Yahya Zeinalpour; Mahdi Kabiri; Roja Rahimi; Rahim khalilzadeh; Mehrdad Karimi
Volume 23, Issue 12 , 2021
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Silkworm cocoon produced by silkworms with the scientific name of Bombyx mori L. is a well-known medicinal agent mainly composed of proteins. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of syrup made from this natural agent on mild to moderate depression.
METHODS: The study was conducted ...
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OBJECTIVE: Silkworm cocoon produced by silkworms with the scientific name of Bombyx mori L. is a well-known medicinal agent mainly composed of proteins. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of syrup made from this natural agent on mild to moderate depression.
METHODS: The study was conducted based on a triple-blind randomized clinical trial. A total of 60 patients with mixed anxiety-depressive disorder were randomized to receive either intervention (silk syrup + sertraline) or control (placebo syrup + sertraline) for 12 weeks. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Beck Depression and Anxiety inventories at weeks 0, 6, and 12.
RESULTS: Out of the subjects, 54 patients completed the trial in two groups of intervention (n=30) and control (n=24) and entered the final analysis. According to the results of this study, the mean of anxiety and depression scores in weeks 6 and week 12 was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P<0.001).
CONCLUSION: Silk syrup can be beneficial for the management of anxiety and depression in mild to moderate MADD; therefore, it is suggested as an adjuvant treatment to increase the efficacy of conventional medications adopted for the treatment of MADD patients.
Mohammad Azizkhani; Fereshteh Ghorat; Sayed Mohammad Ali Soroushzadeh; Mehrdad Karimi; Saeed Yekaninejad
Volume 20, Issue 7 , 2018, Pages 1-10
Abstract
Context: Neck pain is a prevalent complaint. Several clinical trial studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of cupping therapy on neck pain. The objective of this study was to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of cupping therapy as an intervention to conservative management of neck pain. ...
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Context: Neck pain is a prevalent complaint. Several clinical trial studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of cupping therapy on neck pain. The objective of this study was to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of cupping therapy as an intervention to conservative management of neck pain. Evidence Acquisition: We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Ovid, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, a web of science, and Iranian medical databases through March 2017 without time restrictions. All clinical trials were done on non- specificneck pain, where at least one of the therapies assessed pertains to cupping therapy, were included in the study. Outcomes were pain intensity (e.g., Visual Analogue Scale, VAS), disability (e.g., Neck Disability Index, NDI), quality of life on the SP36 questionnaire, and other outcomes due to neck pain. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of cupping in managing neck pain. Results: Meta-analysis of five trials revealed significant differences in pain relief in favor of cupping therapy compared with the control group (VAS 100 cm, MD, -0.84 (-1.22, -0.46), I2 = 54.7%). Furthermore, a meta-analysis of six studies revealed that cuppingtherapy was clinically superior to the control group in patients with neck pain (SMD = -0.60 (-0.86, -0.35), I2 = 16.4%). Assessment of quality of life using the SP36 questionnaire showed that cupping therapy increased the quality of life in patients with neck pain compared with the control group (SMD = -0.56 (-0.20, -0.92), I2 = 51.4%).Conclusions: This study provides some evidence that cupping therapy may improve treatment of patients with neck pain.
Mehrdad Karimi; Firoozeh Akbari Asbagh; Roja Rahimi; Majid Safavi; Gholamreza Pourmand; Fatemeh Sadat Hoseini; Mohammadreza Mirzaei
Volume 20, Issue 6 , 2018, Pages 1-5
Abstract
Introduction: Almost 50% of infertilities are associated with males and among them 30to 50% are idiopathic. Empirical treatments are used in idiopathic male infertility, yet not enough scientific evidence is available for the application of such remedies. Date palm pollen (DPP) is one of the drugs suggested ...
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Introduction: Almost 50% of infertilities are associated with males and among them 30to 50% are idiopathic. Empirical treatments are used in idiopathic male infertility, yet not enough scientific evidence is available for the application of such remedies. Date palm pollen (DPP) is one of the drugs suggested for such patients in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM).Case Presentation: This study was performed on a 35-year-old male patient with idiopathic infertility. He previously had severe oligoasthenoteratozoospermia and was under medical supervision at Yas hospital of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from August 2016 to February 2017, where he was treated with DPP at a dose of 3 g twice daily, for three months. The second semen analysis was carried out after a quarter of the treatment period, followed by re-analyses after one and three months of finalizing the treatment period. The results obtained showed an impressive improvement in the quality of semen parameters. Within six months, the initial values of normal morphology (1%), total motility (3%), progressive motility (0.0), and sperm concen- tration (0.1 million) increased to 20%, 60%, 10%, and 10 million, respectively. Conclusions: Date palm pollen could be helpful in improving semen parameters in such patients. Clinical studies are required to find the exact effect.
Mohammad Azizkhani; Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi; Maliheh Tabaraee Arani; Reyhaneh Pirjani; Mahdi Sepidarkish; Fereshteh Ghorat; Mehrdad Karimi
Volume 20, Issue 1 , 2018, Pages 1-8
Abstract
Background: Dry cupping has been used as a treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding in Iranian traditional medicine.Objectives: The present study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of dry cupping on excessive menstrual blood loss in menorrhagia with a well- validated menstrual pictogram compared to medroxyprogesterone ...
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Background: Dry cupping has been used as a treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding in Iranian traditional medicine.Objectives: The present study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of dry cupping on excessive menstrual blood loss in menorrhagia with a well- validated menstrual pictogram compared to medroxyprogesterone acetate.Methods: A total of 162 women with menorrhagia were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, controlled trial in Iran from 2015 to 2016. Written informed consent was obtained, then, patients were randomly allocated into dry cupping (three sessions of in- terrupted and kinetic dry cupping during menstrual bleeding) or medroxyprogesterone acetate (10 mg/day throughout the luteal period) groups using a random number sequence. The number of bleeding days and objective estimation of menstrual blood loss using a pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC) were recorded before the intervention and at specific intervals (one and 3- months post-intervention).Results: At one and 3-months, PBAC scores were significantly lower in women treated with cupping compared with women treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate. These reductions in PBAC score were 214.9 mL with 95% CI (120.5 to 309.2) greater than medrox- yprogesterone acetate at one month and 237.3 with 95% CI (143.0 to 331.7) at 3- month follow- up period. Reduction in the number of bleeding days in the cupping group for almost one day was better than the control groups at one and 3-months follow- up (Mean difference:-1.03, 95% CI (-1.78 to -0.26), P = 0.007).Conclusions: Dry cupping is an effective treatment in reducing the intensity of bleeding during the menstrual period compared to medroxyprogesterone acetate.
Mehdi Salehi; Mohammad Azizkhani; Masumeh Mobli; Ramin Shakeri; Mehdi Saberi-Firoozi; Roja Rahimi; Mehrdad Karimi
Volume 19, Issue 7 , July 2017, , Pages 1-8
Abstract
Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most prevalent digestive diseases. Long-term treatment and recurrence of symptoms after discontinuation of medication are amongst its problems.Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of myrtle fruit syrup on the recurrence ...
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Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most prevalent digestive diseases. Long-term treatment and recurrence of symptoms after discontinuation of medication are amongst its problems.Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of myrtle fruit syrup on the recurrence of symptoms in reflux patients after the discontinuance of using a PPI.Methods: This research is a double-blind, randomized clinical study. With regard to withdrawal rate, 45 patients were selected for each group. The trial was conducted at the traditional medicine clinic at tehran university of Medical Sciences, Tehran- Iran, between November 2014 and March 2016. Diagnosis was conducted on the basis of the Mayo clinic standardized questionnaire. Every individual with heartburn or regurgitation symptoms with frequency of at least once a week was diagnosed as suffering from reflux. Omeprazole 20 mg with fasting as well as myrtle or placebo syrup 5 mL after meal were prescribed. Treatment duration was 6 weeks, after which the medicine was discontinued and patients were evaluated for 2 weeks. The cases in which recurrence of symptoms up to 14 days did not occur were considered as being non-recurrence.Results: Eighty nine people with symptoms of reflux were studied. The recurrence of symptoms was 22 people in treatment group and 27 people in control group with no significant difference (P value = 0.179). Time delay in the onset of symptoms was 9.57 days in treatment group and 6.27 days in control group which had significant difference (P value = 0.027).Conclusions: Although the recurrence of symptoms was lower in the treatment group than in the control group, there was no significant difference. However, treatment significantly delayed the onset of symptoms in quantitative terms. The findings show that further research should be implemented.
