Iranian Journal of Public Health
Volume:35 Issue: 3, Autumn 2006

Circumsporozoite protein (CSP) is one of the stage specific antigens, which is used for the development of vaccines and to investigate the genetic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. Polymerase chain reaction was used for typing of CSP genes on 67 positive falciparum malaria patients from Sistan and Baluchistan Province of Iran. Three fragments were detected for CSP gene. Twenty, 38 and 4 samples showed 700, 750 and 800 bp fragments, respectively. Sequences of some samples were aligned and compared with P.falciparum csp gene in gene bank. While the falciparum malaria endemic region of Iran is classified in low to moderate group but, extensive polymorphism was observed in the samples that could be taken into account in designing malaria vaccine.

Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is an increasing and important public health problem in Iran. The use of repellents is recommended as one of the important means of personal protection against vectors of ZCL. This paper reports the repellency effect of the plant Myrtle, Myrtus communis (Myrtaceae), essential oil for protection against 3-7-day-old unfed females of the sandfly, Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli for the first time in Iran. The tests were carried out under laboratory conditions, using dose-response testing procedure on white rabbits and the results were compared with commonly used repellent, diethyl-3-methylbenzamid (DEET). The modified Wirtz method using K & D apparatus was employed. Effective Dose (EDs) values were estimated from the probit regression line. ED50 was measured as 0.1140 and 0.0006 mg/cm2 for Myrtle essential oil and DEET, respectively. The laboratory tests showed that both Myrtle essential oil and DEET had repellency effects against P.papatasi. In addition, the insecticidal action of Myrtle oil was also observed. We concluded that the two repellents could be used as a mean of personal protection against sand flies.

Angiotensin I-converting Enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism; genotype DD or D allele may be involved with an increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy (DN). We examined the frequency of ACE gene polymorphism in 170 patients (85 type 2 diabetes with nephropathy and 85 without it) in Tehran, Iran. DNA was extracted from the white blood cells and the I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene was detected by PCR. The frequency of DD, ID and II genotypes in type 2 diabetic patients were 20%, 61.2% and 18.8%, and in patients with nephropathy 30.6%, 55.3%, 14.1%, respectively. The DD genotype of the DN group was higher than that of the type 2 diabetes patients (30.6% vs 20%, P=0.157, RR=1.3) and the control group (30.6% vs 14.3%, P=0.006, RR=2.9). The frequency of D allele in nephropathic patients was 58.2% as compared to the type 2 diabetic patients without nephropathy (50.5%) P=0.19, RR=1.16. The D allele frequency in the DN group was found slightly higher than of the type 2 diabetes (X2=0.684, OR=0.709, 95%CI: 0.313-1.606, P=0.408) which indicated the D allele was not associated with DN. It is suggested that DD genotype and D allele are not associated with diabetic nephropathy.

BALB/c mice are highly susceptible to infection with the protozoan parasite Leishmania major. This susceptibility has been attributed in part to the expansion of Th2 cells and production of their cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10 and down-regulation of Th1 cytokine, INF-γ. The inability of susceptible hosts to mount the immune response necessary to activate macrophage and destroy the parasites can be due to the parasite-specific proteins that are able to modulate the immune system. In this report, we monitored the culture supernatant of the parasite in order to show the existence of immunosuppressive factor. The L. major parasites were isolated from lesion of infected BALB/c mice. Amastigotes were grown at 35 °C and promastigotes at 22-25°C in the presence of 10% FCS. Culture supernatants were harvested after 72 h of incubation and used for lymphocyte proliferation assay using lymph node and spleen cells stimulated with mitogens. We have shown that the excretory materials of promastigotes and axenic amastigotes have a potent immunosuppressive activity. Culture supernatants can suppress the proliferation of mitogen-stimulated lymph node lymphocytes (74%) or spleen cells (90%) in a dose-dependent manner. This result may show that parasite by excretory materials can influence INF-γ production by T cells and macrophage activation in order to survive within the macrophage and propagating inside the phagolysosome.

Pericentric inversions of chromosome 9 are among the most frequent chromosomal rearrangement in human. A few cytogeneticists consider inversions of chromosome 9 as a normal variant. However, many reports in the recent literature link pericentric inversions of chromosome 9 with infertility, recurrent abortions, and a number of other abnormal conditions. We report a case of homozygosity pericentric inversions of chromosome 9 in a woman with 28- wk stillbirth. In this case, her both parents were heterozygotes for the inversions of chromosome 9.

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline octane enhancer, was introduced as a substitute for lead tetraethyl over 30 years ago. Widespread use of MTBE in gasoline, has introduced MTBE into the environment compartments, mostly into the under ground and surface water and water as a second most frequently detected contaminant. In this study, we have isolated pure cultures from bacterial consortium capable to use MTBE as a sole carbon and energy source. MTBE biodegradation rate was measured in headspace by gas chromatography. Initial liner rates of biodegradation by Pinpoint and white strains were found 2.9 mg and 3 mg MTBE hˉ1 gˉ1 wet biomass, respectively. The results of 16S rDNA PCR disclosed similarities in the banding patterns between the cultures, and the known degrading strain PM1. The results of this study suggest promising perspectives for engineering the in situ bioremediation of MTBE.

The gastric cancer in Iran is the fourth in the general population. This study was designed to determine the five-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients, and to assess its associated factors. We analyzed the data using a time-dependent covariates model, and recommend it for analyses of similar data. 281 gastric cancer patients with adenocarcinomatous pathology who had been operated on at the Iran Cancer Institute between 1995 and 1999 were enrolled in this study. The patients’ survival after surgery was determined, and its relationship with other variables were assessed. Kaplan-Meier, Cox and Breslow method were used, and an alpha level of 0.05 was considered significant. The five-year survival rate and the median life expectancy were 22.6% and 19.00 months, respectively. The Cox model showed that age, lymph node metastasis, recurrence, and disease stage influenced the chances of survival. It was also shown that lymph node metastasis and disease stage correlated with time of relapse, while age, distant metastasis and disease stage affected survival after relapse, and age correlated with survival of patients without recurrence. Gastric cancer patients in Iran have a low five-year survival rate. One of the most important reasons seems to be delayed consultation and diagnosis.

Consanguineous marriages are traditionally favoured in most of Asian and African countries especially in the Muslim countries. However, it is apparent that these kinds of marriage are a major factor of some genetic disorders inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. Although there is a long history of consanguineous marriage in Iran, the information on its prevalence is too poor. The aim of this study was to define the frequency of consanguineous marriage in Mashhad City, Khorasan Province, Iran as well as its correlations to the youths’ attitude and their knowledge about the genetic consequences of inbreeding. The concerning information was obtained by administration of a direct questionnaire including 50 open and closed questions. The subjects were 500 young people (with a mean age of 21.4 yr) who were selected during a quota sampling. The results of this study revealed that most of the youth did not have favorable information about the consequences of genetic disorders of inbreeding. There was a higher rate of consanguinity in the rural rather than the urban population. The traditional beliefs and the authority of the parents who had also experienced consanguineous marriage were other predominating factors of inbreeding.

Transplanted and hemodialysis patients are frequently affected by parasitic diseases such as cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidium is a parasite causing self-limited diarrhea and enteritis in healthy individuals. The presence of Cryptosporidium infection was studied in three groups including 87 renal transplant patients, 103 hemodialysis patients, and 60 healthy individuals as the control group. Two stool specimens were obtained from each case. The specimens were concentrated by the formalin-ether method and two smears were prepared from each. The smears were stained by modified acid-fast method and were observed under a light microscope. Ten (11.5%) renal transplant and 4 (3.88%) hemodialysis patients were positive for Cryptosporidium infection. No positive results were obtained in the control group. The results showed a statistically significant difference between renal transplant and control groups (P= 0.02), but the difference between hemodialysis and control groups was not significant (P= 0.2). The results also showed that the rate of Cryptosporidium infection in renal transplant patients was much higher than hemodialysis patients. The susceptibility of renal transplant patients to Cryptosporidium infection is much more than other studied groups and this could be due to immunosuppressive therapy in these patients.

Prevention and treatment of the rickets of prematurity is an important aspect of the care of preterm infants. The purpose of this study was to compare the prophylactic effects of different doses of vitamin D on the clinical, biochemical and radiological indices of the rickets of prematurity. In a randomized clinical trial, 68 premature infants (<38 weeks) with birth weight under 2000 g, randomly divided in two groups. Infants received 400 IU/d vitamin D in Group A (n=32) and 1000 IU/d in group B (n= 36). On the 9th week of birth, serum calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase were measured and x-ray of left wrist and physical examination were performed. The average serum calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase in both groups had no difference (P= 0.326, 0.466, 0.147, respectively) and no one had a radiological or clinical picture of rickets. In conclusion we recommend low dose vitamin D for prevention of the osteopenia of prematurity.

This research has tried to find most proper leadership styles based on a approved model to direct hospital manpower appropriately. The main objective of this research was the comparison between manager’s existing leadership styles and suggested styles to them in order to direct existing styles toward suggested ones. In this cross- sectional study all Qom province hospital managers participated. From the hospital the staff, 385 persons were selected by randomized stratifying sampling. Data were collected by two types of validated questionnaires, one for the staff and another for managers, and analyzed by SPSS software. The finding showed that among four types of leadership styles, 75% of manager’s leadership style was “consultative” and rest were “exploitative- authoritative” or “benevolent- authoritative”, but in the view of about 78% of the staff, manager’s leadership style was “benevolent- authoritative” and only 0.8% of them believed that manager’s style was participative. In general, based on the staff point of view, managers behaved less participative. On the other hand, Tannenbaum and Schmidt leadership style continuum model proved that the best leadership style for all the hospital managers was the “consultative” one. It can be concluded that there was 25% gap between existing leadership styles and suggested ones and it should be tried to close this gap as far as posible.

Ectoparasites are considered as the main vectors of zoonotic diseases. They play an important role for transmission of wide variety of diseases such as CCHF, leishmaniosis and plague to human and vertebrates. Mammals, especially rodents, are the most important reservoirs of zoonotic diseases. The aim of this study was to identify the ectoparasites of rodents captured in Korram-Abad, Lurestan Province, Iran during year 2002-2003. Rodents were live trapped from 24 localities in six major land-resource areas. A total of 167 alive rodent specimens were transported to the laboratory and after anesthetizing by chloroform their ectoparasites were removed. Collected ectoparasites were mounted and identified. Altogether 218 ectoparasites related to 3 orders, 6 families, 6 genera, and 7 species were systematically recognized. Fleas with 3 species had the most number of species, mites and lice allocated the most (64.67%) and the least (3.21%) frequency of ectoparasites, respectively. Ectoparasites were more prevalent in Zagheh area (38.99%). Haemolaelaps glasgowi (42.2%) was the most common ectoparasite while, Nosopsyllus irranus only constituted approximately 0.91% of specimens. Zagheh area could be a high-risk zone for zoonotic disease transmission due to poor hygienic circumstances

Giardiasis caused by the intestinal flagellate Giardia duodenalis. It is postulated that animals may be a reservoir for human infection and vice versa, thus, giardiasis classified as a zooanthroponotic disease. Therefore, accurate information about the Giardia infection in animals can help the control and prevention of disease in human. With respect to considerable population of cats in Iran and close relation to human, in the current study we tried to determine the infection rate of Giardia in stray, semi-stray and domestic cats. One hundred eighty one cat fecal specimens were collected and after formol-ether concentration, Giardia cysts were detected using light microscope. Twenty one samples (11.6%) out of 166 samples were Giardia cyst positive. The highest levels of infection with Giardia were in domestic cats (75%). The findings prominence the necessity for cat owners to have knowledge about zoonotic transmission of Giardia.

Male urogenital tract infection plays an important role in men infertility. Asymptomatic bacteriospermia has been paid attention as a major cause of male infertility. The aim of this study was to microbiological investigation of semen sample of infertile men attending to infertility clinic and evaluation of the effects of bacteriospermia on semen quality. Eighty eight infertile men were evaluated by standard bacterial culture method. Standard semen analysis was performed according to WHO guidelines. Among total cases, 35.22% (31 cases) showed at least one pathogen: 10.22% E.coli, 9.09% Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (Saprophyticcus), 6.81% Group B Streptococci, 5.88% Entrococci, 5.68% Candida sp., 2.27% Gonococci, 2.27% Staphylococcus aureus, 1.13% Klebsiella sp. and 1.13% Providencia sp. There was a significant relation between the bacteriospermia and the rate of no motile and morphologically abnormal sperms (P<0.0001). The quality of sperm motility was significantly decreased in contaminated semen. The percentage of morphologically normal sperm was lower. E.coli and Entrococci were the most effective agents against sperm parameters. Asymptomatic bacteriospermia has a negative effect on sperm quality. E.coli and Entrococci are the most common bacteria with negative influence on sperm motility and morphology. Moreover, presence of bacteriospermia and leukocytospermia did not correlate with each other (P>0.05). It seems that leukocytospermia is a poor marker to predict bacteriospermia.