فصلنامه یافته
سال بیست و سوم شماره 5 (پیاپی 90، زمستان 1400)

Despite recent advances in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is still one of the most challenging post-transplant complications with a considerable mortality rate. Various strategies, including chemotherapy, depletion of T lymphocytes, monoclonal antibodies, corticosteroids, and other immunosuppressive drugs are used to reduce GVHD incidence, which usually increases the risk of cancer relapse and various infections in patients. The recently conducted studies have introduced oncolytic virotherapy as a promising solution to prevent GVHD and enhance the graft-versus-tumor effects. Oncolytic viruses are non-pathogenic viruses capable of selective lysis of cancer cells. These viruses can differentiate between allogeneic T lymphocytes and hematopoietic stem cells, and suppress allogeneic T cells. This review study aimed to discuss the mechanisms of oncolytic virotherapy in reducing the incidence of GVHD.

One of the major problems presented to health care systems is the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Today, natural substances, such as essential oils with antimicrobial properties, are increasingly used as an alternative to antibiotics. The present study aimed to assess the effect of chitosan nanogels containing essential oil of peppermint (Mentha Piperita) on clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii in vitro.

In this cross-sectional study, Acinetobacter baumannii were isolated from selected hospitals in Khorramabad. After preparing nanogels containing peppermint essential oil (Mentha Piperita), the minimum inhibitory concentration of chitosan nanogels on Acinetobacter baumannii isolates was determined by micro broth dilution method in a 96-well plate according to Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute instructions.

  The mean minimum inhibitory concentrations of nanoparticles without essential oil of peppermint, containing peppermint, and gentamicin were 47±496, 48±301, and 25±25, respectively. This is indicative of the high sensitivity of the assessed strains to gentamicin, in comparison with the other two groups (P≤0.001) and the more effective performance of Menthapiperita in the inhibition of the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates, as compared to nanoparticles without peppermint essential oil (P≤0.001).

The obtained results of the present study pointed to the effective ability of chitosan nanogels containing peppermint essential oil to inhibit the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii isolates, in comparison with non-essential nanoparticles (Mentha Piperita).

In the 21st century, the world has been facing several emerging viral epidemics. These viruses are divided into two categories, including emerging viruses and re-emerging viruses. Factors, such as climate change, global warming, and some eating habits will have irreversible effects on human, animal, and environmental ecosystems. These emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases have significant effects on the world economy and health. The peak of this type of infectious disease appeared in the 1980s with a viral epidemic called human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). These emerging or recurring viruses have affected both livestock and humans.There is evidence that these emerging or re-emerging viruses, influenced by the environment and the human diet are also affected by climatic cultures. Therefore, it would be possible to identify the center areas for the emergence or re-emergence of these viral diseases. In this review article, it has been attempted to identify world resources and the way we should be prepared for a confrontation with these deadly viruses through the study of these epidemics, emerging, and re-emerging viruses, since the mutated viral infections may emerge and re-emerge in the near future.For this review study, the keywords, including COVID-19, Coronavirus, SARS-COV2, Influenza virus (H1N1), Zika virus, HIV1 virus, Hanta virus, Ebola, Influenza (H5N1), Nipah, Hendra, West Nile fever, SARS- COV1, MERS-CoV were collected in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and other reputable databases.

Bacterial meningitis is an acute infection of the meninges requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment. Clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological findings of meningitis are of utmost importance for rapid diagnosis and treatment. The present study aimed to evaluate patients with meningitis based on their epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings and compare these variables between patients with septic and aseptic meningitis.

In this retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study, all children with suspected meningitis in Shahid Madani Hospital in Khorramabad in 2014-2015 were examined for spinal fluid culture, age, gender, seasonal distribution, and antibiogram results.

  Among 63 patients with meningitis, 30 (47.6%) cases had septic meningitis, and 33 (52.4%) subjects had aseptic meningitis. Out of 30 patients with septic meningitis, 4 (13.3%) patients had positive microbial culture. Among patients with septic meningitis, only four bacterial isolates were isolated by the microbial culture method, out of which Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common bacterium and the prevalence was higher in autumn and winter. The most effective antibiotics were cotrimoxazole and vancomycin with a sensitivity of 100%; nonetheless, there was relatively high resistance to cloxacillin, erythromycin, and clindamycin. The number of white blood cells (WBCs), sugar, and protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in septic meningitis were compared with aseptic meningitis, and a significant difference was observed between the two groups. There was also a significant difference between gender and septic meningitis, and male patients were more likely to suffer from septic meningitis.

The prevalence of aseptic meningitis was higher than that of septic meningitis. Microbial tests are very effective in the correct diagnosis and treatment; however, the level of WBC, glucose, and protein in CSF can also be of great help in diagnosing different types of meningitis, especially septic meningitis.

Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) are nanostructures that are similar to their native virus in shape, size, and other morphological features, except that virus-like particles lack a genome. Virus-Like Particles cause a high humoral and cellular immune response due to repetitive structures in their body. Therefore, the use of these particles increases the body's immunity during production and consumption because they lack genomic materials. Several systems may be used to generate VLPs. The choice of production platform depends on several factors, including cost and the need for Post-Translational Modifications that may be necessary to generate an optimal immune response. In addition, plant viruses, due to their structure, are well able to stimulate the mammalian immune system; on the other hand, since they are not able to infect mammals, they can be considered a subset of VLPs. Some VLP-based vaccines and plant viruses have been designed and tested to prevent several infectious diseases; however, some are in the clinical or research phase. Interest in using VLPs to produce vaccines has recently increased due to its advantages over conventional vaccines. In this review, an attempt has been made to compare the advantages and disadvantages of VLP production systems.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the second most common malignancy and the leading cause of death in Iran.. According to global statistics, these figures are highly worrying highlighting the importance of studies in this field. Given that the role of chronic inflammation in the development of cancer, especially infection-related cancers, such as GC, has been revealed for many years, evaluating the molecules involved in these processes can be helpful. Toll-like-receptors (TLRs) as the greatest family of receptors for inflammation-associated molecular patterns, and the effect of mutations in TLR2 and TLR4 on the pathology of GC has been identified. Considering the results of previous studies and the major role of TLR2 and TLR4 in inflammatory processes of pre-malignancy, in this study, the mutation in the sequence of these genes and its association with GC have been investigated in both laboratory and bioinformatics stages.

In this study, 30 Helicobacter pylori-positive GC samples were collected and after DNA extraction using Sanger sequencing methods, and subsequently, variant pathogenicity predictions, such as SIFT and PolyPhen, mutation pathogenicity was predicted. Following that, PyMOL was applied to model 3D structures of the wild and mutated receptor.

Sanger sequencing data showed a heterozygous mutation in exon 3 of TLR4 c.1061A>G. The modeling crystal structure of the human receptor and LPS complex showed that the variant was far from the TLR4 binding sites with its ligand.

The results of this study indicated that mutations in two important genes of the pattern recognition system in Iranian cancer samples have no functional relevance with these two proteins.

Fungal infections in transplant recipient patients are among the main causes of mortality and disability due to immunosuppression. Involvement of the central nervous system because of fungal infections is one of the important and treatable factors in such patients. This study investigated a case of a 58-year-old diabetic patient with a history of kidney transplantation infected by cryptococcal meningitis 3 months after recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. A 58-year-old diabetic patient with a history of kidney transplantation presented with a complaint of prolonged headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. The patient was admitted to the same center 3 months before with a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. The examinations performed after cerebrospinal fluid sampling showed a slight reduction in the patient's neurological symptoms, and the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid and the use of Indian culture and ink demonstrated evidence of fungal infection. After treatment with Amphotericin and Flowocytosine, the patient was discharged from the hospital in a good general condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the well-being of different individuals and nations in terms of socioeconomic, psychological, and public health issues. Regarding the importance of predicting the peak outbreaks and incidence of COVID-19, this study aimed to predict factors that affect the incidence of COVID-19 pandemic in hospitalized patients admitted to a hospital in Khorramabad city of Iran, using a multivariate logistic regression model.

In this descriptive-analytical study, the data from 4,425 COVID-19 patients in the first peak of the disease, who were referred to the Shohada-ye Ashayer Hospital, Khorramabad, Iran, in 2020, were examined, from whom 2,978 people had undergone COVID-19 test. Data were collected using a researcher-made checklist for variables and examination of patients’ daily records. Data analysis was performed using descriptive methods, multivariate logistic regression model, and backup vector machine method in the R software for the modeling of risk factors associated with the disease diagnosis.

The highest and lowest rates of incidence were observed in the age range of 40-49 (19%) and 19-10 years (1%).  The age group 60-69 years accounted for 6% of the population with a mortality rate of 25%. Based on the implemented model, the most effective symptoms associated with the incidence of COVID-19 included age, fever, decreased level of consciousness, blood oxygen level, and a history of heart disease.

The present study showed that identification of the effective variables of the disease led to the identification of high-risk individuals. This method can be used to prevent disease incidence and prevalence in high-risk groups and is a great help in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.