Efficacy of plasmapheresis in neutropenic patients suffering from cytokine storm because of severe COVID-19 infection

Alireza Sadeghi,Somayeh Sadeghi,Mohammad Saleh Peikar,Maryam Yazdi,Mehran Sharifi,Safie Ghafel,Farzin Khorvash,Behrooz Ataei,Mohammad Reza Safavi,Elahe Nasri 대한혈액학회 2023 Blood Research Vol.58 No.2

Background With the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and inability of healthcare systems to control the disease, various therapeutic theories with controversial responses have been proposed. Plasmapheresis was administered as a medication. However, the knowledge of its efficacy and indications is inadequate. This study evaluated the use of plasmapheresis in critically ill patients with cancer. Methods This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 86 patients with malignancies, including a control group (N=41) and an intervention group (N=45) with severe COVID-19 during 2020-21. Both groups were treated with routine medications for COVID-19 management according to national guidelines, and plasmapheresis was applied to the intervention group. C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase, hemoglobin, and white blood cell, polymorphonuclear, lymphocyte, and platelet levels were measured at admission and at the end of plasmapheresis. Other variables included neutrophil recovery, intensive care unit admission, intubation requirements, length of hospital stay, and hospitalization outcomes. Results CRP (P <0.001), D-dimer (P <0.001), ferritin (P =0.039), and hemoglobin (P =0.006) levels were significantly different between the groups after the intervention. Neutrophil recovery was remarkably higher in the case than in the control group (P <0.001). However, plasmapheresis did not affect the length of hospital stay (P=0.076), which could have significantly increased survival rates (P <0.001). Conclusion Based on the study findings, plasmapheresis led to a significant improvement in laboratory markers and survival rate in patients with severe COVID-19. These findings reinforce the value of plasmapheresis in cancer patients as a critical population suffering from neutropenia and insufficient immune responses.

Inhibition effect of CO2 on asphaltene precipitation for an Iranian crude oil and comparison with N2 and CH4

Alireza Bahramian,Mohsen Mohammadi,Mahdi Akbari,Mahdi Sadeghi Naeeni,Zahra Fakhroueian 한국화학공학회 2013 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.30 No.2

The effects of N2, CH4 and CO2 injection on asphaltene precipitation have been experimentally investigated using a reservoir oil fluid from south of Iran, making use of light transmission method. The results are compared and the effects of injected gases on reducing asphaltene colloidal stability in oil are found in the following order: CH4>N2>CO2. It is observed that CO2 can act like an inhibitor and can increase the solubility of asphaltene, decreasing the asphaltene precipitation onset. A thermodynamic discussion explains the effect of CO2 on the solubility of asphaltene based on the solubility parameters of recombined oil and CO2, calculated from Peng-Robinson equation of state along with an empirical correlation for volumetric properties of CO2.

Efficacy of Herbal Medicines on Lung Function in Asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Derakhshan Alireza,Sadeghi Masoumeh,Asnaashari Amir-Mohammad-Hashem,Dehghani Mohsen,Salari Roshanak,Khadem-Rezaiyan Majid,Mirsadraee Majid,Saeidinejat Shahin,Jalali Shima,Jalali Shabnam 대한약침학회 2023 Journal of pharmacopuncture Vol.26 No.2

Objectives: The present study was designed to conduct a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of herbal medicines as add-on therapy on lung function in asthmatic patients. Methods: A comprehensive search of online databases was performed up to December 2021 to identify randomized controlled trials that used orally herbal preparations for asthma as add-on therapy. Studies were assessed for methodological quality using the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias tool. The main outcome was percent predicted value of forced expiratory volume (% predicted FEV1). Pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) estimate with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using inversevariance weights method while random effects meta-analysis was used, taking into account clinical and conceptual heterogeneity. Results: As a result, 1,525 studies were identified. 169 studies were reviewed in-depth and 23 studies met our systematic review inclusion criteria. Finally, nine randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. Findings indicated that use of herbal medicines in patients with asthma significantly improved % predicted FEV1 (WMD: 3.73, 95% CI: 1.76-5.70), with no evidence for significant heterogeneity (p = 0.56 [Q statistic], I 2 = 0.0%). In subgroup analysis by age, improvement in % predicted FEV1 was higher and significant in adults (WMD: 5.16; 95% CI: 2.68-7.63) compared to children (WMD = 1.27; 95% CI: −1.98-4.51). Sensitivity analysis showed the significant effect of herbal medicine consumption on improving FEV1 was consistently (range of summary WMDs: 3.27-4.59), indicating that the meta-analysis model was robust. There was no evidence of publication bias both visually and statistically. Conclusion: Findings support, the complementary use of herbal medicines resulted in significant improvement in the lung function compared to standard treatment in asthmatic patients with no considerable adverse events. This improvement is more likely to be observed amongst adults.

Batch adsorptive removal of benzoic acid from aqueous solution onto modified natural vermiculite: Kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies

Ehsan Sadeghi Pouya,Hossein Abolghasemi,Mohamad Esmaieli,Hooman Fatoorehchi,Seyed Jalaledin Hashemi,Alireza Salehpour 한국공업화학회 2015 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.31 No.-

The performance of modified vermiculite for the batch adsorption of benzoic acid from aqueous solutionwas studied. Grinding treatment enhanced the ion exchange ability of natural vermiculite. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide improved the adsorptive characteristics of ground vermiculitebetter than cetylpyridinium bromide. The optimum conditions were obtained as the adsorbent dosage of0.5 g/50 mL, initial pH of 3.5 and contact time of about 140 min. The pseudo-second-order modelprovided a good correlation of the kinetic data. The equilibrium data were well described by theLangmuir and Temkin equations. Thermodynamically, it was concluded that the process is endothermicand spontaneous.

Monte Carlo calculation of dosimetry parameters for the IR08-P103d brachytherapy source : Dosimetry parameters for the IR08-P103d brachytherapy

Saidi, Pooneh,Sadeghi, Mahdi,Shirazi, Alireza,Tenreiro, Claudio Wiley (John WileySons) 2010 Medical physics Vol.37 No.6

<P>PURPOSE: For the treatment of some cancerous tumors using brachytherapy methods and low-energy photon sources, such as 125I and 103Pd, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group No. 43U1 report recommends that the dosimetric parameters of a new brachytherapy source must be determined in two experimental and Monte Carlo theoretical methods before using each new source clinically. This study presents the results of Monte Carlo calculations of the dosimetric parameters for IR08-103Pd brachytherapy source design. IR08-103Pd seed has been manufactured at the Agricultural, Medical and Industrial Research School. METHODS: Version 5 of the (MCNP) Monte Carlo radiation transport code was used to calculate the dosimetry parameters around the source. Three geometric models of the seed, based on different locations of beads inside the titanium capsule, were simulated. The seed contains five resin beads of 0.6 mm diameter having 103Pd uniformly absorbed in the bead volume, which were contained within a cylindrical titanium capsule having 0.8 mm outside diameter and 4.8 mm length. RESULTS: The Monte Carlo calculated dose rate constant of the IR08-103Pd seed was found to be 0.695 +/- 0.021 cGyU(-1) h(-1). Also in this study, the geometry function G(r, theta), line and point-source radial dose functions gL(r) and gP(r), and the anisotropy function F(r, theta), have been calculated at distances from 0.25 to 7 cm. The results of these calculations have been compared with measured values for an actual IR08-103Pd seed. CONCLUSIONS: There are no statistical significant dosimetric differences among the three seed orientations in this study (i.e., ideal, vertical, and diagonal). However, the observed differences between the calculated and measured values could be explained by the measurement uncertainty and the configuration of the resin beads within the capsule and capsule orientation.</P>

Hypolipidemic Activity of Allium porrum L. in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Ahmad Movahedian,Hojjat Sadeghi,Alireza Ghannadi,Mahin Gharavi,Sepideh Azarpajooh 한국식품영양과학회 2006 Journal of medicinal food Vol.9 No.1

Allium porrum L. is a herbaceous plant from the Liliaceae family and has been widely used in Persian foodsas a flavor component and in Iranian traditional medicine as an anti-atherogenic remedy. The present investigation was un-dertaken to evaluate the antihypercholesterolemic effect of a hydroalcoholic extract of A. porrum L. bulbs. Rabbits were di-vided into five groupscontrol, hypercholesterolemic control, and three treatment groups (hypercholesterolemic diet. 250,500, or 1,000 mg/kg of body weight of extract, respectively)and were fed for 12 weeks. Blood samples were obtained toanalyze plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very LDL, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)cholesterol. Body weight increased in all groups throughout the treatment without significant differences among them. Plasmatotal cholesterol increased with respect to the control in the positive control group at the end of the treatment. Plasma totalcholesterol decreased in all groups treated with A. porrumextract in a dose-dependent fashion. Changes in the distribution ofcholesterol in HDL or LDL were found, and LDL cholesterol decreased significantly in all of the groups treated with A. por-rumextract with respect to the hypercholesterolemic group. Thus, these findings indicate that this plant may be useful for thetreatment of hypercholesterolemia.

Iranian Registry of Crohn’s and Colitis: study profile of first nation-wide inflammatory bowel disease registry in Middle East

Masoud M Malekzadeh,Alireza Sima,Sudabeh Alatab,Anahita Sadeghi,Nasser Ebrahimi Daryani,Payman Adibi,Iradj Maleki,Hassan Vossoughinia,Hafez Fakheri,Abbas Yazdanbod,Seyed Alireza Taghavi,Rahim Aghazade 대한장연구학회 2019 Intestinal Research Vol.17 No.3

Background/Aims: A recent study revealed increasing incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Iran. The Iranian Registry of Crohn’s and Colitis (IRCC) was designed recently to answer the needs. We reported the design, methods of data collection, and aims of IRCC in this paper. Methods: IRCC is a multicenter prospective registry, which is established with collaboration of more than 100 gastroenterologists from different provinces of Iran. Minimum data set for IRCC was defined according to an international consensus on standard set of outcomes for IBD. A pilot feasibility study was performed on 553 IBD patients with a web-based questionnaire. The reliability of questionnaire evaluated by Cronbach’s α. Results: All sections of questionnaire had Cronbach’s α of more than 0.6. In pilot study, 312 of participants (56.4%) were male and mean age was 38 years (standard deviation=12.8) and 378 patients (68.35%) had ulcerative colitis, 303 subjects (54,7%) had college education and 358 patients (64.74%) were of Fars ethnicity. We found that 68 (12.3%), 44 (7.9%), and 13 (2.3%) of participants were smokers, hookah and opium users, respectively. History of appendectomy was reported in 58 of patients (10.48%). The most common medication was 5-aminosalicylate (94.39%). Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, IRCC is the first national IBD registry in the Middle East and could become a reliable infrastructure for national and international research on IBD. IRCC will improve the quality of care of IBD patients and provide national information for policy makers to better plan for controlling IBD in Iran.

Depression, Anxiety, and Perceived Social Support among Adults with Beta-Thalassemia Major: Cross-Sectional Study

Aghbabak Maheri,Roya Sadeghi,Davoud Shojaeizadeh,Azar Tol,Mehdi Yaseri,Alireza Rohban 대한가정의학회 2018 Korean Journal of Family Medicine Vol.39 No.2

Background: Considering the high prevalence of depression and anxiety among thalassemia patients and the role of social support in preventing mental disorders, this study aimed to determine prevalence of depression, anxiety, and perceived social support (PSS) among adults with beta-thalassemia major.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed with 389 adults with beta-thalassemia major. Data were col-lected via a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic and medical information, the Persian version of the hospital anxiety and depression scale, and the Persian version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived So-cial Support. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) through analytical statis-tics (independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multilevel lin-ear regression), and the results less than 0.05 were considered to be significant.Results: The mean scores of depression, anxiety, and PSS of patients were 7.42±3.17, 7.47±4.35, and 41.8±8.64, re-spectively. Of 389 patients, 19.8% had depression and 23.7% had an anxiety disorder. Relationships of depression and anxiety with age, the level of education, job, and family income were statistically significant, as were those of PSS with age, thalassemia center, family income, job, and the level of education. PSS from family, friends, and sig-nificant others were the significant predictive factors of depression and anxiety among adult patients with beta-thalassemia major.Conclusion: Considering the PSS as a factor influencing the reduction in depression and anxiety in thalassemia pa-tients, social support from the social networks (spouse, family members, friends, and healthcare workers) should be integrated with interventions that are designed to improve the mental and physical health of thalassemia pa-tients.

Systematic Review of Available Guidelines on Fertility Preservation of Young Patients with Breast Cancer

Haddadi, Mahnaz,Muhammadnejad, Samad,Sadeghi-Fazel, Fariba,Zandieh, Zahra,Rahimi, Gohar,Sadighi, Sanambar,Akbari, Parya,Mohagheghi, Mohammad-Ali,Mosavi-Jarrahi, Alireza,Amanpour, Saeid Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.3

Background: Since the survival rate of breast cancer patients has improved, harmful effects of new treatment modalities on fertility of the young breast cancer patients has become a focus of attention. This study aimed to systematically review and critically appraise all available guidelines for fertility preservation in young breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Major citation databases were searched for treatment guidelines. Experts from relevant disciplines appraised the available guidelines. The AGREE II Instrument that includes 23 criteria in seven domains (scope and purpose of the guidelines, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity, applicability, editorial independence, and overall quality) was used to apprise and score the guidelines. Results: The search strategy retrieved 2,606 citations; 72 were considered for full-text screening and seven guidelines were included in the study. There was variability in the scores assigned to different domains among the guidelines. ASCO (2013), with an overall score of 68.0%, had the highest score, and St Gallen, with an overall score of 24.7%, had the lowest scores among the guidelines. Conclusions: With the promising survival rate among breast cancer patients, more attention should be given to include specific fertility preservation recommendations for young breast cancer patients.

Formulation of functional mayonnaise with defatted wheat germ flour as egg yolk substitute: Rheological, textural and stability analyses

Mehran Aalami,Mahshid Rahbari,Salar Ali Ahmed,Alireza Sadeghi Mahoonak,Mahdi Kashaninejad,Hamed Hassanzadeh 한국식품저장유통학회 2023 한국식품저장유통학회지 Vol.30 No.3

The aim of this research was to study the feasibility of the defatted wheat germ flour (DWGF) alone or in combination with xanthan gum (XG) as egg yolk substitutes in mayonnaise formulation. In this research, DWGF was used at different levels (0, 25, 75 and 100%) alone or in combination with the XG (0.2%) as egg substitutes. The effects of these substitutions on the stability, textural and rheological characteristics of mayonnaise were investigated. According to the results, DWGF can be used as an egg yolk substitute in mayonnaise. Combining DWGF and XG as egg yolk substitute, improved the stability, textural and rheological properties. Mayonnaise with 100% egg yolk replacement showed the hardest structure, while the lowest firmness value was obtained in the control containing 100% egg yolk. Also, the highest adhesiveness value occurred in the sample with 100% DWGF. The thixotropic behavior was observed for all investigated mayonnaise samples over the all ranges of the studied shear rate (0.05-450/sec). Furthermore, the highest content of consistency coefficient value was observed in the sample with 100% DWGF and 0.2% XG. Therefore, it can be concluded that low-cholesterol mayonnaise with proper stability, textural and rheological characteristics are achievable by applying of the desirable combination of DWGF and XG.