Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services

About: Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services is a education organization based out in Tehran, Iran. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 19456 authors who have published 33659 publications receiving 365676 citations.

Treatment of facial paralysis: dynamic reanimation of spontaneous facial expression-apropos of 655 patients.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Six hundred fifty-five cases of unilateral facial paralysis were treated by different surgical methods to achieve dynamic reanimation of facial muscle movement. In a retrospective study, the recovery of both truly spontaneous smile and facial muscle movement was evaluated independently. METHODS The authors performed 505 two-stage gracilis, one rectus abdominis, and 14 single-stage latissimus dorsi microneurovascular muscle transfers, in addition to 28 cross-facial facial nerve neurotization procedures. These procedures were based on neurotization of the paralyzed region by the contralateral healthy facial nerve. Procedures involving motor nerves or muscle beyond the territory of the facial nerve included 73 temporalis muscle transpositions, four lengthening temporalis myoplasty procedures, 26 neurotizations by the hypoglossal nerve, and four neurotizations by the spinal accessory nerve. RESULTS Patients treated by techniques based on the motor function of nerves other than the facial nerve did not recover spontaneous smile. Neurotization by the facial nerve, however, did result in the recovery of spontaneous smile in all satisfactory or better outcomes. Recovery of lip commissure movement based on neurotization by the contralateral healthy facial nerve was better than that of the remaining groups (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Temporalis muscle transposition and lengthening myoplasty are acceptable options for patients who are not good candidates for neurotization by the facial nerve. For the restoration of both truly spontaneous smile and facial muscle movement, free microneurovascular muscle transfer neurotized by the contralateral healthy facial nerve has become the authors' first-choice surgical technique. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, IV.

Pathologic features of COVID-19: A concise review.

Abstract: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), first appeared in December 2019, in Wuhan, China and evolved into a pandemic. As Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) is one of the potential target receptors for SARS-CoV-2 in human body, which is expressed in different tissues, multiple organs might become affected. In the initial phase of the current pandemic, a handful of post-mortem case-series revealed COVID-19-related pathological changes in various organs. Although pathological examination is not a feasible method of diagnosis, it can elucidate pathological changes, pathogenesis of the disease, and the cause of death in COVID-19 cases. Herein, we thoroughly reviewed multiple organs including lung, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, skin, heart, blood, spleen, lymph nodes, brain, blood vessels, and placenta in terms of COVID-19-related pathological alterations. Also, these findings were compared with SARS and MERS infection, wherever applicable. We found a diverse range of pathological changes, some of which resemble those found in SARS and MERS.

Predictive performance of the visceral adiposity index for a visceral adiposity-related risk: Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract: Visceral adiposity index (VAI) has recently been developed based on waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), triglycerides (TGs), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). We examined predictive performances for incident diabetes of the VAI per se and as compared to the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR). Participants free of diabetes at baseline with at least one follow-up examination (5,964) were included for the current study. Weibull regression models were developed for interval-censored survival data. Absolute and relative integrated discriminatory improvement index (IDI) and cut-point-based and cut-point-free net reclassification improvement index (NRI) were used as measures of predictive ability for incident diabetes added by VAI, as compared to the MetS and WHtR. The annual incidence rate of diabetes was 0.85 per 1000 person. Mean VAI was 3.06 (95%CIs 2.99-3.13). Diabetes risk factors levels increased in stepwise fashion across VAI quintiles. Risk gradient between the highest and lowest quintile of VAI was 4.5 (95%CIs 3.0-6.9). VAI significantly improved predictive ability of the MetS. The relative IDI and cut-point free NRI for predictive ability added to MetS by VAI were 30.3% (95%CIs 18.8-41.8%) and 30.7% (95%CIs 20.8-40.7%), respectively. WHtR, outperformed VAI with cut-point-free NRI of 24.6% (95%CIs 14.1-35.2%). In conclusion, although VAI could be a prognostic tool for incident diabetes events, gathering information on its components (WC, BMI, TGs, and HDL-C) is unlikely to improve the prediction ability beyond what could be achieved by the simply assessable and commonly available information on WHtR.

Effects of zinc supplementation in patients with major depression: a randomized clinical trial.

Abstract: Objective: Major depression is a mood disorder that causes changes in physical activity, appetite, sleep and weight. Regarding the role of zinc in the pathology of depression, the present study was aimed to investigate the effects of zinc supplementation in the treatment of this disease.Methods: This study was a double-blind randomized clinical trial. Forty four patients with major depression were randomly assigned to groups receiving zinc supplementation and placebo. Patients in Zinc group received daily supplementation with 25 mg zinc adjunct to antidepressant; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), while the patients in placebo group received placebo with antidepressants (SSRIs) for twelve weeks. Severity of depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory at baseline and was repeated at the sixth and twelfth weeks. ANOVA with repeated measure was used to compare and track the changes during the study .Results: The mean score of Beck test decreased significantly in the zinc supplement group at the end of week 6 (PConclusion: The results of the present study indicate that zinc supplementation together with SSRIs antidepressant drug improves major depressive disorders more effectively in patients with placebo plus antidepressants (SSRIs).Key words: Major depressive disorder; Zinc supplement; placebo and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)Iran J Psychiatry 2013; 8:2: 73-79-According to the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), major depressive disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric disorder with genetic, biological, and environmental risk factors. This disorder is one of the most common diseases in the world, with high levels of associated mortality. It affects people of every region in every ethnic group (1, 2) to the extent that one out of every 5 people referred to a physician is affected by depression (3).About 19-34 % of patients with depression do not respond to antidepressants, and 15-50 % of them have a recurrence; therefore, other medications or supplementation with micronutrients are increasingly adjunct to antidepressant drugs to improve their therapeutic effects (4).Zinc is one of the micronutrients involved in behavior, learning and mental functions. The first clinical studies in the field of serum zinc level in depressed patients have been published by Hansen and colleagues (5). The first report on the relationship between zinc status and brain function in humans has been published in 1998 by Sand stead and colleagues (6). Various studies have identified the effects of zinc in the pathophysiology of depression and antidepressant drugs mechanisms of action. Also, other clinical studies have shown low serum zinc concentrations in patients with depression (7).Furthennore, Long-term treatments with zinc in laboratory animals have had the same mechanisms and effects as the antidepressant drugs (8).In previous studies, the dietary micronutrients as confounding factors have not been studied. However, the present study was designed to examine the effects of zinc supplementation in patients with major depression, while assessing and controlling dietary intake. The present study was the first randomized clinical trial in Iran designed to examine the effects of zinc supplementation in patients with major depression.Material and MethodsParticipants and ProcedureThis study was a double blind randomized clinical trial that was performed on 44 patients with major depression. Study population was among people with depression who were referred to the psychiatric clinic of Imam Hussein, Tehran. Sampling started after obtaining approval from the ethics committee of Nutrition Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (No. …