MEDICAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY
Year:2014 | Volume:23 | Issue:1 (SUPP.)|Papers Count:16

Background: Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is recognized as a key factor in chronic inflammatory disorders. Chronic inflammation is one of the major causes of CRC. Therefore polymorphisms occur in the inflammatory genes could modulate the levels of disease. We have investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in IL-22 gene (rs1179251) and CRC risk in the Iranian population.Materials and Methods: This case- control study was done on 166 CRC patients and and 236 health control subjects. Genomic DNA is isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes by salting out method and was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).Results: The frequencies of GG, GC, CC genotypes in case and control groups were 71.7%, 25.3%, 3.0% and 69.5%, 26.7%, 3.8%, respectively. No significant association was found between IL-22 gene polymorphism and risk of developing CRC (p=0.85).Conclusion: Our data suggest that rs1179246 in IL-22 gene was not associated with the CRC susceptibility in the Iranian population.

Background: Malaria is the most important parasitic disease in the world and in malaria-prone regions is considered as the most serious threat to the human health. The aim of this study was polymorphisms analysis of the dihidropteroate synthetase (dhps) gene in p. vivax in Hormozgan province and to determine the prevalence of mutations in codons 382, 383, 512, 553 and 585 related to sulphadoxine resistance in plasmodium vivax.Materials and Methods: 118 isolates of P. vivax which had been prepared between 2007 and 2008 to study about dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (pvdhfr) gene were also used in this study to analyze genetic diversity of the dihidropteroate synthetase (pvdhp) gene of P. vivax.Results: Of the 118 blood samples infected with P. vivax, 46 and 72 samples were obtained from Minab and Jask, respectively. No mutant alleles were found in 5 target codons using Nested-PCR and sequencing methods. However one novel mutation in codon 421 in three isolates (2.54%) was revealed.Conclusion: According to the observed mutation in the gene pvdhfr (data not published), and likely resistance to pyrimethamine, and lack of mutations observed in the pvdhps target codons in this study on the same samples, no resistance to the sulphadoxine "and thus to the Fansidar in P. vivax in Hormozgan province can be concluded.

Background: Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are identified agents for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and miRNA polymorphisms are recognized as useful biomarkers for prognosis of colorectal cancer. The association of rs 11614913 polymorphism in miR-196a2 gene and the risk of colorectal cancer were investigated in this study.Materials and Methods: I this case- control study, 149 patients with colorectal cancer and 146 healthy subjects whom referred to Taleghani hospital, Tehran were studied. Polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used for genotyping.Results: The frequency of CT, TT and CC genotypes in control group were 40%, 24% and 36%, respectively. Moreover, genotype frequencies in case group were revealed as 49% for CT, 10% for TT and 41 % for CC. The frequencies of C and T alleles in control group were 48% and 70%, and 42% and 30% in case group, respectively. Among all genotypes, an association between CRC risk and TT genotype was determined in our survey (OR=0.4, 95%CI= 0.17-0.92; p=0.03).Conclusion: This study showed that modified miR-196a2 sequence affects microRNA efficiency which may have an impact on colorectal cancer susceptibility.

Background: Statistics indicated that colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing in Iran. This is an important malignancy in both genders. The aim of this study was to estimate CRC mortality rate for Iranian population between 1995 and 2004.Materials and Methods: The National death Statistic reported by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education from 1995 to 2004 stratified by age group, sex, and cause of death were included in this analysis. Colorectal cancer [ICD-9; C153-154] were expressed as the annual mortality rates/100,000, overall, by sex and by age group (<5, 5-14, 15-49 and ≥50 years of age).Results: The general mortality rate of CRC slightly increased during the mentioned years. CRC mortality was higher for men. All mortality rates during the years under study indicated that mortality increased as age increased.Conclusion: Our study indicated remarkable increasing trends in CRC mortality, in contrast to development countries. According to this increasing, it is predicted that Iranian population will experience high burden of CRC in future. So national CRC screening is recommended as a public program in order to control the mortality and burden of CRC in the future.

Background: Nowadays, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the major health problems in Iran and the world. Since HCV treatment is costly and affects the patient’s life, in this study we decided to assess the cost of hepatitis C treatment.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we studied 248 medical records of hepatitis C patients who admitted in hepatitis clinic related to Baqiyatallah Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver diseases between 2006 and 2010. We estimated the direct medical costs of hepatitis C with these data which extracted from medical records of HCV patients. Also the mean direct medical costs were calculated to achieve sustain viral response (SVR).Results: Mean direct medical costs for the courses treated with conventional interferon-ribavirin (INF-RBV) were 11,544,061 Rial and 66,430,152 Rial for peg-interferon plus ribavirin (PEG-RBV) courses. There was an increase of the direct costs in both courses of treatment in order to achieve SVR. The costs amounted to 26,407,040 Rial in INF-RBV treatment and 112,993,343 Rial in PEG-RBV.Conclusion: Treatment of hepatitis C is very costly. Screening and effective interventions in care and management of affected patients can delay complications, decrease the treatment course and the costs of treatment, and also relief patient distress and improve their quality of life.

Background: Oral cavity cancer is the eighth most frequent cancer among men in the world. The aim of this study was to present the mortality trends from this cancer for Iranian population during 1995-2004.Materials and Methods: The National Death Statistic reported by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education from 1995 to 2004 stratified by age group, sex, and cause of death were included in this analysis. Oral cavity cancer [ICD-10; C00-08] were expressed as the annual mortality rates/100,000, overall, by sex and by age group (<15, 15-49 and ≥50 years of age).Results: The mortality rate of oral cavity cancer increased dramatically from 1995 to 2002, however a sharp decreasing was observed from 2002 to 2004. Moreover, the mortality of oral cavity cancer was higher for male. Besides, age specific rate for oral cavity cancer indicated higher mortality rate for older age.Conclusion: However, the burden of oral cavity cancer in Iran is lower than other Asian countries; further studies are required to establish risk factors or modifiers for this cancer in Iranian population in order to decrease its incidence and mortality.

Background: Hydatidosis caused by Echinococcus granulosus is still an important public health and economic problem in many regions of the world. The aim of this survey was to evaluate the current status of hydatid cyst infection in slaughtered animals from Isfahan province.Materials and Methods: The survey was carried out on 4062 sheep, goat and cattle slaughtered in different slaughterhouse, including Fasaran, Khomeinishahr and Najafabad of Isfahan province from February to August 2013. The post mortem inspection of carcass and offal was carried out to recognize the disease, determination of infected organs (liver and lung) and the kind of cysts. Then, the presence or absences of protoscoleces were evaluated using an optical microscope.Results: Of 4062 slaughtered animals, hydatid cyst was found in 141 cases (3.47%). By microscopically examination, 78% of cysts were shown to be fertile. Among three slaughterhouse of this survey, Fasaran (4.3%) and Najafabad (2.16%) had the highest and lowest contamination, respectively.Conclusion: The prevalence of the disease was various in different regions and was higher compared with other provinces. On the other hand, the age of livestock can be noted in the incidence of hydatid cyst.

Background: According to some researches in recent years, Blastocystis is considered as the etiological agent of some gastrointestinal disorders. This parasite is polymorphic and its detection is not easy under the microscope. Because of this problem, several microscopic based studies have already reported different Blastocystis infection rates. Application of culture methods increases the chance of diagnosis of this parasite. The in vitro culture of Blastocystis in Liver Infusion Tryptose (LIT) medium is described for the first time in this study.Materials and Methods: Liver Infusion Tryptose (LIT) containing 10% fetal calf serum in screw-capped tubes was used. Samples incubated in 37°c and examined after 24, 48 and 72 hours.Results: 420 fresh stool samples were tested by LIT culture method and 100 positive samples (23.8%) of Blastocystis sp. were detected. while only 64 samples (15.2%) were positive with direct smear examination.Conclusion: This study highlights the same sensitivity of this culture media and other regular cultures media and it introduces a new medium for Blastocystis sp. detection.

Background: Cryptosporidium is a cause of diarrheal disease worldwide, which generally affecting children and the immunosuppressed patients. Conventional diagnostic method is direct smear preparation, modified Zeil-Nelson staining and screening for Cryptosporidium oocyst. The aim of this study was to compare sensitivity and specificity between modified Zeil-Nelson staining and direct fluorescent antibody assay.Materials and Methods: We prepared direct smears from 2500 fecal samples. The smears were stained by modified Zeil-Nelson technique. Then the positive and randomized negative cases were studied using direct fluorescent antibody assay.Results: By modified Zeil-Nelson staining method, 30 cases were positive for cryptosporidium oocyst and direct fluorescent antibody assay confirmed 27 of 30 positive cases. Direct fluorescent antibody assay could not detect any positive case from 114 randomized negative samples by modified Zeil-Nelson staining method which selected according statistical calculation. Therefore their sensitivity, specificity, positive predict value and negative predict value were 90%, 100%, 100% and 97.5% respectively.Conclusion: Our results presented that the sensitivity of immunofluorescent technique was less than modified Zeil-Nelson staining method, but specificity of both methods were 100%. So, modified Zeil-Nelson staining method is a good technique for Cryptosporidium detection in med and research Labs.

Background: The changes of marital life style and promotion of literacy, despite of many advantages does it have, has caused suspicion between them. In such circumstances, teaching how to think positive to strength their relations and trusting is effective. The aim of this study was to examine the role of positive thinking in married students to reduce the marital conflictions.Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental study was done on 96 randomly selected married students of Azad University of Shahrekord in 2012. First, Enrich and Oxford questionnaires were distributed among them. The 50 students that have gotten low grades in mentioned tests have been selected, and PFQ test has been done based on the results. 40 students were selected and divided into two groups as 20 in control group and 10 in experimental group; they have been taught positive thinking in 6 One-hour sessions. Two weeks after the end of teaching course, Enrich post test was performed on both groups.Results: Significant differences have been found between two groups.Conclusion: The results showed that the teaching of positive thinking among different groups has significant and different effects.

Background: The impact of religion is clear on the function and behavior of individuals in different circumstance reactions. Any person has mechanisms of defense and this kind of behavior are used as a protection against severe anxieties. This study was performed to investigate the relationship religious attitude and spirituality orientation with defense mechanism.Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study in which 140 students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences were randomly selected. The instruments used in this study were Allport’s Religious Orientation Scale (ROS), and Defense Style Questionnaire (Andrews, 1993). Data were analyzed by SPSS18 software using Pearson correlation coefficient test and calculating the mean and standard deviation of variables.Results: Among the defense mechanisms, repression scale with a mean score of 22.45 had the highest and fantasize with 12.37 had the lowest score. Internal religious orientation (m=20.32) was more than the external religious orientation (m=17.77). There was a significant inverse correlation between religious orientations with some defense mechanisms.Conclusion: Defense mechanisms are the unconscious mental processes to protect themselves against threatening or stressful situations. Results suggest an inverse relationship between religious orientation and some defense mechanisms.

Background: Migraine is the most common primary headache syndrome with no specific pathologic reason affecting physical, mental and social aspect of quality of life and reduces health related quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate role of coping strategies and beliefs related to pain in disability of migraine.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 110 patients were studied. Data were collected using questionnaires HDI (Headache Disability Inventory) and pained believes. Analysis was done using SPSS.v.16 by descriptive statistics and T test, ANOVA and correlation coefficient.Results: 110 patients, including 74 (67.3%) female and 36 (32.7%) male, were studied. 77 subjects (70%) was associated with sstarting migraines with prognosis and in 35 patients, dizziness was reported as the most common symptom. The average disability score was 48.06±6.8, the average use of coping strategies score was 103.97±38.8 and the average pained believes score was -6.01±7.2. There was not significant association between disability and coping strategies and also between pained believes and coping strategies. Significant association was observed between disability and pained believes (r=0.2, p=0.002).Conclusion: The results revealed that there was no significant association between pained Believes and coping strategies, while significant association was seen between disability and pained believes.

Background: Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common heterogeneous disorder in children. There is a significant difference between the ratio of boys to girls in referred samples to the pediatric clinic (10:1) and community samples (3:1) in children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. It can be suggested that if gender plays a role in the incidence and the pattern of symptom's ADHD and associated disorders, therefore, it may lead to the lower reference of girls to the clinics.Materials and Methods: 147 children and adolescents with ADHD from 5 to 17 years were evaluated by available sampling method. The clinical diagnoses of ADHD and co-morbid disorders were done in patients with psychiatric clinical interview and diagnostic test K-SADS.Results: Associated disorders with ADHD in children referred to clinics were the same in both boys and girls. Girls with ADHD in compared with boys were not at greater risk for depression and anxiety.Conclusion: Results showed that there is no difference between boys and girls with ADHD. ADHD in girls as well as boys can be caused dysfunction in various areas. Similar levels of risk associated disorders in boys and girls showed more similarities in other fields such as history of the disease, prognosis and clinical response to treatment.