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Background: Recent studies have raised the issue of an increased incidence of polycystic ovaries (PCO) and menstrual disturbances in women with epilepsy treated with valproate (VPA). It seems that antiepileptic drugs, especially valproate, may have a functional role in altering the endocrine system of child-bearing women with epilepsy. We conducted this study to investigate the association of VPA and ovarian structural/menstrual disorders in epileptic women.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we compared a total of 64 epileptic patients, aged 16-45 years, 32 of whom had been taking VPA alone and 32 were on other antiepileptic drugs for a minimum duration of six months. Ovarian sonography was performed and body mass index (BMI) calculated for all subjects. We also recorded the presence of menstrual disturbances in both groups.Results: Fifteen (46%) of the VPA subjects had PCO compared to 7 (21.9%) of the other group. In the VPA group, four (12.5%) had oligomenorrhea, one (3.1%) amenorrhea and 13 (40.6%) had irregular menstrual cycles. However, from the other group, two (6.3%) subjects had oligomenorrhea and seven (21.9%) had irregular menstrual cycles; amenorrhea was not present in the non-VPA treated patients. Mean BMI was 22.5 kg/m2 among the VPA subjects and 20.1 kg/m2 in the non-VPA subjects.Conclusions: This study supports the association of PCO and high BMI with VPA treatment. The frequency of menstrual disturbances did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Background: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (C-JD) is a rare disorder characterized with rapidly progressive mental decline, myoclonic jerk and finally death. The transmissible pathogen for this disease is a proteinaceous infectious particle termed prion. The prion protein is encoded by a gene (designated as PRNP) on the short arm chromosome 20.This disorder is diagnosed based on clinical findings, course of disease, EEG, MRI and confirmed with brain biopsy. Case report: A 56- year- old woman presented with confusion, disorientation, hyper somnolence, psychiatric problems such as hallucination, progressive mental deterioration and myoclonic jerks. She had history of several times phlebotomy with traditional and non sterile methods in two past years. She had no past history of other disease. Her illness was diagnosed based on clinical findings, course of her illness, typical MRI, EEG and rule out other dementing disease. She died after one month. Conclusion: in any patients with psychiatric disorders, rapidly progressive mental deterioration and myoclonic jerks C-JD should be considered as an important diagnosis. Treatable dementing disease should be considered and ruled out at first. The significance of phlebotomy in C-JD has yet to be determined.

Background and Aim: The common mechanism for lateral ankle sprain is inversion, plantar flexion, or the combination of both, if untreated successfully can lead to chronic ankle instability. It seems that the foot position, while touching the ground, has an effective role to cause ankle sprain. Thus it is possible to prevent ankle sprain through limiting foot position. Therefore the aim of this research is to study the effect of plantar flexion and eversion on mediolateral ground reaction force while landing in individuals who suffering from functional ankle instability. Materials and Methods: In this case-control research study 32 subjects (17 subjects with unilateral functional ankle instability (FAI) and 15 control subjects), aged from 18 to 35 years, were tested. All subjects in instability group were selected by the orthopedic physician, then the anterior drawer and talar tilt tests were performed for diagnosis of functional ankle instability and other physical examinations. Control group were matched with instability group by age, weight, height, gender and body mass index. The subjects standing with single leg on a 40 cm high platform in 25 cm front of a force-plate while the test leg relaxed and non-weight bearing. The subject landed on the test leg on the center of the force-plate. The subjects landed according to four types of position: A: neutral position of ankle and lateral foot wedge, B: neutral position of ankle, C: positive heel and lateral foot wedge and D: positive heel. Results: Among control group, medial ground reaction force increased in the "C" position relative to "B" position (p=0.007) and "C" position relative to "D" position (p=0.018). In FAI group, lateral ground reaction force increased in "C" position relative to "B" position (p=0.001) and "C" position relative to "A" position (p=0.002). Also in FAI group medial ground reaction force decreased in "D" position relative to "A" position (p=0.014). Conclusion: According to the findings, applying lateral foot wedge, while the ankle is in plantar flexion, increases the mediolateral ground reaction forces. Based on the results, position of plantar flexion is more possibly effective than inversion in ankle sprain. According to the study, the lateral foot wedge in ankle plantar flexion position may be more effective than in neutral one to change mediolateral ground reaction forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, the incidence of life-threatening fungal infections has increased dramatically in particular among patients with hampered immune function. Fungal infections cause around 1.5 million deaths annually, superior to malaria and tuberculosis. With respect to high toxicity, narrow spectrum of activity and drug resistance to current antifungals, there is an urgent need to discover novel leads from molecules of natural origin especially those derived from plants and microorganisms for antifungal drug discovery. Among antifungal drugs introduced into the clinic, those affecting ergosterol biosynthesis are still superior to other classes and the vital role of ergosterol in fungal growth and development. This review highlights current knowledge about available antifungal agents and further issues on antifungal drug discovery from compounds of natural origin which affect ergosterol biosynthesis. Special attention is made to the fungal sterol C24-methyltransferase (SMT), a crucial enzyme in ergosterol biosynthesis pathway as a novel target for rational drug design., (Copyright© 2019 Iranian Neuroscience Society.)