Acta Medica Iranica
Volume:54 Issue: 6, Jun 2016

Spinal cord injury (SCI) as a destructive crash result in neurons degeneration. The SCI lead to the onset of biochemical and molecular cascades such as inflammation that in turn has a key role in neurodegeneration development. The previous studies demonstrated the role of TNF-α and iNOS genes in intensifying the process after SCI. As a consequence, these genes overexpression intensify the inflammation and neuron degeneration process. In the present study, 32 male Wistar rats were chased and divided into four groups of eight. The SCI were induced in three groups and another group used as a sham. The progesterone hormone used as a therapeutic agent in rats with SCI. The results showed that injection of 10 μg/kg/12h progesterone hormone reduced the TNF-α and iNOS gene expression significantly and confirmed the role of progesterone in the reduction of inflammation. Also, the numbers of intact neurons in progesterone group were higher than other groups that demonstrated the protective effects of progesterone on neuron death. The BBB test was performed and demonstrated that progesterone is an effective factor to the improvement of locomotor response. These results of the study confirmed the anti-inflammatory activity of progesterone hormone and suggested that it can be used as a therapeutic factor for SCI.

Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular tumor in children resulting from genetic alterations and transformation of mature retinal cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of SD-208, TGF-β-RI kinase inhibitor, on the expression of some miRNAs including a miR-17/92 cluster in retinoblastoma cells. Prior to initiate this work, the cell proliferation was studied by Methyl Thiazolyl Tetrazolium (MTT) and bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) assays. Then, the expression patterns of four miRNAs (18a, 20a, 22, and 34a) were investigated in the treated SD-208 (0.0, 1, 2 and 3 µM) and untreated Y-79 cells. A remarkable inhibition of the cell proliferation was found in Y-79 cells treated with SD-208 versus untreated cells. Also, the expression changes were observed in miRNAs 18a, 20a, 22 and 34a in response to SD-208 treatment (P

Local inflammatory processes in the gastric mucosa are followed by extensive immune cell infiltration, resulting in chronic active gastritis characterized by a marked infiltration of T(h)1 cytokine-producing CD4 and CD8cells Objective. To investigate the correlation between CD4ﰠ T-cells in gastric mucosa with endoscopic appearance in chronic gastritis with or without H.pylori infection. Prospective, cross sectional study is performed in a chronic dyspepsia population in July-November 2009 at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The update Sydney system was used to analyze the gastroscopy appearance. Biopsy specimens were stained with HE-stain and IHC-stain. Data were analyzed by t-test, Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation test. Number of 88 consecutive subjects are enrolled the study (50% male; 50% female), age 46±15 years; 25% H.pylori positive. The expression of CD4 and CD8 were higher in H.pylori negative subjects, but only the CD4 was significant (P=0.011). A significant correlation was found between CD4 and CD8 in both subjects (r(Hp)=0.62 and r(Hp-)=0.68; P

The Emergency Severity Index (ESI) is a five-level triage system that has shown promising reliability and validity. According to ESI algorithm, in the presence of danger zone respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR) or Oxygen (O2) saturation, patients should be up-triaged from ESI level 3 to 2 Hence, the current study aimed to investigate the value of the measurement of vital signs in predicting the up-triage of patients from ESI level 3 to 2. Patients who visited the emergency department at Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran, and were categorized into ESI level 3 were investigated. RR, HR, and O2 saturation were recorded by the triage nurse, and the rates of abnormalities in these three variables were evaluated. Out of 551 cases who were up-triaged from ESI level 3 to 2,489 (88.7%) had an increased RR, and 539 (97.8%) had an increased RR or HR. Only 12 cases (2.2%) had normal RR and HR, who were up-triaged only due to abnormal O2 saturation. Out of these 12 cases, 10 had O2 saturations

The lipid accumulation product is a novel, safe and inexpensive index of central lipid over accumulation based on waist circumference and fasting concentration of circulating triglycerides. This study was designed to investigate the ability of lipid accumulation product to predict Cardio-metabolic risk factors in postmenopausal women. In this Cross-sectional study, 264 postmenopausal women by using convenience sampling method were selected from menopause clinic in Tehran. Cardio-metabolic risk factors were measured, and lipid accumulation product (waist-58×triglycerides [nmol/L]) was calculated. Optimal cut-off point of lipid accumulation product for predicting metabolic syndrome was estimated by ROC (Receiver-operating characteristic) curve analysis. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 41.2% of subjects. Optimal cut-off point of lipid accumulation product for predicting metabolic syndrome was 47.63 (sensitivity:75%; specificity:77.9%). High lipid accumulation product increases risk of all Cardio-metabolic risk factors except overweight, high Total Cholesterol, high Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and high Fasting Blood Sugar in postmenopausal women. Our findings show that lipid accumulation product is associated with metabolic syndrome and some Cardio-metabolic risk factors Also lipid accumulation product may have been a useful tool for predicting cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome risk in postmenopausal women.

Candidiasis, the main opportunistic fungal infection has been increased over the past decades. This study aimed to characterize C.albicans species complex (C.albicans, C.dubliniensis, and C.africana) isolated from patients with respiratory infections by molecular tools and in vitro antifungal susceptibilities by using broth microdilution method according to CLSI M27-A3 guidelines. Totally, 121 respiratory samples were collected from patients with respiratory infections. Of these, 83 strains were germ tube positive and green colonies on chromogenic media, so initially identified as C.albicans species complex and subsequently were classified as C.albicans (89.15%), C.dubliniensis (9.63%), and C.africana (1.2%) based on PCR-RFLP and amplification of hwp1 gene. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MICs) results showed that all tested isolates of C.albicans complex were highly susceptible to triazole drugs. However, caspofungin had highest activity against C.albicans, C.dubliniensis, and C.africana. Our findings indicated the variety of antifungal resistance of Candida strains in different areas. These results may increase the knowledge about the local distribution of the mentioned strains as well as their antifungal susceptibility pattern which play an important role in appropriate therapy.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most prevalent disease caused by the inflammatory demyelinating process that causes progressive nervous system degeneration over the time. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive optical imaging technology, which can measure the thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer as well as the diameter of the macula. The purpose of the study is evaluation OCT findings in two common types of multiple sclerosis. For doing the cross-sectional study, 63 patients with two prevalent types of multiple sclerosis (35 patients with Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) and 28 patients with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS) were evaluated for 6 months. Exclusion criteria of the study were a history of optic neuritis, suffering from diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ocular disease, and the presence of other neurologic degenerative diseases. Then, the thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), as well as thickness and volume of the macula, were measured in the patients using OCT technology. The disability rate of patients was evaluated according to Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Finally, data was analyzed by means of SPSS software. Overall, 35 patients with RRMS (with mean age of 32.37.01, average disease period of 3.81.42 and mean EDSS of 1.84.45) and 28 patients with SPMS (with mean age of 39.21.33, average disease period of 11.32.87 and mean EDSS of 5.12.46) were assessed and compared in terms of retinal nerve fiber layer and size and thickness of macula. In all of these sections, the thicknesses were smaller in SPMS patients than patients with RRMS. But, there was a significant difference in total thickness (81.82µm versus 96.03µm with P=0.04) and thickness of temporal sector (54.5 µm versus 69.34 µm with P=0.04) of retinal nerve fiber layer and macular size at the superior sector of external ring (1.48 mm³ versus 1.58 mm³ with P=0.03), and nasal sector of external ring surrounding macula (1.53 mm³ versus 1.66 mm³ with P=0.03). No significant correlation was found among rising disability and reduced thickness of macula and optic nervous layer. Based on the study results, it can be said that OCT is a useful method for showing axonal degeneration severity and evaluation of various drugs effects on the course of MS disease, and thus we can change drugs based on OCT findings for achieving best results.

Cerebrovascular attack (CVA) and transient ischemic attack (TIA) are major causes of emergency department visits around the globe. A significant number of these patients may experience repeat attacks if left untreated. Several risk stratifying scoring systems have been developed in recent years to point out the high risk patients. ABCD2 is based on age, blood pressure, clinical status, diabetes mellitus, and duration of symptoms and is used commonly for this purpose. In this study, we were to enhance its sensitivity and specificity with the addition of another criterion namely atrial fibrillation and making ABCD2-F. A prospective study in two hospitals was performed and 138 patients diagnosed with TIA/CVA were enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and paraclinical data of all patients were registered. All patients were followed for three months for any sign or symptom of a recurrent ischemic attack. Recurrent ischemic attacks happened in 9.4% of the patients. None of the criteria of ABCD2-F was associated with higher chance of ischemic attacks. Similarly, ABCD2-F was not different between patients with or without repeat cerebral ischemia. The addition of atrial fibrillation to ABCD2 did not enhance the accuracy of this scoring system to detect patients high risk for repeat cerebral ischemia. More studies in the future to improve sensitivity and specificity of this test are warranted.

Helicobacter pylori infection is a prevalent disease among Iranian children. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of ciprofloxacin and furazolidone on eradicating helicobacter pylori in Iranian children in combination with amoxicillin and omeprazole. In this cohort study, helicobacter pylori infection was confirmed by gastroscopy, rapid urease test or pathologic assessments. A total of 66 children were randomly enrolled; based on the random number table, and were divided into two groups; first, a combination regimen consisting of ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin, and omeprazole; second, a three-medication regimen consisting of amoxicillin, furazolidone, and omeprazole. The effect of both medical regimens on the successful eradication of helicobacter pylori infection was assessed and compared. Chi-square test was used for evaluating the association between quantitative variables. All comparisons were made at the significance of P

Delphi as a consensus development technique enables anonymous, systematic refinement of expert opinion with the aim of arriving at a combined or consensual position. In this study, we determined the criteria and their weights for Iranian Medical School's ranking through a Delphi process. An expert committee devised 13 proposed criteria with 32 indicators with their weights, which were arranged hierarchically in the form of a tree diagram. We used the Delphi technique to reach a consensus on these criteria and weights among the deans of 38 public Iranian medical schools. For this purpose, we devised and sent a questionnaire to schools and asked them to suggest or correct the criteria and their weights. We repeated this process in two rounds till all the schools reached an acceptable consensus on them. All schools reached a consensus on the set of 13 criteria and 30 indicators and their weights in three main contexts of education, research and facilities, and equipment which were used for Medical Schools’ ranking. Using Delphi technique for devising the criteria and their weights in evaluation processes such as ranking makes their results more acceptable among universities.

Dermoid cysts are congenital anomalies derived from ectoderm. They are rare in head and neck region and especially in pinna. We presented an 8-year-old girl with a dermoid cyst in the conchal region of auricle which was treated with complete surgical resection.