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  Background and Objective: Hypertension in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the main cause of cardiovascular disease . The present study aimed to determine the effect of Berberis vulgaris fruit extract on blood pressure and weight in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

  

  Material and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted in 2011 on 80 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disorder, including 32 males (40%) and 48 females (60%), who were randomly assigned into case and control group. The case group were given two capsules (750 mg) including berberis vulgaris extract every day for three months, while the subjects of control group treated by placebo. Blood pressure and weight of baseline and those of after three month were assessed and analyzed by SPSS software Ver.17, using paired t-test and independent t-test (p≤0.05).

  

  Results: the mean of weight decreased from 80.23±11.68 (baseline) to 78.71±11.31 (End of the third month), which was statistically significant compared to control group (P<0.001). The Mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure was significant compared to control group. (p<0.05).

  

  Conclusion: Considering the significant decrease in weight and blood pressure, further studies with larger sample size are needed to generalize crucially the results. This extract can be introduced to treat overweight and hypertension in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

 

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  Background and Objective: The Fatigue related to cancer is one of the common problems of both patients and care-givers. Nowadays, acupressure as a complementary medicine has become more common in patients with cancer for balancing and improving body energy. This study aimed to assess the effect of acupressure on the fatigue of patients with cancer.

  Material and Methods: This blinded- randomized clinical trial was conducted on 85 patients with cancer in hematology ward of Beheshti hospital of Hamadan. The subjects were located in three groups of intervention, sham and control. First, the fatigue level was measured by Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) as a baseline. Then, real acupressure in intervention group and unreal acupressure in sham group was performed for 10 days and only routine cares were given in control group. The fatigue amount was measured on the fifth and tenth days. The Data was analyzed by SPSS software version 16, using paired T- test and repeated measurements.

  

  Results: Acupressure was effective on the fatigue of patients with cancer (p<0.001). However, conducting unreal acupressure in sham group was effective as well (p<0.01), but the routine cares in control group was not effective and even in some cases led to increased fatigue.

  

  Conclusion: Acupressure can be used as a complementary therapy to decrease the fatigue in the patients with cancer considering its low cost, safety and simplicity.

 

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Background: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the causative agent of cervical cancer. Vaccination against HPV is an effective strategy against cervical cancer. This study aimed to assess the acceptance of HPV vaccination for cervical cancer prevention and its relationship with knowledge and attitude about HPV vaccination among students.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 360 female students at Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Students were recruited using proportional stratified random sampling method. Data was gathered using a questionnaire about knowledge, attitude and effective factors of HPV vaccine acceptance. Descriptive analysis, chi-square, independent sample t-test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data in SPSS-16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).  The significance level was set at P < 0.05.
Results: 56.4% of students had poor knowledge while 54.1% were willing to accept HPV vaccination as well as 43% who had positive attitude towards HPV vaccination. Paramedical students were 96% more likely to accept the HPV vaccination compared to health sciences faculty students (OR= 1.96; 95% CI= 1.04-3.68; p=0.036).  Also, for each unit increase in the HPV knowledge score, students were 15% more likely to accept the vaccine (OR= 1.15; 95% CI= 1.07-1.24; p <0.001). Moreover, for each unit increase in attitude score, students were 16% more likely willing to accept HPV vaccine (OR= 1.16; 95% CI=1.08 -1.28; p =0.002).
Conclusions: It is necessary to implement on HPV vaccination for students. Inclusion of HPV vaccine in the National Program on Immunization would also be an effective strategy for improving HPV vaccination.

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