Jentashapir Journal of Cellular and Molecular Biology
Volume:6 Issue: 3, Jun 2015

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of central nervous system that is characterized by demyelinization and loss of axons. The most common criterion for assessing disability in patients is the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), which is calculated based on the presence or absence of neurologic side effects. The beta interferons are effective drugs in preventing the recurrence of attacks and disease progression. Three types of beta interferons are used in the treatment of MS: CinnoVexR, Rebif and Betaferon. This study aimed to compare the effects of CinnoVex, Rebif and Betaferon on the EDSS of patients with MS.Patients and In this study, a total of 92 patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) were randomly allocated into three equal groups; each treatment group received one of the foregoing drugs (CinnoVexR, Rebif and Betaferon) for one year. At the beginning and end of the study, patients ‘ EDSS was measured and compared. In this study, the relative frequency of female to male gender was 85.71% versus 14.21% and the mean age of the patients was 28.21 years. Following taking medication, patients’ EDSS showed a significant increase in all three groups during a year. However, no significant difference was observed regarding the average increase of patients’ EDSS among three groups of patients at the beginning and end of the study. It seems that CinnoVex, Rebif and Betaferon do not have a significant difference in reducing disability in patients with MS after 12 months. According to the findings of this study, no significant difference was observed in reducing disability in MS patients among the three groups (CinnoVex, Rebif and Betaferon) after 12 months.

Vitiligo is an acquired disease in which the loss of functional melanocytes results in depigmented macules and patches. Over the years, wide arrays of markers for melanocytes have been described, including human melanoma black 45 (HMB-45). Narrow-band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) therapy is one of the therapeutic modalities for vitiligo. We sought to detect HMB-45 staining after 30 sessions of NB-UVB therapy in vitiligo and perivitiliginous skin.Patients and All the participants were planned to have 30 sessions of NB-UVB therapy with 724 lamps (FS, 72 T, 12-HO Daavlin MED) at 311 nm wavelengths. The patients underwent skin sampling from lesional and perilesional area before and after 30 sessions of treatment. The skin biopsies were sent to the laboratory for light microscopy and immunohistochemical study. The evaluation of HMB-45 was based on the quantitative method, measuring the number of positive stained cells. Clinical response was defined as repigmentation in three categories: more than 75%; between 40% and 75%; and less than 40%. The data were analyzed using SPSS (version 17). Twenty-nine patients completed the study. The Wilcoxon test showed a meaningful relation between HMB-45 staining before and after NB-UVB treatment in perilesional skin. We did not find a meaningful relation between HMB-45 staining before and after treatment regarding the mean age, gender, mean duration of disease, and initial lesional area (P = 0.55, P = 0.41, P = 0.55, and P = 0.87, respectively). After 30 sessions of NB-UVB therapy, repigmentation was less than 40% in 8 (27.6%), 40 - 75% in 7 (24.1%), and more than 75% in 6 patients. The HMB-45 stain strength significantly changed after treatment in perilesional skin.

Uterine cancer stays the most prevalent gynecologic malignancy in developed countries. Providing suitable solutions to treat this disease is required to the early diagnosis of this cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of multiple-site lymph node sampling in patients with the endometrioid type of endometrial cancer.Patients and Demographic and clinicopathologic data were obtained from the Tehran Gynecology Oncology ward in Vali-e-Asr Hospital between 1999 and 2010. All the patients were divided into two groups. Group A (n = 102): patients who underwent multiple-site lymph node sampling; and Group B (n = 102): patients who did not undergo multiple-site lymph node sampling. Survival curves were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the differences in survival rates were analyzed using the log-rank test. The median age was 55 years (range = 18 - 84). The 5-year progression-free survival rates of Groups A and B were 85% and 87%, respectively (P = 0.456). In addition, the 5-year overall survival rates were 95% and 93.9%, respectively (P = 0.651). Subsequently, there was no significant difference in recurrence rates in retroperitoneal lymph nodes regardless of the completion of lymphadenectomy. The obtained data showed no evidence of benefit in terms of overall or recurrence-free survival for pelvic lymphadenectomy in women with early endometrial cancer.

Freezing of the immature testis tissue and then its transplantation can be considered a major step in fertility preservation for young boys with cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant effects of melatonin on histological structure of seminiferous tubules that were vitrified-thawed with different cryoprotectant media. Male mice were randomly assigned to one of 10 experimental groups. Testes of 6-day-old BALB/c male mice pups were extracted and vitrified-thawed with different vitrification media with melatonin and without melatonin. Then, their testes were stained with haematoxylin-eosin. The result showed that supplementation of glycerol based media with melatonin has reduced injury to histological structure of seminiferous tubules in the 6-day-old male BALB/c mice pups testes (P = 0.004). It seem that melatonin due to its antioxidant properties, if added to glycerol based media, reduces the harmful effects of freezing-thawing process, and protects seminiferous tubules histological structure from oxidative injury.

Many people with disability are living in developing countries, requiring short- and long-term rehabilitation services. These services are provided by various professionals and are very expensive. Community Based Rehabilitation was developed by World Health Organization to provide the basic rehabilitation services for those are living in remote and poor areas, not having access to hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program on Quality of Life (QOL) of people with physical disability in rural areas of Bostanabad, Tabriz, Iran.Patients and In this descriptive-analytical and comparative study, two groups of participants were selected as the case and control according to their living place. Participants in the case group included 48 people with physical disability, aged between 18 and 50 years old (Mean = 32, SD = 8.78) who lived in the villages covered by the CBR program. On the other hand, participants in the control group included 45 people with physical disability in the close-by villages not covered by the CBR program (Age between 18 and 50 years old; Mean = 33, SD = 9.98). People with other types of disabilities or multiple disabilities were excluded from the study. All participants in this study completed two questionnaires, including demographic and the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) to evaluate QOL. Data were analyzed using t-test for independent groups. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The results demonstrated a significant difference in QOL between the two groups (P > 0.002). Participants in the CBR program group showed a higher level of QOL compared with the other group. The results of this study show that applying CBR programs in the rural and remote areas can be effective in improving the QOL of people with physical disability.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common disease in young women that is associated with infertility and other complications such as obesity, hirsutism and insulin resistance and also the disorder that mostly is specified with oligomenorrhoea or amenorrhea with clinical or laboratory evidence of hyperandrogenemia. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether measurements of sex hormones, Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) and insulin serum in patients with PCOS can be useful to predict the efficacy of Clomiphene Citrate (CC).Patients and This study was targeted patients with PCOS admitted for undergoing superovulation. To determine the values of sex hormones, insulin, Fast Blood Sugar (FBS), High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and GTT to predict the efficacy of CC, blood samples of the cases were taken before the administration of CC. Afterwards, CC therapy was given up to 3 months and then, the cumulative pregnancy rate or improving ovulation was calculated. Ovulation, after taking CC, was done in 42.2% of the cases. However, the clinical pregnancy rate was not more significant in cases responded well to the CC therapy compared to resistant cases (P ≥ 0.387). There was a significant difference in the mean Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) (P ≥ 0.0001), and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) (P ≥ 0.024) between the resistant and responder patients to CC. Moreover, GTT in resistant cases to CC was higher than responder cases (P ≥ 0.024). However, this relation, between resistant and responder cases to CC, was not meaningful in estradiol (P ≥ 0.478), insulin (P ≥ 0.882), HDL (P ≥ 0.118) and FBS (P ≥ 0.1). When all of the cases were stratified according to their Body Mass Index (BMI) (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2 and BMI > 25 kg/m2), A significant difference was found in the ovulation (P ≥ 0.001) and rate of pregnancy (P ≥ 0.029) between the two groups (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2 and BMI > 25 kg/m2). Determination of FSH, LH, GTT and BMI may produce a reliable way to predict maturation and ovulation status using CC therapy in women with PCOS.

In this study, high school students in Tehran were selected to investigate the role of environmental education in the prevention and control of pollution. In this regard, 10 high schools from different areas of Tehran City were used to implement an Environmental Education (EE) intervention program.Patients and The students of 5 high schools (first group) were trained by the paper-based guidebook and students of other 5 high schools (second group) trained by a teacher (EE expert). This study has been designed as a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design with comparison groups. The impact on the participant’s environmental literacy was assessed by measuring a number of environmental literacy components, including knowledge, attitude, values, and concerns as well as behavioral intention/behavior. The results were presented in a bipolar 5-point Likert response format, with an "undecided" category. Relationships among variables were examined using the general linear model formulation with subsequent ANOVA analyses. Results for the participants show a significant increase in the scores of knowledge and attitude about air pollution. Educational program and training tools had no effect on the concern indexes, values, and behavior toward air pollution. Review of the score changes toward waste component, shows that posttest scores (in comparison with pretest ones) increases in 4 indicators of knowledge, attitude, concern, and behavior, however the value index did not change so much. We can conclude that educational program can be used to convey the knowledge of the environment and in this regard, its implementation is necessary.

Drug addiction is deemed one of the gravest threats to society. The objective of this study was to determine what factors (personal, familial, or social) are correlated with addiction relapse.Patients and In this descriptive study, 146 addicts referring to addiction treatment centers in the Iranian city of Ahvaz were selected via purposive and non-randomized sampling. The study tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and SPSS software were used for data analysis. The results showed that 46.1% of the participants aged between 20 and 30 years. All the subjects had at least one attempt at quitting drug abuse. Single individuals comprised 52.9% of the study population. The most significant physical factors were lack of appetite (23.9%), numbness and pins and needles (23.3%), and bone pain (22.4%), while the most significant mental factor was loneliness (44%). Concerning the social factors, association with addicted and misleading friends (35.2%) had the utmost importance. Furthermore, lack of a permanent job (43%) and absence of appropriate family relationships (32%), respectively, constituted the most important factors among the career and familial factors. Our results showed that many personal, familial, and social factors play a role in addiction relapse. The high prevalence of return to addiction necessitates further strategies for the more optimal control of these factors.