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.

Aloe Genus Plants: From Farm to Food Applications and Phytopharmacotherapy

Abstract: Aloe genus plants, distributed in Old World, are widely known and have been used for centuries as topical and oral therapeutic agents due to their health, beauty, medicinal, and skin care properties Among the well-investigated Aloe species are A arborescens, A barbadensis, A ferox, and A vera Today, they account among the most economically important medicinal plants and are commonly used in primary health treatment, where they play a pivotal role in the treatment of various types of diseases via the modulation of biochemical and molecular pathways, besides being a rich source of valuable phytochemicals In the present review, we summarized the recent advances in botany, phytochemical composition, ethnobotanical uses, food preservation, and the preclinical and clinical efficacy of Aloe plants These data will be helpful to provide future directions for the industrial and medicinal use of Aloe plants

Comparison of retropubic, laparoscopic and robotic radical prostatectomy: who is the winner?

Abstract: This study is a systematic analysis of the evidence regarding oncological, perioperative and postoperative outcomes and the cost of open retropubic radical prostatectomy (ORP), laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). Summary data was abstracted from 104 original research articles representing 227,400 patients. PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Google Scholar, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library were reviewed in December 2016. A total of 104 publications were selected for inclusion. The primary outcomes were positive surgical margin (PSM) and major complication rate according to Clavien classifications. Secondary outcomes were operative time, length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss, transfusions, conversions, rate of post-operative erectile dysfunction and incontinence and total cost of procedure. ORP had a significantly higher rate than RALP for PSM (OR: 1.18; 95% CI 1.05–1.32; p = 0.004), but the rate of PSM was not significantly different between ORP versus LRP (OR: 1.37; 95% CI 0.88–2.14; p = 0.17) and RALP versus LRP (OR: 0.83; 95% CI 0.40–1.72; p = 0.62). The major Clavien complication rate was significantly different between ORP and RALP (OR: 2.14; 95% CI 1.24–3.68; p = 0.006). Estimated blood loss, transfusions and length of hospital stay were low for RALP, moderate for LRP and high for ORP. The rate of erectile dysfunction (OR: 2.58; 95% CI 1.77–3.75; p < 0.001) and incontinence (OR: 3.57; 95% CI 2.28–5.58; p < 0.001) were significantly lower after RALP than LRP and equivalent for other comparisons. Total cost was highest for RALP, followed by LRP and ORP. For PSM and peri- and post-operative complications, RALP showed better results than ORP and LRP. In the context of the biases between the studies, one should interpret the results with caution.

Influence of gene variants related to calcium homeostasis on biochemical parameters of women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor (VDR), parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium sensing receptor (CASR), insulin receptor (INSR), and adiponectin (ADIPOQ) genes and biochemical characteristics of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Nrf2 and Nrf1 signaling and ER stress crosstalk: implication for proteasomal degradation and autophagy

Abstract: The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen is chemically complex and crowded with polypeptides in different stages of assembly. ER quality control monitors chaperone-assisted protein folding, stochastic errors and off-pathway intermediates. In acute conditions, potentially toxic polypeptides overflow the capacity of the chaperone system and lead to ER stress. Activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) following ER stress buys time for non-native polypeptides to refold or be eliminated; otherwise cell death occurs. The clearance routes for deleterious proteins are endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) and ER stress-activated autophagy. The ERAD pathway is a chaperone and proteasome-mediated polypeptide degradation, while autophagy applies to wider range of substances. ER stress signal transduction recruits diverse molecules and pathways upon UPR induction to compensate stress condition. NF-E2-related factor 1 (Nrf1) and Nrf2 are two transcription factors mostly known by their induction through an antioxidant response; they can also be activated by UPR machinery. Discovery of diverse molecules downstream of Nrf1 and Nrf2 has expanded our understanding of the biological impacts of these transcription factors beyond classic antioxidant activation. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of mutual relationships between Nrf1, Nrf2, and ER stress clearance mechanisms and highlight the crosstalk of specific molecules mediating these correlations.