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Background: Anomia is a language disorder that negatively affects communication abilities in people with aphasia (PWA). We aimed to compare the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and superior temporal gyrus (STG) on the picture-naming accuracy and reaction time in PWA. Methods: A randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled crossover trial was conducted in 2021 at Mobasher Kashani Clinic, Hamadan, Iran. Sixteen patients received both five days of real-tDCS (1 mA for 20 minutes) and five days of sham-tDCS with a seven-day washout period in between. Using the Persian aphasia naming test, picture-naming accuracy and reaction time on 50 images were assessed at baseline, real-tDCS, and sham-tDCS stages. The data were analyzed using STATA software, version 11.0. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Sixteen non-fluent PWA participated in the study. Of all patients, 64% benefited from tDCS over the STG and 18% over the IFG. The results showed that real-tDCS had a significant effect on the picture-naming accuracy (P=0.003) and the Persian-Western aphasia battery-one score (P=0.01), whereas sham-tDCS had no noticeable effects. Both the real- and sham-tDCS had no significant effect on the reaction time (P=0.28). Conclusion: Five sessions of individualized tDCS protocol (1 mA for 20 minutes) were adequate to improve picture-naming accuracy in patients with chronic aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives It seems that psycho-physical factors of stroke patients undergoing Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatment can affect implicit motor learning process in patient with stroke. The aim of this study was to determine the effects and adverse effects of tDCS on motor learning process in chronic unilateral stroke patients. Methods & Materials This crossover, sham-controlled, randomized, blinded study was conducted in 2020 on 12 patients with chronic unilateral stroke (Mean±SD age, 60.33±1.87 years), (The Mean±SD time elapsed since the onset of the disease, 1.96±1.36 years) referred to Mobasher Kashani clinic in Hamadan, Iran who were selected using a convenience sampling technique. Patients were randomly divided in to 2 groups: experimental (dual tDCS+SRTT) (n=6) and sham (sham tDCS+SRTT) (n=6) groups. After 3 weeks of washing out period, patients in each group were treated in other brain stimulation group again. Data were collected using the record of reaction time and error of sequenced blocks by related software. Also, adverse effects of tDCS, pain or discomfort, attention and fatigue of patients were assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaire. The data were analyzed using linear mixed effects. Results Data analysis showed a considerable improvement in implicit motor learning in both brain stimulation groups. The most reported sensations were itching and tingling, which continued during all stimulation sessions. The pain or discomfort of the patients was negligible during the intervention sessions. Moreover, the type of brain stimulation, the time and their interaction had no significant effect on the fatigue, attention and pain of the patients (P>0.05). Conclusion Dual-tDCS technique does not cause serious adverse effects in patients with stroke. It can be used as an effective and useful therapeutic strategy for increase in implicit motor learning in chronic stroke patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Some types of antidepressants and antipsychotic medications have cardiovascular side effects that can be life-threatening. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is capable of generating physiological stress and may lead to increased QT interval followed by arrhythmias. Risperidone can also increase the risk of arrhythmia by increasing the corrected QT (QTc) interval. Since many patients require co-administration of risperidone and ECT, this study aimed to investigate the concurrent effect of ECT and risperidone administration on the QTc interval. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, 60 patients (18-65 years) admitted in 22 Bahman Psychiatric Hospital (Qazvin, Iran) that were candidate for treatment with risperidone, ECT, or both methods were concurrently divided into three groups. The groups included patients treated with ECT, risperidone, and combination treatment (risperidone and ECT). At the beginning of the study, electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained for all patients and QT was performed manually, and finally, QTc interval was measured two times for each group. Required information was collected through medical records. Then, inferential statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), was used to determine differences between different variables. RESULTS: A significant increase in heart rate (HR) in the third group compared to first and second groups was observed. None of the treatments had a significant effect on QTc interval, but the QTc interval increased slightly in groups treated with the ECT alone and particularly, the ECT plus risperidone in comparison to the baseline values. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that risperidone, ECT, and their concomitant combination did not affect the QTc interval. Therefore, risperidone and ECT are safe and their combination can also be a good option for refractory patients undergoing ECG monitoring and cardiopulmonary devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main cause of chronic liver disease in Iran is Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A common pathological feature of chronic liver disease is fibrosis, so particular vigilance against patients with liver fibrosis is necessary to lead healthcare resource planning. The aims of the current study were to determine the prevalence and predictors of significant fibrosis and advanced ones among individuals with NAFLD. In the current cross-sectional study conducted during 2013-2016, the presence of fibrosis among NAFLD patients was assessed using the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) and AST to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) systems. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to predict significant fibrosis or advanced fibrosis among NAFLD patients. Analysis of the results of over 999 patients (569 females and 430 males) with the mean age of 43.28±14.034 years in Iran during 2015-2016 showed that the overall prevalence of NAFLD among Iranian adults was 19.6%. NAFLD prevalence was not significantly higher in males compared to females (51.5% vs. 48.5%, P=0.66). On multivariate logistic regression analyses, females were less likely to have NAFLD compared to males (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.24-0.42, P<0.001). The overall prevalence of liver fibrosis among NAFLD patients was 38.8%.20.4% and 6.12% of NAFLD patients had evidence of significant and advanced fibrosis, respectively. Our most recent dataset analysis emphasized the major burden of NAFLD among people of Iranian origin. A high prevalence of individuals with NAFLD and advanced fibrosis was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]