Postpartum depression is a common mental health problem that is associated with maternal suffering. The aim of this double-blind clinical trial was to compare safety and efficacy of saffron and fluoxetine in treatment of mild to moderate postpartum depression. This was a 6-week, double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Subjects were women aged 18-45 years with mild to moderate postpartum depression who had Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS 17-item) score≤18. Eligible participants were randomized to receive either a capsule of saffron (15 mg capsule) or fluoxetine (20 mg capsule) twice daily for 6 weeks. The primary outcome measure was to evaluate efficacy of saffron compared to fluoxetine in improving depressive symptoms (HDRS score). There was no significant effect for time×treatment interaction on HDRS score [F (4.90, 292.50)=1.04, p=0.37] between the 2 groups. 13 (40.60%) patients in the saffron group experienced complete response (≥50% reduction in HDRS score) compared with 16 (50%) in the fluoxetine group and the difference between the 2 groups was not significant in this regard (p=0.61). Frequency of adverse events was not significantly different between the treatment groups. The results of this study may suggest that saffron is a safe alternative medication for improving depressive symptoms of postpartum depression. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that the trial is not well powered and should be considered a preliminary study. Therefore, large clinical trials with longer treatment periods and comparison with placebo group would be appropriate for future studies.
Results from this study revealed that saffron is a safe and effective treatment in improving hot flashes and depressive symptoms in post-menopausal healthy women. On the other hand, saffron, with fewer side effects, may provide a non-hormonal and alternative herbal medicine option in treatment of women with hot flashes.
Object The advantages of biofeedback therapy along with diet in patients with constipation are among the issues discussed nowadays. The aim of this study was to evaluate 2 years outcome of biofeedback therapy along with diet in patients with obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS) (Anismus). Methodology The focus of this prospective study is a group of 129 patients with ODS constipation, who were referred to two tertiary-care referral academic centers from 2013 to 2016. Patients received biofeedback therapy combined with appropriate diet in cases group and received diet in controls group. Good response was defined as a subject with at least 50 percent improvement from before to after biofeedback therapy on a Cleveland Clinic Florida Constipation Scoring System (CCF). Factors associated with better outcome were analyzed using SPSS 20 software. Results Out of the 129 patients, 112 patients (86.8%) were female. The mean age of patients was 42.44 ± 15.05 years. The mean CCF score of the patients before and after biofeedback therapy was 12.41 ± 4.39 and 6.00 ± 3.28 respectively in case group (p-value < 0.001). In addition, the mean CCF score of the patients before and after diet therapy was 12.82 ± 4.85 and 9.43 ± 3.79 respectively in control group (p-value < 0.001). While CCF score in both case and control groups reduced significantly after therapy, the rate of this reduction was higher in case group (p < 0.001). Conclusion Our findings suggest that biofeedback therapy combined with diet will improve patients outcome in ODS constipation. Prospective clinical trials with larger sample sizes are recommend allowing for causal correlations.
IntroductionMajor depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability around the world. Because of the high rate of medication discontinuation by patients and the risk of recurrence, factors such as nutrition could be useful for the prevention or treatment of depression. The relationship between depression and dietary patterns has been reported in a few studies but with controversial results. Therefore, we have decided to study the possible effects of cultural, social, racial, geographic and environmental conditions on this relationship in an Iranian population.Methods and analysisIn our case control protocol, 110 cases and 220 controls will be individually matched based on age, sex and area of residence. New cases of depression, based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), will be recruited from two psychiatric clinics in Tehran. Interviewers will then go to each patient's home and invite qualified individuals to participate in the study as controls. Food intakes of all participants will be obtained by semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires covering the past year; these will be transformed into actual food intake (g/day). Dietary patterns will be determined by the principal components method. Conditional logistic regression, as a multivariate analysis, will be used for assessing the relationship between dietary patterns and depression, taking into consideration the potential role of different variables. The results may help to identify differences in dietary patterns between depressed and healthy people.Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol has been approved by ethics committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. At the beginning of the study, a written informed consent form will be signed and dated by subjects and investigators. The results will be published in due time.
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