Objective: Men’s sexual health plays an important role in male fertility and childbearing, as it is associated with factors such as sexual desire, healthy spermatogenesis, and erectile function. In various cultures, medicinal plants have been utilized to address male sexual issues, including infertility and erectile dysfunction. Despite recent advancements in medical science for treating male impotence, some men opt for herbal supplements as an alternative, given that numerous herbs have the potential to enhance male sexual performance. The Apiaceae family is one of the oldest plant families used for medicinal purposes. Ferula, a genus within this family, comprises approximately 170 different species worldwide. Members of this genus possess numerous therapeutic properties due to the presence of various compounds. This article aims to explore the potential impacts of Ferula plants on the male reproductive system. Methods: This review article was prepared by searching for terms including Ferula and “aphrodisiac,” Ferula and “spermatogenesis,” and Ferula and “male reproductive system.” Relevant information was gathered through electronic databases, including ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Results: The findings indicated that relatively comprehensive studies have been conducted in this area, revealing that certain Ferula species have been employed in folk medicine to boost fertility and libido. Recent research has corroborated these effects. Conclusion It is hoped that new aphrodisiac compounds with fewer side effects can be isolated from Ferula plants in the future.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the possible association between psychological disorders and risky driving behavior (RDB) in Iran. METHODS: This case-control study conducted in Shiraz, Iran in 2021. The case group included drivers with psychological disorders and the control group included those without any disorders. The inclusion criteria for selecting patients were: active driving at the time of the study, being 18 - 65 years old, having a driving license, having a psychological disorder including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety spectrum disorder, or psychotic disorder spectrum confirmed by a psychiatrist, and completing an informed consent form. The exclusion criterion was the existence of conditions that interfered with answering and understanding the questions. The inclusion criteria for selecting the healthy cases were: active driving at the time of the study, being 18 - 65 years old, having a driving license, lack of any past or present history of psychiatric problems, and completing an informed consent form. The data were gathered using a researcher-made checklist and Manchester driving behavior questionnaire. First, partition around medoids method was used to extract clusters of RDB. Then, backward logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between the independent variables and the clusters of RDB. RESULTS: The sample comprised of 344 (153 with psychological disorder and 191 without confirmed psychological disorder) drivers. Backward elimination logistic regression on total data revealed that share of medical expenditure ≤ 10% of total household expenditure (OR = 3.27, 95% CI: 1.48 - 7.24), psychological disorder (OR = 3.08, 95% CI: 1.67 - 5.70), and substance abuse class (OR = 6.38, 95% CI: 3.55 - 11.48) were associated with high level of RDB. CONCLUSION Substance abuse, psychological illnesses, and share of medical costs from total household expenditure were found to be main predictors of RDB. Further investigations are necessary to explain the impact of different psychological illnesses on driving behavior.
Humans ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Automobile Driving ; Iran ; Case-Control Studies ; Mental Disorders/epidemiology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk-Taking

Objective: Asafoetida is a gum derived from Ferula assa-foetida, which is used in traditional Iranian medicine to treat some reproductive system disorders. The effects of asafoetida on ovarian tissue, expression of certain genes associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and levels of liver, kidney, and blood cell factors after treatment in a rat model were investigated. Methods: Thirty rats were divided into five groups: normal, polycystic, and treatment with three doses of asafoetida (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg for 3 weeks after PCOS induction). PCOS was induced by letrozole at a dose of 1 mg/kg administered orally for 3 weeks. Blood samples were taken, and the ovaries were removed and prepared for histomorphometric examination. Liver and kidney parameters were measured. The mRNA expression levels of luteinizing hormone receptor, CYP11A1, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, adiponectin, and adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 were also measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The levels of liver, kidney, and blood parameters did not significantly differ between the treatment groups and the control group. At doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg, ovarian histopathology, especially the thicknesses of the theca and granulosa layers, was significantly improved relative to the PCOS group. The expression of target genes also improved in the 25 and 50 mg/kg treatment groups. Conclusion Asafoetida can be used to treat PCOS as a complementary approach to conventional therapies. Asafoetida appears to act by regulating and activating metabolic and ovarian cycle enzymes.

Anxiety, stress and depression are exceedingly comorbid psychological illnesses that the predominance will expand to the second most important risk of morbidity and sociodemographic burden. Due to several side-effects of chemical drugs, numerous specialists and patients prefer complementary herbal therapies like Ginkgo Biloba Extracts (GBE) to medicate the illnesses. In this review, we summarized the antidepressant, anxiolytic and antistress properties of GBE. We perceived that GBE could be beneficial for treatment of these disorders. Although experience of repeated studies on models and humans have proved reliability of antidepressant properties of GBE, further clinical trials are still required to validate the anti-stress and anti-anxiety effects of GBE on humans.

No abstract available.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer type in men and is the second cause of death, due to cancer, in patients over 50, after lung cancer. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a widely used tumor marker for prostate cancer. Recently, PSA is discovered in non-prostatic cancer tissues in men and women raising doubts about its specificity for prostatic tissues. PSA exists in low serum level in healthy men and in higher levels in many prostate disorders, including prostatitis and prostate cancer. Thus, a supplementary tumor marker is needed to accurately diagnose the cancer and to observe the patient after treatment. Recently, soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) has been introduced as a new tumor marker for different cancer types, including colorectal, breast, lung, and ovary. The present descriptive-experimental study was carried out including patients with malignant prostate tumor, patients with benign prostate tumor, and a group of health men as the control group, as judged by an oncologist as well as a pathologist. After sterile blood sampling, sHLA-G was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in each group. The data was then analyzed using one-way ANOVA. P≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The results showed that the mean of sHLA-G level was high in patients. Also, it was found that there was a significant difference in sHLA serum level between the three groups. The data revealed that sHLA-G can be a novel supplementary tumor marker in addition to PSA to diagnose prostate cancer.
Breast ; Cause of Death ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Ovary ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Prostatitis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSETraffic injuries are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Pedestrians have been considered as a high-risk group among road users, especially in middle- or low-income communities. This study attempted to determine the burden of pedestrians' fatalities in Fars, the southern province of Iran using years of life lost (YLL) approach.

METHODSThe data used in this study were retrieved from Fars Forensic Medicine Organization database on pedestrian traffic accidents. The YLL from 2009 to 2013 was estimated using the method presented by World Health organization. Some epidemiological characteristics of pedestrians' fatalities were analyzed by SPSS.

RESULTSAlthough YLL among 1000 male pedestrians decreased from 2.5 in 2009 to 1.5 in 2013, it increased from 0.9 to 2.1 among 1000 females during the same period. Higher proportion of death was found in female, illiterate, and married pedestrians (p < 0.001). In addition, mortality was higher in pedestrians living the cities, during daytime, at home, and in hospitals (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONConsistent with the global trends, burden of pedestrian accidents in Fars was also exceptionally high. Considering the national and cultural aspects of different countries, improving the safety of pedestrians demands a multi-dimensional approach with interventional factors concerning policies, rules, pedestrians, motor vehicles and environmental conditions taken into consideration.

BACKGROUND: Violence against women in families is the most common form of violence against them. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of domestic violence and its effects on married women of Ilam. METHODS: In this descriptive-sectional research, 334 married women referred to medical health centers in Ilam were selected to participate using a random sampling method. After obtaining their consent to participate in the study, participants responded to a 46 items questionnaire and responses were analyzed using IBM SPSS for Windows ver. 20.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: The majority of the participants reported experiencing domestic violence and emotional violence was more prevalent than other kinds of violence. Logistic regression analysis showed that lower education level, marriage at a younger age, shorter duration of marriage, fewer children, being a housewife, and husband's unemployment had a significant relationship with domestic violence against women. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of wife abuse in Ilam especially emotional violence due to lower education levels and marriage at younger age could be a serious threat for women's health as well as for other members of the family. This could be a grounding factor for other social harms such as suicide and this issue must be studied from legal, religious, and cultural standpoints.
Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Domestic Violence* ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Marriage ; Methods ; Physical Abuse ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors* ; Spouse Abuse ; Suicide ; Unemployment ; Violence ; Women's Health

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic results and safety of pectoralis major muscle turnover flaps in the treatment of mediastinitis after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures. METHODS: Data regarding 33 patients with post-CABG deep sternal wound infections (DSWIs) who underwent pectoralis major muscle turnover flap procedures in the Emam Reza and Ghaem Hospitals of Mashhad, Iran were reviewed in this study. For each patient, age, sex, hospital stay duration, remission, recurrence, and associated morbidity and mortality were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 2,447 CABG procedures that were carried out during the time period encompassed by our study, DSWIs occurred in 61 patients (2.5%). Of these 61 patients, 33 patients (nine females [27.3%] and 24 males [72.7%]) with an average age of 63+/-4.54 years underwent pectoralis major muscle turnover flap placement. Symptoms of infection mainly occurred within the first 10 days after surgery (mean, 10.24+/-13.62 days). The most common risk factor for DSWIs was obesity (n=16, 48.4%) followed by diabetes mellitus (n=13, 39.4%). Bilateral and unilateral pectoralis major muscle turnover flaps were performed in 20 patients (60.6%) and 13 patients (39.4%), respectively. Complete remission was achieved in 25 patients (75.7%), with no recurrence in the follow-up period. Four patients (12.1%) needed reoperation. The mean hospitalization time was 11.69+/-6.516 days. Four patients (12.1%) died during the course of the study: three due to the postoperative complication of respiratory failure and one due to pulmonary thromboembolism. CONCLUSION: Pectoralis major muscle turnover flaps are an optimal technique in the treatment of post-CABG mediastinitis. In addition to leading to favorable therapeutic results, this flap is associated with minimal morbidity and mortality, as well as a short hospitalization time.
Coronary Artery Bypass ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Iran ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Mediastinitis* ; Mortality ; Obesity ; Postoperative Complications ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Risk Factors ; Wound Infection

Left atrial dissection (LatD), defined as the forced separation of the left atrial (LA) wall layers by blood, is a rare and severe complication of cardiac surgery. It is most frequently associated with atrioventricular junction injuries. We report a case of infected LatD after coronary artery bypass graft, mitral valve replacement, aortic valve replacement and ascending aortic root replacement. The patient was presented with septicemia and disseminated intravascular coagulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of LA dissecting flap concomitant with attached infective vegetations identified by transesophageal echocardiography.
Aortic Valve ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Endocarditis ; Humans ; Mitral Valve ; Prostheses and Implants ; Sepsis ; Thoracic Surgery* ; Transplants