Razi Journal of Medical Sciences
Year:2018 | Volume:25 | Issue:167 |Papers Count:9

Background: Nowadays, due to the emergence of drug resistance to antibiotics, a good alternative to drugs should be found. Bacteriophages are viruses that play a very important role in the destruction of bacteria. Because of their specific properties, bacteriophages can be considered as suitable substitutes for antibiotics in the treatment of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to isolate Salmonella enteritidis bacteriophage from hospital wastewater. Methods: Ten samples of sewage, each containing about 100 ml of raw wastewater from Imam Khomeini Hospital of Tehran, were collected and then mixed with culture medium Brain-heart infusion medium (BHI) as a liquid medium for growth of microorganisms. Other stages of the work included purification, bacterial inoculation and determination of host for isolation of bacteriophages. To select the effect of bacteriophage on microorganisms such as: E. coli (ATCC25922), Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC2392), Yersinia enterocolitica (ATCC9610), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) were used. Results: Out of 10 samples of bacteriophage sewage selected from Salmonella enteritidis. During the host testing, it became clear that these bacteriophages are well able to leach and destroy Salmonella enteritidis, but have no effect on other bacteria. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the extracted bacteriophage is specifically acting, due to the increase in antibiotic resistance; phages can be used as a suitable substitute for the treatment of Salmonella infections.

Background: Humulus lupulus (Hops) is well-known throughout the world as the raw material in the brewing industry. In addition, hops have been found to have estrogenic and antioxidant properties. The object of this study aimed to examine the effects of hops during gestation and lactation on the onset of puberty, estrus cycle, reproductive organ weights and fertility index in female mice. Methods: 10 pregnant mice were exposed to hops at doses of 0 (control), 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg/ day, by gavage, from gestational days 7 to postnatal day 7. Female offspring (n=10) were analyzed for vaginal opening day, estrus cycle regularity, weights of the uterus and ovaries, and fertility index. Statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey tests (p<0. 05). Results: Vaginal opening day was significantly advanced by 100 (p<0. 01) and 150 (p<0. 001) hops. Duration mean of estrus cycle increased in 50 (p<0. 05), 100 (p<0. 001) and 150 (p<0. 001) hops and diestrus index increased in 100 (p<0. 001) and 150 (p<0. 001). Decreased ovary weight in 100 (p<0. 01) and 150 (p<0. 01) hops and increased uterus weight in 50 (p<0. 05), 100 (p<0. 01) and 150 (p<0. 01) hops were observed. In addition, fertility index in 100 (p<0. 05) and 150 (p<0. 01) hops decreased compared with control. Conclusion: The present study results showed that perinatal exposure to hops advanced the puberty, disrupted estrus cycle and decreased fertility in female offspring.

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Despite extensive efforts, an ideal medicine has not been yet found for cancer treatment. Cinnamon contains strong anti-oxidative compounds. This study evaluated and compared the lethal effect of cinnamon extract on the A459 line lung cancer cells with cyclophosphamide. Methods: Cinnamon extract was prepared by soxhlet set. Then A459 cells were seeded and treated with 0. 01, 0. 1, 1 and 10 mg/ml concentrations of cinnamon and cyclophosphamide for 1, 3 and 5 days. Cell viability and morphology were evaluated on certain days after treatment. The expression of apoptotic genes including Bad, Bax and Bcl-2 was evaluated by qRT-PCR. Results: Comparison of the cell viability percent in treated groups showed that lethal effect of cinnamon is equal to cyclophosphamide in 1 and 10 mg/ml concentrations on the 5th day but it was less than cyclophosphamide in other concentrations and days (p<0. 05). Moreover, molecular findings showed that 1 and 10 mg/ml concentrations of cinnamon extract could upregulate Bad and Bax genes expression and down regulate Bcl-2 gene expression (p<0. 05). Conclusion: Cinnamon hydroalcoholic extract can induce apoptosis in A459 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner and be similar to cyclophosphamide with increasing concentration.

Disorders of sex development (DSDs) are a group of genetic abnormalities which develop from different conditions including chromosomal and gonadal disorders. The careful study of underlying pathways of sex development is necessary due to identification of genes that have a role in these pathways. And it can help to better understanding of the cause of disorder, genetic counseling and prevention of birth with the disorder. The informations of this article are obtained from searching through PubMed and Google scholar data banks. In this review article we will discuss the studies about genetic basis of the disorder and expression of genetic counseling process.

Background: Lung cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Iran, with 10. 5 and 1. 5 per 100, 000 in males and females, respectively. The study of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBi) in patients with lung cancer is significant due to the possibility of its activation during chemotherapy and increased mortality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of LTBi in patients with lung cancer with healthy individuals. Methods: In this case-control study, which was performed from 2016 to 2017, 29 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer and 40 healthy subjects were studied. Demographic data of all subjects were recorded in questionnaire. IGRAs (Quantiferon) were used to determine the LTBi. Results: The results of this study showed that prevalence of LTBi were 24. 1% in lung cancer and 22. 5% in the healthy group. The results of this study showed that smoking had a significant relationship with the risk of lung cancer and also LTBi infection in healthy people (p<0. 007). Conclusion: Since LTBi activates under chronic conditions such as malignancies, and because of high rates of LTBi in patients with lung cancer, it is recommended that screening for LTBi in high-risk individuals such as Lung cancer patients should be done before any treatment. Considering the role of smoking in lung cancer as well as the ability to develop LTBi in healthy people, attention to cessation of smoking in the health care program, prevention and treatment of pulmonary patients is recommended.

Background: Few studies have reported the association between dietary acid load with increased fractures and osteoporosis, which results in of these studies are contradictory. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of dietary acid load based on PRAL (potential renal acid load) and NEAP (net endogenous acid production) score with bone health markers in the elderly. Methods: 172 elderlies (122 female and 50 male) participated in this cross-sectional study. In this study, PRAL and NEAP scores were investigated. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to evaluate dietary intake. Height and weight of patients were measured. Measurement of serum osteocalcin and CTX (C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen) of urine, parathormone, hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) and 25 hydroxyvitamin D were performed according to commercial kits guidelines. SPSS v. 23 software was used for regression with a significance level of 0. 05. Results: The present study showed that the PRAL had a positive and significant correlation with body weight and waist circumference in linear regression (p=0. 034). There was no significant statistical relationship between other variables. Among of bone metabolism markers, only CTX-I indicated significant difference between NEAP tertiles. Thus, in the highest tertile of NEAP (tertile3=18. 13± 1. 86) concentration of CTX-I declined (tertile 1=16. 63± 1. 95 and tertile2=26. 45± 1. 95) (p= 0. 001). Conclusion: It seems that high dietary acid intake can not be a threat to bone loss and osteoporosis in the elderly.

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global health problem and one of the common causes of mortality worldwide. Therefore, currently many studies have been focused on introducing novel and effective anti HCV agents especially plant materials. Therefore, the study was aimed to screening novel HCV protease inhibitor(s) from two medicinal plants including Cornus officinalis and Syzygium aromaticum using bioinformatics tools. Methods: For this purpose, first three dimension structures of HCV protease and dominant compounds of the plants were retrieval from Protein Data Bank (PDB) and Pubchem database respectively. In the next step, physicochemical properties and probable mutagenic and cytotoxicity effects of the phytochemicals were predicted using Swiss ADME and Toxtree software respectively. And finally, these molecules were subjected to molecular docking studies using iGemdock 2. 1 software. Results: The results indicated that any of the phytochemical compounds have cytotoxicity and mutagenic properties. Results also showed that most studied compounds had strong and appropriate interaction with the NS3/4A enzyme especially in the protease region. Furthermore, the results indicated that six compounds including 1, 2, 6-Trigalloylglucose, Hyperoside, Isoquercitrin, Rhamnetin, Ursolic acid and Methyl salicylate have more strong interactions to key amino acids in the active site of the enzyme. Conclusion: Based on the results it can be concluded that the mentioned compounds can be good candidates for in vitro and in vivo studies as novel anti-HCV agents.

Background: Pneumonia is one of the most important causes of death worldwide and its accurate diagnosis is extremely important. Typically, Viridans Streptococci are not the cause of pneumonia, but in patients with an underlying illness, they can be problematic. Also, due to contamination with the microbial flora of the upper respiratory tract, they may be isolates from a pure culture, which makes it difficult for the physicians and laboratory staff to diagnose. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of Streptococci Viridans as a cause of pneumonia in patients with underlying disease. Methods: This cross-sectional retrospective (2011-2014) study was carried out using a medical records of patients admitted to the infectious disease ward of city hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The patients, including people with pneumonia that were confirmed by X-ray and also had an underlying disease. The BAL samples were obtained from these patients and were cultured. The antibiotic susceptibility test was done for Streptococcus viridans isolates. Results: The results reveal that out of 168 pneumonia patients, VS have been isolated from BAL samples of 54 cases (32 %). In 31 cases (57%) VS were the only isolated pathogen. In none of the samples, the pneumococcus was not isolated. According to results of antibiotic susceptibility test, the highest rate of resistance was seen for cotrimoxazole, and the lowest rate was seen for vancomycin and ceftazidime. Conclusion: Regarding the high frequency reported of Streptococcus viridans as a cause of pneumonia in the period of study and the lack of isolation of other organisms, such as pneumococcus, it is possible that the BAL sample be contaminated with the normal flora of the respiratory system. Although the BAL is very valuable sample for the diagnosis of pneumonia causative agent, but based on the culture of this sample alone, it can not report Streptococcus viridans as a cause of pneumonia.

Background: The present study aimed to compare vitamin D dietary intake and its relationship with serum androgen components in four phenotypes of PCOS. Methods: 182 participants eligible for this five-group comparative study were selected by convenience sampling method. Then they were classified into five groups: A (n=41), B (n=33), C (n=40), D (n=37) and control (without PCOS) (n=31). Dietary intake assessment of vitamin D was carried out by a 168-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. Androgen components included the free androgen index (FAI), total testosterone (TT), and sexhormone-binding-globulin (SHBG). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS22 software and Kruskal-Wallis (KW) test followed by appropriate post hoc test, Mann-Whitney U (MW), and Spearman correlation test. Significant p value was considered 0. 05 for KW and Spearman tests and 0. 005 for MW (based on Bonferroni correction). Results: Pairwise comparison of the groups revealed that dietary intakes of vitamin D were significantly lower in all phenotypes of PCOS than control group (MW; p<0. 005) and there was a significant difference in vitamin D intake between phenotypes of PCOS with each other (MW; p<0. 005). There was a significant negative correlation between the dietary intake of vitamin D with the serum level of FAI and TT in all phenotypes of PCOS (p<0. 05) and a significant positive correlation with SHBG (p<0. 05) in phenotype C. Conclusion: Regarding the research results, it is suggested that modification of the nutritional status of PCOS patients and the increased consumption of vitamin D in the diet will considerably improve the situation of PCOS patients.