Payavard Salamat
Year:2010 | Volume:4 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Background and Aim: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a distinct subtype of acute myeloid leukemia. APL is characterized by a balanced reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 15 and 17, t (5; 17)). Important therapeutic strategies for this disease are ATRA and Arsenic trioxide. To eliminate tumor cells with arsenic, high dose of arsenic is needed. But high dose is toxic for normal tissue. The purpose of this study is Assessment of effect of low dose of arsenic trioxide in combination with AZT on NB4 cell line (APL cell line) to reduce toxic effect of high dose arsenic.Materials and Methods: In this study after NB4 cell line culture and proliferation, the cells treated with low dose of arsenic trioxide (0.5µM) in combination with different doses of AZT (50, 100, 200µM) and then viability and metabolic activity was assessed by try pan blue and MTT assay respectively.Results: Low dose of arsenic (0.5µm) alone and in combination with dose of 50µm of AZT has little effect on viability and metabolic activity but in combination with higher dose of AZT has significant effect on viability and metabolic activity and both viability and metabolic activity significantly reduced.Discussion and Conclusion: Different apoptosis- induced mechanisms cause apoptosis by arsenic and AZT. Since some of these mechanisms between AZT and arsenic are similar, so maybe these similar mechanisms cause synergic effect and significant reduction of viability and metabolic activity in combination of these two drugs.

Background and Aim: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small noncoding RNA molecules that transcribed by RNA polymerase II. After biogenesis, these molecules act by incorporation into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).MiRNAs are involved in multiple physiological and pathological processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and cancer.Recently several studies reported down regulation of mir-150 during erythropoesis. Since hemoglobin expression is valuable indicator of erythroid differentiation we evaluated the mir-150 downregulation effect on alpha chain expression by Quantitative RT-PCR.Materials and Methods: K562cells were grown in RPMI1640 in standard condition. K562 cells were transfected by microRNA 150 Inhibitor using transfection kit.Mir-150 downregulation was confirmed by miRNA Real time PCR, followed by Q-RT-PCR to investigate the alpha chain expression changes.Results: By relative QRT-PCR the alpha chain expression was increased 10 folds in comparison to untransfected and scramble cells. Furthermore, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) Discussion and Conclusion: Elevation of alpha chain expression in our study showed that mir-150 downregulation has a crucial role in erythroid differentiation and can introduce as a novel marker in alpha thalassemia.Further researches to find out the detail mechanism and miRNAs genes target could improve our knowledge about miRNAs potential in management of diseases and their applications in gene therapy and regenerative medicine.

Background and Aim: In any country, one of the fundamental goals of health policymakers is to facilitate the people's access to treatment and health care services. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify factors that influence recievers' access to delivered services in urban health care services.Materials and Methods: We performed this descriptive and cross sectional study in year 2008. We used the multi-stage sampling method for selecting 57 staffs of urban health care centers as statistical samples. The valid and reliable questionnaire for gathering data was designed. Data was analyzed by SPSS 2 version 13 software.Results: Our findings indicate that mean scores of individual, geographical, financial and structural factor was 2.29 (61.4% with high impact), 2.42 (57.9% with high impact), 2.27 (56.1% with high impact) and 2.58 (86% with high impact), respectively. (Our mean score range was 0 to 3).Discussion and Conclusion: According to the assessment of employee' s viewpoint of Urban Health Care Centers, all of four individual, geographical, financial and structural factors had high influence on person's access to health care services in Urban Health Care Centers. Consequently this study has presented suggestions (according to the findings) for improving access to delivered services in urban health care centers.

Background and Aim: Using Hirsch index as an important tool to describe the scientific outputs of researchers has caused some authors to increase their self-imposed parameters, increase, citing themselves. Therefore it is necessary to consider the effect of self-citation on Hirsch index for every author to have better measuring on the quality of researchers scientific production.Materials and Methods: This research is descriptive method of citation analysis in general and specifically self-citation analysis. The study, are Iranian prolific authors in the field of medicine that have at least 30 documents indexed in Web of Science database between 2004 to 2006. Citations following up was studied till December 2010.Results was analysis using Excel software version 2007.Results: The average self-citation observed between prolific authors in medical field was 25/89 percent. Hirsch index for 30/77 percent of authors had changed considerably. The authors rating scheme based on Hirsch index was done after removing self - citation so that 38/46 percent of authors decreased to lower level.Discussion and Conclusion: Considering that 10 to 30 percent of self-citation can be normal and justified, the status of self-citatin of Iranian prolific authors in medical field is desirable.Also, lower rates of self - citation of these authors doesnot affect Hirsch index.

Background and Aim: The balance between ROS generation and antioxidant activity is critical to the pathogenesis of oxidative stress related disorders. In this study the prooxidant - antioxidant balance and its correlation with lipid profile and uric acid was determined to evaluate the PAB as a prognostic factor for CAD.Materials and Methods: Seventy - two patients and sixty eight healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. The values of PAB were determined by using standard solutions and ELISA method.Triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL- cholesterol, HDL - cholesterol and uric acid were measured by enzymatic method.Results: The PAB values of CAD patients and control group were 70.01±3.36 (HK unit) and 66.40±2.84 (HK unit) respectively. There was no significant difference between PAB values among the two groups (P=0.41). There was no significant difference between uric acid levels among the two groups (P=0.46). There was a significant correlation between the uric acid values among patients and healthy volunteers and PAB values (P<0.01). There was a significant correlation between the TG, values among patients and healthy volunteers and PAB values (P<0.05).Discussion and Conclusion: This study showed oxidative stress could be used as a significant risk predictor in the coronary artery disease patients.

Background and Aim: Prevalence of anabolic steroids (ASs) consumption among bodybuilders has increased progressively. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of ASs consumption on C-reactive protein (CRP) in bodybuilders.Materials and Methods: Sixty healthy men (age: 24/1±9/1yr; weight: 77±10 kg and height: 172±12 cm) participated in the study voluntarily. These subjects were selected from three groups. First group (FG) was bodybuilders who consumed ASs (n=20), second group (SG) was bodybuilders who did not consume ASs (n=20) and third group (TG) were untrained subjects as control (n=20). Blood samples were collected in fasting state (12 hours) at 09: 00 for CRP assessment. Strength and volume of the forearm, pectoral major and femur muscles were measured via 1RM test and muscle circumstances, respectively. Speed was assessed by 30m speed test.Analysis of variance test and LSD post-hoc test was used.Results: FG had significantly greater blood CRP (P<0/05) compared to other groups. However, differences between SG and TG were not significant. Muscle strength, and forearm and femur circumstances were greater in FG than other groups. Furthermore, this was greater in SG than TG. But chest circumstance was greater in FG and SG than TG only.There were no significant differences in speed between groups.Discussion and Conclusion: ASs consumption for muscle strength and volume improvement in bodybuilders is accompanied by higher level of CRP (as a cardiovascular risk factor).

Background and Aim: Waiting time is one of the factors affecting patient satisfaction of service quality which is offered. In This Study waiting times referred to some clinics like Shahid Dastani integrated clinical training center, treatment and researching center like Shariati Hospital was performed.Materials and Methods: Six sigma model in four stages together with qualitative and quantitative methods was used in this study. The study population consisted of the all patient referred to specialist clinics like Shahid Dastani during every week. We selected 10% of all patients as a sample size referred to specialist clinics (n=266). Data were collected by interviewing and filling the checklists using a stopwatch. Measured waiting times were registered in a blank form. Data entry and analysis were performed using SPSS.Results: Mean and standard deviation of waiting time were 121±33.73 minutes. The most important processes from referred entrance to leaving the physician's office consisted of comprehensive workflow processes, overall workflow, times forming, funds, medical records, previous bloom times, refunds and discount at all costs, and complaints.Discussion and Conclusion: The first three factors of prolonged time form health care providers and referees view are simultaneous increase in the number of referees, physicians being on time and shortage of doctors. This collection extends the time of giving services by clinice, providing human resources and modifying the physical spaces wich were some of recommendations to reduce waiting times.

Background and Aim: Procalcitonin is prohormone of calcitonin and is made 116 amino acids.The normal value of procalcitonin is less than 0.5 ng/ml, that if this amount exceeds, infection is indicated. This poly-peptide is a marker for the diagnosis of primary infection. Increased amounts of procalcitonin is associated with infection; especially bacterial infections.Materials and Methods: 32 patients with liver cirrhosis and 16 healthy controls enrolled in this study were. Serum PCT levels in these subjects was measured. PCT level was measured by semi-quantitative method.Results: Patient group included 23 males and nine females with mean age of 45 years and SD=17.44 years, the control group included 11 males and 5 females with mean age of 46 years and SD=15.5 years.The statistical analysis showed that there was significant difference between PCT levels in patients and controls (P<0.05).Furthermore PCT levels was significantly hgher in cirrhotic patients with hepatitisec background.Discussion and Conclusion: Since these patients had no symptoms of infection and were hospitalized for endoscopy test and the PCT test was positive in 78.1% of cirrhotic patients, whereas this ratio was 25% in the control group, the patients probably were infected and should be under proper treatment.