OBJECTIVES: The present mini review aimed to summarize the existing knowledge regarding the beneficial and adverse effects of raloxifene in menopausal women. METHODS: This study is a review of relevant publications about the effects of raloxifene on sleep disorder, depression, venous thromboembolism, the plasma concentration of lipoprotein, breast cancer, and cognitive function among menopausal women. RESULTS: Raloxifene showed no significant effect on depression and sleep disorder. Verbal memory improved with administration of 60 mg/day of raloxifene while a mild cognitive impairment risk reduction by 33% was observed with administration of 120 mg/day of raloxifene. Raloxifene was associated with a 50% decrease in the need for prolapse surgery. The result of a meta-analysis showed a significant decline in the plasma concentration of lipoprotein in the raloxifene group compared to placebo (standardized mean difference, −0.43; 10 trials). A network meta-analysis showed that raloxifene significantly decreased the risk of breast cancer (relative risk, 0.572; 95% confidence interval, 0.327–0.881; P = 0.01). In terms of adverse effects of raloxifene, the odds ratio (OR) was observed to be 1.54 (P = 0.006), indicating 54% increase in the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while the OR for pulmonary embolism (PE) was 1.05, suggesting a 91% increase in the risk of PE alone (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Raloxifene had no significant effect on depression and sleep disorder but decreased the concentration of lipoprotein. Raloxifene administration was associated with an increased risk of DVT and PE and a decreased risk of breast cancer and pelvic organ prolapse in postmenopausal women.
Breast Neoplasms ; Cognition ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Memory ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Odds Ratio ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse ; Plasma ; Prolapse ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Raloxifene Hydrochloride ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Venous Thrombosis

Saffron and its active ingredients were found effective in the management of pain due to neurological and inflammatory causes. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of saffron on anxiety, fatigue and pain during labor progress. In this review study, articles in Persian and English language indexed in reputable databases, including Irandoc, Iranmedx, SID, Google scholar, Magiran, Scopus, web of science and PubMed were searched Articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed qualitatively. Out of 34040 studies, 6 articles were included. The mean score of anxiety and fatigue, active phase length score of the first and second stages of delivery were lower in the saffron consumer group compared to pharmacotherapy group. Saffron can increase cervical ripening in term pregnancies. Saffron had abortive effects. Saffron can be used as a facilitator of labour and a natural analgesic for labor pains.

The aim of this mixed method systematic review was to assess maternal satisfaction with normal vaginal delivery and its influencing factors in Iranian population. All quantitative and qualitative studies about the factors related to women’s satisfaction with normal vaginal delivery were searched. Data extraction was performed using the data extraction form adapted from the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. The quality of all studies was assessed by two researchers independently using the risk assessment checklist by Cochrane Collaboration. Studies that were conducted on pregnant women older than 18 years old who were in the first post-partum year and assessed satisfaction were included in this review. The current study revealed that the level of satisfaction about normal vaginal delivery was moderate in Iranian women. Fear of pain, vaginal delivery complication and sexual dysfunction were the most common factors that affected satisfaction about vaginal delivery.