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 & Medicine. The organization has 19456 authors who have published 33659 publications receiving 365676 citations.

Incidence of Anxiety in Parkinson's Disease During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic.

Abstract: The recent pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) have forced countries to be under lockdown, with strict emphasis being placed on self-isolation and social distancing. The major impact of this mandate is on patients with chronic diseases. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease, and anxiety is one of the most frequent neuropsychiatric disorders in PD, with an incidence higher than in any other chronic medical diseases (38% vs. 11%). The recent outbreak of coronavirus in Iran could be a contributing factor for worsening anxiety in this group of individuals. Therefore, to test this hypothesis we undertook this study by quantifying anxiety levels using the Beck Anxiety Inventory. This cross-sectional, case-control survey approved by the Iran National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Researches (IR.SBMU.MSP.REC.1399.033) to evaluate the level of anxiety among PD patients compared with the general population. The study was carried out using a web-based questionnaire keeping in accordance with the current recommendations of preventing in person interviews to limit person-to-person contact. The questionnaire was administered to 500 patients with PD who were being followed up at the referral Movement Disorders Center in Tehran. The questionnaire consisted of Beck Anxiety Inventory II–Persian, which was validated in Persian. We excluded those patients who had a history of psychosis or a Mini-Mental State Examination score of ≤12 based on medical records. The questionnaire was also broadcasted over the internet using the WeChat public platform and over the mainstream media for the control group. Histories of PD and dementia were the exclusion criteria for healthy controls. A total of 137 subjects were diagnosed cases of PD who responded to the questionnaire, 95 were caregivers of the PD subgroup, and 442 participants were designated as controls after they were age and gender matched to the patient population. Table 1 provides the demographic details and diseaserelated and COVID-19–related variables. The mean Beck Anxiety Inventory II total score among PD patients and the control group was 18.34 11.37 and 8.9 8.26, respectively. Severe anxiety was recorded in 25.5% of the cases and 4.8% of controls. Furthermore, 60% TABLE 1. Characteristic of patients, caregivers, and controls

Quality of life of chronic heart failure patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract: Despite various individual studies on the quality of life (QOL) in patients with CHF, a comprehensive study has not yet been conducted; therefore, this study aims to assess the QOL of CHF patients. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, PubMed, Scopus, and the Web of science databases were searched from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2018, using QOL and heart failure as keywords. The searches, screenings, quality assessments, and data extractions were conducted separately by two researchers. A total of 70 studies including 25,180 participants entered the final stage. The mean QOL score was 44.1 (95% confidence interval (CI) 40.6, 47.5; I2 = 99.3%) using a specific random effects method in 40 studies carried out on 12,520 patients. Moreover, according to the geographical region, heart failure patients in the Americas had higher scores. In 14 studies, in which a general SF-36 survey was implemented, the average physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) were 33.3 (95% CI 31.9, 34.7; I2 = 88.0%) and 50.6 (95% CI 43.8, 57.4; I2 = 99.3%), respectively. The general and specific tools used in this study indicated moderate and poor QOL, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out periodic QOL measurements using appropriate tools as part of the general care of CHF patients.

Susceptibility of herpes simplex virus type 1 to monoterpenes thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene and essential oils of Sinapis arvensis L., Lallemantia royleana Benth. and Pulicaria vulgaris Gaertn.

Abstract: In recent years, with increased the prevalence of viral infections and having no specific for their treatment and also the continuous appearance of resistant viral strains, the finding of novel antiviral agents is necessary. In this study, monoterpenes of thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene and essential oils from Sinapis arvensis L., Lallemantia royleana Benth. and Pulicaria vulgaris Gaertn. were screened for their inhibitory effect against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro on Vero cell line CCL-81-ATCC using a plaque reduction assay. The antiviral activity of three monoterpenes (thymol, carvacrol and p-cymene) and three essential oils were evaluated by cytotoxicity assay, direct plaque test. In addition, the modes of antiviral action of these compounds were investigated during the viral infection cycle. Results showed that the inhibitory concentrations (IC50) were determined at 0.002%, 0.037%, >0.1%, 0.035%, 0.018% and 0.001% for thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene, S. arvensis oil, L. royleana oil and P. vulgaris oil, respectively. A manifestly dose-dependent virucidal activity against HSV-1 could be exhibited for compounds tested. In order to determine the mode of the inhibitory effect, compounds were added at different stages during the viral infection cycle. At maximum noncytotoxic concentrations of the compounds, plaque formation was significantly reduced by more than 80% when HSV-1 was preincubated with p-cymene. However, no inhibitory effect could be observed when the compounds were added to the cells prior to infection with HSV-1 or after the adsorption period. Conclusion: These results indicate that compounds affected HSV-1 mostly before adsorption and might interact with the viral envelope. Thymol exhibited a high selectivity index and seems to be a promising candidate for topical therapeutic application as antiviral agent for treatment of herpetic infections.

Genetic and epigenetic contribution to astrocytic gliomas pathogenesis

Abstract: Astrocytic gliomas are the most common and lethal form of intracranial tumors. These tumors are characterized by a significant heterogeneity in terms of cytopathological, transcriptional, and (epi)genomic features. This heterogeneity has made these cancers one of the most challenging types of cancers to study and treat. To uncover these complexities and to have better understanding of the disease initiation and progression, identification, and characterization of underlying cellular and molecular pathways related to (epi)genetics of astrocytic gliomas is crucial. Here, we discuss and summarize molecular and (epi)genetic mechanisms that provide clues as to the pathogenesis of astrocytic gliomas. (Figure presented.). © 2018 International Society for Neurochemistry