مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 638 (هفته دوم آبان 1400)

Leukemia begins with the destruction of hematopoietic bone marrow cells, and appears with the turmoil in the blood (immature blood cell proliferation, homeostasis disorder, degrees of inflammation, mutation, immunodeficiency, antioxidant deficiency, and infectious agents). Cytomegalovirus (CMV) as the largest member of the herpes family can cause latent infections for lifetime. Due to its high numbers in Iran, we decided to measure the level of CMV in leukemia by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, to quantify its prevalence.

100 blood serum samples of people with leukemia and 100 healthy controls were collected from hospitals in Tehran City, Iran, and DNA was extracted by phenol-chloroform method. </em>PCR test of CMV was optimized and evaluated for specificity and limit of detection (LOD). Optimized test was performed on all patient and healthy samples along with positive and negative controls. The PCR product was identified by agarose gel electrophoresis.

PCR test was optimized, and 257 bp product was observed in agarose gel electrophoresis. In specificity test, no product other than the CMV sample was observed. LOD was 100 copy/reaction. All healthy controls were negative, and 33% of the samples were CMV positive.

This study shows that CMV can be considered as an infectious and influencing factor in leukemia.

Vitiligo is </em>an acquired disease with unknown cause and one of the major challenges in dermatology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of microneedling in combination with topical liposomal form of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 5% in treatment of vitiligo.

This study was performed as a randomized clinical trial on 25 patients with vitiligo referred to the dermatology clinics of Imam Reza and Ghaem hospitals in Mashhad City, Iran. In each patient, three lesions were selected and microneedling with liposomal form of 5-FU 5% and only microneedling were performed on one of them by random allocation. The third lesion was considered as a control without any intervention. This process was done every 2 weeks for 3 months, and the rate of improvement was assessed after 6 months.

68% of lesions (17 persons) treated with microneedling and 5-FU had significant repigmentation, 12% with 25%-50% improvement and 56% with improvement up to 25%. However, response rate of lesions treated with microneedling alone was 32%, 4% with 25%-50% improvement and 28% with improvement up to 25%. Statistical analysis of data with generalized estimating equation (GEE) method showed that in terms of response to treatment, the lesions treated with microneedling and 5-FU had a significant difference with microneedling alone and also with control lesions (P < 0.050).

According to our findings, the combined use of microneedling with topical 5-FU significantly improves resistant vitiligo lesions compared to microneedling method alone.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a pathogenic and zoonotic parasite, which felines implicate as definitive hosts; intermediate hosts are warm-blooded vertebrates. The protozoa can cause serious symptoms in humans, while in poultry is usually asymptomatic. The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in poultry due to the way poultry are fed is an important indicator of the distribution of oocysts in the environment; in addition, consumption of raw or under cooked meat of chickens can cause infection in human and other animals. Therefore, in this study, the prevalence rate of infection to toxoplasma gondii in domestic and industrial breeding poultry in Isfahan City, Iran, was assessed.

From three groups of domestic breeding, broiler, and laying eggs poultry, 60 blood clot samples were collected. On collected serums, serological modified agglutination test (MAT) was performed. Toxoplasma gondii-specific antibodies were assayed by this test. Then, the obtained results were analyzed.

By performing the MAT serological test, 20, 15, and 30 samples were positive in domestic breeding, industrial broiler, and in laying eggs samples, respectively. Therefore, relative frequency was 33.3, 25.0, and 50.0 percent in domestic breeding, industrial broiler, and industrial laying eggs, respectively, which by performing chi-square test and calculating the P < 0.050 between the three groups, a significant difference was observed serologically.

A considerable percent of domestic and industrial poultry was infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Therefore, preventive measures should be conducted to provide safe foods for vertebrate animals and human. </div