Walnut is one of the medicinal plants used in traditional Iranian medicine as a treatment for diabetes, but little scientific documentation supports its antidiabetic action. This study is designed to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of ethanolic walnut leaf extract. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: nondiabetic rats, alloxan-induced diabetic rats with no treatment, alloxan-induced diabetic rats treated with ethanolic extracts of Juglans regia (200 mg/kg), and alloxan-induced diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide (0.6 mg/kg). Fasting blood sugar decreased meaningfully in diabetic rats treated with J. regia and diabetic rats treated with glibenclamide. Insulin level increased and glycosylated hemoglobin decreased significantly in diabetic groups receiving either glibenclamide or J. regia compared with the diabetic group with no treatment. The histological study revealed that the size of islets of Langerhans enlarged consequentially as compared with diabetic rats with no treatment. Effects of administering glibenclamide or extract of J. regia on all parameters discussed above showed no difference, and both tended to bring the values to near normal. Our data show the ethanolic extract from leaves of J. regia has a dramatic antidiabetic effect on diabetes-induced rats.

This study showed that factors such as primary clinical signs, stage of primary tumor, and adjacent organ involvement are significant with respect to the time for recurrence of colorectal cancer. It is important to take these characteristics into account in patient care management after curative resection for colorectal cancer.

Objective:Cancer is considered a global health problem and its prevalence has been growing in recent years. The present study was conducted to investigate the role of hopelessness and perceived social support for Iranian patients with cancer.Methods:Convenience sampling was used to select the study sample comprising 100 patients with cancer presenting to the Education and Treatment Center of Valiasr in Zanjan, Iran. A demographic questionnaire, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Social Support from Family and Friends Scale were used to collect the data. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS-16.Results:Of the 98 study patients, 52 (53.1%) were female and the remainder were male. Lung cancer constituted the most prevalent type of cancer (25.5%). The mean hopelessness score was 5.93 ± 4.71. The mean scores for social support provided by family and friends were 10.89 ± 5.61 and 14.94 ± 4.16, respectively. Significantly negative correlations were observed between the mean scores of hopelessness and social support provided by family (P = 0.007; r = −0.270) and friends (P = 0.001; r = −0.327).Conclusion:According to the findings of the present study, Iranian patients with cancer have relatively mild levels of hopelessness and moderate levels of social support. Perceived social support was also found to affect the patients' hopefulness. Given the lack of studies on this subject, it is recommended that further studies are performed.

Context:Evidence suggests that diets with high contents of cholesterol will increase serum lipoproteins and apolipoproteins, thereby increase risk of atherosclerosis. According to literature, some plants show hypolipidemic, hypocholestrolemic, and antiatherosclerotic activities.Aims:In this study, antiatherosclerotic effect of Hypericum perforatum hydroalcoholic extract on hypercholesterolemic rabbits was compared with that of lovastatin.Materials and Methods:Twenty five mature male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into five groups of five and were fed for 60 days as follows: Standard diet (GroupI), standard diet and hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum (150 mg/kg daily)(GroupII), standard diet, hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum (150 mg/ kg daily) and cholesterol (1% of food content) (Group III), standard diet and cholesterol (1% of food content)(GroupIV), and finally standard diet, lovastatin (10 mg/kg), and cholesterol (1% of foodcontent) (GroupV).Results:Hypericum perforatum extract significantly decreased the levels of apolipoprotein B(apoB), apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A (apoB/apoA), triglyceride, cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, oxidized LDL, malondialdehyde, and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as atherosclerosis index, and increased high density lipoprotein and apoA in rabbits of Group III compared to the rabbits of Group IV. The effect of Hypericum perforatum extract in decreasing the level of some biochemical factors like apoB, apoB/apoA, and CRP was meaningfully more than that of lovastatin. Histopathological findings confirmed that hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum restricted the atherosclerotic lesions.Conclusions:This study indicates that hydroalcoholic extract of Hypericum perforatum possesses hypolipidemic and anti-atherosclerotic effects and could be beneficial in the management of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.

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