Effectiveness of wet cupping therapy on relieving pain in patients with chronic migraine: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic migraine is a disabling condition that negatively affects many aspects of migraineurs' lives. Patients who use pharmacological agents experience various side effects. Some studies have reported clinical improvement following wet cupping therapy in migraine patients. This study examined the effectiveness of wet cupping therapy on headache severity and its complications in patients with migraine. METHODS: In this study, a total of 29 patients previously diagnosed with migraine were treated with wet cupping therapy and followed up for headache severity. The severity of pain was measured before therapy, 1 h after therapy, and one month after therapy. The wet cupping therapy was performed by an experienced nurse who was not part of the research team. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 36.17 (Sta. Deviation: 10.74 years; range: 22-68 years), and on average, patients had experienced migraine for 11.14 years. The severity of headache pain was decreased significantly from 6.66 (very intense pain) before cupping therapy to 2.48 (discomforting pain) 1 h after cupping therapy and 0.72 (very mild pain) one month after cupping therapy (p<0.001). The observed complications were skin pigmentation (6.9%), skin scarring (24.1%), and itching in the cupping region (31.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests a significant improvement in the severity of headache in migraine patients 1 h and one month after wet cupping therapy.

Lead and zinc exposure in the blood of workers in municipal waste management.

Improper treating, sorting, storing, transporting, or disposing of wastes poses a potential risk to the health of humans and the environment. The workers of waste management plants are at risk of exposure to heavy metals and their toxic and hazardous effects through respiratory or cutaneous routes. Accordingly, concentrations of two heavy metals in the biological samples of workers of a municipal waste management (MSW) plant in Iraqi Kurdistan were measured in 139 persons who worked for at least 6 months. Blood and plasma samples were collected to measure lead and zinc concentrations, respectively. Their working units, occupational history, smoking habits, and the distance living from the landfill site were recorded in a predesigned questionnaire. A blood lead level (BLL) of less than 40 µg/dL was considered a safe cutoff. The lower limit of normal fasting plasma zinc was set at 70-120 µg/dL. The study showed that the mean age of the workers was 33.43, ranging from 16 to 67 years old, and they worked for the last 4.93 years. Further, 22.3% of the staff had previous experience in a job with suspected exposure to heavy metals. The mean BLL concentrations and the plasma zinc level were 31 µg/dl and 5.77 µg/dl, respectively. The study did not find a substantial difference in lead and zinc among workers with different characteristics. We did not find any predictor for lead and zinc concentrations in our sample. The study showed that the mean levels of lead and zinc were lower than the permitted ranges.

Impacts of self-management education on glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVES: Dietary and physical activity advice have been considered to be seminal ingredients in prevention and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this regard, the impacts of a three-month self-management intervention on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes were examined in the present study. STUDY DESIGN: A Double-arm post-test intervention study. METHODS: In the current post-test intervention study, three two-hour educational sessions on dietary habits and physical activity designed according to Health Belief Model were presented to 16 non-complicated type 2 diabetic patients and their dietary, physical activities, and biochemical outcomes were compared to a 23 patient-control arm in Iraq in 2017. The level of physical activity was measured through International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), dietary habits through UK Diabetes and Diet Questionnaire (UKDDQ), and biochemical indicators including HbA1c were measured after three months of program completion. RESULTS: The study showed that walking, taking vegetable, fruit, and bread were higher and taking full-fat cheese and full-fat spread was lower among experimental group significantly compared to control arm. In addition, the experimental group had a substantial higher albumin and lower urea, ALP-Phosphatase, and glucose levels in comparison with control patients. No substantial change was seen in HbA1C and no change in milk and fish products. CONCLUSIONS: The substantial positive changes in physical activity, dietary habits, and some biochemical indicators were seen following intervention completion in the experimental arm.