Tehran University Medical Journal
Year:2011 | Volume:68 | Issue:12|Papers Count:11

Background: Lactobacillus species are genetically diverse groups of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) that have been introduced as probiotics, because of some characteristics such as their anti-tumor properties, helping the intestinal flora balance, production of antibiotics, stimulation of host immune response, etc. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cytoplasmic extraction and cell wall of Lactobacillus species isolated from the intestine of common carp on human chronic myelocytic leukemia or K562 cancer cell lines.Methods: The intestinal contents of 115 common carp captured from the natural resources of West Azerbaijan province in Iran were examined for LAB. After isolation, the identification of Lactobacilli was done according to traditional and molecular bacteriological tests. Subsequently, a suspension of each bacterium was prepared and the protein content of the cytoplasm was extracted. Cell wall disintegration was done by cell lysis buffer and sonication. The effects of cytoplasmic extraction and cell wall on K562 cell line proliferation were investigated by MTT assays.Results: The cytoplasmic extraction of the isolated Lactobacilli had significant (p<0.05) anti-proliferative effects on K562 cells. The cytoplasmic extractions of Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus casei inhibited K562 cell proliferation by 66.56% and 54.28% at 83.33 mg/ml concentration, respectively. Nevertheless, the Lactobacillus cell wall could not inhibit the proliferations of K562 cells (p<0.05).Conclusion: In this study, the cytoplasmic extractions of the isolated Lactobacilli from the intestine of common carp had anti-proliferative effects on K562 cell line.

Background: Systemic scleroderma (SSc) is a generalized connective tissue disorder of unknown origin which most notably is characterized by skin thickening and organ damage. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) antibody plays a role in skin fibrosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlation of different manifestations of SSc with ET-1 plasma levels.Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 95 patients (91 women and four men) with scleroderma in 2006. The patients had been referred to the Rheumatology Clinic of Shariati Hospital in Tehran, Iran. The demographic data and signs and symptoms were entered in a questionnaire and endothelin-1 concentrations were measured.Results: The mean age of the patients was 3812.29 years. Diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) was diagnosed in 52 and limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) in 43 patients. Raynaud’s phenomenon (91%) was the most common manifestation in the patients. The relationship between the resorption of terminal phalanges due to fibrosis with the plasma concentration of Endothelin-1 was statistically significant (p=0.001). Pitting ulcers had significant relationships with endothelin-1 concentrations too (p<0.05). No other significant relationships were found between the other manifestation of the disease and Endothelin-1 concentration.Conclusion: In this study, Reynaud’s phenomenon was the most frequent sign in patients with scleroderma. Thus, it could serve as a tool for the diagnosis of scleroderma. As there were no significant relationships between the other manifestations of scleroderma with endothelin-1, a cohort study with a larger sample size is suggested.

Background: Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), as a major cause of neurological disability in young adults, is difficult to establish, especially at the onset of the disease process, due to lack of reliable molecular markers. The goal of the present study was to evaluate serum and urinary concentrations of cystatin C and to find their relationship with patients' expanded disability status scale (EDSS).Methods: Based on McDonald's criteria, 54 adult patients with M.S. (11 males and 43 females, with a mean age of 32.18±8.37 years) were enrolled as the case group and 24 age and sex-matched healthy, non-M.S. individuals (7 males and 17 females, with a mean age of 34.31±10.07 years) were recruited as the controls. Serum and urinary concentrations of cystatin C were measured in all the participants.Results: The means of serum cystatin C concentrations (mg/Lit) in the case and control groups respectively were 0.90±0.01 and 0.89±0.02, (p=0.84) and the means for its urinary concentrations were 25.37±1.91 and 21.11±2.54 (p=0.18). The means of serum and urinary cystatin C concentrations were 0.90±0.01 and 25.11±2.33 in patients whose EDSS was £ 2.5 and 0.90±0.03 and 26.30±2.84 in patients whose EDSS was ³ 2.5, respectively, although, the differences between the two groups of patients were not statistically significant (p=0.80 and 0.74, respectively for serum and urinary concentrations of cystatin C).Conclusions: This study showed that serum and urinary cystatin C concentrations cannot be used for multiple sclerosis diagnosis or even as a marker in its treatment follow ups or for the determination of disease severity.

Background: Coronary heart disease is one of the most common causes of death in developed countries. Fibrinogen and resistin are two inflammatory markers used for atherosclerosis risk prediction. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of eight weeks of aerobic exercise on the concentrations of fibrinogen and resistin in healthy overweight middle-aged men.Methods: Thirty inactive middle-aged men with a body mass index of 25-30 were randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. The participants in the experimental group, accomplished eight weeks (3 sessions per week, of aerobic exercise with an intensity of 50-70% of their maximum heart rate while the control group remained sedentary. Weight, body fat percentage, fibrinogen and resistin levels of the participants were measured 48 hours before the first and after the last training sessions. The obtained data were analyzed using Independent Samples T-tests.Results: There were significant reductions in weight, body mass index, body fat percentage and fibrinogen and a significant elevation in resistin concentration in the experimental group (p<0.05) upon the exercises relative to the control group.Conclusion: It seems that eight weeks of regular aerobic exercise could reduce risks of myocardial infarction and improve the health status of overweight middle-aged men through reduction of weight, body fat and fibrinogen and elevation of resistin concentrations. Elevation of resistin concentration can be a sign of increased antioxidant defense mechanism.

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the most prevalent pulmonary diseases. Use of an automatic system for the detection and diagnosis of the disease will be beneficial to the patients’ treatment decision-making process. In this paper, we propose a new approach for the Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) of the disease and determination of its severity axial CT scan images.Methods: In this study, 24 lung CT scans in full inspiratory and expiratory states were performed. Variations in the normalized pattern of the lungs' external parenchyma were exploited as a feature for COPD diagnosis. Subsequently, a Bayesian classifier was used to classify variations into two normal and abnormal patterns for the discrimination of patients and healthy individuals. Finally, the accuracy of the classification was assessed statistically.Results: With the proposed method, the lungs parenchymal elasticity and air-trapping were determined quantitatively. The more this feature tended to zero, the more severe air-trapping and obstructive pulmonary disease is. By analyzing CT images in the healthy and patient groups, we calculated the hard threshold for the diagnosis of the disease. Clinical results tested by the mentioned method, suggested the effectiveness of this approach.Conclusion: In regard to the challenges of COPD diagnosis, we propose a new computer-aided design which may be helpful to physicians for a more accurate diagnosis of the disease. Moreover, this severity scoring algorithm may be useful for targeted disease management and risk-adjustment.

Background: Proper drainage of the mediastinal and pleural spaces following Off- Pump Coronary Artery Bypass (OPCAB) surgery is essential for the prevention of pleural and pericardial effusions, cardiac tamponade and late complications such as constrictive pericarditis. Drainage tubes themselves may induce some complications which can negatively affect the result of the surgery. In this study we assessed a new technique for chest drainage following OPCAB.Methods: In this clinical trial, 171 patients were allocated to two groups. In the control group, the drainage technique included one drain in the left pleural cavity and another in the mediastinum, while in the case group; the drainage technique included one drain in the left plural and one in the right pleural cavity.Results: The amount of drainage in the case group was more than the control group (p=0.001). We found significant reductions in the incidence of arrhythmias in the case group (p=0.005). While one patient (1.2%) needed reoperation for bleeding control in the control group, no patients needed reexploration in the case group (p=0.497). The duration of hospital (p=0.022) and ICU (p=0.002) stays was shorter in the case group.Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, changing the position of mediastinal drains in patients undergoing OPCAB surgery and shifting it to the right pleural cavity, reduces complications, such as arrhythmia and pericardial effusion, aside from establishing a better drainage.

Background: Sinus surgeries are usually associated with bleeding, thus can result in hemodynamic instability. This study investigated the hemodynamic changes induced by remifentanil plus isoflurane administration in comparison with propofol plus remifentanil in patients undergoing sinus surgery.Methods: In this randomized clinical trial study, 96 patients were divided into two groups of isoflurane (1.2 MAC) plus remifentanil (44 patients, group A) and propofol (100 mg/kg/min) plus remifentanil (52 patients, group B). Twenty-two patients in group A and 23 in group B were male. The remifentanil dosage (0.1 mg/kg/min) was equal in both groups and all received 500 ml isotonic solution during the operation too. Premedications and anesthetic inductions of both groups were similar. The variables included age, BMI, blood loss during surgery, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rate and mean arterial blood pressure.Results: The mean age, BMI, amount of blood loss, mean systolic (30 minutes before and after the intervention) and diastolic blood pressures (60 minutes before and after the intervention), pulse rate (30 and 60 minutes before and after the intervention), mean arterial blood pressure (60 minutes before and after the intervention) were similar in both groups. The average mean arterial blood pressure, 30 minutes after the intervention (p=0.027) and the mean diastolic blood pressure, 30 minutes after the intervention (p=0.011) in the case group had statistically significant differences with the controls.Conclusion: Based on this study, the combination of isoflurane plus remifentanil could better maintain the hemodynamic stability during sinus surgeries.

Background: Alopecia areata, a non-cicatricial form of hair loss, is believed to be an immunologic response that targets hair follicles. Genetic background is important in the pathogenesis of this disorder, although some evidence point to the role of melanocytic antigens. There are some reports on the relationship between alopecia areata and celiac disease. The aim of the present study was to identify antigliadin antibodies in patients with alopecia areata.Methods: Fifty patients, aged 2.5-50 years, with alopecia areata presenting to the dermatology clinic of Razi Educational Hospital in Tehran, Iran, and fifty healthy individuals, aged 5-48 were matched and enrolled in the study. After signing an informed consent form, blood samples (10 ml clotted blood) were obtained from the participants and sent to referral laboratory for the presence of antigliadin IgA and IgG antibodies. Concentrations of antibodies were measured by ELISA through a full automatic ELISA reader. The data were analyzed statistically.Results: The study included 29(58%) male and 21(42%) female patients with a mean age of 24.6 years. The control group included 29(58%) male and 21(42%) female individuals with a mean age of 24 years. In the case group, 9(18%) patients were positive for antigliadin antibody, while only one (2%) individual was positive for the antibody in the control group (p<0.001). No other differences were of statistical significance.Conclusions: Regarding the higher prevalence of antigliadin antibodies in patients with alopecia areata, it would be wise to screen the patients for celiac disease.

Background: Female genital tract sarcomas are rare but most aggressive tumors of mesodermal origin. Little is known about the pathogenesis, risk factors, optimal treatment and outcome of these diseases. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with genital sarcoma.Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study. The medical records of 43 female patients with genital tract sarcoma, hospitalized during a 16-year period (from 1991-2007) were retrieved from the medical records office of Ghaem Hospital in Mashad, Iran. The demographic data extracted from the records.Results: The mean age of the patients was 46.95 years (ranging from 3-77 years). The chief complaint of the patients was abnormal vaginal bleeding (69.8%). The mean interval between the onset of symptom to the pathological diagnosis of sarcoma was 8.53 months (ranging from 1-36 months). Histologically, the tumors included: leiomyosarcoma (79.1%), endometrial stromal sarcoma (18.6%) and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (2.3%). Three patients (7%) were in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage I, 20(46.5%) in stage II, 6(14%) in stage III and 14(32.6%) in stage IV. 48.8% of the patients had undergone chemoradiotherapy.Conclusions: In most cases, our patients were referred so late or the disease was recognized very late due to being rare. We should consider this disease for every patient with unusual vaginal bleeding especially in post menopause women who their sonography has reported uterine mass.

Background: Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP) is a specific dermatosis of the third trimester of pregnancy, commonly seen in primigravid women.Case presentation: A 24-year-old primigravida woman who had developed a rash immediately after delivery was admitted to Razi Hospital in Tehran, Iran. She had an erythematous eruption, particularly concentrated on the abdominal striae with umbilical sparing and involvement of limbs and extremities. Skin biopsy of the lesions on the lower abdomen, showed superficial perivascular infiltrates with occasional neutrophils and eosinophils. Both direct and indirect immunofloresence assays were negative. The patient was ultimately treated with topical clobetasol butyrate and oral chlorpheniramine for pruritus. Within a week, the lesions and the itchings had disappeared completely.Conclusion: Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy are often, but not always, seen during the third trimester of pregnancy, but sometimes they present in postpartum period without any prior manifestations during pregnancy.