Background & Objective: Studies have reported a relationship between serum ferritin and some components of insulin resistance, as well as an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is probable for the dietary content of iron to have an influence on the development of diabetes. In this study, the iron intake in first-degree relatives of type2 diabetic patients with normal or impaired glucose tolerance was investigated.
Materials & Methods: Based on the results of OGTT, 210 first-degree relatives of type 2 diabetic patients were divided into 2 groups with normal and impaired (diabetic, IGT) glucose tolerance. Using a 3-day food questionnaire, the daily intake of energy, red meat, fish and poultry meat, magnesium, iron, zinc, and chromium was calculated and compared between the 2 groups.
Results: The mean age and BMI were 48.9 ± 5.2 years and 43.7 ± 6.7 years (P=0.373) and 29.3 ± 0.7 kg/m2 and 28.7 ± 0.8 kg/m2 (P=0.654) in impaired and normal groups, respectively. Iron intake was significantly higher in impaired group in comparison with normal subjects. (P=0.015), however, no significant differences were observed between the two groups concerning the intake of other nutrients.
Conclusion: Keeping the role of other risk factors in mind, the higher iron intake observed among subjects of the impaired group shows a probable relationship between an increased intake of iron and a higher risk in developing type2 diabetes.

Background and Objective: Several studies have reported significant disturbances in vertical posture during various standing and walking conditions, but there is little evidence about the behavior of related muscles in dynamic conditions such as external perturbation, so this study was done to investigate and to compare the delay in response of upper trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles as two superficial muscles in the neck area, in posterior-anterior perturbation among patients with chronic neck pain and healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: This study was a case-control study with simple nonprobable sampling.32 subjects (16 healthy subjects and 16 patients with chronic neck pain) participated the study. Data collection was done using questionnaire and test performance .The equipments included dynamometer, chronometer and surface kinesiology electromyography .Dropping the weight equal to 10% of total body weight, performed using electrical magnet, followed by pulling of the trunk inducing perturbation was performed. Results: There were significant statistical differences in response onset of upper trapezius(p=0.032) and sternocleidomastoid(p=0.012) muscles between two groups.This meant the response onset in patients was longer than healthy subjects. Conclusion: Pain can change the onset of response of trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles and possibly decrease muscle activity in deep muscles and change the pattern of muscle activation and possibly it can increase the risk of injury in patients with chronic neck pain.

Background and Objective: Conflicts among health care personnel including nursing personnel who require extensive interaction with different people, is common and almost inevitable. As there is not sufficient information about the causes, types, and dimensions of interpersonal conflicts among clinical nurses and the adverse effects of these conflicts on the function of nursing team in Iran, we aimed to perform this study in order to find out causes of different inter-group or inter personal conflicts among nurses using qualitative research method and Grounded Theory Approach (GT). Materials and Methods: The data was collected through interviews. Constant comparison method was used in order to perform qualitative analysis. Results: Open coding process resulted in emergence of causal conditions and different types of conflicts within the nursing society. Exposure to imposed conditions, confronting with opposition, disagreement and destructive behaviors were indicative of characteristics of conflicting events and tasks, process, relational and marginal conflicts which were major categories of conflict in clinical settings. Feeling threats towards benefits was recognized as the main apprehension of participants. This core variable can explain how conflicts occur and develop within nursing society according to conflicts of benefits. Conclusion: The findings showed that individual factors and intra as well as extra-organizational factors were major and/or contextual causes of inter-group conflicts among nurses. One of the significant and interesting findings in this study was that the conflicts did not affect the occupational function of nurses despite the significant effect on marginal issues in their work environment. The study also showed that these conflicts are part of simulation process in nursing tasks. Key words: Occupational Conflicts, Interpersonal Conflict, Nursing, Clinical Environment.

Background and Objective: Aggressive periodontitis is a destructive disease that leads to a quick and extensive periodontal tissue loss. Mast cells are known to play important roles in allergic reactions, host defense against bacterial infections, local homeostasis, inflammation, and angiogenesis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between mast cell numbers and aggressive periodontitis. Materials and Methods: A descriptive analytical and blind study was designed and gingival specimens from 19 moderate to advanced aggressive periodontitis sites (case group) and 18 gingivitis sites (control group) was taken during flap and crown lengthening surgeries. Toluidine blue and Hematoxylin Eosin staining were done for mast cell counting and inflammation assessment, respectively. Inflammatory and mast cells in 5 micron sections were assessed by two trained observers utilizing light microscopy. ANOVAs and T test with an alpha error level less than 5% were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean values of the mast cell numbers were 7.6 10.8 and 9.8 13.0 in aggressive periodontitis and gingivitis sites, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences among the mast cell counts, clinical attachment loss, or pathologic inflammation (P> 0.05). Conclusions: The present study indicates that mast cell numbers were not significantly different between aggressive periodontitis and gingivitis. Further studies are required to evaluate dynamic aspects of host defense.

Background and Objective: Nowadays, although umbilical cord blood is a commonly used source of hematopoietic stem cell, its low frequency of these cells is the main factor limiting its clinical application. The transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta tissue along with umbilical cord blood cells of the same sample may be an appropriate approach to solve this problem. In this study, we tried to mimic the niche of placenta by nano fiber scaffold in order to expand the hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta tissue. Materials and Methods: Different stromal cells along with hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta tissue were seeded on nano fiber scaffold produced from PLLA coated with collagen. Then, the rate of proliferation in these niches was studied. Results: The expansion in the mimicked niche associated with 3.6 fold increase in the number of cells but the capacity of forming colonies decreased significantly (P<0.0001). Also, the percentage of hematopoietic stem cells increased. Nevertheless, the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Due to a decreased capacity in forming colonies of hematopoietic stem cells derived from placenta, the expansion of stem cells from a part of placenta is not an appropriate solution and other approaches such as isolation of hematopoietic stem cells from the whole placenta tissue should be considered. References 1- Delaney C, Gutman JA, Appelbaum FR. Cord blood transplantation for hematological malignancies: conditioning regimens, double cord transplant and infectious complications. Br J Haematol. 2009 147: 207-16. 2- Escalon MP, Komanduri KV. Cord blood transplantation: evolving strategies to improve engraftment and immune reconstitution. Curr Opin Oncol. 2010 22: 122-9. 3- Hofmeister CC, Zhang J, Knight KL, Le P, Stiff PJ. Ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood stem cells for transplantation: growing knowledge from the hematopoietic niche. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2007 39: 11-23. 4- Tung SS, Parmar S, Robinson SN, De Lima M, Shpall Ej. Ex vivo expansion of umbilical cord blood for transplantation. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol. 2010 23: 245-57. 5- Devin SM, Lazarus HM, Emerson SG. Clinical application of hematopoietic stem cells expansion: current status and future prospects. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2003 31: 241-52. 6- Shpall EJ, Quinones R, Giller R, et al. Transplantation of ex vivo expanded cord blood. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2002 8: 368-76. 7- Yao CL, Chu IM, Hsieh TB, Hwang SM. A systematic strategy to optimize ex vivo expansion medium for human hematopoietic stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells. Exp Hematol. 2004 32: 720-7. 8- Schofield R. The relationship between the spleen colony-forming cell and the haemopoietic stem cell. Blood Cells. 1978: 4: 7-25. 9- Mercier FE, Ragu C, Scadden DT. The bone marrow at the cross roads of blood and immunity. Nat Rev Immunol. 2011 12: 49-60. 10- Ugarte F, Forsberg EC. Haematopoietic stem cell niches: new insights inspire new questions. EMBO J. 2013 32: 2535-47. 11- Frenette PS1, Pinho S, Lucas D, Scheiermann C. Mesenchymal stem cell: keystone of the hematopoietic stem cell niche and a stepping-stone for regenerative medicine. Annu Rev Immunol. 2013 31: 285-316. 12- Mendez-Ferrer S, Michurina TV, Ferraro F, et al. Mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells form a unique bone marrow niche. Nature. 2010 466: 829-34. 13- Sideri A, Neokleous N, Brunet De La Grange P, et al. An overview of the progress on double umbilical cord blood transplantation. Haematologica. 2011 96: 1213-20. 14- Barker JN, Weisdorf DJ, DeFor TE, et al. Transplantation of 2 partially HLA-matched umbilical cord blood units to enhance engraftment in adults with hematologic malignancy. Blood. 2005 105: 1343-7. 15- Gekas C, Dieterlen-Lievre F, Orkin SH, Mikkola HK. The placenta is a niche for hematopoietic stem cells. Dev Cell .2005 8: 365-75. 16- Barcena A, Kapidzic M, Muench MO, et al. The human placenta is a hematopoietic organ during the embryonic and fetal periods of development. Dev Biol. 2009 327: 24-33. 17- Serikov V, Hounshell C, Larkin S, et al. Human term placenta as a source of hematopoietic cells. Exp Biol Med. 2009 234: 813-23. 18- Omidkhoda A, Kaviani S, Soleimani M, et al. Isolation and characterization of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells derived from human placenta tissue. Sci J Iran Blood Transfus Organ. 2014 11: 4-11. 19- Ehring B, Biber K, Upton TM, et al. Expansion of HPCs from cord blood in a novel 3D matrix. Cytotherapy. 2003 5: 490-9. 20- Di Maggio N1, Piccinini E, Jaworski M, Trumpp A, Wendt DJ, Martin I. Toward modeling the bone marrow niche using scaffold-based 3D culture systems. Biomaterials. 2011 32: 321-9. 21- Oswald J, Steudel C, Salchert K, et al. Gene expression profiling of CD34+ hematopoietic cells expanded in a collagen I matrix. Stem Cells. 2006 24: 494-500. 22- Leisten I, Kramann R, Ventura Ferreira MS, et al. 3D co-culture of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells in collagen scaffolds as a model of the hematopoietic niche. Biomaterials. 2012 33: 1736-47. 23- Mortera-Blanco T, Mantalaris A, Bismarck A, Aqel N, Panoskaltsis N. Long-term cytokine-free expansion of cord blood mononuclear cells in three-dimensional scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2011 32: 9263-70. 24- Ferreira MS, Schneider RK, Wagner W, et al. Two-dimensional polymer-based cultures expand cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells and support engraftment of NSG Mice. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2013 19: 25-38. 25- Xue C1, Kwek KY, Chan JK, Chen Q, Lim1 M. The hollow fiber bioreactor as a stroma-supported, serum-free ex vivo expansion platform for human umbilical cord blood cells. Biotechnol J. In press.

Background and Objective: Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) is a severe debilitating neurological condition in adults. This study sought to assess the effect of observation and mimicking functional activities on weight distribution and dynamic balance index improvement in lower limbs of hemiparetic patients based on mirror neuron theory. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was performed on 36 males and females aged 45-60 years who suffered ischemic CVA for the first time. Subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups as follows: viewers of functional film, viewers of non-functional (symbol) film and the control group (not watching any film). The physiotherapy treatments in all groups were similar. Results: Weight percentage distribution was not significant. The values prior to and after dynamic balance index were statistically significant in all 3 groups. Significant differences were found between group 1 and the other 2 groups in terms of balance index percentage change (level 6). Conclusion: Observation and imitation of action along with rehabilitation exercises and functional activities had a positive effect on the improvement of balance Index in post-stroke patients. Refrences 1- Geurts AC, de Haart M, van Nes IJ, Duysens J.A review of standing balance recovery from stroke. Gait Posture. 2005 22: 267-81. 2- DE Haart M, Geurts AC, Huidekoper SC, Fasotti L, van Limbeek J. Recovery of standing balance in postacute stroke patients: a rehabilitation cohort study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2004 85: 886-95. 3- Harris JE, Eng JJ, Marigold DS, Tokuno CD, Louis CL. Relationship of balance and mobility to fall incidence in people with chronic stroke. Phys Ther. 2005 85: 150-8. 4- Aminoff MJ, Boller F, Swaab DF. Clinical neurology and stroke. Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 2009 5- Genthon N, Rougier P, Gissot AS, Froger J, Pélissier J, Pérennou D.Contribution of each lower limb to upright standing in stroke patients. Stroke. 2008 39: 1793-9. 6- Pereira LC, Botelho AC, Martins EF. Relationships between body symmetry during weight-bearing and functional reach among chronic hemiparetic patients. Rev Bras Fisioter. 2010 14: 229-66. 7- Chen IC, Cheng PT, Chen CL, Chen SC, Chung CY, Yeh TH.Effects of balance training on hemiplegic stroke patients. Chang Gung Med J. 2002 25: 583-90. 8- Di Fabio RP, Badke MB.Stance duration under sensory conflict conditions in patients with hemiplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1991 72: 292-5. 9- Ertelt D, Small S, Solodkin A, et al. Action observation has a positive impact on rehabilitation of motor deficits after stroke. Neuroimage. 2007 36 Suppl 2:T164-73. 10- Jang SH, Kim YH, Cho SH, Lee JH, Park JW, Kwon YH. Cortical reorganization induced by task-oriented training in chronic hemiplegic stroke patients. Neuroreport. 2003, 20 14: 137-41. 11- Byl N, Roderick J, Mohamed O, et al. Effectiveness of sensory and motor rehabilitation of the upper limb following the principles of neuroplasticity: patients stable poststroke. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2003 17: 176-91. 12- Nakhostin Ansari N, Naghdi S. Techniques in the treatment of stroke rehabilitation. Tehran:Arjmand Press, 2010. 13- Garrison KA, Aziz-Zadeh L, Wong SW, Liew SL, Winstein CJ. Modulating the motor system by action observation after stroke. Stroke. 2013 44: 2247-53. 14- Sale P, Franceschini M. Action observation and mirror neuron network: a tool for motor stroke rehabilitation. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2012 48: 313-8. 15- Franceschini M, Ceravolo MG, Agosti M, et al. Clinical relevance of action observation in upper-limb stroke rehabilitation: a possible role in recovery of functional dexterity. A randomized clinical trial. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2012 26: 456-62. 16- Stefan K, Cohen LG, Duque J, et al. Formation of a motor memory by action observation. J Neurosci. 2005, 12 25: 9339-46. 17- Celnik P, Webster B, Glasser DM, Cohen LG. Effects of action observation on physical training after stroke. Stroke. 2008 39: 1814-20. 18- Holmes P. Evidence from cognitive neuroscience supports action observation as part of an integrated approach to stroke rehabilitation. Man Ther. 2011 16: 40-1. 19- Takeuchi N, Izumi S. Rehabilitation with poststroke motor recovery: a review with a focus on neural plasticity. Stroke Res Treat. 2013 2013: 128641. 20- Hafer-Macko CE, Ryan AS, Ivey FM, Macko RF. Skeletal muscle changes after hemiparetic stroke and potential beneficial effects of exercise intervention strategies. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2008 45: 261-72. 21- Nelles G, Spiekramann G, Jueptner M, et al. Evolution of functional reorganization in hemiplegic stroke: a serial positron emission tomographic activation study. Ann Neurol. 1999 46: 901-9. 22- Van de Port IG, Wood-Dauphinee S, Lindeman E, Kwakkel G. Effects of exercise training programs on walking competency after stroke: a systematic review. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2007 86: 935-51. 23- Forrester LW, Wheaton LA, Luft AR. Exercise-mediated locomotor recovery and lower-limb neuroplasticity after stroke. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2008 45: 205-20. 24- Arya KN, Pandian S, Verma R, Garg RK. Movement therapy induced neural reorganization and motor recovery in stroke: a review. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2011 15: 528-37. 25- Dobkin BH. Training and exercise to drive poststroke recovery. Nat Clin Pract Neurol. 2008 4: 76-85. 26- Lewek MD, Feasel J, Wentz E, Brooks FP Jr, Whitton MC.Use of visual and proprioceptive feedback to improve gait speed and spatiotemporal symmetry following chronic stroke: a case series. Phys Ther. 2012 92: 748-56. 27- Cho K, Lee G.Impaired dynamic balance is associated with falling in post-stroke patients. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2013 230: 233-9. 28- Mansfield A, Danells CJ, Inness E, Mochizuki G, McIlroy WE. Between-limb synchronization for control of standing balance in individuals with stroke. Clin Biomech .2011 26: 312-7. 29- Carver T, Nadeau S, Leroux A. Relation between physical exertion and postural stability in hemiparetic participants secondary to stroke. Gait Posture .2011 33: 615-9. 30- Buccino G, Solodkin A, Small SL.Functions of the mirror neuron system: implications for neurorehabilitation. Cogn Behav Neurol .2006 19: 55-63.

Background and Objective: Obesity is a low grade inflammatory condition. It seems that there is an association between diet quality and inflammatory markers. Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is one of the important tools to assess diet quality. In this study, we assessed the effect of improving HEI score through nutritional education on serum levels of inflammatory markers in obese women. Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial on sixty obese women who were assigned to educated and non-educated groups. Three months of nutritional education, one session in a week, was conducted for education group. The HEI scores of diet for seven days were recorded. Then, the concentrations of inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, TNF-α) and the anthropometric indexes were assessed at the baseline and at the end of the study in both groups. Results: After adjustment for energy intake, weight and age, the HEI score of educated group improved significantly. Prior to receiving education, the HEI mean score was in need of improvement (60.58±6.31) in the educated group. Throughout education it improved to a good level (83.34±5.12). After adjustment for energy intake, weight and age, the plasma levels of hs-CRP, TNF-α significantly decreased (all p values were <0.05). Conclusion: It seems that the quality of diet could be an independent factor in preventing chronic diseases through improving inflammatory condition. References 1- Zou C, Shao J.Role of adipocytokines in obesity-associated insulin resistance. J Nutr Biochem. 2008 19: 277-86. 2- Bastard JP, Maachi M, Lagathu C, et al. Recent advances in the relationship between obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance. Eur Cytokine Netw. 2006 17: 4-12. 3- Azadbakht L, Mirmiran P, Hosseini F, Azizi F. Diet quality status of most Tehranian adults needs improvement. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2005 14: 163-8. 4- Fung TT, McCullough ML, Newby PK. Diet-quality scores and plasma concentrations of markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 82:163-73. 5- Lee H, Lee IS, Choue R. Obesity, inflammation and diet. Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr. 2013 16: 143-52. 6- Taechangam S, Pinitchun U, Pachotikarn C. Development of nutrition education tool: healthy eating index in Thailand. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008 17: 365-7. 7- Boynton A, Neuhouser ML, Sorensen B, McTiernan A, Ulrich CM. Predictors of diet quality among overweight and obese postmenopausal women. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008 108: 125-30. 8- Boynton A, Neuhouser ML, Wener MH. Associations between healthy eating patterns and immune function or inflammation in overweight or obese postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 86: 1445-55. 9- Hu FB. Dietary pattern analysis: a new direction in nutritional epidemiology. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2002 13: 3-9. 10- Silva KF, Prata A, Cunha DF. Frequency of metabolic syndrome and the food intake patterns in adults living in a rural area of Brazil. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2011 44: 425-9. 11- Ford ES, Mokdad AH, Liu S. Healthy eating index and C-reactive protein concentration: findings from the national health and nutrition examination survey III, 1988-1994. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2005 59: 278-83. 12- Fargnoli JL, Fung TT, Olenczuk DM, Chamberland JP, Hu FB, Mantzoros CS. Adherence to healthy eating patterns is associated with higher circulating total and high-molecular-weight adiponectin and lower resistin concentrations in women from the nurses' health study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 88: 1213-24. 13- Acar Tek N, Hilal Yildiran, Gamze Akbulut, et al. Evaluation of dietary quality of adolescents using healthy eating index. Nutr Res Pract. 2011 5: 322-8. 14- Patricia M. Guenther, Susan M. Krebs-Smith, Jill Reedy, etal. USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and National Cancer Institute, June 2008. www.cnpp.usda.gov/HealthyEatingIndex.htm 15- L. kathleen mahan, Sylvia escott_Stump, Raymond. Krause,s food and nutrition care process. 2012 462_484 .www.cnpp.usda.gov/my palte.htm 16- Pourabdollahi P, Zarati M, Razaviyeh V, Dastgiri S, Ghaemmaghami G, Fathiazar E. The effect of nutritional education on awareness of the students of elementary school about the intake of junk food. J Zanjan Unive Med Sci. 2005 51: 13-20. 17- Fallah F, Pourabbas A, Delpisheh A, Veisani Y, Shadnoush M. Effects of nutrition education on levels of nutritional awareness of pregnant women in Western iran. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2013 11: 175-8. 18- Shahril MR, Wan Dali WP, Lua PL. A 10-week multimodal nutrition education intervention improves dietary intake among university students: cluster randomised controlled trial. J Nutr Metab. Epub 2013 Aug 28. 19- Kresis G, Jovamovic G, Zezelj S, Cvijavoc O, Ivezic G. The effect of nutrition knowledge of dietary intake among Croatian university standents. Coll Antropol. 2009 133: 1047-56. 20- Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM, McGoldrick K, Brown KS. Healthy eating index-C is positively associated with family dinner frequency among students in grades 6-8 from Southern Ontario, Canada. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 64: 454-60. 21- Hurley KM, Oberlander SE, Merry BC, Wrobleski MM, Klassen AC, Black MM. The healthy eating index and youth healthy eating index are unique, nonredundant measures of diet quality among low-income, African American adolescents. J Nutr. 2009 139: 359-64. 22- Togo P, Osler M, Sørensen TI, Heitmann BL. Food intake patterns and body mass index in observational studies. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 25: 1741-51. 23- Esmaillzadeh A, Azadbakht L. Dairy consumption and circulating levels of inflammatory markers among Iranian women. Public Health Nutr. 2010 13: 1395-402. 24- Lopez-Garcia E, Schulze MB, Fung TT, et al. Major dietary patterns are related to plasma concentrations of markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 80: 1029-35. 25- Mueller M, Hobiger S, Jungbauer A. Anti inflammatory activity of extracts from fruits, herbs and spices. Food chemistry 2010 122: 987-96. 26- Chry Sohoou C, et al. Adherence to the mediterranean diet attenuates inflammation and coagulation process in healthy adults: the ATTJCA study. J AM Coll cardial. 2004 44: 152-8. 27- Mantzoros CH, Williams C, Manson J, Meigs J, HU F. Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern is positively associated with plasma adiponectin concentrations in diabetic women.Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 84: 328-35. 28- Giugliano D, Ceriello A, Esposito K. The effects of diet on inflammation. J AM colL Cardiol. 2006 48: 667-85. 29- McKeown NM, Meigs JB, Liu S, Saltzman E, Wilson PW, Jacques PF. Carbohydrate nutrition, insulin resistance, and the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the Framingham Offspring Cohort. Diabetes Care. 2004 27: 538-46. 30- McKeown NM, Meigs JB, Liu S, Wilson PW, Jacques PF. Whole-grain intake is favorably associated with metabolic risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the Framingham Offspring Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 76: 390-8. 31- Lowe GD, Woodword M, Rumley A, Morrison C, Tunstall-Pedoe H, Stephen K. Total tooth loss and prevalent cardiovascular disease in men and women:possible roles of circus fruit consumption,vitamin C,and inflammatory and thrombotic variables.J Clin Epidemiol 2003 56 694-700. 32- Lopez-Garcia E, Schulze MB, Meigs JB, et al. Consumption of trans fatty acids is related to plasma biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. J Nutr. 2005 15: 562-6. 33- Bear DJ, Judd JT, Clevidence BA, Tracy RP.Dietary fatty acids affect plasma markers of inflammation in healthy men fed controlled diets:A randomized crossover study. AM J Clin Nutr. 2004 79: 969-73.

Background and Objective: Stroke accompanied by psychiatric disorder and mental performance is   one of the most disabling neurological diseases in adults and depression is the most common psychical complication  among them. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of early depression after stroke.

Materials and Methods: Using a convenient sampling method throughout this descriptive study, data gathering was done via  check lists and DSM-IV-TR criteria. Interviews along with observations were also applied to collect the data.The study population consisted of 80 stroke patients referred to Imam Sajjad and Tonekabon Shaheed Rajaei Hospitals over the years of 2010-2012. Anatomic location of the lesion was determined by MRI and CT-scan after examining and diagnosis. Descriptive and inferential statistics  
(t-test, ANOVA, and chi-square) were used to analyse the collected data.

Results: The overall incidence of early post stroke depression was 45%. There was no significant correlation between early post stroke depression and age, sex, involved vascular line, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, multiplicity of stroke attacks and anatomical place of stroke. There was a significant correlation of  early post stroke depression with type of stroke (p=0.023) and diabetes (p=0.027).

Conclusion: The results showed high prevalence depression in patients after stroke attack. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to depression symptoms and its risk factors for accelerating recovery and decreasing  the risk of subsequent stroke and mortality.

Background and Objective: Cisplatin is one of the most important chemotherapy agents but its clinical use has been restricted due to nephrotoxicity. Nigella sativa (N.sativa) is an annual plant with many pharmacologic properties that has been used as a natural remedy for a number of illnesses. In the present study preventive and preventive-treatment effects of N.sativa extract was evaluated against nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin in rats.  

Materials and Methods: In this study, the effects of N.sativa extract and vitamin E administration in rats treated with cisplatin was investigated using serum biochemical parameters including serum creatinine, albumin, osmolarity, glucose and kidney index.

Results: The results indicated significant changes in serum concentrations of creatinine, albumin, osmolarity and kidney index in the cisplatin group. Serum creatinine concentration in preventive and preventive-treatment vitamin E and preventive-treatment N.sativa (100, 200  mg/kg) groups was significantly lower than the cisplatin group. Serum osmolarity in preventive vitamin E, preventive and preventive-treatment N.sativa (100, 200 mg/kg) groups showed a significant decrease in comparison to the cisplatin group. Serum albumin concentrations in preventive-treatment vitamin E group were significantly higher than the cisplatin group. Kidney index in preventive and preventive-treatment vitamin E and preventive-treatment N.sativa (100 mg/kg) groups showed a significant decrease compared with the cisplatin group. 

Conclusion: The current study suggests that N. sativa extract and vitamin E  partially improved some serum  and urine biochemical parameters and kidney index in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. However more studies are needed to determine the effects of N.sativa on cisplatin-induced kidney toxicity.

Background and Objective: Balance disorders are a common problem in patients with MS. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of selected Tai Chi exercises and core stabilization exercises on balance in multiple sclerosis patients with an emphasis on Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, 72 MS patients were purposefully selected and were divided into three groups; Tai Chi, core stabilization exercises and control group (each group consisting of 24 patients), each group had two subgroups; mild or moderate degree of disability. Biodex balance system meter was used to measure the patients' balance.The two experimental groups underwent Tai Chi and core stabilization exercises for 8 weeks. MANCOVA was used to analyze the results.

Results: Statistical results showed that there was a significant difference between balance (static and dynamic) in the control group with tai chi and core stability groups ( P<0/05). There was no significant difference between the two experimental groups (P>0/05). This means that the effect of these exercises in improving balance is equal. The effectiveness of Tai Chi exercises and core stability exercises on balance in patients with a moderate degree of disability was higher than patients with a mild degree of disability.

Conclusion: Exercises have different effects on patients with different degrees of disability. The effect of exercises on balance in patients with a moderate degree of disability was more than patients with a mild degree of disability. Exercise intensity should be increased for greater effectiveness in patients with a moderate degree of disability.