Categories Of Medicines Research Articles

Edukasi Manfaat Tanaman Obat dan Pengolahannya dengan Metode CBIA di Desa Bulusulur, Kabupaten Wonogiri, Jawa Tengah

The community service program reported in this paper aims to educate people about benefits of herbs and how to process herb raw materials for medication. This community service program was conducted in December 2016. The program involved 25 leaders of housewife communities (Kader PKK) in Bulusulur Village, Wonogiri, Central Java. The education was conducted using the CBIA (Cara Belajar Ibu Aktif) method. The CBIA supports the participants to be active during the education process. Results of the active learning through the CBIA method showed participants knowledge as folows: (1) participants were able to mention that herbal medicines are safe, have no side effects, can be easily obtained around their house; (2) they commonly used herbal for medication more than 4 times per month, obtained from their garden or local market; (3) they were able to mention the benefits of herbs commonly used; for example, temu lawak for stomachache, kunyit for pre-menstrual pain. However, they were not able to differentiate categories of herbal medicines which were produced by herbal manufacturers, such as Jamu, Obat Herbal Terstandar, and Fitofarmaka. Their knowledge about benefits of herbs was limited to those which were available in their garden. They also appreciated the demonstration of producing Bir Jawa and Sambiloto cookies.

Edukasi Manfaat Tanaman Obat dan Pengolahannya dengan Metode CBIA di Desa Bulusulur, Kabupaten Wonogiri, Jawa Tengah

The community service program reported in this paper aims to educate people about benefits of herbs and how to process herb raw materials for medication. This community service program was conducted in December 2016. The program involved 25 leaders of housewife communities (Kader PKK) in Bulusulur Village, Wonogiri, Central Java. The education was conducted using the CBIA (Cara Belajar Ibu Aktif) method. The CBIA supports the participants to be active during the education process. Results of the active learning through the CBIA method showed participants’ knowledge as folows: (1) participants were able to mention that herbal medicines are safe, have no side effects, can be easily obtained around their house; (2) they commonly used herbal for medication more than 4 times per month, obtained from their garden or local market; (3) they were able to mention the benefits of herbs commonly used; for example, “temu lawak” for stomachache, “kunyit” for pre-menstrual pain. However, they were not able to differentiate categories of herbal medicines which were produced by herbal manufacturers, such as “Jamu”, “Obat Herbal Terstandar”, and “Fitofarmaka”. Their knowledge about benefits of herbs was limited to those which were available in their garden. They also appreciated the demonstration of producing “Bir Jawa” and “Sambiloto cookies”.

Levantamento Etnobotânico de Quintais Agroflorestais em Agrovila no Município de Altamira, Pará

Os sistemas agroflorestais surgiram como alternativas de uso da terra, capazes de conciliar a produção agrícola e florestal, concomitantemente à conservação dos recursos naturais. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar os quintais agroflorestais em Agrovila no município de Altamira, Pará, em relação à composição e diversidade florística, além dos usos das plantas. Os dados foram obtidos a partir de 26 quintais estabelecidos na agrovila Princesa do Xingu, por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas junto aos informantes-chave, selecionados através da técnica bola de neve. Para analisar o uso e relevância das espécies levantadas foram calculados os índices de diversidade de Shannon-Wiener, equitabilidade de Pielou e valor de importância (IVs). Foram identificadas 118 espécies vegetais pertencentes a 52 famílias botânicas, destacando-se: Fabaceae, Arecaceae, Anacardiaceae, sendo a maioria utilizada especialmente na alimentação das famílias. Dentre as espécies com maior valor de importância para os entrevistados, destacaram-se a laranja, coco, manga, cacau, cupuaçu, limão e açaí. As categorias alimentar e medicinal foram as mais importantes para os entrevistados, as quais indicaram preocupação com a segurança alimentar e saúde para a comunidade rural, respectivamente. Os índices de Shannon-Wiener e de equitabilidade de Pielou indicaram, respectivamente, diversidade moderada e menor heterogeneidade de indivíduos por espécies nos quintais da agrovila Princesa do Xingu.

From Food to Drug: Avicenna’s Perspective, a Brief Review

The Food and drug were developed by pharmacists and physicians, in particular Persian scientists throughout medical history. There was an especial view on the subject of nutrition and medications in Persian medicine (PM). Avicenna was one of the main Persian physicians who contributed to this field in the Canon of medicine “Al-qanun-fi-al-tibb”, his main medical and pharmaceutical text book in the 10th century AD. In this paper, different categorizations of foods and drugs and their definitions in the Avicenna’s Canon of medicine were considered and compared with the similar categories in current medicine. These groups of foods and drugs included absolute aliment (Ghidhāol-motlaq), functional foods “Ghidhā od-dawā”, pharconutrient “Dawāol-ghadhā”, absolute medicament or drug “Dawāol-motlaq”, and poisons “Sammol-motlaq”. Also, there were several other classifications for foods and drugs in the Canon of medicine that act without their temperaments (qualities) such as “Dho-l-khāsiyyahis”.These definitions and classifications 1000 years ago and matching with current accepted terminologies are important both historically and also in the field of traditional pharmacy.

Eigenfactor score and alternative bibliometrics surpass the impact factor in a 2-years ahead annual-citation calculation: a linear mixed design model analysis of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging journals.

Because we believe the journal selection before a manuscript submission deserves further investigation in each medical specialty, we aimed to evaluate the predictive ability of seven bibliometrics in the Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging category of the Web of Knowledge to calculate total citations over a 7-year period. A linear mixed effects design using random slopes and intercepts were performed on bibliometrics corresponding to 124 journals from 2007 to 2011, with their corresponding citations from 2009 to 2013, which appeared in the Journal Citations Report Science Edition. The Eigenfactor Score, Article Influence Score, Cited Half-life, 5-years impact factor and Number of Articles are significant predictors of 2-year-ahead total citations (p ≤ 0.010 for all variables). The impact factor and Immediacy Index are not significant predictors. There was a significant global effect size (R2 = 0.934; p < 0.001), which yielded a total variance of 93.4%. Our findings support researchers' decision to stop the misuse of IF alone to evaluate journals. Radiologists and other researchers should review journal's bibliometrics for their decision-making during the manuscript submission phase. A re-ranking of journals using Eigenfactor Score, Article Influence Score, and Cited Half-life provides a better assessment of their significance and importance in particular disciplines.

Medication regularity of pulmonary fibrosis treatment by contemporary traditional Chinese medicine experts based on data mining.

Treatment of pulmonary fibrosis by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has accumulated important experience. Our interest is in exploring the medication regularity of contemporary Chinese medical specialists treating pulmonary fibrosis. Through literature search, medical records from TCM experts who treat pulmonary fibrosis, which were published in Chinese and English medical journals, were selected for this study. As the object of study, a database was established after analysing the records. After data cleaning, the rules of medicine in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in medical records of TCM were explored by using data mining technologies such as frequency analysis, association rule analysis, and link analysis. A total of 124 medical records from 60 doctors were selected in this study; 263 types of medicinals were used a total of 5,455 times; the herbs that were used more than 30 times can be grouped into 53 species and were used a total of 3,681 times. Using main medicinals cluster analysis, medicinals were divided into qi-tonifying, yin-tonifying, blood-activating, phlegm-resolving, cough-suppressing, panting-calming, and ten other major medicinal categories. According to the set conditions, a total of 62 drug compatibility rules have been obtained, involving mainly qi-tonifying, yin-tonifying, blood-activating, phlegm-resolving, qi-descending, and panting-calming medicinals, as well as other medicinals used in combination. The results of data mining are consistent with clinical practice and it is feasible to explore the medical rules applicable to the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in medical records of TCM by data mining.

What matters when prioritizing a medicinal plant? A study of local criteria for their differential use

ABSTRACT The ethnobotanical literature lacks joint analyses of the factors that may influence the differential use of medicinal plants. This study intends to fill that void by evaluating the local criteria for the differential use of medicinal plants in a rural community in Northeastern Brazil. We chose two health problems (influenza and constipation) characterized as diseases by local (emic) classification to address the following hypotheses: (1) the most important medicinal plants are easier to acquire; (2) the most important medicinal plants are perceived as being more efficient; and (3) the most important medicinal plants taste better (greater palatability). The plants mentioned in interviews were ranked according to the perception of their use (dependent variable), the difficulty of their acquisition, their taste and their efficiency (independent variables). The perceived efficiency explained the use of medicinal plants for both diseases, while taste explained the use only for constipation. The final models for ‘influenza’ contained only efficiency, while those for ‘constipation’ contained all three variables. These findings indicate that medicinal categories many not be homogeneous and that different targets may be influenced by different variables.

Classic papers published by Taiwanese scientists in the science citation index expanded: A bibliometric study

The present study analysed quantitatively the classic papers published by Taiwanese scientists in the Science Citation Index Expanded. Documents that have been cited at least 1,000 times from Web of Science Core Collection since publication to the end of 2016 were assessed regarding their language, document type, journals, and Web of Science categories. The results showed that 59 Taiwan classic publications were found in SCI-EXPANDED between 1981 and 2014. Taiwanese scientists published more classic papers in medicine and physics related categories. Fourteen Taiwan independent classic publications were also analysied. National Taiwan University was the only had three Taiwan independent classic publications while Taipei Medical University and Overseas Chinese College of Commerce were the only private universities which published Taiwan independent classic publications. In addition, ‘high impact sleeping beauties’ and ‘Green Giant’ in Taiwan were also discussed.

The economic crisis and lifestyle changes: a survey on frequency of use of medications and of preventive and specialistic medical care, in the Marche Region (Italy).

Background and aim: In the words of one observer, one of the many effects of the economic downturn has been a “health system shock” marked by reductions in the availability of healthcare resources and increases in the demand for health services. The financial situation influences negatively the low-income family groups, particularly those who normally use the government provided primary prevention services. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of the global recession on the use of medicines and medical investigation recession in different areas of the Marche Region. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire prepared by the National Institute of Statistics, modified and validated by the University of Camerino, has been distributed to junior highschool students of Central Italy to provide a statistically representative sample of families. The questionnaire has been administered in 2016-2017. Results: This article examines the results about healthcare habits, specifically, regarding medicines and medical examinations. Data obtained emphasize a reduction in the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The parents category showed the higher change in medicines use (72.9%). Comparing the data of the Fabriano area with that of the Civitanova Marche area, Fabriano reported a greater reduction in the frequency of taking medicine. Concerning the medical examinations, half of the respondents (62.5%), indicated that they and their family members have regular medical check-up. Conclusions: Respondents who admitted that the economic crisis had reduced their quality of life indicated that the parents were the ones who had experienced the greatest change. This is confirmed by the information on the reduced frequency of medicine use, which affected the parents more than the children, whom they sought to protect and safeguard the most. This reduction was most marked in the Fabriano area. In contrast, in the Civitanova Marche area, with different socioeconomic characteristics, an increase in the use of all the categories of medicines was reported. Concerning visits the situation in the Marche Region appears encouraging. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Implications of healing power and positioning for collaboration between formal mental health services and traditional/alternative medicine: the case of Ghana

ABSTRACTBackground: Many current debates about global mental health have increasingly called for collaboration between biomedical and traditional medical health systems. Despite these calls, not much has been written about the variables that would influence such collaboration. To a large extent, collaboration dialogues have considered biomedicine on the one hand, and a wide range of traditional and faith-based treatments on the other hand. However, this dualistic bifurcation does not reflect the plurality of healing systems in operation in many contexts, and the diverse investments that different non-biomedical healing approaches may have in their own power to heal.Objective: We set out to explore the diversity of different healers’ perceptions of power, and the relationship between that power and the perceived power of biomedical approaches.Methods: Through a qualitative design, and using the case of medical pluralism in urban Ghana as an example, we conducted interviews among different categories of traditional and alternative medicine (TAM) practitioners living and/or working in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.Results: Through thematic analyses, differences in the notions about collaboration between the different categories of healers were identified. Their perceptions of whether collaboration would be beneficial seemed, from this study, to co-occur with their perceptions of their own power.Conclusions: We suggest that an important way to move debates forward about collaboration amongst different sectors is to examine the notions of power and positioning of different categories of TAM healers in relation to biomedicine, and the attendant implications of those notions for integrative mental healthcare.

Riligustilide Attenuated Renal Injury by the Blockade of Renin

Background/Aims: Nephropathy related with renin can be alleviated with ACE-inhibitors or AT1R blockers, whereas they might be ineffective after long-term administration because of a feedback production of enhanced renin. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a new category of anti-nephropathy medicine directly targeting renin. Riligustilide (C20), originally isolated from the Chinese herb Ligusticumporteri, a rhizome, was confirmed effective against many diseases. Methods: The therapeutic effect of C20 on renal injury and its underlying mechanism were investigated in three different nephrotic models, which were spontaneously hypertension rats (SHR) model, diabetic nephropathy in BTBR ob/ob mice model and 5/6-nephrectomized (5/6NX) rats model. Results: The intensity of kidney fibrosis was extensively decreased in the C20-treated rats compared to the vehicle animals. C20 significantly alleviated renal injury much more in 5/6 NX rats than in vehicle group. The rats in 5/6 NX without administrated C20 developed albuminuria earlier with more severe symptoms. Additionally, our findings showed that C20 down-regulated the renin expression and relocation of CREB-CBP complex in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion: C20 plays importantly reno-protective roles most likely through the relocation of CREB-CBP complex.

CT Angiography For Overt Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Is Time The Missing Link

Background: CT angiography (CTA) and interventional radiology angiogram (IRA) are used in work-up of acute lower gastrointestinal bleed (LGIB). Method: Retrospective study of patients with active LGIB who underwent CTA. Divided into CTA(+) and CTA(-) groups. CTA(+) was divided into IRA(+) or IRA(-). Results: 24.1% (49/203) had CTA(+) and 75.9% (154/203) had CTA(-). No statistical significant difference was noted for hemodynamic parameters, anti-platelets and anti-coagulants, thrombocytopenia, elevated INR or blood transfusion across CTA(+) and CTA(-) groups. Median decision to test (DTT) time for CTA(+) was 98 compared to 124.5 min for CTA(-)(p= 0.039). Univariate analysis revealed DTT time as the only factor with statistically significant effect on CTA outcome. LR (p< 0.001) and Phi coefficient (p< 0.001) suggested significant difference in distribution and association between number of positive risk factors and CTA(+) respectively. In CTA(+), 81.6% (40/49) had a follow-up IRA with 32.5% (13/40) being IRA(+) while 67.5% (27/40) were IRA(-). Overall, 6.4% (13/203) patients had positive IRA. Majority of CTA were ordered by ER- 39.9% (81/203) and IM- 42.9% (87/203). For emergency department(ER)- 23.5% had CTA(+) and 3.7% had IRA(+) compared to Internal Medicine(IM) category- 25.3% had CTA(+)(p=0.78) and 5.7% had IRA(+)(p=0.53). 57.9% patients in CTA(+) had a follow-up IRA in ER category in contrast to 95.5% in IM (p=0.0038). Conclusion: One in sixteen patient benefits from CTA. IM did better than ER in selecting patients for CTA. Number of positive risk factors correlates with probability of CTA(+). Decreasing DTT time may be the key to improve diagnostic yield.

Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Beverage: Nutraceutical Ingredient or Conveyor for the Intake of Medicinal Plants? Evidence from Paraguayan Folk Medicine.

The use of medicinal plants mixed with yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) has been poorly studied in the ethnopharmacological literature so far. The Paraguayan Mestizo people have the longest tradition of using the yerba mate beverage, apart from the indigenous Guarani people. This study analyses the role of yerba mate and medicinal plants in the treatment of illnesses within Paraguayan folk medicine. The research was conducted among 100 Paraguayan migrants living in Misiones, Argentina, in 2014 and 2015. Yerba mate is not considered to be a medicinal plant by its own virtues but is culturally a very important type of medicinal plant intake. Ninety-seven species are employed in hot and cold versions of the yerba mate beverage. The most important species are as follows: Allophylus edulis (highest number of citations), Aristolochia triangularis (highest relative importance value), and Achyrocline flaccida and Achyrocline tomentosa (highest score by Index of Agreement on Species). The plants are used in the treatment of 18 medicinal categories, which include illnesses traditionally treated with plants: digestive system, humoral medicine, and relatively new health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and high levels of cholesterol. Newly incorporated medicinal plants, such as Moringa oleifera, are ingested predominantly or exclusively with the mate beverage.

Ethnomedicinal plant diversity in Thailand

Ethnopharmacological relevancePlants have provided medicine to humans for thousands of years, and in most parts of the world people still use traditional plant-derived medicine. Knowledge related to traditional use provides an important alternative to unavailable or expensive western medicine in many rural communities. At the same time, ethnomedicinal discoveries are valuable for the development of modern medicine. Unfortunately, globalization and urbanization causes the disappearance of much traditional medicinal plant knowledge. Aim of the studyTo review available ethnobotanical knowledge about medicinal plants in Thailand and to estimate its diversity. MethodsInformation about ethnomedicinal uses of plants in Thailand was extracted from 64 scientific reports, books, and theses produced between 1990 and 2014. Plant identifications in the primary sources were updated to currently accepted names following The Plant List website and the species were assigned to family following the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Use Values (UV) were calculated to estimate the importance of medicinal plant species (UVs) and families (UVf). Medicinal use categories, plant parts used, preparations of the medicine, and their applications were noted for each use report. ResultsWe found 16,789 use reports for 2187 plant species in 206 families. These data came from 19 ethnic groups living in 121 villages throughout Thailand. The health conditions most commonly treated with medicinal plants were in the categories digestive system disorders, infections/infestations, nutritional disorders, muscular-skeletal system disorders, and genitourinary system disorders. Plant families with very high use values were Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Acanthaceae, Lamiaceae, and Zingiberaceae and species with very high use values were Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob., Blumea balsamifera (L.) DC., and Cheilocostus speciosus (J.Koenig) C.D.Specht. Stems and leaves were the most used plant parts, but also other parts of the plants were used in medicinal recipes. The most common way of using the medicinal plants was as a decoction in water. ConclusionWe found 2187 plant species that were used in traditional medicine in Thailand. Of these a few hundred had high use values, suggesting that they may produce bioactive compounds with strong physiological effects.

Application of kidney deficiency and blood stasis and disharmony between heart and kidney theories in patients with sleep disorders in perimenopause

Perimenopausal syndrome refers to a series of physical and mental symptoms, caused by the fluctuation of the sex hormones in the menopause, which is one of the common diseases in gynecology. The incidence of sleep disorders in perimenopausal women is increasing significantly. Both Chinese medicine and Western medicine are trying to exploring its pathologic mechanism to find the safe and effective methods of treatment. Menopausal sleeping disorder is the same as the perimenopause syndrome and insomnia category in traditional Chinese medicine. Kidney deficiency is the basic characteristic of perimenopause, whether kidney essence, kidney Qi, kidney Yin or kidney Yang can lead to blood stasis. It is believed that this disease results from kidney deficiency in the root and blood stasis in the tip, and on this basis women affected by many factors will result in disharmony between heart and kidney. In clinical practice, The method of tonifying kidney and activating blood applied to treat perimenopause syndrome with insomnia was testified to be effective. Therefore the author thought that kidney deficiency and blood stasis and disharmony between heart and kidney were the key factors of patients with insomnia in perimenopause.

Primary care diabetes prescribing volume and costs are on the increase

Primary care diabetes prescribing volume and costs are on the increase

Identification of Generic Cancer Medicines That Have Undergone Momentous Price Rises in The Nhs in England

Over the last 40 years, the rising trend in cheaper generic medicines has enabled the national health service (NHS) to save billions of pounds which have been used to fund new and innovative medicines. However, recent incidents suggest new practices in the pricing of generic medicines may be underway, as evidenced by the recent opening of a formal investigation by the European Commission (May 2017) against a pharmaceutical company regarding alleged cases of unfair and significant price increases for generic cancer medicines. We seek to understand if similar pricing practices are taking place widely in generic cancer medicines and in other areas of high demand such as anti-hypertensives, statins and antacids. Medicines of interest were categorised as generic cancer medicines and associated supportive care medicines. Price and formulation data was obtained from the British National Formulary (BNF). The timeframe of interest was from September 2010 to May 2017. Longitudinal price changes were compared and trends were identified for the different categories of medicines. Substantial price rises where seen in a number of generic cancer medicines, with some prices increasing between 100% and 1,314% between 2010 and 2017. The highest price increase observed was that of busulfan for the treatment of leukaemia, which rose from 21p per 2mg tablet in 2010 to £2.76 in 2017. Although substantial price rises were seen in a small group of cancer medicines, a similar pattern was not seen across all cancer medicines or treatment categories analysed. Our research suggests that there may exit small monopolistic situations within the generic market in England.

Cameroon publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded: Bibliometric analysis

Cameroon is one of the six countries of Central Africa with more than 20 000 000 residents. To characterize the Cameroon research performance, Cameroonians publications in the Science Citation Index Expanded during the period of 1936-2015, indexed in the Thomson Reuters SCI-EXPANDED database, were studied in this work. All documents of that period with Cameroon in the address field were included in the study. The document type, language, trend and collaborations were analyzed, as well as the output of different subject categories. Performances of countries, institutions and authors, including total, single, collaborative, first author, and corresponding author publications were also analyzed. Articles were analyzed by the scientific output and research performances of individuals, institutions and collaborative countries with Cameroon. Analyses included 8 457 articles (85 % of 10 591 Cameroonian publications). These bibliometric analyses of Cameroonian publications provided interesting insights concerning authors, institutions and collaboration patterns. Results showed that research in Cameroon was highly dependent on foreign collaborations, and the international collaboration was responsible for the increasing number of publications over the years. It was found that the articles with either first authors or corresponding authors from outside Cameroon got more citations than the others, and that the articles without any international collaboration had lower citations. The number of articles indexed by SCI-EXPANDED has seen an increase in terms of Cameroonian articles that is considerably greater that the increase in number of all articles in SCI-EXPANDED. Articles were more frequent than other types of publication and they were mostly in English. The University of Yaoundé I ranked top one in inter-institutionally collaborative articles, the rank of the total inter-institutionally collaborative articles, and the rank of first author articles and corresponding author articles. The University of Yaoundé I also was in an absolute leading position from 1970s to 2015, followed far away by the other institutions. The categories of tropical medicine, plant sciences, environmental and occupational public health, and infectious diseases, represented the largest number of published articles. Even though physics and chemistry dominated the ranking of the top 20 best Cameroonian authors, an independent mathematics article was the most cited, with 60 citations in 2015 to a Cameroonian author. The top three productive researchers were T. C. Kofane, B. T. Ngadjui, P. Woafo, all from University of Yaoundé I. France and the USA dominated the ranking of countries with strong scientific collaboration with Cameroon.

The limits of the treatment-enhancement distinction as a guide to public policy.

Many believe that the treatment-enhancement distinction (TED) marks an important ethical boundary that we should use to shape public policy on biomedical interventions. A common justification for this purported normative force appeals to the idea that, whereas treatments respond to genuine medical needs, (most) enhancements can only satisfy mere preferences or "expensive tastes". This article offers a critique of that justification, while still accepting the TED as a conceptual tool, as well as some of the key ethical axioms endorsed by its proponents. I begin by laying out the TED, the practical implications that tend to be drawn from it, and the justification just sketched for these implications. Using examples drawn from preventive medicine, biomedical technology, and other categories of biomedical interventions, I then go on to challenge both the presupposition of a fundamental dichotomy between treatments and enhancements, and the assumption that enhancements - barring rare exceptions - cannot serve legitimate medical needs. Finally, I consider some ways in which supporters of the TED might try re-formulating the distinction to blunt the force of my critique. I conclude that such a move cannot fully succeed, and that while the TED does have some degree of normative force, it nevertheless cannot play the role that its advocates expect from it. Seeking to justify a general presumption against enhancements based on the rationale I critique here would mean ignoring their various potential benefits, including medical or therapeutic, and would reflect a prejudice - which I refer to as "treatment fetishism".

Comparison of Health Literacy of Medical and Dentistry Students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2016

Background and objective: Health literacy represents an individual's capacity to acquire, interpret and understand the information necessary for the required services and make proper decisions in the field of health. Health literacy includes a set of skills reading, listening, analysis, decision-making and the ability to apply these skills in health situations that do not necessarily lead to years of schooling or public reading ability. Present study is aimed to determine the level of health literacy among medical and dental students in university of science in Rafsanjani. Methods: this is a measurement study. A number of 282medical and dental students I university of science in Rafsanjan were studied. To collect data the questioner of health literacy was applied which had been designed and psychometric by Montezari and et al (HELIA). And then data was analyzed. Results: The findings showed that mean and standard deviation of dentistry students (22.88 p 3.49) years and mean and standard deviation of medical students were (22.16p2.5) years. Independent t-test did not show a significant difference between the mean age of medical students and dentistry students (p=0.742). In evaluating the dimensions of health literacy among dental and medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences The highest mean of health literacy dimensions in both fields related to the decision-making and behavioral dimension and the lowest mean in the field of dentistry was related to the assessment dimension (14.45 p 2.46) and in the reading-related medicine category (14.99p3/00). Conclusion: findings suggested that the medical students have obtained higher average scores than dental student in term of health literacy. In aspects of health literacy highest average in both disciplines related to the decision-making and behavior related to the assessment and the lowest in dentistry and medicine are related to reading. Paper Type: Research Article.