مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 591 (هفته سوم آبان 1399)

Traditional livestock has a lot of prosperity in the Miankooh district of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province in Iran. Due to the prevalence of hard ticks among livestock in the region, there is the possibility of babesiosis in the region. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of ticks, as well as the frequency of human and animal contamination with babesiosis in this region.

In this study, 205 livestock including sheep and goats and 160 human blood samples and 317 ticks were collected from livestock. All smears were stained to identify the Babesia genus by microscopic method, after which the positive smears were examined by molecular method for identification of Babesia Ovis (B. </em>Ovis) species.

From 205 livestock samples, 64 samples of Babesia infection were confirmed by microscopic method, and 42 samples were confirmed as B. </em>Ovis. Among the 160 human samples, 21 samples were confirmed by the microscopic method as Babesia that 7 of them were confirmed as B. Ovis. To confirm the negative samples, a number of human and animal samples were selected randomly and examined by molecular method, and all of them were negatively confirmed by the molecular method. The tick specimens were also identified by the reliable morphological key to the level of genus and species. All of them identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus.>

The prevalence of Babesia infection in livestock in this region is significant; therefore, it is possible to restrict the disease in the area with proper diagnosis and timely treatment.

This study aimed to compare the survival in serial autologous fat transfer between frozen and fresh fat among patients referred for face rejuvenation.

In a clinical trial study, 60 volunteer patients for fat injection in the nasolabial region were divided into two groups of 30. In the first group, fresh fat was removed from the inner thigh, and 3 cc was injected on both sides of the nasolabial fold. 3 to 4 weeks later, subsequent injections were performed in the same way. In the second group, the amount of fat required for 4 sessions of injection was removed from the inner thigh, and 3 cc was injected in the first time; the rest of the fat was frozen at -20° C and during the next times, after defrosting in place, was injected in nasolabial region. The shelf life of adipose tissue was determined and compared between the two groups 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months after injection.

Comparison of changes in facial wrinkle assessment score (MFWS) before and 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months after surgery did not show any significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.37). The overall percentage of adipose tissue reduction during 15 months after injection was 0.59 ± 0.13 percent in the fresh fat injection group and 0.61 ± 0.11 percent in the frozen fat injection group with no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.73).

</em>Due to the fact that survival injected fat is not differ between the two methods of injecting fresh and frozen fat, the use of frozen fat seems to be preferable for rejuvenation of the skin due to one-time fat removal and lower operating costs.

Urticaria is an inflammatory skin disorder lasting for six weeks or longer. Nowadays, the role of vitamin D in inflammatory disease such as urticaria is a matter of great interest. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vitamin D and chronic urticaria.

In this cross-sectional study, 40 patients with chronic urticaria and 40 healthy individuals aged 18 to 60 years were studied during the years 2017-2018 in Alzahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran. In all cases, vitamin D levels were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 20 ng/ml were considered as deficiency and levels of 20-30 ng/ml were considered as insufficiency. Data were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests.

The mean serum vitamin D level was 21.6 ng/ml in the patients group and 30.8 ng/ml in the control group. In the patient group 42.5%, and in the control group 22.5%, had vitamin D level of less than 20 ng/ml, and in the patient group 42.5%, and in the control group 25%, had vitamin D level of between 20-30 ng/ml. Therefore, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in patients and in the control group was 85% and 47.5%, respectively.

This study shows that vitamin D deficiency is more common in people with chronic urticaria than in normal population. However, finding a cause-and-effect relationship between chronic urticaria and vitamin D requires more extensive studies.