An approach to the milestones of spine surgery in Persian traditional medicine.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis and treatment of spine disorders have been challenging for thousands of years in different nations and medical schools. Despite this long history, there are many information gaps in this regard. The current research deals with the milestones and progress of spine surgery from ancient times until now, emphasizing the innovations of sages in the Persian traditional medicine era. METHODS: The present study is based on searching original and library documents, data from databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct, and search engines such as Google Scholar. RESULTS: In Persian traditional medicine, Rhazes (865-925 AD) was the first sage who applied spine surgery based on the innovative knowledge of Galen (second century AD) and Paulus Aegineta (seventh century AD). Hally Abbas (tenth century AD), by suturing two separated bones during spine surgery, and Albucasis (936-1013 AD), by inventing, describing, and drawing the surgical instruments involved in surgeries in this area, and also using cauterization in the treatment of children's hunchback, were the innovators of new methods. CONCLUSION: The modern knowledge of spine surgery is based on intelligent experiences and prominent thoughts from thousands of years worldwide. However, sometimes, these key points have remained hidden. This issue necessitates investigating this science in different schools and territories for comparative studies, identifying the firsts in the prominent points of this field, preserving the identity of sages and nations, and preventing scientific plagiarism.

MiRNA-related metastasis in oral cancer: moving and shaking.

Across the world, oral cancer is a prevalent tumor. Over the years, both its mortality and incidence have grown. Oral cancer metastasis is a complex process involving cell invasion, migration, proliferation, and egress from cancer tissue either by lymphatic vessels or blood vessels. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential short non-coding RNAs, which can act either as tumor suppressors or as oncogenes to control cancer development. Cancer metastasis is a multi-step process, in which miRNAs can inhibit or stimulate metastasis at all stages, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion, and colonization, by targeting critical genes in these pathways. On the other hand, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), two different types of non-coding RNAs, can regulate cancer metastasis by affecting gene expression through cross-talk with miRNAs. We reviewed the scientific literature (Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed) for the period 2000-2023 to find reports concerning miRNAs and lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks, which control the spread of oral cancer cells by affecting invasion, migration, and metastasis. According to these reports, miRNAs are involved in the regulation of metastasis pathways either by directly or indirectly targeting genes associated with metastasis. Moreover, circRNAs and lncRNAs can induce or suppress oral cancer metastasis by acting as competing endogenous RNAs to inhibit the effect of miRNA suppression on specific mRNAs. Overall, non-coding RNAs (especially miRNAs) could help to create innovative therapeutic methods for the control of oral cancer metastases.

Cauterization's history in the Persian medicine school.

BACKGROUND: Cauterization has been used in various medical schools to prevent and treat diseases. Its application dates back to shortly after the invention of fire. Despite its long history, different aspects and the importance of cauterization in various medical schools have remained elusive. The present study addressed the milestones and progress of cauterization from ancient times to the present, emphasizing the innovations of the Persian medicine school. METHODS: The present study is based on searching in the library documents of famous Persian medicine scholars and data from databases such as Ovid, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar search engines. RESULTS: Persian Medicine scholars used various cauterization methods such as hot metals and corrosive drugs to stop bleeding, prevent the development and spread of infection, and treat hydrocephalus and rabies. Cauterization has been associated with considerations to prevent irreversible tissue damage and whether or not it is internal or external. CONCLUSION: Cauterization has been associated with different practical purposes. With evolutionary progress and the use of different techniques and tools throughout history, the tools such as Electrocautery or Galvanocautery are some manifestations of new applications of cauterization. Numerous studies have indicated the continuation of newer applications, indicating the inexhaustible human interest in this ancient technique.

The historical course of varicose vein surgery in the Persian medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Dawali (varicose veins) is the disease of chronic dilation of veins. The veins of the legs become dilated and blue due to excessive accumulation of blood. This disease and the effort to identify and treat it has a very long history. The condition may have first been described in the Ebers Papyrus more than 3500 years ago. The present study deals with the turning points and progress of varicose vein surgery since ancient times, emphasizing the innovations of the scholars of the Islamic period. METHODS: The present study is based on searching library documents and database data such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and search engines such as Google Scholar. In the end, the Prisma flow chart was drawn. RESULTS: Besides diagnosing different varicose veins (legs, thighs, abdomen, uterus, and testes), the scholars of the Islamic period were well-versed in their prevention, etiology, and treatment. In treating varicose veins, these physicians used methods such as cleansing, phlebotomy, compression, leech therapy, and surgery, and some of them were the founders of new treatments. CONCLUSION: The surgical treatment of varicose veins in the past was similar to modern surgical therapies. What distinguishes yesterday's varicose vein surgery from today's surgery is a more advanced tool. There is no denying the remarkable progress in using health principles, treatment techniques, and surgical instruments to facilitate surgery and reduce the disease's complications and recurrence. However, the treatment framework and foundation, such as phlebectomy and compression, were all invented and introduced in the distant past.

Assessing the impact of history of medicine research: A scientometric and altmetric analysis.

Background and Aims: After conducting a comprehensive literature search of two medical electronic databases, PubMed and Embase, as well as two citation databases, Web of Science Core Collections (WoS) and Scopus, we aimed to conduct an Altmetric and Scientometric analysis of the History of Medicine literature in medical research. Methods: The following software tools were used for analyzing the retrieved records from PubMed and Embase databases and conducting a collaboration analysis to identify the countries involved in scientific medical papers, as well as clustering keywords to reveal the trend of History of Medicine research for the future. These software tools (VOSviewer 1.6.18 and Spss 16) allowed the researchers to visualize bibliometric networks, perform statistical analysis, and identify patterns and trends in the data. Results: Our analysis revealed 53,771 records from PubMed and 54,405 records from EMBASE databases retrieved in the field of History of Medicine by 105,286 contributed authors in WoS. We identified 157 countries that collaborated on scientific medical papers. By clustering 59,995 keywords, we were able to reveal the trend of History of Medicine research for the future. Our findings showed a positive association between traditional bibliometrics and social media metrics such as the Altmetric Attention Score in the History of Medicine literature (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Sharing research findings of articles in social scientific networks will increase the visibility of scientific works in History of Medicine research, which is one of the most important factors influencing the citation of articles. Additionally, our overview of the literature in the medical field allowed us to identify and examine gaps in the History of Medicine research.

Transplantation of SDF-1α-loaded liver extracellular matrix repopulated with autologous cells attenuated liver fibrosis in a rat model.

Cell-based therapy and tissue engineering are promising substitutes for liver transplantation to cure end-stage liver disorders. However, the limited sources for healthy and functional cells and poor engraftment rate are main challenges to the cell-based therapy approach. On the other hand, feasibility of production and size of bioengineered tissues are primary bottlenecks in tissue engineering. Here, we induce regeneration in a rat fibrotic liver model by transplanting a natural bioengineered scaffold with a native microenvironment repopulated with autologous stem/progenitor cells. In the main experimental group, a 1 mm3 stromal derived factor-1α (SDF-1α; S) loaded scaffold from decellularized liver extracellular matrix (LEM) was transplanted (Tx) into a fibrotic liver and the endogenous stem/progenitor cells were mobilized via granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF; G) therapy. Four weeks after transplantation, changes in liver fibrosis and necrosis, efficacy of cell engraftment and differentiation, vasculogenesis, and liver function recovery were assessed in this (LEM-TxSG) group and compared to the other groups. We found significant reduction in liver fibrosis stage in the LEM-TxSG, LEM-TxS and LEM-TxG groups compared to the control (fibrotic) group. Liver necrosis grade, and alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) levels dramatically reduced in all experimental groups compared to the control group. However, the number of engrafted cells into the transplanted scaffold and ratio of albumin (Alb) positive cells per total incorporated cells were considerably higher in the LEM-TxSG group compared to the LEM-Tx, LEM-TxS and LEM-TxG groups. Serum Alb levels increased in the LEM-Tx, LEM-TxS, and LEM-TxG groups, and was highest in the LEM-TxSG group, which was significantly more than the fibrotic group. Small vessel formation in the LEM-TxSG group was significantly higher than the LEM-Tx and LEM-TxS groups. Totally, these findings support application of the in vivo tissue engineering approach as a possible novel therapeutic strategy for liver fibrosis.

A Rare Case of Takayasu's Arteritis with Aortic Arch Branching Pattern Variation in a Young Female.

Takayasu's arteritis, formerly known as "pulseless disease", is a chronic inflammatory disease which affects the aorta and its main branches. The prevalence of this disease is higher in Asian countries and among young women. Depending on the progress of the disease, the symptoms and prognosis of the disease is different. Herein, we report the case of a 31-year-old woman with Takayasu's arteritis in the Iranian population. In this case, the size of the aorta and the main branches increased and the large artery walls were thickened. Narrowing of the right and left subclavian artery, carotid artery and left vertebral artery were obvious in these patients. In addition, an anatomic variation was observed in the aortic arch branches. In this patient, the left vertebral artery was branched directly from the aortic arch instead of the left subclavian artery. Hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, indicating a chronic inflammatory disease, were also observed in this case.

Anatomical Variations in Aortic Arch Branching Pattern.

BACKGROUND: The branch anatomy of the aortic arch varies widely between individuals. These are likely due to alterations in the development of aortic arch arteries during the embryonic period. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of the aortic arch branch variations in the local population and provide useful data to intervention radiologists, neck and thoracic surgeons. METHODS: In this study, branching pattern of the aortic arch in 226 patients was retrospectively evaluated by MR angiography. MRA performed on a high field 3 Tesla MRI scanner using 3D flash sequence. RESULTS: The normal aortic arch branching pattern was observed in 192 patients (84.9%). Also, three variations of the aortic arch branching pattern were observed. The aortic arch in 12.4% of the patients had two arterial branches. In 0.9% of cases, the left vertebral artery originated directly from the aortic arch. In 1.8% of cases, the right subclavian artery originated as the fourth aortic arch branch. CONCLUSION: Although the number of cases with aortic arch branches variation in our study is similar to other studies, the Bovine aortic arch variation is more common than other variations of aortic arch branches.

Rapid Induction of Neural Differentiation in Human Umbilical Cord Matrix Mesenchymal Stem Cells by cAMP-elevating Agents.

Human umbilical cord matrix (hUCM) is considered as a promising source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) due to several advantages over other tissues. The potential of neural differentiation of hUCM-MSCs is of great interest in the context of treating neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to establish in vitro conditions for improving the differentiation of hUCM-MSCs toward neuronal cells. In the present study, we evaluated the neural differentiation potential of hUCM-MSCs in the presence of cAMP-elevating agents forskolin and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). hUCM-MSCs were isolated from fetal umbilical cord and characterized by flow cytometry analysis for mesenchymal specific markers. Mesodermal differentiation potential was assessed through selective media with lineage-specific induction factors. For assessment of neural differentiation, cells were cultured in the presence of cAMP-elevating agents for 8 and 24 h. The neuronal differentiated MSCs were characterized for neuronal specific markers by immunocytochemistry and western blotting. Isolated hUCM-MSCs were found positive for mesenchymal markers (CD73, CD90, and CD105) while negative for hematopoietic markers (CD34 and CD45) .Following neural induction, most cells represented neural-like cells morphology. Neural markers including ß-tubulin III (Tuj-1), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) and nestin were expressed in treated cells with respect to control group. The astrocyte specific marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was also shown by immunofluorescence in treated cells. (These findings demonstrate that hUCM-MSCs have the ability to rapidly differentiate into neural cell types of neuron-like cells and astrocytes by cAMP-elevating agents without the presence of growth factors.

Derivation of ES-like cell from neonatal mouse testis cells in autologous sertoli cells co-culture system.

BACKGROUND: Spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) is a self-renewing population of male adult stem cell. SSCs have a differentiation potential which are similar to embryonic stem cells. These Embryonic stem like (ES-like) cells can be a potential source for pluripotent cells for stem cell-based therapy. OBJECTIVE: This study presents an economical and simple co-culture system for pluripotent stem cells generation from neonatal mouse testis Materials and Methods: Isolated testicular cells were cultured in DMEM/F12. Characteristics of the isolated cells and obtained ES-like cell were immune-cytochemically confirmed by examining the presence of PLZF, vimentin, Oct4 and Nanog protein. Expression of the pluripotency and germ-cell specific genes was analyzed by qPCR in derived ES-like colony and SSCs respectively. RESULTS: The experiment results indicated that our method of obtaining pluripotent ES-like cells from spermatogonial cells (SCs) is simpler than the described methods. ES-like cells were immunopositive for pluripotency markers. ES-like cell qPCR results indicated significant increase in pluripotency genes expression and significant decrease in germ cell-specific genes expression. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that ES-like cell with pluripotency characteristic were generated from freshly isolated spermatogonial cells. The pluripotent stem cells provide a cellular reservoir usable for regenerative medicine instead of embryonic stem cells. This article extracted from Ph.D. thesis. (Setareh Javanmardi).

Antioxidant therapy prevents ethylene glycol-induced renal calcium oxalate crystal deposition in Wistar rats.

PURPOSE: Renal epithelial cell injury by reactive oxygen species is a prerequisite step in the pathogenesis of urolithiasis, and there is increasing evidence that reactive oxygen species is produced and oxidative stress (OS) is developed during idiopathic calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. It appears that the administration of natural antioxidants has been used to protect against nephrolithiasis in human and experimental animals. METHODS: Calcium oxalate urolithiasis was induced experimentally by administration of 0.75 % v/v ethylene glycol in drinking water of male Wistar rats weighing 150-200 g. Study was conducted in 4- and 8-week periods. In the 4-week period, Group 1 (control) was fed a standard commercial diet. Group 2 received the same diet with the addition of 0.75 % of ethylene glycol (EG). Group 3 received EG plus the diet, and water with additional antioxidant nutrients, and lemon juice as the dietary source of citrate (EG + AX). Group 4 was the same as Group 3, but with no EG in water. In the 8-week study protocol, Group 5 was fed the standard diet with EG in water for the first 28 days, followed with no EG. Group 6 (curative group) received the diet with EG for the first 28 days, followed by discontinuation of EG plus the addition of antioxidant nutrients. Group 7 was provided the diet with antioxidant nutrients for 8 weeks. Group 8 (preventive group) received the diet with antioxidant nutrients for 4 weeks, followed by antioxidant nutrients with EG for the next 4 weeks. Lime juice was given along the antioxidants. After treatment period, kidneys were removed and used for histopathological examination. RESULTS: In the 4-week study, the mean number of crystal deposits in Group 2 was significantly higher than that of animals in Group 3. After 8 weeks, animals given curative antioxidant supplementation within the second 4-week period developed fewer deposits in Group 6 as compared to Group 5 animals. In the other preventive AX loading Group 8, the number of crystal deposits was substantially less than that of either Group 2 or Group 5 animals (EG-treated rats). CONCLUSION: Results showed a beneficial effect on treating and superior renal protection for preventing stone deposition in the rat kidney. These results provide a scientific rationale for preventive and treatment roles of antioxidant nutrient complex in human kidney stone disease.

Saffron improves epididymal sperm parameters in rats exposed to cadmium.

BACKGROUND: Cadmium (Cd) is known to cause various disorders in the testis. The general population may be exposed to Cd through ingestion of food and drinking water, inhalation of particulates from ambient air, tobacco smoke and ingestion of contaminated soil and dust. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is widely used as a food flavour, and has well known medicinal effects. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of saffron on the results of semen parameters (sperm concentration, motility and viability in cauda of epididymis) in rats exposed to cadmium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty Wistar male rats were divided into four groups. Cadmium chloride (1 mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally during 16 days at intervals of 48 hours between subsequent treatments. Crocus sativus L. (100 mg/kg b.w., IP) was pretreated in both control and cadmium-injected rats. Both control and cadmium-injected rats were pretreated with Crocus sativus L. (100 mg/kg b.w., IP). The animals were killed and their sperm count, motility, and vitality were evaluated. RESULTS: Sperm parameters did not differ significantly between control and sham groups. Following contamination with cadmium, sperm count, motility and vitality were significantly decreased in comparison to control group (P < 0.05). In pretreated (saffron) group, the sperm parameters improved significantly in comparison with cadmium group (P ≤ 0.05). A significant decrease in sperm motility was observed in Cd-treated rats compared to the control rats. However, no significant changes were recorded by comparison of the control and saffron treated groups except for the sperm motility parameter. CONCLUSIONS: Saffron, as an antioxidant, is positively effective on sperm parameters in rats exposed with cadmium.

Effect of Trolox addition to cryopreservation media on human sperm motility.

BACKGROUND: Sperm parameters and motion kinetics are affected by cryopreservation. OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of different concentrations of Trolox as an antioxidant to freezing-thawing procedure on human sperm kinematic parameter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semen was collected from 20 normal donors and divided into five aliquots prior to cryopreservation. The first aliquot was analyzed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Other aliquots were mixed with cryo-protective agent containing 0, 20, 40, and 80 µmol Trolox and treated samples were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. After two weeks samples were thawed and sperm motion kinematics was measured by CASA. Percent motility (Mot), curvilinear velocity (VCL), straight-line velocity (VSL), average path velocity (VAP), linearity (LIN), and amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) were compared before and after freeze. RESULTS: Addition of 40µmol Trolox resulted in significantly higher (p<0.05) post thaw VCL, VSL and VAP compared to other groups. Therefore the percentage of post thaw motile spermatozoa were significantly higher (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The supplementation of Trolox significantly improved the post-thawed human semen quality, especially progressive motility and average path velocity.

Cadmium toxicity in spermatogenesis and protective effects of L-carnitine in adult male rats.

In this study, the effects of cadmium toxicity and the protective effects of L-carnitine on spermatogenesis in Sprague-Dawley rat were evaluated. Animals were subdivided into five groups. Cadmium chloride (1-mg/kg body weight) was injected intraperitoneally during 16 days at intervals of 48 h between subsequent treatments. L-carnitine (500 mg/kg b.w., IP) was pretreated in both of control and cadmium-injected rats. Animals were killed on day 17 after the first treatment. The left cauda epididymis was removed and immediately immersed into Hank's balanced salt solution for evaluation of sperm count and viability. Following contamination with cadmium, a decrease in the number and viability of cauda epididymis sperm, the number of cell proliferation, and Johnsen Scores in the seminiferous tubules was observed. Consequently, L-carnitine treatment caused an increase in the number and viability of cauda epididymis sperm, the number of cell proliferation, and Johnsen Scores in the cadmium-induced group.