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Background: Pain is a sensorial modality, which in many cases represents the only symptom for the diagnosis of several diseases. It often has a protective function. Although morphine has reigned for centuries as the king of painkillers, its rule hasn’t been totally benign. There are concerns about its addictive properties and side effects, which include respiratory depression, drowsiness, decreased gastrointestinal motility, nausea and several alterations of the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems. Since the plant is being used traditionally in the treatment of painful illnesses, it would be worthwhile to evaluate its antinociceptive activities in mice. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the analgesic effect of ethanolic extracts of Salvia hypoleuca leaves by formalin-test in mice.
Materials and Methods: The ethanolic extracts and morphine were injected intraperitoneally. The control groups were administered saline as vehicles of ethanolic extract. Thirty minutes after the injection, pain scores were recorded for each group of mice by using an observational scale.
 Results: The results showed that the ethanolic extracts of the plant, compared to normal saline, decreased pain scores for both the first phase (p<0.001 for all doses) and the second phase of pain (p<0.001 for doses 100mg/kg and 200mg/kg p<0.01 for dose 50mg/kg). Also, the LD50 of the ethanolic extracts of the plant were measured to be 7000mg per kg of body weight.
 Conclusion: The data indicate that this plant has analgesic effects on mice and the plant should be considered in future therapeutic researches.

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Background: Selenium is an essential trace nutrient for humans and animals. It is required for normal testicular development and spermatogenesis. In the present experimental study, correlations between seminal plasma glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity (as selenium status) and semen parameters are evaluated in 200 males.
Materials and methods: Semen analysis was performed according to World Health Organization guidelines. Totally, 200 males were subdivided into 5 groups as normospermic, oligospermic, asthenozospermic, azospermic and varicocele groups according to their spermograms. Plasma seminal glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity was determined by Kit (Randox, Germany).
 Results: The results showed that glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity is higher in normospermic than oligospermic, asthenozospermic, azospermic and varicocele groups. Meanwhile, there were an inverse significant correlations between glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity and plasma seminal fructose concentration, white blood cell, tail defects of sperm, coiled tail sperms and short tail sperms. On the other hand, the present data showed that there are positive correlations between vitality, sperm count, motility and normal morphology.
Conclusion: The present study indicated that measurement of glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity as selenium status could be a good marker for evaluation of male infertility.

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Background: It is proposed that L-carnitine is a useful agent for treatment of various dysfunctions of sperm in infertile men. So, in the present study, effect of L-carnitine supplement on sperm parameters in men with idiopathic infertility was evaluated.
Materials and methods: Thirty infertile men, aged between 20 and 40 years, with the following baseline sperm selection criteria, including sperm count< 66.6×106, motility< 30%, viability< 60%, normal morphology< 35%, were studied. Patients received 3 gram per day L-carnitine for six months. Semen analysis was performed according to World Health Organization guidelines before study, and 3 and 6 months of therapy. Sperm parameters included liquefaction, pH, volume, sperm count, motility, viability and normal morphology.
Results: The results showed that L-carnitine supplementation increased significantly sperm count, motility, viability and normal morphogy and pregnancy rate after 3 months (p<0.01) and 6 months (p<0.001). Also, L-carnitine supplementation increased sperm motility and viability in idiophatic infertile men after 3 and 6 months (p<0.001). Five couples became pregnant during the study.
Conclusion: The present study indicated that L-carnitine supplementation is an appropriate drug in the treatment of men with idiopathic infertility.

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Background: Pain is a sensorial modality, which in many cases represents the only symptom for the diagnosis of several diseases. Due to addictive properties and side effects of morphine, there is less attention to use it. Medicinal plants are used increasingly in the treatment of painful illnesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic activity of ethanolic extract of parsley leaves in mice.
Materials and methods: In this experimental study, analgesic activity of ethanolic extract of parsley leaves was evaluated in mice by formalin test and acetic acid test. Ethanolic extract of parsley leaves (at doses 100, 150 and 200 mg/kg) and morphine (10 mg/kg), as a standard drug, were injected intraperitoneally. The control group was administered saline as vehicle of ethanolic extract.
Results: Ethanolic extract of plant decreased both phases of pain in formalin test. Also, it decreased number of abdominal muscle contraction in Writhing test.
Conclusion: The present study indicated that ethanolic extract of parsley leaves has analgesic effects on mice and further studies need to evaluate its clinical properties.

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Background: Inflammation is a mechanism involving a complex series of events including dilatation of arterioles, venules and capillaries with increased vascular permeability, exudation of fluids including plasma proteins and leukocyte migration into the inflammatory area. In the present study, the anti-inflammatory effects of Eucalyptus globulus alcoholic extract and essential oil leaves were studied in NMRI mice.
Material and methods: In this experimental study, 15 minutes after intra-peritoneal injection of the ethanolic extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg, i.p.), essential oil (0.1, 0.4, 0.5 ml/kg, i.p.) and dexamethasone (10 mg/kg, i.p.), 0.03 ml of xylene was applied to the anterior surface of the right ear of NMRI mice. The left ear was considered as control. Two hours after xylene application, mice were sacrificed and both ears removed. The effect on acute inflammation was assessed using vascular permeability increased by xylene-induced ear edema in mice.
Results: Alcoholic extract of Eucalyptus globulus with doses 100 and 200 mg/kg and essential oil leaves of Eucalyptus globulus with doses of 0.4 and 0.55 ml/kg showed significant and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity against acute inflammation induced by xylene ear edema test. Its anti-inflammatory effects were similar to dexamethason.
Conclusion: The present study indicated that Eucalyptus globule has anti-inflammatory effect on mice and should be considered in future therapeutic studies

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Background: Several studies have reported that retinoic acid administration and/or consumption of a vitamin A-enriched diet was could repair the aging induced memory deficits, decreased hippocampal long term potentiation (LTP). Vitamin A deficiency impairs learning ability and hippocampal LTP in mice. In the present study, the effects of the vitamin A and pilocarpine (a muscarinic agonist) on memory retention in adult male rats were investigated.
Materials and methods: Post-training intracerebroventricular injections were carried out in all experiments. Memory retention was evaluated by using a step-through passive avoidance paradigm in adult male rats.
Results: Vitamin A (1000 and 2000 IU/rat) and pilocarpine (1 g/rat) increased memory retention. The acetylcholine receptor agonist (pilocarpine) increased the response to vitamin A. The response to vitamin A was potentiated by pilocarpine.
Conclusion: It is concluded that vitamin A elicits an interaction with the cholinergic system in memory retention.

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Background: Morphine causes the development of dependence, which limits its usage for chronic pain. Morphine dependence is a compulsive pattern of drug seeking and drug taking, resulting from the positive reinforcement of the rewarding effects of drug taking and the negative reinforcement of withdrawal syndrome that accompanies the cessation of drug taking. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of caraway (Bonium persicum B.Fedtsch) ethanolic extract on acquisition and expression of morphine tolerance and dependence in mice.
 Materials and methods: In this experimental study, hot-plate test was used to survey morphine analgesic tolerance. Morphine was injected (2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 mg/kg, i.p.) twice daily for 7 days, except in 8th day in which morphine was administrated at a single dose (50 mg/kg, i.p.). The extract (300, 400, 500 mg/kg, i.p.) was injected daily for 8 days. Also, Naloxone was injected (10 mg/kg, i.p.) 5 hours after the final dose of morphine and the withdrawal signs including jumping, abdominal contraction, teeth chattering, grooming, diarrhea, and ptosis were recorded during a period of 30 minutes.
 Results: Caraway extract significantly attenuated both development and expression of morphine dependence. It significantly reduced jumping, abdominal contraction, teeth chattering, grooming, diarrhea, and ptosis.
Conclusion: These findings indicate effectiveness of caraway extract for management of morphine tolerance. Results of this study indicate that the plant contained component(s) that alleviate morphine withdrawal syndrome.
Keywords: Bonium persicum B.Fedtsch, Dependence, Tolerance, Withdrawal syndrome, Mice, Morphine.

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Background: Hepatoprotective effects of Fumaria parviflora have been approved in pharmaceutical and chemical toxicity models. Given the importance of the vincristine- induced hepatotoxicity during chemotherapy, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential hepatoprotective effects of F. parviflora extract on vincristine induced toxicity in adult male rats.
Materials and methods: In this experimental study, the rats (n=42) were divided into 7 groups: 1) Sham group, 2) vehicle group, 3) vincristine group (VCR) (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), 4) F. parviflora extract (300 mg/kg, p.o.), 5) F. parviflora extract (500 mg/kg, p.o.), 6) Pretreatment group: F. parviflora extract (300mg/kg for 10 days, p.o.) + VCR (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) on 9th and 10th days of the experiment, and 7) Pretreatment group: F. parviflora extract (500mg/kg for 10 days, p.o.) +VCR (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) on 9th and 10th days of the experiment. Serum values of AST, ALT, ALP and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Data were analyzed by one way ANOVA using prism software.
Results: F. parviflora extract with dose of 500 mg/kg markedly decreased ALT hepatic enzyme level caused by vincristine (P<0.01). In addition, the dose of 300 mg/kg could not decrease the elevated liver enzymes, including ALP, ALT and AST and also MDA levels.
Conclusion: Hepatoprotective effects of F. parviflora extract were not considerable in pretreatment groups.
Keywords: F. parviflora, vincristine, Hepatotoxicity, Rat.

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Background: One of the important factors that play a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is inflammatory processes leading to impaired expression of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6, TNF-α, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Propolis, as a therapeutic compound, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of this compound on changes in IL-1β expression levels in AD rats.
Materials and methods: 42 adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups, including control, sham, Alzheimer, and propolis. Cellular changes in brain tissue was evaluated by preparing histopathologic slides and effect of propolis on changes in IL-1β expression levels were investigated using Real-Time PCR method.
Results: Histopathologic investigations in the studied groups showed a significant difference between scopolamine-treated group compared to control and sham groups in terms of changes in the IL-1β expression levels and cellular damage; whereas there was no difference between the propolis-treated and scopolamine-treated groups in this regard; only-morphological difference in the organization of neurons were observed. The results of Real-Time PCR showed that the IL-1β expression level was significantly different in the propolis-treated group from the Alzheimer's group (p<0.05), indicating that propolis significantly decreased gene expression.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that propolis could be considered as an effective drug candidate for the AD treatment considering its anti-inflammatory property and effect on the decrease of IL-1β expression.

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Background: Mice are the most commonly used animal in reproductive research and following the urgent need for these type of studies and also due to the increased interest in the ethical principle of animal rights, four various inbred and outbred strains of the laboratory mouse were evaluated to select the more efficient one for reproductive research.
Materials and methods: 60 female and 16 male of strains (C57, CD1, NMRI, and Balb/c) weighing 25 to 30g and aged 6 to 8 weeks were evaluated under same conditions at different stages of mature oocyte collection, fertilization and in vitro embryo development up to the blastocyst stage. The data were analyzed using a chi-square test, and the selected significance level was p<0.05.
Results: Among the four strains, the highest to lowest fetal survival rates were for the CD1, NMRI, Balb /C and C57 mice, respectively and  their values ​​were 38.9, 14.4, 9.1 and 3.1%, individually.
Conclusion: Considering the results, we conclude that it is not possible to obtain optimal results for some strains due to using same instructions. The results showed that the highest rate of fertilization and embryo development up to the 8-cell stage was observed in the outbred CD1 mice. It seems that this strain is more applicable than others for reproductive research. In addition, we believe that using different medium during fertilization and embryo development as well as laboratory conditions, probably assist in improving the embryo production while minimized the required number of animals and allowed the achievement of the desired result.
 

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Background: Pain management is one of the most important components of patient care, and the nurse plays a key role in its management. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of the care program based on the "Roy’s Adaptation Model" on the pain of patients in the surgical ICU.
Materials and methods: This triple-blind clinical trial study was conducted in 2016 on 100 patients in the intensive care unit. Two surgical ICU wards in Sanandaj Basath Hospital were randomly selected as the intervention and control wards. Eligible patients in each department were assigned to the intervention or control group separately by simple random method. In the intervention group, care based on adaptation model was performed; and in the control group, routine care was done. Patients' pain was measured twice a day for 7 days based on pain measurement scale. The obtained data were analyzed with SPSS software ver21.
Results: The mean pain score during seven days was 4.43 and within seven nights was 4.66 in the intervention group; while in control group it was 4.75 during seven days and 4.77 during seven nights. Also, pain in the intervention group was significantly reduced compared to the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Care based on the adaptation model by nurses had an effect on reducing the pain of patients in the intensive care unit. It is suggested to provide organized nursing care based on nursing patterns in order to improve the health of patients in the special care department

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Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder and is considered a pro-inflammatory disease. Obesity is also a common pro-inflammatory phenotype in PCOS patients, which may play a role in the initiation or exacerbation of inflammation in PCOS patients. In this study, the role of various obesity indicators in increasing inflammation in the follicular fluid of PCOS patients has been investigated.
Materials and methods: 40 patients under 35 years were divided into two groups:  PCOS and non-PCOS. Different obesity indices (body mass, neck circumference, arm circumference, and waist to hip circumference) were measured in each patient. Follicular fluid samples were collected from each patient. The concentration of tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α) in follicular fluid samples of patients was quantitatively evaluated using the ELISA method. The number of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) was recovered and their quality was scored.
Results: In the PCOS group, various obesity indices were significantly increased compared to the non-PCOS group (P ≤0.001). The concentration of TNF-α in the PCOS group was significantly higher than the other group (P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the number of retrieved COC per patient and the quality of oocytes between the groups (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Considering the important role of inflammation in the development of PCOS disease, management of obesity in PCOS patients may help to reduce inflammation and can potentially help to design personalized therapeutic approaches.