Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar

Tehran University of Medical Sciences | TUMS · Department of Neurosurgery

Background: Numerous studies have described the neuroprotective effect of lithium in spinal cord injury in addition to its ameliorative impact on pain sensation. In the present study, we aim to examine the efficacy of 85 mg/kg as well as 50 mg/kg dosage of the lithium chloride (LiCl) through oral consumption in spinal cord injured rats and their e...

Hydrogels have been used as promising biomaterials for regeneration and control of pathophysiological events after traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI). However, no systematic comparison was conducted to show the effect of hydrogels on pathophysiological events. This study was designed to address this issue and evaluate the regenerative potential...

Introduction: Trauma is one of the major non-communicable diseases threatening public health. Trauma injuries are the leading cause of disability and mortality globally. This study aimed to explore and understand the challenges of early rehabilitation care in multiple trauma patients using a qualitative research method. Methods: This study was cond...

Descriptive study. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the development process of the data set for the National Spinal Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR). SCI community in Iran. The NSCIR-IR data set was developed in 8 months, from March 2015 to October 2015. An expert panel of 14 members was formed. After a review of data sets of simila...

Background: Individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have prolonged cognitive impairments, resulting in long-term problems with their real-life activities. Given the urgent need for evidence-based recommendations for neuropsychological management of Iranian TBI patients, the current work aimed to adapt eligible intern...

Convincing clinical evidence exists to support early surgical decompression in the setting of cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). However, clinical evidence on the effect of early surgery in patients with thoracic and thoracolumbar (from T1 to L1 [T1?L1]) SCI is lacking and a critical knowledge gap remains. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) sou...

In tissue engineering, natural hydrogel scaffolds gained considerable attention due to their biocompatibility and similarity to macromolecular-based components in the body. However, their low mechanical strength and high degradation degree limit their biomedical application. By varying the composition of hydrogels, their biochemical and mechanical...

Introduction: There is still controversy about the effect of early hypothermia on the outcome of spinal cord injury (SCI). The aim of this review article is to investigate the effect of local or general hypothermia on improving the locomotion after traumatic SCI. Methods: Electronic databases (Medline and Embase) were searched from inception until...

Objective: This study aims to review systematically the association of social determinants of health (SDH) and road traffic deaths (RTD) within scientific literature. Methods: A search strategy was designed and run in EMBASE, PubMed via MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane library. Through title, abstract, and full-text screening, all E...

Keywords: Spinal cord injuries trans-differentiation differentiation neural stem cells zinc finger protein 521 rats genes A B S T R A C T Background: Traumatic injury to the spinal cord causes cell death, demyelination, axonal degeneration, and cavitation, resulting in functional motor and sensory loss. Stem cell therapy as a promising approach for...

Background Self-harm–related death is one of the most unfortunate, tragic, and regrettable types of death owing to injuries with a variety of socio-economic and cultural causes. The study aimed to determine the trend in the mortality of self-harm by sex and age at national and provincial levels in Iran over a period of 26 years. Methods The Iran D...

Study Design Systematic review. Objective To compare outcomes of complete versus incomplete resection in primary intramedullary spinal cord ependymoma. Methods A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and Embase databases was conducted by 2 independent investigators. Random-effect meta-analysis and meta-regression with seven covariates wer...

Objective: The WHO estimates the global incidence of death by drowning to be about 300 000 cases per year. The objective of this study was to estimate the trend in mortality due to drowning in all provinces of Iran in all age groups and both genders from 1990 to 2015. Study design: The National and Subnational Burden of Diseases (NASBOD) project...

Falls are one of the major causes of unintentional injuries. Understanding the epidemiology of fall-related mortality helps to identify the root causes of this event and planning preventive strategies to inhibit falls. The aim of this study was to assess the trend of fall-related mortality rate and its epidemiological patterns based on sex and age-...

Objective : To acquire evidence-based knowledge in temporal and spatial patterns of microglia/macrophages changes to facilitate finding proper intervention time for functional restoration after traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI). Setting : Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Methods : We...

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the leading societal concern. The pandemic has shown that the public health concern is not only a medical problem, but also affects society as a whole; so, it has also become the leading scientific concern. We discuss in this treatise the importance of bringing the world's scientists together to find effective solut...

Background: Appendicitis is one of the most preventable causes of death worldwide. We aimed to determine the trend of mortality due to appendicitis by sex and age at national and provincial levels in Iran during 26 years. Methods: Data were collected from Iran Death Registration System (DRS), cemetery databanks in Tehran and Esfahan, and the nat...

Introduction: Considering the trust of different strata of society towards Atari as a focus of traditional herbal medicine and treatment of some unknown diseases due to the use of synthetic drugs as well as herbal compounds, it is necessary to increase the level of awareness and knowledge among Atari. Therefore, this study was performed to determin...

Given the necessity of executive functioning to perform day-to-day activities, the capacity of widely-used cognitive screening tools to detect potential executive dysfunctions could have important meanings for health care practices. Current research on this topic, however, is still scarce and controversial. The current study is the first of its kin...

Background: The National Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Registry in Iran (NSCIR-IR), was implemented initially in three hospitals as a pilot phase from 11 Oct 2015 to 19 Jun 2016 and has been active in eight centers from 19 Jun 2016. Poursina Hospital, a trauma care referral center in Rasht, Guilan Province of Iran is one of the registry sites, and...

Background: Well-functioning health systems and effective preventive measures require registering the exact number and valid data of fatal injuries. The present study aimed to determine the completeness of fatal injuries reported by LMO with the use of the capture-recapture method and finding the reasons for those unregistered fatal injuries in Ha...

Astrocytes play the key roles in the physiology and pathology of the CNS. Thereupon, in this manuscript, we aim to demonstrate that the protocol for purification and culture of astrocytes is useful not only in 2 days postnatal but also in adult rat brain. Also, the mentioned protocol is a simple and efficient primary cell culture technique. The who...

Microtubule-stabilizing agents (MSAs), until now, have primarily been considered for their anti-proliferative effects in the setting of cancer. However, recent studies have revealed that one particular MSA, epothilone B (EpoB), can promote axonal regeneration after traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) even in the presence of inhibitor molecules suc...

Educational attainment is an important social determinant of maternal, newborn, and child health1–3. As a tool for promoting gender equity, it has gained increasing traction in popular media, international aid strategies, and global agenda-setting4–6. The global health agenda is increasingly focused on evidence of precision public health, which ill...

Childhood malnutrition is associated with high morbidity and mortality globally¹. Undernourished children are more likely to experience cognitive, physical, and metabolic developmental impairments that can lead to later cardiovascular disease, reduced intellectual ability and school attainment, and reduced economic productivity in adulthood². Child...

Background The epidemiological transition of non-communicable diseases replacing infectious diseases as the main contributors to disease burden has been well documented in global health literature. Less focus, however, has been given to the relationship between sociodemographic changes and injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associatio...

Background: Many countries have shown marked declines in diarrhoeal disease mortality among children younger than 5 years. With this analysis, we provide updated results on diarrhoeal disease mortality among children younger than 5 years from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017) and use the study's compar...

Past research has shown how fires, heat and hot substances are important causes of health loss globally. Detailed estimates of the morbidity and mortality from these injuries could help drive preventative measures and improved access to care. Methods We used the Global Burden of Disease 2017 framework to produce three main results. First, we produ...

Over the past few decades, our knowledge about the function of the central nervous system (CNS) and astrocytes has improved, and research has confirmed the key roles that astrocytes play in the physiology and pathology of the CNS. Here, we reviewed the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that regulate the development of astrocytes, which are generat...

Context: Many animal studies have evaluated the role of vitamins in the recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury, but their results have been contradictory and no consensus has been reached. Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effects of vitamin C and vitamin E on recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury...

Background: Understanding the patterns of HIV/AIDS epidemics is crucial to tracking and monitoring the progress of prevention and control efforts in countries. We provide a comprehensive assessment of the levels and trends of HIV/AIDS incidence, prevalence, mortality, and coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 1980-2017 and forecast these est...

There are limited data on the lesion volume changes following spinal cord injury (SCI). In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the volume size changes of the injured spinal cord over time among animal studies in traumatic SCI. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we...

OBJECTIVE There is controversy about the role of scaffolds as an adjunctive therapy to mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation in spinal cord injury (SCI). Thus, the authors aimed to design a meta-analysis on preclinical evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of combination therapy of scaffold + MSC transplantation in comparison with scaffolds...

Interpersonal violence (IPV) is a major public health concern with a significant impact on physical and mental health. This study was designed to evaluate age–sex-specific IPV mortality trends and the assault mechanisms (firearm, sharp objects, and other means), at national and provincial levels, in Iran. We used the Iranian Death Registration Syst...

Introduction Epothilone B (Epo B) is a microtubule stabilizing agent that recently is mentioned to promote axon regeneration of damaged axons of mature neurons after spinal cord injury. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Epo B on axon elongation of motor neurons differentiated from human endometrial stem cells (hEnSCs). Materials an...

Introduction Progress towards replacing motor neurons after spinal cord injury has been achieved by developmental biology to differentiate stem cells to motor neurons. Homeobox 9 (HB9) or also known as motor neuron and pancreas homeobox 1 (MNX1) is a developmental gene which has an essential role in motor neuronal differentiation. Epothilone B (Epo...

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends....

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is among the leading causes of disability in Young Adults worldwide. Current estimates of MS burden in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) are necessary for planning effective interventions. To estimate Prevalence, incidence, mortality, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs) and disability-a...

Background Comorbid neurological conditions associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) significantly affect an individual’s quality of life, yet they are often underrated. Recent reports suggest that SCI may predispose patients to develop other neurological disorders. We aim at providing an overview of the evidence of neurological conditions which ar...

The National Spinal Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) is a not-for-profit, hospital-based, and prospective observational registry that appraises the quality of care, long-term outcomes and the personal and psychological burden of traumatic SCI in Iran. Benchmarking validity in every registry includes, rigorous attention to data quality. Data...

Background: The main objective was to describe the results of the pilot phase of the national trauma registry of Iran (NTRI) at a referral university trauma center in Tehran. Methods: The study was performed at Sina Hospital in Tehran, Iran from August 1 to September 30, 2016. Patients who had the NTRI criteria were included. 109 data variables...

Background: seizures and their consequences contribute to the burden of epilepsy because they can cause health loss (premature mortality and residual disability). Data on the burden of epilepsy are needed for health-care planning and resource allocation. The aim of this study was to quantify health loss due to epilepsy by age, sex, year, and locati...

Objectives: Comprehensive and up-to-date data on fatal injury trends are critical to identify challenges and plan priority setting. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of poisoning mortality trends across Iran. Study design: The data were gathered from various resources, including death registration systems, cemetery databases of Tehr...

Summary Background Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide and the economic costs of treatment and post-stroke care are substantial. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic, comparable method of quantifying health loss by disease, age, sex, year, and location to provide i...

Background: Comprehensive and comparable estimates of health spending in each country are a key input for health policy and planning, and are necessary to support the achievement of national and international health goals. Previous studies have tracked past and projected future health spending until 2040 and shown that, with economic development,...