Papers by Alireza Abbassian
BMC complementary medicine and therapies, May 21, 2024
Background Previous researches conducted in both developed and developing countries have demonstr... more Background Previous researches conducted in both developed and developing countries have demonstrated a rising trend in the utilization of complementary and alternative medicine. The World Health Organization has underscored the importance of studying the prevalence and determinants of such alternative practices. This study delves into the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Iranian adults towards Persian medicine, a distinct form of complementary and alternative medicine, through a national survey for the first time. Methods A total of 2882 Iranian adults (aged ≥ 15 years) were randomly chosen from all regions. Data were gathered through structured door-to-door interviews using a survey questionnaire, wherein cases were selected randomly based on postal codes, and interviewers completed the forms at the participants' residences. Approximately 46% of the subjects exhibited familiarity with Persian Medicine. The study revealed that the primary sources of knowledge about Persian Medicine were family, relatives, and friends, with only 2.9% indicating medical staff as their source of information. Furthermore, the study indicated that 21% of participants expressed a strong interest in using Persian Medicine, while 30.3% did not. When comparing Persian medicine to modern medicine, respondents indicated that Persian medicine is more cost-effective and has fewer side effects, yet modern medicine is more widely used globally; although, the majority responded "I don't know" to other questions. The results also demonstrated that approximately 37% of the participants had a history of Persian Medicine utilization in their lifetime. This study revealed that Iranian adults have low reliable knowledge (from medical staff, Persian medicine books and other publications) and limited familiarity with Persian medicine, with about one third of the participants expressing disinterest (attitude) and over half of them having not utilized this form of medicine (practice).
Traditional and integrative medicine, Jun 27, 2023
Wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory ailments, side effects of their available therapies ... more Wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory ailments, side effects of their available therapies and incomplete treatment of such patients push the researches to find new and more effective drugs. To reach this aim, in the current study, we evaluate Urtica pilulifera L. (family Urticaceae) as an introduced traditional herb for treatment of inflammation in Persian Medicine (PM). In an animal study, Anti-inflammatory effects of U. pilulifera were assessed in formalin-induced hind paw edema in rats. Sodium salicylate (300 mg/kg, i.p., SS) injection was used as a positive control drug and compared with methanolic extract of U. pilulifera (20 mg/kg; i.p.) (MUP), three different doses of aqueous extract of U. pilulifera (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg; i.p.) (AUP) and a group of distilled water (6 mL/kg; i.p.). As acute anti-inflammatory effect, AUP in doses 40 and 80 mg/kg decreased edema significantly (p<0.05). In chronic anti-inflammatory response, results indicated that all AUP doses had anti-inflammatory effects (p <0.05) with no significant difference with SS group. In conclusion, AUP had anti-inflammatory effects on both acute and chronic edema; while MUP was only effective in chronic inflammation.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Traditional and Integrative Medicine
Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a significant reason for the decline in women's quality of life.... more Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a significant reason for the decline in women's quality of life. The unexpected occurrence of UI and its high costs around the world are evident. Numerous methods are used for the management of UI; however, there is no worldwide agreement on any of these methods. Traditional medicines are a source of human medical experiences and this study is a review on the books of the most famous Persian medicine (PM) physician, Avicenna, to find about his approach to UI. Keywords such as: "female urinary incontinence", "lifestyle", and “nutrition” were selected. As a library research, Avicenna’s (980- 1037 AD) "the Canon of Medicine" (Al-Qanun Fi al-Tibb), was reviewed and coded. Some other PM famous books like "the Great Continens" (Al-Hawi fi Al-Tibb) of Rhazes (865- 925 AD) and "The Comprehensive Book on Medicine" (Al-Shamil fi Al-Sana'a Al-Tibbiya) of Ibn al-Nafis al-Qarshi (1213- 1288 AD) were used as a ...
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM, 2021
Background Premenstrual disorders involve physical, behavioral, and mood variations that affect w... more Background Premenstrual disorders involve physical, behavioral, and mood variations that affect women of childbearing age and interfere with family relationships, household responsibilities, professional duties, and social activities. Objectives Considering the side effects of conventional medications, their use is not recommended except in severe cases of premenstrual disorders. Nowadays, there is a tendency to use traditional and complementary medicine that offers various treatments. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impacts of garlic as a herbal medicine on the severity of premenstrual symptoms. Methods This study was a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. After identification of participants with moderate-to-severe PMS through the premenstrual symptoms screening tools questionnaire (PSST), they were randomly assigned to placebo (n = 64) or garlic (n = 65) groups. Each participant received one tablet daily for three consecutive cycles and logged the s...
Human Resources for Health, 2022
Systematic reviews cling to the doctrine that science has an updating databank and attempt to ide... more Systematic reviews cling to the doctrine that science has an updating databank and attempt to identify all available evidence by featured eligibility criteria to find the answer to a unique scientific question. Therefore, to reach this aim, these researches should use a wise method and comprehensive search strategy, as they are widely used to guide clinical and political decisions and the establishment of future researches. We would like to appreciate Jenny Carè, Amie Steel, and Jon Wardle for the valuable article “Stakeholder attitudes to the regulation of traditional and complementary medicine professions: a systematic review”. Some important missed search terms in the field of traditional medicine names and traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) regulation concepts were discussed in the article.
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2021
Background. Menopause is one of the most critical stages of a woman’s life and is accompanied by ... more Background. Menopause is one of the most critical stages of a woman’s life and is accompanied by symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, sexual dysfunction, mucus atrophy, and vaginal dryness. Women tend to use complementary and alternative medicine such as herbs rather than hormone replacement therapy to alleviate these symptoms. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Jazar supplement (herbal supplement comprising Vitex, fennel, and carrot seeds) on sexual function, quality of life, and vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women. Methods. This study was a randomized clinical trial conducted on ninety postmenopausal women. Participants were randomized to intervention/control groups using block randomization. The intervention group received four Jazar capsules (500 mg each) daily, while the control group received a placebo for eight weeks. Data were gathered using a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and the Menop...
Journal of Medicinal Plants, 2021
Regulation effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract on a mouse model of allergic asthma ... more Regulation effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract on a mouse model of allergic asthma Seyyed Shamsadin Athari, Mansoor Keshavarz, Mahmood Khodadoost, Maryam HamzelooMoghadam, Seyyed Alireza Abbassian, Rasool Choopani* 1 Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran 2 Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3 Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4 Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Research Center and Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Department of Iranian Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 6 Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Journal of Research on History of Medicine, 2019
Traditional and Integrative Medicine, 2021
The term “crisis” in medical context is an important turning point or stage which occurs in some ... more The term “crisis” in medical context is an important turning point or stage which occurs in some diseases and if not managed correctly, can become life threatening. Despite the use of the term in modern medicine, it was a much wider and sophisticated traditional medical concept. The first usage has been seen in the Greek writings of Hippocrates. In the Islamic Golden Age, this concept entered Persian Medicine by translation of Greek medical treatises. Great Persian Medicine scholars have paid particular attention to the concept and have written exclusive chapters about it. One of such scholars, Hakim Mohammad Azam Khan Chishti (1814-1902), an Indo-Persian physician and medical writer, wrote several comprehensive encyclopedic books - in Persian language - about various aspects of PM including crises. In this historical review we discuss his biography and his books, especially his important book Rokn-e-Azam, which is a comprehensive work on the concept of crisis in which he collected ...
Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2010
Urtica pilulifera l. seeds extracts (Decocted and Methanolic extracts) have anti-inflammatory eff... more Urtica pilulifera l. seeds extracts (Decocted and Methanolic extracts) have anti-inflammatory effects. In an experimental-interventional study, Anti-inflammatory effects of Urtica pilulifera l. (UPL), a Traditional Iranian Medicine (TIM) plant, were examined with formalin-induced hind paw edema model in the rat. Sodium salicylate (S.S) injection (300 mg/kg; IP) was used as a positive control group and was put to comparison with methanolic extract of UPL (20 mg/kg; IP), three doses of decocted extract of UPL (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg; IP) and a group of distilled water (6 ml/kg; IP). The differences were estimated by means of one-way ANOVA followed by LSD test for acute anti-inflammatory studies (One hour after formalin injection), and by means of Student's unpaired t-test for the chronic studies (Day one to day seven edema surveys). In Acute anti-inflammatory studies, two doses of decocted UPL extract (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) and S.S group had anti-inflammatory effects (p-value
Journal of Research on History of Medicine, 2016
Research is considered axis of each progressing and scientific development. Scattered studies wit... more Research is considered axis of each progressing and scientific development. Scattered studies without any logical plan won’t lead to the desired results. Research prioritization in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) is more necessary because of limited resources and manpower. This study was conducted in four phases with Delphi’s pattern of study. At the first stage, it was consulted from TIM departments at universities in Iran about research priorities. Conclusion of these priorities due to scoring to them was sent for 160 experts and assistants of traditional medicine, in two phases. For the last step, results of previous steps and conclusion of two phases of scoring were reviewed by the outstanding masters of TIM. The result was categorized, concluded and then presented in table form. 81 topics were determined as research priorities after the conclusion of all comments. These topics are categorized in 4 areas. 3 topics in the area of “Hefz-al-Sehhah” (Maintaining the health), 12 s...
Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2010
Abstract Nonsteroidal anti-inflamatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids, nowaday are the main g... more Abstract Nonsteroidal anti-inflamatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids, nowaday are the main groups of anti-inflamatory drugs in modern pharmacology. The side effects of these antiinflamatory drugs, specially using in chronic diseases cause many problems for the patients and the physicians, so finding the new anti-inflamatory drugs with less side effect is the aim of many researchers.
Journal of Islamic and Iranian Traditional Medicine, 2013
Nature was the first line of treatment for humankind in the history of medicine. Nowadays, naturo... more Nature was the first line of treatment for humankind in the history of medicine. Nowadays, naturopaths, herbal, complementary and traditional medicine physicians work in almost all countries, and also some people organize herb stores and groceries. In the culture of Iranian people, the activity of these stores is well acknowledged, as well as herbal clinics. Also, using of natural products is growing very fast in this country. Hence, evaluation and investigation of the providers of natural medical products is valuable. The present study focuses on the more prevalent medicinal herbs which have been purchased from herbal medicine stores in Tehran, the capital of Iran, in the year 2008.
INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the integration of traditional medic... more INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the integration of traditional medicine into each country's health systems by formulating and implementing national policies and laws in accordance with the country's own situation. This study aims to examine and analyze the national laws and regulations in Iran concerning the integration of traditional medicine into the health system of the country based on the WHO definition. METHODS: Policy document analysis was performed through content analysis according to the WHO components for the integration of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) into health systems. All government and state websites were explored to locate policy-associated documents and laws. Only documents were ultimately included in the study that had been approved by a senior official of a ministry. RESULTS: Nine policy documents related to T&CM were found. In these documents, reference was made to the availability of education (26 cases), r...
Introduction: Most of the ancient civilizations were familiar with Honey as a food and a remedy. ... more Introduction: Most of the ancient civilizations were familiar with Honey as a food and a remedy. Medicinal uses of Honey have been mentioned even in holy Quran and holy Bible. Scholars of Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM) have used Honey in various forms according to their knowledge for treatment of different types of disease. The most common form of Honey mentioned in ITM references is Maul Asl. In this article we have tried to discuss the role of Maul Asl in ITM for management of respiratory conditions and compare them with findings in modern medicine. Method: In this article which is a descriptive review, we searched the Noor software of traditional and Islamic library for keywords Maul Asl and ma-ul-gharaten. Major texts of ITM from 2 nd to 14 th century were used for this purpose. Ingredients, production methods and medicinal properties were collected. We also searched science direct, google scholar, pubmed and scopus for new medical findings using keywords respiratory diseas...
Pain Management Nursing, 2021
BACKGROUND Many patients choose complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat various con... more BACKGROUND Many patients choose complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat various conditions. Among osteoarthritis patients, acupressure is a popular CAM treatment. In Iran, Ghamz (a Persian acupressure technique) uses for musculoskeletal ailments like knee pain. AIMS To examine the potential efficacy of Ghamz on osteoarthritis outcomes. DESIGN Clinical Trial. SETTINGS Randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial. Participants/Subjects: Eighty patients with diagnosed knee osteoarthritis, age over 35 years old. METHODS Eighty adult patients with confirmed knee osteoarthritis from three outpatient clinics were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned either to intervention or placebo groups using sham acupressure. The primary outcomes included Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) parameters and pain scores measured using the visual analog scales (VAS). RESULTS Seventy-two individuals completed the trial and were included in the analysis. At baseline, there was no difference between the mean scores of both outcomes. After the intervention, the group receiving Ghamz therapy experienced an improvement in KOOS parameters, including symptoms, pain, activity daily livings, sport, recreation function, and quality of life. The mean pain score in the intervention group was significantly decreased from 5.89 at the beginning study to 4.11 at the end of the study, while the pain score did not change substantially in the sham group. These findings remained consistent after adjusting for covariates of age, weight, and pre-treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study supports evidence that Ghamz therapy provides an effective option for short-term knee pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Additional studies are recommended to confirm these findings.
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Papers by Alireza Abbassian