Advanced Biomedical Research
Volume:8 Issue: 5, May 2018

A simple and sensitive reversed‑phase high‑performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method based on liquid‑liquid extraction was established and validated for determination of docetaxel (DTX) in plasma of rat.

Samples were spiked with paclitaxel as the internal standard and the chromatographic separation was carried out using C18 HPLC column. The mobile phase consisted of a mixture of acetonitrile/water with the ratio of 60/40 v/v. The ultraviolet detector was operated at 230 nm, and the flow rate of mobile phase was 1 ml/min. The method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, and limit of quantification (LOQ). Then the method was applied to quantify DTX in the rat plasma after intravenous (IV) administration of the self‑assembled micelles of folate‑targeted Synpronic F127/cholesterol (FA‑PF127‑Chol) loaded with DTX and Taxotere® as the reference marketed solution of DTX. The blood samples were taken from the ophthalmic vein at predetermined time intervals after treatment.

Calibration curve was linear between the concentration ranges of 0.1–7.5 µg/ml with the relative standard deviation % and evaluating error % ranged from 2.263 to 15.53 and −12.75 to 12.7 for intra‑ and inter‑day validity, respectively. The mean recovery of the drug after plasma extraction was 95.67 ± 0.99% for the concentration of 1 µg/ml. The LOQ and the limit of detection for DTX in serum were 100 ng/ml and 30 ng/ml, respectively.

The results indicated that the developed method could be adopted for pharmacokinetic studies of DTX‑loaded FA‑PF127‑Chol micelles and Taxotere® in rat.

In this paper, we will present a case of a 63‑year‑old female with bifrontal epidermoid tumor who has gone under bilateral craniotomy. In a case report study, a 63‑year‑old female with a chief complaint of progressive headache that has been admitted to Department of Neurosurgery was studied. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed for better evaluation. After detection of bifrontal epidermoid cyst, the patient underwent surgery, and following the surgery, a cut of the tumor has been excised, sent for pathology sampling and reviewed for detection of cyst. Microscopic review of the resected part reported normal brain tissue along with sections containing parts of cyst wall covered by squamous epithelium and huge amount of irregularly stratified keratin within its lumen, which clearly emphasizes on diagnosis of a typical epidermoid tumor. Bifrontal epidermoid cyst is rare, and according to our study, the clinical symptoms and patients imaging were consistent with other studies.

Heterotopic bone formation is a rare event in gastrointestinal lesions, especially in the pediatric population. Osseous metaplasia is exceedingly rare in colonic polyps. We present a case of rectal juvenile polyp with stromal osseous metaplasia in a 10‑year‑old male child. This histologic finding is very rare in children with colorectal polyps.

The relationship between dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been frequently reported. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is considered to be an effective gene in regulating lipid profile. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs involved in posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. In the present study, we have evaluated rs13702 (C/T) polymorphism located in miRNA‑410 binding site of LPL gene in subset of Iranian T2DM patients and their normal counterparts.

In this case–control study, 102 T2DM patients and 98 healthy controls were worked out for rs13702 single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes. High resolution meting (HRM) analysis was used for genotyping.

C allele of rs13702 C/T polymorphism located in miRNA‑410 binding site in LPL gene was detected to be significantly associated with T2DM (C allele; odds ratios (OR) = 1.729 (95% confidential intervals (CI) = 1.184–2.523); P = 0.005) also its CC genotype (OR = 3.28 (95% CI 8.68–1.24); P = 0.010) showed the same association.

Correlation of rs13702 C allele with susceptibility to T2DM may be due to the higher level of LPL that leads to increased plasma fatty acids and its entry into peripheral tissues such as skeletal muscle, liver, and adipocytes causing development of insulin resistance and ultimately T2DM.

Due to depletion of fossil fuel reserves, global warming, and the need for energy efficiency, the new energy resource is required. For this purpose, hydrogen can be considered as clean and efficient energy carrier. In this study, biohydrogen production from physical pretreated mixed culture was investigated.

In this study, the optimal conditions for physical pretreatment of mixed culture were investigated for the enrichment of hydrogen‑producing bacteria (HPB). Three individual pretreatment processes, including thermal, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and ultrasonication (US) were conducted in batch tests. The batch tests were carried out via 500 mL glass flasks with working volume 400 mL. Glucose was used as sole substrate, and other essential nutrient and trace elements were added. To agitation of substrate with HPB inoculum, the magnet stirrer was used at 60 rpm.

The results showed the production of H2 gas could be increased by appropriate pretreatment methods including thermal pretreatment at 100°C. At 100°C as a pretreatment, the volume of H2 gas was 112.25 mL and followed by US (97.46 mL), UV (89.11 mL), 80°C (72.72 mL), 90°C (53.95 mL), and 70°C (26.01 mL). In the pretreatment methods, the solution pH and effluent soluble chemical oxygen demand was 6.3–6.7 and 5100–8300 mg/L, respectively.

The Gompertz model depicts that all R2 values were more than 0.93, indicating that the fitted curves were best fitted with the experimental points.

This study aimed to determine the effect of Hyper‑Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, Adriamycin, and Dexamethasone (CVAD) in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients and remission duration.

During a cross‑sectional study in the Seyed Al‑Shohada Hospital in Isfahan, patients with ALL who were admitted and treated from 2011 to 2015 because of the risk of ALL were selected and through the records investigation, demographic information, disease information, treatment, remission duration, current status, and duration of survival were collected in the form of data and are sick after going into remission, including the duration and recurrence remission survival time in treatment were analyzed and consequence, whether the patient is going into remission, remission and relapse and survival time based on the duration of treatment were analyzed.

Of the 62 patients, 13 patients after starting of treatment did not go to remission and died, but 49 patients (79%) went into complete remission. 21 of them of Hyper‑CVAD group and 28 patients of classical treatment group (75/7% vs. 84%), but the difference was not significant (P = 0.43). Of the 48 patients who had a complete remission with the treatment regimen, ten patients relapsed after treatment with two of them of Hyper‑CVAD group and eight patients were in the classical treatment group (9/5% vs. 29/6%), and the difference between the two groups was significant (P = 0.015).

Hyper‑CVAD regimen resulted in increased survival time of patients with ALL and less disease recurrence and therefore contraindications for use if the existing rules, and under the supervision of treatment, can be used.

Recent studies have shown that similar host glycan antigens are expressed by helminths such as Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cysts to evade from host immune system. In this work to investigate these antigens further, immunological cross‑reactivity between human sera and hydatid cyst wall antigens has been investigated.

Hydatid cyst wall antigens were used in enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay and Western immunoblotting and probed with pooled sera of hydatidosis patients and healthy controls. Sodium metaperiodate treatment was used to investigate glycan antigens.

A band with molecular weight about 53 KDa reacted with both hydatid patients’ sera and also normal human sera. It has been shown that this band was a glycan antigen.

A 53 KDa glycan antigen of hydatid cyst wall that reacted with all human sera may have an important role for evasion from host immune system.

Subcorneal pustular dermatosis (SPD) or Sneddon‑Wilkinson disease is a rare, benign, chronic, sterile pustular eruption which is associated with various systemic diseases including immunoglobinopathies, neoplasms, and autoimmune disorders. This paper reports a case of SPD in a patient with diffuse scleroderma in a 37‑year‑old woman. The hypothesis that immune dysregulation may play a role in the pathogenesis of SPD was supposed by the coexistence of diffuse scleroderma and SPD in our patient.

Poly(methyl vinyl ether-maleic acid) (PMVEMA) is a water-soluble, biodegradable polymer used for drug delivery. The aim of the present study was to prepare nanofibers of this polymer as a fast-dissolving carrier for montelukast.

Polymeric nanofibers were spun by electrospinning method using different ratios of biodegradable polymer of PMVEMA. The processing variables including voltage, distance of the needle to rotating screen, and flow rate of the solution were optimized based on the diameter of the nanofibers, drug content, and release efficiency by a Taguchi design. The morphology, diameter, and diameter distribution of the nanofibers were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Drug loading and its release rate from the nanofibers were analyzed spectrophotometrically. The possible molecular between the polymer and the drug was characterized with Fourier-transform-infrared spectroscopy.

The results showed the best situation for electrospinning of the polymer obtained at the polymer concentration of 37%, the distance of the needle to rotating screen of 19 cm, the voltage of 120 kV, and the rate of injection of 0.2 ml/h. In these situations, the fiber diameter and drug loading efficiency percentage were 273 nm and 83%, respectively. These nanofibers released the total loaded drug within 1–3 s with no residue in the dissolution medium. SEM results showed that the optimized nanofibers were quite smooth and without beads.

The results indicated that the nanofibers of PMVEMA could dissolve the drug very rapidly and can be adopted for fast-dissolving dosage forms.

As elongated styloid process is one of the causes of recurrent oropharyngeal pain and carotid nerve plexus compression called Eagle’s syndrome and this length is not similar in different communities, the aim of the current study is to determine average length of styloid process by paranasal multidetector computed tomography.

This is a retrospective cross‑sectional study about 393 patients who underwent paranasal MDCT scan for trauma in Radiology Department without pathologic finding. Styloid length from temporal bone junction to tip of the process was measured using Workstation software. Demographic data including age, sex, and height were gathered from the patients’ records, and patients were questioned about symptoms of Eagle’s syndrome before trauma. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 with the methods of t‑test, Chi‑square, and ANOVA. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Two‑hundred and sixteen males and 177 females underwent MDCT. The length of right, left, and mean length of both sides were 25.4 ± 7.3, 25.2 ± 7.8, 25.3 ± 7.1, respectively. The mean length of both sides’ process was more among male that was statistically significant (P = 0.025 and 0.043, respectively). Right and left side styloid process’ higher length was in correlation with patient’s height (P = 0.002, r = 0.153, P = 0.029, r = 0.110, respectively) and number of symptoms (P < 0.001, r = 0.300, P < 0.001, r = 0.334, respectively).

The mean length of styloid process was 25.3 ± 7.1 that was in accordance with some studies and different from others. Styloid process length is higher in males. The length of styloid process is in association with height and number of symptoms as well.

Suicide is one of the public health problems worldwide, but it lacks regular relevant reporting system. This issue is more important among women who play an influential role in the family and society. Therefore, the assessment of recent relevant studies is important to detect suicide‑related factors and to help make the decisions about public health. The aim of the current study was to determine socioeconomic and psychological factors of suicide attempts in Iranian women using a descriptive meta‑analysis method. All domestic scientific databases were searched using “suicide” keyword. A search was also done using keywords of corresponding to Medical Subject Headings including “Iran,” “suicide,” “psychosocial determinants,” “behavior,” “suicide commitment,” “suicide thoughts,” and “women.” Overall, 3061 articles were retrieved through the initial search. Finally, 69 studies from nine provinces were included for the analysis. All statistical analyses were performed using R software version 3.2.6 with Metafor package version 1.9‑9. Using nine selected studies, frequency of urban family (prevalence = 85%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.68–1.00), nonacademic education (prevalence = 53%, 95% CI = 0.45–0.61), and family problems (prevalence = 34%, 95% CI = 0.19–0.49) was identified as the most important related factor of suicide compared to any other related factors. According to the results, family problems and lower education are associated with suicide attempts. Thus, providing training programs and family consultant services are recommended to reduce the incidence of suicide attempts.

Guillain‑Barre syndrome (GBS) is an immune‑mediated peripheral neuropathy. We compared clinical, laboratory characteristics, and disease course of GBS subtypes in a large group of Iranian patients in Isfahan.

We collected data from patients who were admitted to Alzahra referral university Hospital, Isfahan, Iran with a diagnosis of GBS. In this population‑based cross‑sectional research, characteristic of 388 cases with GBS between 2010 and 2015 were studied.

The current study recruited 388 patients with GBS including 241 males (62.1%) and 147 females (37.9%) with a mean age of 42.78 ± 21.34. Patients with polyradiculopathy had the highest mean age of 55.12 ± 20.59 years, whereas the least age was seen in acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) with the mean of 36.30 ± 18.71 years. The frequency of GBS witnessed the highest frequency in spring with 113 cases (29.1%) and winter with 101 cases (26%). Patients’ electrodiagnostic findings indicated that the highest frequency pertained to AMSAN with 93 cases (24%), whereas the least frequent diagnosis was acute Polyradiculopathy with 8 cases (2.1%). Most of the patients did not have any infections (53.6%) and among patients with infections, AMSAN had the highest frequency (22.9%) and finally, patients with AMSAN and AMAN had a higher length of stay.

The study demonstrated incidence, sex distribution, preceding infection, and surgery similar to previous studies. However, our data differs from a study in Tehran that showed acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy is more prevalent than other types and we found a seasonal preponderance in cold months, particularly in axonal types.

Increasing use of different chemotherapy regimens, organ transplants, etc., has led to the increasing number of neutropenic patients. Overall, 10% of patients affected by cancer who are under treatment with anticancer drugs, regardless of the tumor type, are susceptible to febrile neutropenia. The study was performed to evaluate the frequency of bloodstream fungal infections in pediatric patients with febrile neutropenia in Sayed Al‑Shohada Hospital (Cancer Referral Center in Isfahan) in 2010–2012.

This cross‑sectional study was performed on pediatric patients with febrile neutropenia who were referred to Sayed Al‑Shohada Hospital (Cancer Referral Center in Isfahan) in 2010–2012. Blood samples were obtained from all the patients and were loaded into Bactec 9050 blood culture instruments (Bectone Dickinson, Baltimore, Md., USA), and organisms responsible for causing fever were detected.

Sixty‑seven patients (51.3 males, 48.7 females) with a mean age of 12.3 ± 15.8 years were included. The blood cultures of 48 patients (71.6%) were negative. Seven samples of the isolates (10.4%) were fungi, and twelve of them (18%) were bacteria. Thus, the prevalence of fungal infection was 10.4%.

Due to the high relative prevalence of fungal infections in our study, it is necessary to take precautions for fungal infection prevention and choose the best way management to obtain optimal results in these patients.

Laparoscopic bariatric surgeries in morbid obese patients may be associated with atelectasis, hypercapnia, and hypoxemia, intra and postoperatively. Several strategies are used for the prevention of these consequences. This study aimed to examine the effects of three different recruitment maneuvers comparatively during surgery and the influence of the maneuvers on some cardiopulmonary indices.

In a clinical trial, ninety participants of laparoscopic surgery with body mass index higher than 40 were randomly divided into three equal groups. The first group was subject to 10 cmH2 O positive end‑expiratory pressure (PEEP) during surgery, the second group, after venting the pneumoperitoneum, had 5 deep breaths with a positive pressure of 40 cmH2 O, and the third group was subject to both. Some pulmonary and hemodynamic parameters were measured every 15 min and compared between three groups.

The average of peak airway pressure, plateau airway pressure, and SpO2 static and dynamic compliance between the three groups had no meaningful differences (P > 0.05), but PaCO2 in the second group was statistically higher than the other two groups (P < 0.05).

Multiple deep breaths alone are not as effective as PEEP or PEEP plus MDB in preventing adverse pulmonary effects in laparoscopic bariatric surgeries of morbid obese patients.

Considering the effect of statins on the regulation of dopamine neurotransmitters and glutamates and importance of the treatment of obsessive‑compulsive disorder (OCD) due to its relatively high prevalence and disability of available drugs in treatment of many patients, we came to the point to examine effectiveness of statins in patients with OCD.

This study is a double‑blind randomized clinical trial, which is done in OCD clinic of Isfahan Shariati in 2014 for 1 year. The target population consists of 64 patients with OCD; one group is given a daily 40 mg atorvastatin tablets and the other group receives placebo. At baseline, 4‑ and 8‑week severities of obsessive‑compulsive symptoms are measured using Yale–Brown scale and compared in the two groups.

The study results show a statistically significant difference between the two groups of intervention and control (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the results show the intervention effect at the end of the 4th week and 8th week (P < 0.001) that this change is evident in the 4th week but remained almost constant in the 8th week.

Overall, the evidences obtained from the study declare the effects of adding statins to treat obsessive‑compulsive symptoms.

Painful diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed for children are routine actions. Opioids and nonsteroidal anti‑inflammatory drugs such as acetaminophens are among medications that can be used for this purpose. This study aimed to compare the onset and duration of action of intrabuccal (IB, submucosal) space and intramuscular (IM) injection of ketamine in pediatrics.

This clinical trial study was carried out on 126 children of 1–15 years old referred to the emergency room of Al‑Zahra and Kashani Hospitals in Isfahan and divided into two 63 populated groups of IM and IB. For one group randomly, 3 mg/kg IB ketamine was administered, and for another group, ketamine was injected intramuscularly at the dose of 5 mg/kg. The drug effect, surgeon satisfaction, and complications were evaluated. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

The mean of time between injection and onset of drug effect in IM group was 5.71 min, whereas in IB group, it was 4.14 min (P < 0.0001). The mean of the duration of drug effect in IM group was 45.54 min, whereas in IB group, it was 24.63 min (P < 0.0001). Complications in IM group were significantly more reported than IB group (33.3% versus 11.1%, respectively, P = 003). The median of surgeon satisfaction in IM group was 3 and in IB group was 4 which was statistically significant (P = 0.007).

IB method is preferred over IM method, and hence, it is recommended to use.

Thyroid follicular cancers are one of the thyroid gland cancers. This cancer can lead to metastases to various areas of the body. We describe a patient with thyroid follicular carcinoma who after total thyroidectomy had severe hypercalcemia, increased creatinine, and thyrotoxicosis due to extensive bone metastases. The patient was a 52‑year‑old man who had femoral neck fracture as the first manifestation of thyroid cancer. He was hospitalized for some time after orthopedic measures because of thyrotoxicosis and deep‑venous thrombosis. The study found that the origin of metastatic lesions was thyroid follicular cancer, leading to extensive bone metastases. After administering of methimazole and control of thyrotoxicosis, he was subjected to total thyroidectomy. Methimazole was discontinued immediately after surgery. One month after surgery, ultrasound confirmed that the thyroid was completely removed. However, T3 (triiodothyronine) remained high; besides the patient had hypercalcemia and increased creatinine due to dehydration. The patient was retreated with methimazole due to thyrotoxicosis, and for hypercalcemia fluid therapy, intravenous zoledronic acid was prescribed. These measures led to the normalization of creatinine and glomerular filtration rate. The purpose of introducing this case report was that these symptoms are a rare manifestation of functional metastases of follicular thyroid carcinoma after total thyroidectomy. Bone metastases of follicular thyroid carcinoma may be functional and are lytic that can lead to hypercalcemia and its complications.