Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a relatively new and promising modality for the treatment of cancer. PDT involves administering a photosensitizing dye, i.e. photosensitizer, that selectively accumulates in tumors, and shining a light source on the lesion with a wavelength matching the absorption spectrum of the photosensitizer, that exerts a cytotoxic effect after excitation. The reactive oxygen species produced during PDT are responsible for the oxidation of biomolecules, which in turn cause cell death and the necrosis of malignant tissue. PDT is a multi-factorial process that generally involves apoptotic death of the tumor cells, degeneration of the tumor vasculature, stimulation of anti-tumor immune response, and induction of inflammatory reactions in the illuminated lesion. Numerous compounds with photosensitizing activity have been introduced commercially. Although many papers have been published with regard to PDT in the last decade, there has been relatively little focus on natural medicinal plant extracts and compounds derived therefrom. Herbal plants and their extracts are natural substances, and in comparison with synthetic chemicals are considered "green". This review focuses on the different mechanisms of PDT and discusses the role of various plant extracts and natural compounds either alone or in combination for carrying out PDT on different types of cancers.

Background Major depression (MDD) and social anxiety (SAD) disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions characterized by disturbed interpersonal relationships. Despite these impairments in social relationships, research has been limited in simultaneously evaluating the dysfunction in MDD or SAD within two aspects of theory of mind (ToM): decoding mental states (i.e., Affective ToM) and reasoning mental states (i.e., cognitive ToM). Taking this into consideration, the current study assesses both decoding and reasoning mental states abilities in MDD, SAD, and healthy controls (HC). Methods Subjects included 37 patients with MDD, 35 patients with SAD, and 35 HCs. ToM was measured with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and the Faux Pas Task, which assess decoding and reasoning mental states, respectively. Results Results revealed that in decoding of mental states, both the SAD and MDD groups had lower scores than the HC group; there was no significant difference between the SAD and MDD groups in decoding mental states. Conversely, in reasoning mental states, the SAD and HC groups had higher scores than the MDD group; no differences were found between the SAD and HC groups. Conclusions Clinicians and researchers should further consider parsing generalized impairment in ToM into two aspects: decoding and reasoning of mental states by using the aforementioned measurements. By further understanding the two aspects, we can create a potentially new clinical profile for mental health disorders, such as in this context with both decoding and reasoning mental state impairment in MDD and just a decoding impairment in SAD.

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Background:Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is one of the well-known polymers, which has been used in numerous biomedical applications because of its good biocompatibility.Objectives:Due to problems made by the therapeutics already used for leishmaniasis, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PVA containing artemether in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice.Materials and Methods:Aqueous solution of PVA was prepared by mixing with Double Distilled Water. After preparation of PVA, 4.33 mg of each drug (main drug artemether and control drug 14% glucantime) was added to 100 g of prepared PVA-honey solution. The solution was incubated at 37°C and the release of artemether was evaluated by measuring absorbance at 260 nm wave length. In this study for treatment of mice lesion, we used PVA containing artemether and glucantime and this method was compared with ointment treatment.Results:Mean diameters of lesions in mice treated with artemether were smaller than the control group and the differences were significant (P < 0.05). The mean lesion size of mice treated with PVA containing artemether in comparison with the group treated with ointment of artemether were smaller and the differences were significant (P < 0.05).Conclusions:PVA containing artemether is a new method for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis and according to the obtained results, artemether is an appropriate and effective drug, especially when used with PVA as a lesion dressing; thus we suggest that this method can be applied for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Aims:The efficacy of using midazolam or haloperidol for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) has been investigated before. The main object of the present study was to evaluate the anti-emetic effects of combining administration of intravenous haloperidol with intravenous midazolam on PONV in patients underwent middle ear surgery in comparison with using each drug alone.Methods:Study design was randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled. 80 patients, aged 18-60 years, scheduled for middle ear surgery in Kashani Hospital Medical Center under general anesthesia were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Patients were divided into 4 groups of 20 each and received haloperidol 2 mg i.v. (Group H); midazolam 2 mg i.v. (Group M); haloperidol 2 mg plus midazolam 2 mg i.v. (Group HM); saline i.v. (Group C). The incidences of PONV and complete response were evaluated at 0-2 hours after arrival to the PACU and 2-24 hours after arrival to the ward in 4 groups.Results:Patients in group HM had significantly lower incidence of PONV compared with groups H, M, and C throughout 0-24 h (P<00.5). The HM group had the lowest incidence of PONV (0-2, 2-24, and 0-24 h) and the highest incidence of complete response. Postoperative anti-emetic requirement was significantly less in group HM compared with group M or H (P<0.05).Conclusion:Combine administration of haloperidol 2 mg plus midazolam 2 mg significantly reduced PONV better than using each drug alone in patients underwent middle ear surgery under general anesthesia.

Background: Hydatidosis caused by Echinococcus granulosusus remains an important parasitic disease, mainly in the Mediterranean region, in human and veterinary medicine. Many protoscolicidal agents have been used to treat it, but most of them are not safe and effective due to their undesirable side effects. Objectives: The aim of the present work was to evaluate the in vitro efficacy of the antihelminths artemether, artemisinine, albendazole, and drug combinations against Echinococcus granulosusus protoscoleces. Materials and Methods: Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces were aseptically removed from liver hydatid cysts in sheep. Drugs were used at the following final concentrations: 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL for 15 days. The viability of protoscoleces was confirmed by Eosine 0.1%. Results: In this case, the protoscolicidal effect of artemether and its combinations was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than other groups; the maximum protoscolicidal effect was found with 200 μg/mL of artemether after 4 days whereas albendazole killed protoscoleces on the 7th day post-incubation. Surprisingly, the incubation of protoscoleces with artemisinine exhibited promising results, as only artemisinine was more effective against evaginated protoscoleces on the 9th day. The maximum effect of two drugs combined belonged to artemether and artemisinine. Conclusions:The obtained outcome demonstrated the desirable effect of artemether against Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces. With regard to artemisinine's astonishing results, it seems that artemisinine can be a striking drug for tissue and metacestode forms of hydatidosis in human and animal models. However, further investigations into the in vivo experiments are proposed.

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Background: Major depression (MDD) and social anxiety (SAD) disorders are debilitating psychiatric conditions characterized by disturbed interpersonal relationships. Despite these impairments in social interaction, little research has simultaneously evaluated the dysfunction in two aspects of theory of mind (ToM) in these disorders: Affective ToM or decoding mental states and cognitive ToM or reasoning mental states. Taking this into consideration, the current study attempts to compare both decoding and reasoning abilities in MDD, SAD, and healthy controls (HC). Methods: Subjects were 37 patients with MDD, 35 patients with SAD, and 35 HCs. ToM was measured with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and the Faux Pas Task, which assessed decoding skills and reasoning mental states, respectively. Results: Results showed that in decoding mental states, both the SAD and MDD groups achieved lower scores than HC group; moreover, there was no significant difference between SAD and MDD groups in decoding mental states. However, in reasoning mental states, SAD and HC groups had higher scores than the MDD group and no differences observed between SAD and HC groups in reasoning ability. Conclusions: Results of this study are discussed on generalized impairment in ToM or dysfunction in both decoding and reasoning mental states in MDD and only reasoning dysfunction in SAD.