then, the pressure results on the wall have been transmitted to ANSYS software, version 15.0 (ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, PA, USA) and the structure has been solved based on three material models (linear elastic, hyperplastic Neo-Hookean and hyperplastic Mooney-Rivlin, with 5 parameters). The study was done in University of Tehran, Iran, from October 2016 to September 2018.
Results: Shear stress, pressure, flow velocity, wall displacement and von-Mises stress have been extracted from the simulations. The average wall displacement of the aneurysm was 1.8 mm. Also, no significant difference was found in the amount of arterial wall displacement, with constant wall material model and different blood models. However, a significant difference has been observed in the case of considering constant blood model and different wall material models in the value of displacement.
Conclusion: With regard to the amount of displacement of the aneurysm wall in this particular patient, with the geometry and location of the specific aneurysm, the brain nerves 3 and 6 were under stress and exposed to damage. The minimum shear stress was in the aneurysm neck, which stimulates the endothelial cells in the area of aneurysm. In addition, the blood model didn’t had a significant effect on the displacement calculations, while the wall material model played a more decisive role.

Background: Hypereosinophilic syndrome is commonly found in various diseases such as allergic diseases, parasitic diseases, malignancies, etc. Fasciolosis may present with different clinical features, and it can make a difficult diagnosis of the disease. Laboratory manifestations of fascioliasis are eosinophilia. The purpose of this report was to introduce a child with hypereosinophilia that her diagnosis was fascioliasis.
Case Presentation: The patient was a 3-year-old girl who was referred for prolonged fever (more than two weeks) and abdominal pain from another medical center, and she was hospitalized. In abdominal and pelvic ultrasound, splenomegaly was seen and in laboratory tests, she had hypereosinophilia. In the flow cytometry of bone marrow aspiration, the only finding was increased eosinophil level. Abdominal and thoracic a computerized tomography (CT) scans showed an increased size of para-aortic lymph nodes. On her examination, lymphadenopathy was present in the inguinal region. Therefore, a biopsy of an inguinal lymph node was performed to rule out lymphoma. Lymph node biopsy was negative for lymphoma. Fasciola serology was performed for the patient, and the stool exam was collected three times (for one day in between) to rule out parasitic disease, including Fasciola, etc. Due to weakly positive serology Fasciola hepatica, triclabendazole was started for the patient (it was given in two doses, 12 hours apart), despite the absence of Fasciola parasitic eggs in her stool. During hospitalization, the patient’s fever was stopped and by starting the use of mentioned drug, eosinophilia was reduced. The patient received a complete improvement in the follow-up.
Conclusion: In patients with hypereosinophilia, parasitic diseases such as fascioliasis should be considered even if the fecal specimen is negative for Fasciola eggs.

Background: Alzheimer dementia as the most common cause of dementia is a chronic, progressive, irreversible and incurable disease. The second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer is vascular dementia. One of the systems involved in dementia is the visuospatial system and visual evoked potential (VEP) can be one of the diagnostic methods for this disease. Therefore, the present study aims to compare visual evoked potential changes in Alzheimer dementia, vascular dementia and patients with minimally conscious impairment (MCI) with healthy people.
Methods: A case-control study was performed on referred clients to Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from April 2015 to September 2016. Patients with cognitive impairment went through Montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA) test and divided into three groups of Alzheimer dementia, vascular dementia and patients with minimally conscious impairment. Subjects with normal cognition were included in the control group. The visual evoked potential test was performed on all participants in two Methods: pattern shift visual evoked potential (Ps-VEP) and flash visual evoked potential (f-VEP) and results were compared between groups.

Conclusion: This study showed that only Alzheimer was associated with a significant increase in visual evoked potential P100 latency. On the other hand the other hand, there was no significant difference in flash visual evoked potential variables including P1, N2, P2 and N3 between different groups which shows that flash visual evoked potential cannot differentiate between Alzheimer dementia, vascular dementia, patients with minimally conscious impairment and normal people.

Background: Chronic kidney disease is considered as one of the most common health problems in the world. High mortality and morbidity in these patients, are due to cardiovascular disease and infections. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio is recently known as an inflammatory marker. This study aimed to determine the ratio of neutrophil to lymphocyte count in hemodialysis patients in Birjand Special Disease Center, and its role in mortality and morbidity during one-year follow-up.
Methods: This is an analytical descriptive study that was performed on 59 End-Stage Renal disease patients referred to the dialysis department of Special Disease Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences Birjand, Iran. The levels of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C reactive protein were measured and cases divided into 4 groups according to the NLR: less than 1, 1-1.5, 1.5-2.5, 2.5-3.5, and>3.5. All patients were followed up for one year to determine rate of mortality, cardiovascular and infectious events.

Background: Vasculitis is a heterogeneous group of diseases that means an inflammatory process in blood vessels. Diagnosing vasculitis in children is challenging due to the variety of symptoms. Classification of childhood vasculitis is usually based on clinical phenotypes, size of affected vessels (small, medium, or large), and pathology of inflammatory infiltrates. The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiological information on types of vasculitis and their clinical symptoms in children in eastern Iran.
Methods: This 3-year descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on all male and female patients with any vasculitis referred to the outpatient clinic and rheumatology department of Akbar Children's Hospital from the beginning of September 2017 to the end of September 2020. Has been. This study was based on information obtained from the checklist (information from the inpatient and outpatient records and information in the HIS). Checklist information included age, gender, drug history, history of surgery, clinical symptoms in different systems, season of disease onset, etc.
Results: Out of 263 children, 135 (51.33%) had Henoch-Schonlein and 100 (38/02%) of them had Kawasaki. The numbers of Behcet, Takayasu and Churg-Strauss patients were 20, three and two, respectively. In most subgroups, female patients were more common than male patients. Kawasaki and Takayasu had the lowest and highest age of onset, respectively. The most common seasons of appearance for Henoch-Schonlein and Kawasaki were autumn and summer respectively. In most subgroups, skin rashes are the most common clinical symptom, with, the most common types being petechiae and purpura.

Conclusion: In the present study, the most common type of vasculitis diagnosed in children in eastern Iran was reported by Henoch-Schonlein and Kawasaki respectively, which was completely different from the most common types of vasculitis in adulthood and indicated the importance of age in diagnosing the type of vasculitis. The necessity of clinical suspicion of these two diseases in children with skin rashes, along with matching with other clinical findings, is undeniable.

Background: Angiogenesis is a physiological process leading to capillary density enhancement and better blood distribution in skeletal muscles, which triggers in response to physical training. The present study aimed to investigate the changes in physiological factors involved in angiogenesis in response to circuit or traditional resistance training.
Methods: Thirty-six healthy sedentary students who were studying at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University of Tehran (age: 22.1±2.3 years; height: 172.7±5.1 cm) volunteered to participate in the study (from October 2021 to February 2022). Following a pre-test to evaluate one repetition maximum (1RM) of selected movements (Leg Press, Leg Curl, Leg Extension, Bench Pull, Seated Row, Biceps Curl), subjects randomly divided into Circuit Resistance training (CRT) (training protocol included 4 circles/3 times a week/8 weeks circuit performance/50-55% 1 Repetition Maximum (1RM), n=12), Traditional resistance training (RT) (training protocol included 8 repetition/3 set/3 time per week/8 weeks of same movements with 75% 1RM followed by 2 minutes break to rest between the sets; n=12) and the control group without any regular training (n=12). We assessed the level of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), plasma level of growth hormone (GH), and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (BFGF) to the mentioned training methods. Data were evaluated by utilizing SPSS version 14.

Results: Present findings showed that CRT and RT protocols resulted in significant increases in post-test compared to pre-test in VEGF (P=0.00), GH (P=0.04), and BFGF (P=0.00). In addition, the magnitude of changes in VEGF and GH were significantly greater than the magnitude of changes in control group in post-test (P=0.03, and 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between absolute values of GH and VEGF (r=0.74 and r=0.71) following CRT (P=0.01) and RT (P=0.02). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CRT and RT might enhance angiogenesis through an increase in VEGF, bFGF and GH, leading to better blood distribution in muscles.

Background: Vascular traumas are among the important traumas, most of which lead to significant complications due to the lack of correct and timely diagnosis, considering the frequency of penetrating vascular injuries, especially in our country and Khuzestan province, as well as the complications and mortality caused by injuries. This study was designed to investigate the effect of vascular surgery intervention on patients with arterial injury of forearm trauma.
Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, all trauma patients suspected of penetrating forearm arterial injuries in terms of age, sex, type of trauma, location of trauma, type of intervention, location of arterial repair, angiographic and clinical findings including damaged arteries, type of injury Arterial fracture or dislocation. The proximity of vascular damage and the complications of surgical interventions are investigated.

Results: The results of this study showed that among the penetrating trauma patients requiring surgical intervention, 90.4% were men and only 6.9% were women. The average age of the patients was 32 years. The most frequent trauma requiring surgical intervention in this study was primary repair of a stab wound in the ulnar artery and the least was due to explosive. According to the obtained results, there was a statistically significant relationship between the amount of bleeding, the days of hospitalization and the duration of the operation with the type of trauma. The most damaged artery was ulnar artery 7.50% and the most type of arterial damage was arterial cut with active bleeding (7.39%). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the most damage was in the ulnar artery caused by trauma with sharp objects (knives). The incidence of complications in primary repair surgery was higher than other types of surgical interventions, and there was a statistically significant relationship between the amount of bleeding, days of hospitalization, and duration of surgery with the type of trauma.