Herbs have been a vital renewable source of medicine throughout human history as a large proportion of the global population still depends on them for their health benefits. The increasing popularity of herbal supplements has raised an obvious concern about the overall safety and potential interaction with other drugs in situ. The intent was to spur future research on herb-drug interactions as well as the mechanisms of interaction to understand the consequences of such interactions. The review was conducted by a systematic search of relevant literature using the databases of Google Scholar, Science Direct, Mendeley, Scopus, and PubMed. Publications written in English were used. Many herbal products are reported to exhibit herb-drug interaction with known orthodox medicines. The inhibition-induction mechanism triggers chain reactions which often result in reduced drug bioavailability, toxicities, or undesirable side effects. Some herbal phytoconstituents reportedly bind CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2E1, and CYP3A1 among numerous others temporarily or irreversibly. The study was concluded by reiterating the imperativeness to routinely and regularly inform both physicians and patients of the inherent dangers such as reduced efficacy and increased toxicities associated with herb-drug interactions (HDI). Herb users should be regularly advised on the appropriate use of herbal supplements to avoid the risk of adverse drug interactions during co-administrations or in combination therapies. As both synergistic and antagonistic effects could be observed in HDI, further preclinical and clinical empirical studies are required to underscore the mechanism and extent of HDI.

Approximately 50% of embryo transfer cycles are performed as frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles; however, research on the factors influencing pregnancy rates in these cycles is limited in northern Iran. The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing the clinical pregnancy rate in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) FET cycles among infertile women. This descriptive-analytical observational study analyzed HRT FET cycles of 429 infertile couples whose embryos were obtained by microinjection at two in vitro fertilization (IVF) centers in Sari, northern Iran, from April 2015 to March 2019. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 22, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. The mean ± SD age of women and men was 32 ± 2.52 and 36 ± 1.62 years, respectively. The mean ± SD age of women at the time of oocyte collection was 31.06 ± 5.3 years. Among the 429 patients, 171 cases (39.9%) achieved chemical pregnancy and 156 cases (36.3%) achieved clinical pregnancy. Multivariate regression analysis revealed significant differences between the clinically pregnant and non-pregnant groups (p < 0.05) in factors such as the woman's age at oocyte retrieval, duration of infertility, occupation, body mass index (BMI), developmental stage of the transferred embryo, type of catheter used for transfer, and embryo grade. The study concluded that younger maternal age at oocyte retrieval, shorter duration of infertility, optimal BMI, higher embryo grade, and appropriate selection of transfer techniques are key determinants of achieving clinical pregnancy in HRT-FET cycles. These findings can guide specialists in optimizing FET protocols to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Knowing the precise position of the mental foramen is of great clinical importance in dentistry due to significant anatomical structures that pass through this foramen. The aim of this study was to examine the sexual dimorphism of the horizontal and vertical position of the mental foramen in relation to constant anatomical landmarks in the population of southeast Serbia using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Thirty-two CBCT images of male and 34 CBCT images of female patients were used. The horizontal distance from the anterior border of the mental foramen to the skeletal middle line was measured, as well as the vertical distance from the anterior and inferior borders of the mental foramen to the tangential line, which touches the base of the mandible. Sexual dimorphism of horizontal position of the mental foramen was observed on the right side (t = 3.69; p < 0.001). When measuring the vertical position from the superior border of the foramen, sexual dimorphism was observed on both the left (t = 4.31; p < 0.001) and right side (t = 4.22; p < 0.001). Similarly, when measured from the inferior border of the foramen, sexual dimorphism was evident on both the left (t = 5.61; p < 0.001) and right side (t = 4.01; p < 0.001). The observed sexual dimorphism of the mental foramen position can facilitate dental treatments and surgical interventions on the mandible in patients of different genders.