The Effectiveness of Cupping in Iranian Researches: A Systematic Review of Animal and Human Studies

Cupping has a long history in Iran which is one of the most widely used methods in prevention and treatment of diseases in Persian medicine. However, it still has many opponents in the Iranian conventional medical community. So, this systematic review study was conducted to survey the scientific and authoritative articles related to wet and dry cupping that have been done in Iran and the diseases for which Iranian researchers have suggested cupping. In general, the effect of wet and dry cupping on various kinds of pain (e.g. headache, musculoskeletal pain, postpartum pain, etc.), as well as the effect of wet cupping on hematological and biochemical factors of blood were among the most common studies. Also, persistence of therapeutic effects of wet and dry cupping on various diseases was satisfactory. The results of this study showed that wet and dry cupping, even alone, are effective in the treatment of many diseases, and if the objections to the use of these two treatments are reduced, more extensive and high-quality researches in this regard will be done.

Review of Pharmacological Properties and Chemical Constituents of Pastinaca sativa

Objectives

Pastinaca sativa (parsnip), is a plant with nutritional and medicinal properties which has been used in all over the world and study about it is rare. In Persian Medicine parsnip is named as zardak and has many uses such as laxative, libido enhancer, kidney stone crusher and diuretic. Because the wide traditional usage of parsnip, in this review the composition and pharmacological properties of this plant are discussed.

Methods

Some data base such as Cochrane, Scopus, PubMed were searched up to 2018 for studies about Pastinaca sativa. In this review study after consider to exclusion criteria, all of the English review and clinical trial were included.

Results

Finally, 46 articles were selected for extraction data about the parsnip. Data extraction based on these studies the most important active ingredients of parsnip include coumarins, furanocoumarins, polyacetylenes, essential oils and flavonoids. Different studies determined that Pastinaca sativa has pharmacological effects in CNS, respiratory, gastrointestinal, liver, skin, cardiovascular and urogenital diseases.

Conclusion

The most important active ingredients in Pastinaca sativa are furanocoumarins, flavonoids and polyacetylenes, and it has many pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, vasodilator, antifungal, antimicrobial and antidepressant. A main mentioned side effect of parsnip is phototoxicity that was usually reported in direct skin contact. However, family and Some properties and compounds of Pastinaca sativa and Daucus carota are similar but carrots are very popular nowadays. Due to abundant active components and few clinical studies of parsnip, more Studies are recommended to evaluate the effects of it.

Treatment of Chronic Acne by Persian Medicine (Temperament Modification plus Leech Therapy): A Case Report

Acne is a multifactorial disease which causes many harmful physical and psychological effects for patients. Several therapies are used in conventional medicine for acne, but most of these methods are not stable and cause side effects. Therefore, it is considered to use complementary medicine alongside conventional therapies to achieve better results. In this article, a patient with chronic and severe acne is presented which is treated by a combination of temperament modification and leech therapy based on Persian medicine.

The Role of Phlebotomy ( Fasd) and Wet Cupping ( Hijamat) to Manage Dizziness and Vertigo From the Viewpoint of Persian Medicine

Dizziness and vertigo are the most common complaints of patients that has a high economic burden on the health system. In modern medicine, treatment for dizziness and vertigo consists of chemical pharmacological therapy. Although these drugs are useful in controlling the disease, their side effects and inefficiency in full control of the disease require the use of complementary medicine in this field. Persian medicine consists of valuable experiences of Persian medicine scholars based on the theory of humors and temperaments. In Persian medicine, 2 types of disease are presented: dizziness (sadar) and vertigo (dovar). Persian medicine physicians expressed a different mechanism of action than modern medicine for these diseases. They believed that accumulation of abnormal humors, reeh (normal bloating) or causative pathologic substances, is the basic cause of sadar and dovar and that the most important treatment is cleansing the body, particularly the head from accumulated substances by bloodletting methods.

Prevention and Treatment of Flatulence From a Traditional Persian Medicine Perspective

Context

The feeling of abdominal fullness, bloating, and movement of gas in the abdomen is a very uncomfortable sensation termed flatulence. Since flatulence is one of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms that is bothersome to patients, it is important to identify effective methods to resolve this issue. In modern medicine, management of flatulence is often not satisfactory. On the other hand, traditional systems of medicine can be considered good potential sources to find new approaches for preventing and treating flatulence. The aim of this study is to review flatulence treatments from a traditional Persian medicine (TPM) viewpoint.

Evidence Acquisition

In this study, the reasons for flatulence and methods for its prevention and treatment are reviewed in traditional Persian medicine (TPM) texts and then related with evidence from modern medicine by searching in databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and IranMedex.

Results

From a traditional Persian scholar viewpoint, one of the most important causes of flatulence is an incorrect manner of eating; valuable advice to correct bad eating habits will be illustrated. In addition, traditional practitioners describe some herbs and vegetables as well as herbal compounds that are effective food additives to relieve flatulence. The anti-flatulent effect of most of these herbs has been experimentally verified using modern medicine.

Conclusions

Attention to TPM can lead to the identification of new preventive and curative approaches to avoid and treat flatulence. In addition, Persian viewpoints from the medieval era regarding flatulence are historically important.

Serological Study on Cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma Gondii in Thalassemia Major Patients of Yazd, Iran

BACKGROUND

Beta-thalassemia patients receive blood products from blood transfusion centers repeatedly. Blood transfusion can transmit Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Toxoplasma gondii. The aim of this study was serological evaluation of these two infectious agents in thalassemia patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing was performed to detect IgM and IgG antibodies against CMV and Toxoplasma gondii in 96 thalassemia patients (under 18 years) and 144 healthy people. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and Chi-square test.

RESULTS

A significant difference was observed in CMVIgM antibody levels between test groups in women (p<0.05). The prevalence of CMV IgM, CMV IgG, Toxo-IgG, and Toxo IgM antibodies in thalassemia patients were 5.2%, 95.9%, 16%, and 0%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In all thalassemia patients, Cytomegalovirus IgG is higher than healthy people. In addition, CMV IgM antibodies are higher in female patients. Antibody screening (IgM) on blood products for detecting Cytomegalovirus is necessary, but for Toxoplasma gondii is not necessary in the Yazd transfusion center.

Trismus Resulting from Infantile Hemangioma of the Parotid: A Rare Case Report

Vascular abnormalities are characterized by increasing number of vessels. Salivary gland tumors are uncommon and their overall incidence is about 3 per 100000 per year. Salivary gland hemangioma makes up 1 % of all salivary gland tumors. Trismus resulting from parotid hemangioma is so rare. The patient was a 6-month-old boy with a huge lesion in his right parotid who referred to Shahid sadoughi hospital of Yazd, Iran. The lesion appeared at 4 months of age and had rapid growth and was suspected as hemangioma after clinical examination and patient had trismus. The lesion was excised without any complications. Five months after surgery, area of the lesion appeared normal. Parotid hemangioma has low potential to turn into malignant form but early detection and biopsy are necessary for decreasing complications. Removal of the mass was the best treatment for the patients with large or complicated hemangioma; however, it should be performed with caution because the tissues may bleed profusely. Patients may have long term survival after surgery.

Nutritional Aspects to Prevent Heart Diseases in Traditional Persian Medicine

Cardiovascular diseases are major health complications currently in various societies. Management of heart diseases as a prevention step or as treatment with low-cost procedures like lifestyle modifications including nutrition are important current trends. Although the term nutrition dates back to 2 past centuries, Persian physicians contributed to this term at least from 1000 years ago. Rhazes (865-925 AD) was one of the pioneers in this field. He preferred using foods in treating illnesses. “Foods and drinks” were 1 subject from 6 principles ( Setteh Zarorieh) that Persian physicians believed can affect human health. In this review, we described some medieval Persian views on the role of nutrition in heart diseases and compare their prescriptions with current findings. Interestingly, current investigations mostly support Persian medicine principles. Historically, this work shows that the concept of nutrition in heart diseases has had a successful background at least from 1000 years ago in Persia.

Giant pedunculated polypoid submucosal lipoma of the splenic flexure of colon: case report and review of the literature

Lipomas of the colon are rare but clinically important conditions that require suitable evaluation for guiding appropriate therapy. The majority of lipomas arise from the submucosal layer in the ascending colon, especially near the ileocecal valve, which causes difficulties in diagnosis. Giant lipomas may be misinterpreted as a premalignant adenomatous polyp, particularly when arising in the left colon. A 38-year-old man presented with manifestations including hypogastric pain, constipation, loss of appetite and weight, accompanied by anaemia, nausea, vomiting and haematochezia. Colonoscopy revealed a large submucosal polyp about 5 x 4 cm, which was located at the splenic flexure of colonic. Surgery detected an oval polypoid tumour measuring 70 x 50 x 45 mm in size, having a pedunculated appearance and a stalk diameter of 20 mm. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy from the lesion confirmed diagnosis of a giant submucosal lipoma. In our experience, most giant colonic lipomas are found to be sessile and occur in the ascending colon in older patients. Herein, we report a pedunculated tumour in a 38-year-old male located in the splenic flexure of colon.

Infantile fibrosarcoma in a child: a case report

BACKGROUND

Infantile Fibrosarcoma is a rare soft tissue tumor in infants and children mostly located in extremities. An infantile and adult form has similar histopathological patterns but survival prognosis is much better in infantile form. Recurrence of infantile fibrosarcoma is common but the rates of metastasis are less than 10 percent in children younger than five Years and 50 percent in children more than 10 years old.

CASE PRESENTATION

In this case report, we presented a nine years girl with a relapsing mass in her left hand. The pathologic findings showed sheets of spindle-shaped cells with suggested diagnose of infantile fibrosarcoma. She was successfully treated with combination of surgery and chemotherapy with a good outcome.

CONCLUSION

Infantile fibrosarcoma is a differential diagnose of soft tissue mass in infants and children. It has a good prognosis and distant metastasis is uncommon. Choice of treatment is surgery but chemotherapy and radiotherapy were useful in decrease metastasis.

Accuracy of Sentinel Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer Patients with a High Prevalence of Axillary Metastases

Background:

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become a standard diagnostic tool for axillary staging of breast cancer and has many advantages in comparison with axillary dissection. The goal of our study was to determine accuracy and predictive value of SLNB for assessing the axillary lymph nodes involvement in breast cancer.

Materials and Methods:

Thirty three patients with breast cancer at Mehr and Taleghani hospitals in Tehran between July 2005 and 2006 were randomly selected. All women underwent presurgical lymphoscintigraphic mapping followed by sentinel node biopsy guided by intraoperative gamma probe and blue dye. Sentinel nodes were examined by standard hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Among studied patients, T1 stage accounted for 3%% of the patients, T2 for 6%, T3 for 66.7% and T4 for 24.3%. Statistical analyses were performed by evaluating of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values of SLNB in comparison to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND).

Results:

The sentinel lymph nodes in 30.3% of patients were well imaged by lymphoscintigraphy. A mean of 4.8 sentinel lymph nodes were removed per patient. Sensitivity and specificity of SLNB were 92% and 87.5%, respectively. Totally, in comparison to ALND, the accuracy of SLNB was 90.9% and false negative rate of this method was also 8%.

Conclusion:

Our experience shows SLNB to be reliable and accurate for axillary staging in breast cancer patients with a high prevalence of axillary metastases and can be replaced diagnostic ALND in our breast cancer centers.

Histaminergic receptors of medial septum and conditioned place preference: D1 dopamine receptor mechanism

In the present study, the effects of intra-medial septum injections of histamine and/or the histamine H1 or H2 receptor antagonists on the acquisition of conditioned place preference (CPP) in male Wistar rats have been investigated. Our data showed that the conditioning treatments with intra-medial septum injection of different doses of histamine (0.5-15 microg/rat) induced a significant CPP for the drug-associated place. Using a 3-day schedule of conditioning, it was found that the histamine H1 receptor antagonist, pyrilamine (10 and 15 microg/rat, intra-medial septum) also induced a significant place preference. In addition, pyrilamine inhibited the histamine (7.5 microg/rat)-induced place preference. Intra-medial septum administration of the histamine H2 receptor antagonist, ranitidine (5-15 microg/rat) alone or in combination with histamine did not produce a significant place preference or place aversion. On the other hand, intra-medial septum administration of the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, SCH 233390 (0.5, 0.75 and 1 microg/rat) inhibited the histamine (7.5 microg/rat) or pyrilamine (15 microg/rat)-induced place preference in a dose-dependent manner, but no effect was observed for the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, sulpiride on the histamine or pyrilamine response. The administration of histamine (2.5-15 microg/rat) or pyrilamine (10 and 15 microg/rat) during acquisition increased locomotor activity of the animals on the testing days. The results suggest that histaminergic receptors of the medial septum may be involved in CPP and thus it is postulated that dopamine D1 receptors may play an important role in this effect.