مجله دانشکده پزشکی اصفهان
پیاپی 730 (هفته دوم مهر 1402)

Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is one of the important causes of perinatal mortality. This study aimed to compare the effects of azithromycin and erythromycin on pregnancy outcomes in mothers with PPROM.

In this clinical trial study, patients diagnosed with PPROM between 24 and 34 weeks were treated with two drug regimens. Group A (n = 30) received oral azithromycin one-gram single dose and Group B (n = 30) received oral erythromycin 400 mg every 6 hr for 7 days. In addition, both groups were treated with intravenous ampicillin 2 grams every 6 hours for 48 hours and then amoxicillin 250 mg orally every 8 hours for 5 days. Primary outcomes including latency period and clinical chorioamnionitis and secondary outcomes including the type of delivery, amniotic fluid stained with meconium, postpartum endometritis, neonatal sepsis, baby's birth weight, and live birth rate were compared between the two groups.

In the current study, the latency period was significantly higher, while postpartum endometritis and laboratory-confirmed neonatal sepsis were significantly lower in the azithromycin group than in the erythromycin group. Other outcomes did not show significant differences between the two groups.

Azithromycin is more effective than erythromycin in the increased latency periods and decreased postpartum endometritis and neonatal sepsis in women with PPROM. Therefore, azithromycin can be a suitable alternative to erythromycin in the treatment of PPROM.

Many environmental factors are involved in the death of oligodendrocyte cells, myelin tissue destruction, and disturbance in the central nervous system function. The protective role of lithium chloride as a Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3-β) inhibitor has been proven in some neurological diseases. In the present study, the effects of this compound were investigated in the prevention of oligodendrocytes death in mouse brains.

In the present study, 40 female C57BL/6 mice weighing 20-25 grams were randomly divided into four groups: control, sham, cuprizone, and lithium chloride/cuprizone. Lithium chloride compound was used intra peritoneally daily. At the end of the study, in order to check the results, immunohistochemistry and Real-time PCR were used.

The results of immunohistochemistry staining showed that the percentage of cells that expressed Oligodendrocyte transcription factor (Olig2) and Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (Mog) markers increased significantly in the group that received lithium compared to the groups that received cuprizone (P < 0.05). In addition, Real-Time PCR results showed that the use of lithium can increase the expression of oligodendrocytes- specific genes.

The results of the present study showed that lithium chloride has the ability to prevent the oligodendrocytes death, and therefore, the use of this compound can be a suitable solution for preventing and reducing the progression of diseases that destroy central nervous tissue.

In the last several decades, numerous attempts have been made to develop medications based on mRNA. These efforts have been able to take a crude idea and evolve it into a clinical reality, which is a significant accomplishment. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the fastest-ever known development of a vaccine in history was recorded, with mRNA vaccines leading the way.

By searching the ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases and using the keywords (mRNA vaccine, Cancer, Infectious disease) as well as their synonyms, appropriate articles were included in the present study.

This review article describes the technology that is used to develop mRNA vaccines, focusing on lipid nanoparticles and other non-viral delivery carriers. In addition, recent developments in the clinical application of mRNA vaccines for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancers are reviewed, and a future outlook for this revolutionary technology is provided.

Even though it has been shown that mRNA vaccines effectively protect patients from infectious diseases, further study is needed to improve mRNA design, intracellular delivery, and applications other than the prevention of SARS-CoV-2.