Arch Iran Med
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The Islamic revolution of 1979 in Iran emphasized social justice as a pillar for development. The fundamental steps towards universal equitable access to high-quality healthcare services began with the creation of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) and the nationwide establishment of primary healthcare (PHC) network in 1985. Now, in the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, the history of health system development in Iran is characterized by constant policy changes; i.e. structural and procedural transformations. ⋯ Recently, the MoHME began structural and functional reforms to boost societal efforts and enhance intersectoral collaboration to address social determinants of health, improve actions for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and other social health problems. Drawing upon the World Health Organization (WHO)'s "six building blocks" model, this article presents an analytical description of the main health policy reforms during the last four decades after the Islamic revolution in Iran, divided by each decade. Learning from the historical reforms will create, we envisage, a better understanding of health system developments, its advances and challenges, which might in turn contribute to better evidence-informed policy making and sustainable health development in the country, and perhaps beyond.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Weight Reduction Diets Containing Fish, Walnut or Fish plus Walnut on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Overweight and Obese Women.
This randomized controlled trial compares the effects of walnuts, fish and the combination of the two on cardiovascular risk factors among overweight or obese females who were losing their weight. ⋯ The present study shows that the combination of marine and plant omega-3 together is more effective on blood pressure levels, fasting blood glucose, inflammatory markers, serum lipids and coagulating factors than the fish or walnut in isolation.
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Monosomy 18p syndrome is one of the prototypical examples of autosomal terminal deletions. This deletion can be the consequence of de novo deletions, malsegregation of a balanced parental translocation, cryptic subtelomeric deletions or ring chromosome 18. The present case is a rare cytogenetic variant of monosomy 18 as a consequence of whole-arm translocation between chromosomes 13 and 18 which has been reported only three times previously.
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It is suggested that pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) levels below the fifth percentile or less than 0.4 multiples of the median (MoMs) during the first trimester are closely associated with higher risk for neonatal abnormalities. We assessed the value of PAPP-A within the first trimester for predicting pregnancy outcome. ⋯ Measuring the serum level of MOM PAPP-A during the first trimester is a valuable marker for predicting adverse outcomes of pregnancy such as SGA.
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This study aims to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) concentrations and MetS status by sex in patients with FMF. ⋯ The prevalence of MetS was higher in patients with FMF, and the prevalence of MetS and number of MetS components were significantly increased with increasing SUA quartiles in both men and women with FMF. SUA levels, as a biochemical marker, could be a strong and independent predictor of MetS in patients with FMF, and may provide substantial help with early diagnosis and management of MetS.