IRANIAN SOUTH MEDICAL JOURNAL (ISMJ)
Year:2004 | Volume:7 | Issue:1|Papers Count:15

Herpes simple virus type-1 (HSV-1) is a member of the Herpesviridae family. This virus causes a wide range of infections including symptomatic infections to lethal encephalitis in human beings. There are some 12 different proteins on the viral surface of which 10 are glycosylated. Glycoprotein D (gD) is one of the most important surface glycoprotein with high antigenecity and immunogenicity which induces a potent immunoresponse in the host. Because of similarities between nucleotide sequence of the gD-1 gene and that of the herpes simplex type-2 and even between strains of the HSV-1 therefore, it is regarded as a good candidate for production of recombinant vaccine against HSV-1. In this study baculovirus carrying whole gene sequence of gD-1 was first propagated in Sf9 cells and the infected cells were harvested and sonicated 4-5 days post inoculation. Cell extracts were analysed with SDS-PAGE electrophoresis after being checked for the amount of their protein contents. The electrophoresed proteins were then subjected to Western blotting and a positive result was obtained indicating the presence of the gD-1 in the extracts. Three week old BALB/c -mice were inoculated with recombinant gD-1 to evaluate its immunogenicity. Control mice were also inoculated with PBS and sublethal dose of the virus. Three injections with 21 day intervals were given to each group and all mice were bled 21 day after the last injection. Virus neutralization test using sera collected from the mice was done and the results showed that the recombinant gD-1 could induce neutralizing antibody against HSV-1 in the test animals.

Unstable genetic aberrations might provide a good marker for assessing genetic damage in populations exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation. The frequency of these aberrations was estimated in peripheral lymphocytes from hospital workers in Bushehr Port, occupationally exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation (54 subjects) and age and sex matched controls. A total of 34 (23 males & 11 females) subjects had unstable genetic aberrations (50 chromosomal-type & 31 chromatid type) but only 7 subjects in control group had unstable genetic aberrations. When compared with controls, exposed workers showed a significant increase in structural chromosomal-type aberrations (p<0.001; OR=11); chromosomal exchange being the most frequent alteration. Chromatid deletion (18 cases) and ring chromosome (4 cases) were seen only in exposed group. There was no association between smoking status, sex, age, level of education or working years. The increased frequencies of chromosomal damage in radiation workers, indicate conducting cytogenetic analysis in parallel to physical dosimetry in the working place.

There are no remarkable reports about the topographic characteristics of the cornea following deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DLKP). In this study we tried to characterize the corneal topographic patterns following DLKP, and determine the correlations between these patterns with other factors. In this study optical DLPP with Melles technique was performed on 40 keratoconus eyes. Each patient was examined in four separate sessions; once preoperatively, and three sessions at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. The corneal topographic pattern of each exam was identified, and its correlations with other factors such as suturing technique were evaluated. The decreases in mean keratometry and mean corneal astigmatism; and the conversion of irregular topographic patterns to regular patterns were significant following the operation. There were not any cases of immunologic endothelial rejection. We conclude that DLKP is a safe and predictable surgical treatment in keratoconus eyes.

Reducing post operative pain is a common issue in surgeries. This study was to evaluate the efficacy of wound infiltration with local anesthetics in reducing postoperative pain after appendectomy. This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial on 40 patients with non-complicated acute appendicitis. Cases received a combination of lidocaine hydrochloride and bupivacaine hydrochloride after appendectomy and before closing the wound. Controls received the same volume of saline solution. Injections were done both under the fascia of external oblique muscle and intradermal. Pain assessment was done by two pain measuring scales, VAS and NRS, in 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours after the operation. Cases and controls were the same in age, sex, and history of opium addiction. Pain peaked in the 8th hour after operation in both groups and reduced afterwards. Pain assessments showed the same pattern using the NRS and VAS measuring scales. T-test showed the pain to be significantly less in cases comparing with the controls in all time points. No significant difference was seen in the time of receiving the first analgesic after the operation but the frequency of analgesic consumption was significantly lower in controls. This study showed local anesthetic infiltration to be effective in reducing the postoperative pain in patients undergoing appendectomy which is in contrast with the previous studies. This may be due to a different infiltration technique or pain assessment in the first 24 hours after the operation.

Supporters of touch therapy claim it can treat and cure a wide variety of illnesses, including heart failure, diabetes and infections. The "theory" is that people who are ill have disturbed "energy fields," and that by moving trained hands over the patient's body (without contact), a touch therapist can detect malalignments and repattern energy fields to create "energy balance." In a quasi- experimental study, 30 subjects in 6 hours post cesarean section state were divided into therapeutic touch or placebo (speech induction) groups in a university hospital. In order to assess the pain, Visual Analog scale (VAS) was used, before and after intervention. The mean pain score decreased significantly only in the therapeutic touch group (50.66 to 39.53; p<0.01).In conclusion, it is recommended that therapeutic touch, as an attentive technique, can be used in pain relieve after cesarean section.

Approximately 3 to 5 % of referrals to emergency wards of big cities are involved in diseases causing loss of consciousness (LOC). Since many of these patients encounter death or disabilities, determining a systematic approach for early diagnosis and treatment has a high priority; this will be achieved through revealing the etiologies responsible for LOC and' hospital outcome in an emergency ward. A total of 392 patient older than 12 years old (54.8% male, 45.2% female, with a mean age of 49.9) presenting with LOC were enrolled in this cross-sectional study in emergency ward of Bushehr University Hospital. LOC was defined as a clinical state manifested by any decrease of consciousness ranging from confusion to deep coma. Etiology of LOC was metabolic in 42.9%, structural in 40.1% and infective in 6% of patients. It remained unknown in 11% despite extensive investigation. The most prevalent causes in subgroups were cerebrovascular accidents (30.6%), drug intoxication (22.35%) and hypoxic-anoxic conditions (11.7%), respectively. Mortality rate caused by infective, structural and metabolic etiologies had a frequency of 33.3%, 26.8% and22% respectively. Structural etiologies had the most severe prognosis and caused neurological damages in 54.7% of patients. Metabolic etiologies with 3.8% had the lowest rate in neurological damages. In an overall view, metabolic causes were the most common etiology responsible for non- traumatic LOC.

Central nervous system tumors contain neoplastic and nonneoplastic lesions. Incidence of brain tumors has increased in all age groups in recent 20 years. Developments of medical devices such as CT scan, MRI and varying of classification are important causes of this raising. The present study evaluates epidemiology of brain tumors from 1997 to 2001 in Kerman. In a cross sectional study all files of neurosurgery department, in Kerman Bahonar Hospital and from 1997 to 2001, were inquired. Variables such as age, sex and histological considerations were evaluated. A total of 338 tumors were studied. The most common tumor was glial (35%), and meningioma was the second common tumor (26.3%). The other tumors were anaplastic astrocytoma, astrocytoma, pituitary adenoma, aucostic neorinoma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, choroid plexus carcinoma, craniopharyngioma, lymphoma, sarcoma and anaplastic ependymoma. There was statistical significant difference between tumors and sex and age (p<0.05). Age and sex distribution of brain tumors is compatible with other studies in many countries. These findings suggest that prevalence of brain tumors in Kerman has increased in recent years because of diagnostic methods have improved and other medical devices are available.

Asymptomatic hematuria is seen in 0.5-2% of school age children. Screening for proteinuria and hematuria is important in the prevention of chronic renal disease. In order to reveal the prevalence of asymptomatic hematuria, 2047 primary school children of Bushehr port and Kharg Island were chosen by multiple cluster sampling method. The screened children with positive protein or blood by dipstick were re-examined 2 weeks later. In the second phase 10 cc of urine of each student who had >= 1+ blood and/or >=2 + protein was centrifuged and examined by microscope. The prevalence of isolated microscopic hematuria in the first phase was 5.91% and it was decreased to 2.1% in the second phase. The prevalence of isolated microscopic hematuria was 1.5% (1.74 for males & 1.27 for females) and 3.4% (1.45 for males & 5.65 for females) in Bushehr port and Kharg Island, respectively. In conclusion, the prevalence of isolated microscopic hematuria in Bushehr port was the same as the other parts of the world, however the prevalence of isolated hematuria was high in Kharg Island which needs further investigations.

Osteoporosis is an increasing important health problem in the world. The diagnosis of osteoporosis is made by determining that the patient has low bone density, usually by a Dual Energy X-ray Absortiometry (DEXA) measurement. In order to reveal the prevalence of osteoporosis in 20-69 years old women in Bushehr port using DEXA measurements in three parts of femoral sites and lumbar (L2-L4) area, 588 females from 13 clusters were randomly selected. The mean of bone mineral densities were 1.005 (0.171) and 0.794 (0.147) gram/cm2 in lumbar and femoral areas, respectively. The bone mineral densities decreased by increasing in age (p<0.001). The prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis were 23.9 and 3.2 percent in lumbar area and 16.5 and 1.5 percent in femoral area; respectively. The age of menopause and body mass index (BMI) had significant association with osteoporosis and osteopenia. In conclusion, the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in 20-69 years old women in Bushehr port is lower than the other populations in America, Europe and Tehran.

Sexual- reproductive health of youth is one of the most unknown aspects of our community, while the world, including our country is faced with the risk of AIDS spreading. The aim of this study was to describe Health Belief Model (HBM) of the students about sexual-reproductive health behaviors and evaluate the ability of the model in predicting related behaviors. By using quota sampling, 1117 male and female students of Qazvin Medical Science and International universities were included in the study in 1991. A self-completed questionnaire was prepared containing close questions based on HBM components including perceived threats (susceptibility and severity) of related diseases, perceived reproductive benefits and barriers and self efficacy of youth about reproductive health. A total of 645 of participants were female and 457 were male (Mean age; 21.4±2.4and 22.7±3.5, respectively). The Health Belief Model of the students showed that they perceived a moderate threat for AIDS and venereal diseases and their health outcomes. Most of them perceived the benefits of reproductive health behaviors. They believed that the ability of youth in considering reproductive health is low or moderate. However, they noted to some barriers for spreading of reproductive health in youth including inadequacy of services. Boys felt a higher level of threat for acquiring the AIDS and venereal diseases in compare to girls, but girls had a higher knowledge about these diseases and their complications. The Health Belief Model of the students with premarital intercourse behavior was not significantly different with the students without this behavior (Mann-Withney, P<0.05). Female students and the students without the history of premarital intercourse had significantly more positive attitude towards abstinence, comparing to male students and students with the history of premarital intercourse, respectively (Mann-Withney, P<0.05). Seventy five percent of students believed in respecting to ethics as the best way of prevention of AIDS and venereal diseases. HBM was successful in describing the students' beliefs about reproductive health and related disease. However, it seemed that HBM had a limited capability in predicting reproductive health behaviors, at least for students and/or in our community. Regarding to the positive attitude of most students toward abstinence, especially among female students, it seemed that socio-cultural components are more important than threats for AIDS and venereal diseases. Therefore, developing HBM by integrating the model by related cultural components is recommended.

Bushehr University of Medical Sciences/ Iran Breast feeding is of great value to mothers and children health. Data shows exclusive breast feeding rate (especially in urban area) and continuity of breast feeding in Bushehr is lower than the national rate. In this cross-sectional study, by using cluster random sampling method, mothers of 436 children (213 boys, 223 girls, aged under one year old) were selected for face to face interview in Bushehr province. Ninety-nine percent of mothers had started breast feeding immediately after delivery; but 80% of infants fewer than 6 months and 62% in the age group of 6-12 months were breast fed exclusively or inclusively. Rate of exclusive breast feeding was 47%. The most common causes of terminating breast feeding were insufficient breast milk, mothers' occupations and crying of children. There was a significant relation between breast feeding and mother's education, mother's job, mother's knowledge about breast feeding promoting program and mother or child's illness. However, there was no significant relation between father's education and his job, the number of living children and breast feeding condition for previous child. Promotion of mother's knowledge by health and hospital staff during pregnancy and delivery time is the most important factor in increasing breast feeding continuity.

The incident of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is rising in Iran. Young people particularly are counted as a high risk group for HIV infection. This study assesses knowledge of high school students regarding HIV/AIDS in Shiraz. In a descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study, 592 students from 16 high schools in Shiraz were selected through a cluster random sampling in 2004. An anonymous questionnaire consisted questions concerning knowledge about AIDS, route of transmission and their source of information was used. The students determined a medium level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Eighty percent of students showed acceptable level of knowledge about route of HIV transmission and 83% of them knew important aspects of AIDS. However many misconceptions about AIDS were detected. Our result suggests that previous educational program for AIDS in Iranian high schools was effective and it seems rationale to continue HIV/AIDS education as an integral art of high school curriculum.