مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 609 (هفته اول فروردین 1400)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an acute and autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and destruction of myelin in the central nervous system. In this study, the diffusion sequence with different values of b-value was used to determine its optimal value for detection of active plaques.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 90 patients with MS basede on Mc Donald's criteria, referred to the Shafa Imaging Center, Isfahan, Iran. The locations of the plaques and their number were recorded by the radiologist in the relevant checklist. Imaging was performed using the Siemens Avanto system, 1.5 Tesla, with of a standard head coil.

Diffusion weighted images (DWI) with low b-values had a direct and significant relationship with contrast enhancement (CE) method in determining active plaques (P = 0.005). Images with a b-value of 500 had the highest sensitivity (75%) and sensitivity (87.3%) in detecting active plaques.

The results showed that the DWI with the 1.5 Tesla had the ability to distinguish active and inactive plates, because DWI images with low b-values had a direct and significant relationship with CE method in determining active plaques.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and its prevalence is continuously on the rise. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of AD in adults living in Southwestern part of Iran and its association with respiratory allergic disorders.

In this population-based cross-sectional stratified, using multistage cluster random sampling method, a total of 5420 individuals aged 15-65 years were selected from Bushehr City, Iran, from which, 5201 completed the Global Allergy and Asthma Network of Excellence (GA2LEN) questionnaire (Response rate = 96.1%). The total prevalence of AD and its prevalence in allergic diseases was calculated, and the association of AD and these diseases was evaluated using multiple logistic regression model.

The overall prevalence of AD was 29% (32% women vs 25.9% men; P < 0.001). The highest prevalence was seen among participants in the age group of 25-34 and 35-44 years (P < 0.001). The prevalence of AD among the patients with asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and allergic rhinitis (AR) was 50.5%, 48.4%, and 47.1%, respectively, that it was significantly related only with AR (P < 0.001).

The prevalence of allergic diseases in Bushehr City was high. The comorbidities of the other allergic diseases such as asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and allergic rhinitis (AR) leads to a higher prevalence of AD.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) has recently been identified as the cause of epidemic and endemic chronic watery diarrhea worldwide, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of this strain and its important virulence genes in diarrhea samples.

This study was performed on 80 Escherichia coli isolates from children with diarrhea referred to Imam Hossein hospital, Isfahan, Iran. The bacteria were confirmed using biochemical tests and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (multiplex PCR) was performed to detect aggR, aap, aatA genes in EAEC strains.

The frequency of EAEC was 21 (26.6%). According to multiplex PCR results, the aggR, aap, and aatA genes were detected in 21 (100%), 7 (33%), and 3 (14.3%) of strains, respectively. Moreover, 7 strains (33.3%) harbored two aggR and aap genes, 3 (14.3%) carried the aatA and aggR genes, and aatA and aap genes were presented in 2 strains (9.5%). None of the strains had 3 genes simultaneously.

This study provides the first report of a relatively high frequency of typical EAEC strains in children under 5 years of age with symptoms of diarrheal disease in Isfahan. Moreover, we found that the EAEC strains not only exhibited high frequency, but also showed a high frequency of carrying virulence genes especially aggR that indicated the importance of identifying this strain in patients showing the symptoms of acute and chronic diarrhea, especially in our country, as the diagnosis of this strain is not done routinely.