The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Counseling on Blood Glucose and Perceived Stress in Women with Gestational Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Gestational diabetes can cause maternal and neonatal morbidity. Psychological factors, especially stress, play a meaningful role in diabetes management. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction counseling on blood sugar and perceived stress in women with gestational diabetes. METHODS: The present quasi-experimental interventional study was performed on 78 women with gestational diabetes. In the intervention group, a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction counseling program was conducted by the researcher in 8 sessions of 90 minutes twice a week. The Cohen stress questionnaire was filled in both groups. Also, fasting blood sugar and 2-hour blood sugar levels were measured in both groups. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent T-Test, the paired T-Test, the Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon Tests using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows version 20 version (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: The mean age of pregnant women in the intervention group was 28.84 ± 6.20 years old and 29.03 ± 5.42 years old in the control group. There was a significant mean difference between the fasting blood sugar score (p = 0.02; - 6.01; and - 11.46) and the 2-hour fasting blood sugar score (p < 0.001;12.35; and - 5.3) and the perceived stress score (p < 0.001; 35.57; and - 49.19) existed between the intervention and control groups after the intervention. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction counseling is effective in reducing blood sugar levels and reducing perceived stress in women with gestational diabetes treated with diet.

The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Counseling on Blood Glucose and Perceived Stress in Women with Gestational Diabetes / O efeito do aconselhamento para redução do estresse baseado na atenção plena sobre a glicose no sangue e o estresse percebido em mulheres com diabetes gestacional

Abstract Objective Gestational diabetes can cause maternal and neonatal morbidity. Psychological factors, especially stress, play a meaningful role in diabetes management. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction counseling on blood sugar and perceived stress in women with gestational diabetes. Methods The present quasi-experimental interventional study was performed on 78 women with gestational diabetes. In the intervention group, a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction counseling program was conducted by the researcher in 8 sessions of 90 minutes twice a week. The Cohen stress questionnaire was filled in both groups. Also, fasting blood sugar and 2-hour blood sugar levels were measured in both groups. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent T-Test, the paired T-Test, the Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon Tests using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows version 20 version (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results The mean age of pregnant women in the intervention group was 28.84 ± 6.20 years old and 29.03 ± 5.42 years old in the control group. There was a significant mean difference between the fasting blood sugar score (p= 0.02; - 6.01; and - 11.46) and the 2-hour fasting blood sugar score (p< 0.001;12.35; and - 5.3) and the perceived stress score (p< 0.001; 35.57; and - 49.19) existed between the intervention and control groups after the intervention. Conclusion The results of the present study showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction counseling is effective in reducing blood sugar levels and reducing perceived stress in women with gestational diabetes treated with diet.

Elevated Bax/Bcl-2 Ratio: A Cytotoxic Mode of Action of Kermanian Propolis Against an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cell Line, NALM-6.

Currently, alternative cancer remedies, especially herbal-derived medicines, have attracted great interest. Propolis, a honeybee-produced naturopathic formulation, is an available, affordable, and safe example of such remedies with different content according to its geographic location. Findings regarding the protective properties of this resinous substance across numerous pathological conditions are promising. Although the anti-tumor effects of propolis from different origins have been explored to some degree, yet there is no study on the effects of Kermanian propolis in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. Accordingly, the objective of the present experiment was to divulge the anti-tumor potential of this bioactive substance both as monotherapy and in combination with doxorubicin against an acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (NALM-6).The viability of cells treated with Kermanian propolis (5-500 µg/mL) and doxorubicin (5-100 µg/mL) was analyzed during 72 h. Based on the MTT results, the best incubation time, IC50 concentrations, and finally the cytotoxicity of the combination therapy were ascertained. Next, the apoptotic rate and expression of apoptosis-related genes (Bcl-2 and Bax) were assessed in mono and combination therapies using flow cytometry and real-time PCR assays, respectively. Kermanian propolis and doxorubicin have impressive tumor-suppressing activity in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 concentrations: 100 and 40 µg/mL respectively). The best incubation time was considered 48 h. For the combination approach, 50 and 10 µg/mL were determined as optimum concentrations of the compounds. The selected concentrations induced notable apoptosis in the studied cells through significant (P < 0.01) upregulation of Bax/Bcl-2 level. The present study clearly suggests that Kermanian propolis, as an adjunct treatment option, has a promising apoptosis-induced cell death potential in the NALM-6 cell line.