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Background: Few scientific studies have been conducted about the effect of yoga on biochemical variables such as total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and C-reactive protein (CRP) to lay a scientific foundation regarding benefits of yoga, but its effect is not clearly detected yet. This study was conducted to assess the effect of yoga on lipid profile and CRP in women. Methods: This research was designed as an interventional study. After reviewing inclusion and exclusion criteria, selected biochemical variables such as TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, TG, and CRP were measured for each participant. Yoga instruction was done three times a week for 26 weeks by an experienced yoga instructor. After 26 weeks of yoga intervention, the above-mentioned dependent variables were assessed. SPSS Ver. 16 was used for data analysis. Results: After a 26-week follow-up for participants, only 24 women had the necessary criteria to be included in the study. The mean TG was 157.33 ± 68.416 mg/dL and 134.33 ± 58.80 mg/dL before and after the intervention (P = 0.108), respectively. The mean TC was 234.83 ± 48.47 mg/dL and 183.33 ± 55.09 mg/dL before and after the intervention (P = 0.014), respectively. The mean HDL-C was 31.58 ± 14.22 mg/dL and 38.25 ± 13.5 mg/dL before and after the intervention (P = 0.118), respectively. The mean LDL-C was 171.75 ± 42.69 mg/dL and 142.91 ± 36.4 mg/dL before and after the intervention (P = 0.030), respectively. The mean CRP was 0.57 ± 0.22 mg/L and 0.71 ± 0.77 mg/L before and after the intervention (P = 0.779), respectively. Conclusions: The result showed that yoga reduced TC and LDL-C significantly, but had no significant effect on TG, HDL-C, and CRP.

Methadone (MET)-based treatment is currently one of the best known approaches in the treatment of opioid dependence. It is claimed that MET use exerts adverse effects on the performance of some organs, especially liver. Thus, the present study aims to investigate MET effects on the hepatic tissue as well as its effect on the hepatic enzyme levels and inflammatory markers in rats. Twenty-eight mature male Wistar rats underwent an 8-week treatment in four equal groups including the control group (an ordinary daily dietary regime) as well as the experimental groups 1, 2, and 3 (an ordinary daily dietary regime and gavage-fed on MET syrup for 5, 20, and 40 mg/kg body weight per day). Blood samples were collected from all rats in the beginning and end of the study to measure their hepatic enzyme levels and inflammatory markers. In the end, their livers were subjected to histological examinations. The mean serum levels of hepatic enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase) increased considerably across all the three groups that had received various dosages of MET (5, 20, and 40 mg/kg) in the end of the study as compared to the beginning of the study ( <0.001). It was also found that the inflammatory indicators (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and C-reactive protein) rose significantly in the groups that had received various dosages of MET in contrast to the control group ( <0.01, <0.001, and <0.001, respectively). The histopathological images of the liver cross-sections revealed dosage-dependent tissue changes in the groups that had received various dosages of MET. The present study tried to prove the adverse effects of MET in the development of liver damage. Since MET-based treatment is frequently prescribed by physicians for curing the addiction to narcotics, better strategies are required for its correct usage.

Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which leads to acid reflux into the esophagus, is a common gastrointestinal disorder. Several studies have shown the prevalence of GERD in Iranian population, but their evidence is contradictory. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of GERD in Iran. Methods The entire steps of this systematic review and meta-analysis were based on the MOOSE protocol, and the results were reported accordance with the PRISMA guideline. This review is registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020142861). To find potentially relevant published articles, comprehensive search was done on international online databases Scopus, Science Direct, EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Iranian online databases and the Google Scholar search engine in June 2019. Cochran test and I 2 index were used to assess the heterogeneity of the studies. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software ver. 2. The significance level of the test was considered to be P  <  0.05. Results The daily, weekly, monthly, and overall prevalence of GERD symptoms in Iranian population was 5.64% (95%CI [confidence interval]: 3.77–8.35%; N  = 66,398), 12.50% (95%CI: 9.63–16.08%; N  = 110,388), 18.62% (95%CI: 12.90–26.12%; N  = 70,749) and 43.07% (95%CI: 35.00–51.53%; N  = 73,189), respectively. The daily, weekly, monthly, and overall prevalence of heartburn in Iranian population was 2.46% (95%CI: 0.93–6.39%; N  = 18,774), 9.52% (95%CI: 6.16–14.41%; N  = 54,125), 8.19% (95%CI: 2.42–24.30%; N  = 19,363) and 23.20% (95%CI: 13.56–36.79%; N  = 26,543), respectively. The daily, weekly, monthly, and overall prevalence of regurgitation in Iranian population was 4.00% (95%CI: 1.88–8.32%; N  = 18,774), 9.79% (95%CI: 5.99–15.60%; N  = 41,140), 13.76% (95%CI: 6.18–44.31%; N  = 19,363) and 36.53% (95%CI: 19.30–58.08%; N  = 21,174), respectively. The sensitivity analysis for prevalence of all types GERD, heartburn and regurgitation symptoms by removing a study showed that the overall estimate is still robust. Conclusion The present meta-analysis provides comprehensive and useful information on the epidemiology of GERD in Iran for policy-makers and health care providers. This study showed a high prevalence of GERD in Iran. Therefore, effective measures on GERD-related factors such as lifestyle can be among the health policies of Iran.

Previous studies have reported the harmful effects of exposure to phthalic acid (PA) on heart. No studies have reported the effects of prenatal PA exposure on the structure or function of heart. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of prenatal PA exposure on the markers of oxidative stress and cardiac structure in rats’ offspring. Twenty-four pregnant rats were randomly categorized into three groups of control, exposed to 2.5 and 5 % PA. The morphometric properties of coronary arteries, markers of oxidative stress, and NOS activity were measured in offspring rats. By a dose-dependent manner, the body weight (BW), heart weight (HW), and HW/BW of the intervention groups were reduced and their heart rate and blood pressure were conversely increased compared to the control group. Also, the wall thickness, cross-sectional area of the aorta and septal branch of the descending left coronary artery were significantly increased in the intervention group. In addition, PA significantly increased the level of malondialdehyde and decreased the level of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, compared to the control group. This study revealed that prenatal exposure of rats to PA causes vascular dysfunction, increasing oxidative stress, and reduction in cardiac nitric oxide synthetase activity among offspring rats.

Abstract Hydatid cyst is one of the most important zoonotic diseases that is caused by Echinococcus granulosus. Infection is transferred through the oral-fecal pathway by eggs of the parasite and more by eating vegetables and food contaminated with dog stool containing eggs of the parasite. Hydatid cyst can be made in liver, lung and rarely in heart, breast, thyroid, soft tissue of neck and kidney. Hydatid cyst of the kidney is a rare disease which may have no symptoms for years. In this case report, the patient has had a typical cyst in the left kidney for years that it seems to be silent for long time in a woman with ambiguous left flank pain whom went to a physician, and after complementary examinations, finally a typical hydatid cyst was diagnosed with the size of 93 × 120 mm in left kidney.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of acute and chronic inflammation, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and cancer of the prostate glands in the canine as a human model in prostate disorders. The study was carried out on 12 cases of different male dogs of terrier (50%), German shepherd (25%) breeds, and Greden (25%), and the age of the dogs ranged from 6 to 13 years (average age 7.8 ± 3.6). The bodyweight ranged from 3.6 to 7.9 kg. Signalment, clinical signs, and diagnostic tools such as ultrasonography, urinary cytology, and histopathology are presented. Dysuria was the most common clinical sign in this study and occurred in 10/12 canine (83.3%) included. Other clinical signs included lameness (5/12 canine, 41.6%) and constipation (3/12 canine, 25%). The range of duration of clinical signs was 5 days to 7 months. Moreover, in the present study, the urinary biochemical markers of different prostate lesions include blood, protein, and glucose and were detected in 11/12 cases (91.6%), 5/12 cases (41.6%), and 2/12 cases (16.6%), respectively. Taken together, sonographic data were classified into four groups based on histological diagnosis. In 7/12 cases (58.4%), the prostate appeared to have BPH lesions, and the remaining lesions included inflammation (3/12 cases, 25%), abscess (1 case, 8.3%), and adenocarcinoma (1 case, 8/3%) on ultrasound. In all cases, prostate tissue had an irregular echotexture. None of the dogs had sonographic evidence of sublumbar lymph node enlargement. Histopathologically, we looked at the prevalence of inflammation (33.3% chronic and 8.3% acute) and BPH (58.4%) in dogs of different ages and breeds, and also, we observed chronic inflammation in >20% of dogs, which was about 25% in 3 cases of the 12 cases referred. More chronic inflammation was associated with more BPH. The majority of the asymptomatic inflammation that is detected in the prostate is classified as chronic inflammation (i.e., as evidenced by the presence of monocytic and/or lymphoplasmacytic inflammatory cell infiltrates); however, acute inflammation is also observed to a lesser degree. Acute inflammation, as is typically evidenced by the infiltration of neutrophils, is classically an indicator of an infectious process. Finally, the patients included seven castrated, four castrated together with antibiotic therapy, and one castrated together with chemotherapy intact male dogs, which were treated with the mentioned cases. In conclusion, chronic prostatic inflammation could be a central mechanism in BPH progression, but the pathological features of tissue inflammation were different between BPH and prostate cancer (PCa). Nevertheless, the histological examination of prostate biopsies remains the only way to diagnose prostatic disorders.

The online version of the original article can be found under doi:10.1186/s13048-014-0105-3.

Context: Despite various studies, there is no overall estimation about the efficacy of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine among healthcare workers (including healthcare personnel and healthcare students). The present meta-analysis study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of HBV vaccine in healthcare workers in Iran. Evidence Acquisition: This study was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines for systematic review and meta-analysis studies. A comprehensive search was conducted using national and international databases including: Magiran, Iranmedex, IranDoc, SID, Medlib, Scopus, Pubmed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Springer, wiley online library, Trials Register, DOAJ, and Google Scholar search engine without time limit up to 2016. Just papers which were qualified according to inclusion criteria were examined. The data were analyzed using meta-analysis method in STATA software Ver.11.1. Results: 1726 healthcare workers had been examined in 12 studies. The efficacy of HBV vaccine, 1 - 6 months after the injection of the third dose was determined to be 93.1% (95% CI: 90.3 - 97); this rate was 95.9% (95% CI: 93.1 - 98.6) for male and 91.3% (95% CI: 87.1% - 95.5%) for female participants. HBV vaccine efficacy was 90.9% (95% CI: 86.5-95.3) for 8 studies conducted on healthcare personnel and 97.3% (95% CI: 94.7-97.7) for 3 studies on healthcare students. Conclusions: Immunogenicity of HBV vaccine was 90 - 97 in healthcare workers. Hence, the complete course of vaccination is sufficient for prevention of HBV and there is no need for booster dose or dose re-administration.

In the present study, we aimed the effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of Achillea millefolium (HEAML) on human skin fibroblast cells (HSF-PI-16) proliferation, stimulation and growth properties. Initially, using HSF-PI-16 monolayer culture, we created one line scratch method as an in vitro wound closure and after 3 days monitored via an inverted microscopy. HEAML selectively inhibited proliferation of HSF-PI-16 cells at higher concentration (>20.0 mg/mL), and stimulated at lower concentrations (<20.0 mg/mL). Following, HSF-PI-16 media treatments up to 72 h, HEAML demonstrated significantly elevated proliferation rates (p<0.05) and stimulation in a scratch wound assay (p<0.04). Furthermore, the morphological analysis of HSF-PI-16 cells at culture media were detected the figures of round to spindle, non-adherent, immature and mature cells. These results clearly demonstrate the absence of any toxic effect of HEAML on human skin fibroblasts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report elucidating potential mechanisms of action of HEAML on fibroblasts proliferation, and stimulation, offering a greater insight and a better understanding of its effect in future studies.