Golestan University of Medical Sciences
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A study on the correlation of serum magnesium with intima-media thickness of carotid in hemodialysis patients
No full textIntroduction: Atherosclerosis progression in the patients suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is more than normal population. Magnesium levels are also associated with an increase in atherosclerosis in the common carotid artery. Intima-media carotid calcification is either directly or indirectly related to cardiovascular disease and a higher rate of death among patients with chronic renal failure. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the protective role of serum magnesium levels in vascular calcification and the improvement of the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional research, the participants were selected from all patients with ESRD in Five Azar Medical Center of Gorgan, Iran. Blood samples collected from research units were tested for serum magnesium level in three times. Patients were referred to a radiologist to measure CIMT. Data collected in all patients were evaluated based on Spearman�s correlation test. Results: The correlation between serum magnesium level and CIMT was not statistically significant (P = 0.66 r= 0.04), however a positive correlation between CIMT and the dialysis adequacy (KT/V) was detected (r = 0.306, P = 0.006). Conclusion: This study demonstrated no correlation between the serum magnesium level and the CIMT in hemodialysis patients. © 2021 The Author(s)
Oral Immunotherapy in Patients with IgE Mediated Reactions to Egg White: A Clinical Trial Study
No full textBackground: Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is under consideration as a promising treatment for desensitization of egg-allergic patients. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of egg-white OIT in patients with IgE-mediated allergy to egg white and to compare the clinical and laboratory findings before and after OIT. Methods: This clinical trial was performed from February to August 2018 in Rasool e Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Patients� selection criteria included a history of allergic symptoms, skin prick test (SPT) reactivity to egg white, and the inability to pass the Oral Food Challenge (OFC). Egg-white OIT was done for eight patients in the OIT group for 6 months while egg-white-free products were administrated for controls. The SPT reactivity, specific IgE, and IgG4 for egg white and ovomucoid were evaluated before and after OIT. Results: Hundred percent of the subjects in OIT group were desensitized and tolerated 40 cc raw egg white following 6-month maintenance whereas none of the controls was able to pass the OFC. The findings obtained from the evaluations indicated a significant decrease in the wheal size and specific IgE to egg white after OIT (P = .001). Furthermore, a significant decrease of IgE/IgG4 ratio to egg white was found in OIT group (P = .01). Conclusion: This OIT protocol was successful as all OIT patients were able to continue 6-month OIT process and the reaction threshold to egg white increased in the OIT group. Therefore, it could be regarded as an effective and safe protocol to treat egg-allergic patients. © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Histological study and evaluation of Hsp70 gene expression in gill and liver tissues of goldfish (Carassius auratus) exposed to Zinc oxide nanoparticles
No full textIn parallel with the increased use of nano-sized metallic materials, the possibility of their release into the environment has increased in recent decades. However, there is not sufficient information on the toxic potential of these materials on different aspects of the life history of aquatic organisms. In this study, we investigated the impact of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on goldfish by studying histopathological alteration and Hsp70 gene expression in gill and liver tissues. The results showed that after exposure to different concentrations of ZnO-NPs, severe lesions were observed in the gill and liver tissues of goldfish. Expression of Hsp70 significantly increased in comparison with the control group and this increase was observed especially in the initial sampling times. Also expression pattern of Hsp70 is relatively similar in gill and liver tissues of goldfish. Based on the results of the present study, ZnO-NPs, as widely used nanoparticles can endanger the health of goldfish and further studies are needed to evaluate its potential toxic effects. © 2021 Iranian Fisheries Research Organization. All rights reserved
The patients' experiences of burden of neurofibromatosis: A qualitative study
No full textBackground: Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal disorder; the criteria for the diagnosis of NF1 includes café au lait spots, freckling, and Neurofibromas (NF). Skin symptoms have a major impact on patients' Quality of Life (QOL) but little is known about the burden of the disease on patients. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with NF. Materials and Methods: Using purposive sampling, 20 participants were enrolled in this qualitative content analysis study. The study was carried out between 2019 and 2020. Unstructured interviews and field notes were used to gather data. Data collection was stopped when data saturation was achieved. Results: Data analysis revealed 14 subcategories and 4 categories including 'failing and falling behind in life', 'deprivation and restriction', 'social isolation', and 'ineffective adaptation to the disease', which indicate the perception of patients with NF. Conclusions: In addition to the physical burden due to physical complications and problems, NF imposes a high degree of psychological and social burden on patients causing mental conflicts, which in turn results in them failing and falling behind in life. These findings illustrate the need to develop strategies and use multidisciplinary approaches to support patients, and thus to reduce the burden of NF. © 2021 Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research Published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow
Association of salivary physicochemical characteristics and peptide levels with dental caries in children
No full textAim: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the association of physicochemical properties and antimicrobial peptide levels of saliva with caries activity in children. Materials and Methods: The required volume of unstimulated saliva was collected from 41 children aged 3-12 years with no systemic diseases. Caries activity was calculated using DMFS and dmfs records for each participating child. Collected saliva samples were then examined for their flow rate, pH, and buffering capacity. The concentration of three peptides was assessed including LL-37, human neutrophil peptide (HNP) 1-3, and human beta-defensin (HBD)-3 through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation between caries activity score (CAS) and salivary variables was looked using the linear regression and Spearman's correlation method. The comparison of CAS means between high- and low-value groups of salivary items was performed using independent sample t-test while the association of CAS and salivary parameters in categorical scale was tested by Chi-square test. Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the CAS means at low and high categories of each salivary physicochemical parameter and those of antimicrobial peptides. There was a negative correlation between HNP1-3 and CAS and also between HBD-3 and CAS, but these results were not statistically meaningful. High HNP1-3 concentration was noted in 67 of the low caries rate group and 29 of the high caries rate group, with a statistically significant difference between the low and high caries rate groups (P = 0.019). Conclusion: Salivary inherent factors are not dominant determinants in caries activity. The current results may suggest that -defensins (HNP1-3) have a protective role against dental caries. © 2021 Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Virus load and incidence of olfactory, gustatory, respiratory, gastrointestinal disorders in COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study
No full textObjectives: This study investigated the relationship between viral load and the incidence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction (OD and GD), the incidence of respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms and the recovery of OD and GD in COVID-19 patients. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting and Participants: This study was conducted on 599 outpatients' cases in Golestan province between February and June 2020. Main Outcome Measures: The incidence, severity (complete or partial) and recovery time of OD and GD and their associations with cycle threshold (CT) values of SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction were assessed. Results: The mean age of patients was 38.27 ± 13.62 years. The incidence of general symptoms included myalgia 70.1, headache 51.8, fever 47.7 and dyspnoea 21.4. 41.9 of patients had gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain 26.5, diarrhoea 25.2, nausea 20.5 and vomiting 12.9. 12.2 of patients had comorbidity. The trimester recovery rates of OD and GD were 93.94 and 94.74 respectively. The mean recovery time of OD and GD was 14.56 ± 13.37 and 13.8 ± 3.77 days respectively. The mean CT value in all patients was 27.45 ± 4.55. There were significant associations between the mean of CT value with headache (p = 0.04), GD (p = 0.002) and OD (p = 0.001). Conclusions: The finding of this study indicates a possible association between viral load with incidence of OD and GD in COVID-19 patient's cases and assures the recovery of OD/GD in these patients. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
The effect of vitamin B12 on synaptic plasticity of hippocampus in Alzheimer�s disease model rats
No full textBackground: Hippocampus cells, responsible for learning and memory, are disturbed in Alzheimer�s disease (AD), resulting in production of several inflammatory markers, such as neurexin 1 �neuroligin, cyclooxygenase�2 (COX�2), and caspase�3 proteins, used in measurement of AD�s severity and development. Vitamin B12, which plays a role in brain functioning, has anti�inflammatory properties and its impairment is associated with apoptosis in Alzheimer�s disease. This study aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin B12 on restoration of Synaptic Plasticity on scopolamine�induced AD in rats. Methods: To simulate AD, Rats, except the control group were i.p. injected with 3 mg/kg scopolamine. Before scopolamine the pretreatment group vitamin B12 (0.5, 2, and 4 mg/kg) was injected every day for the next 14 days. After 24 h, sectioning the rats� brains, the concentration of postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD�95), neurexin 1�neurolgin, COX�2, and caspase�3 proteins in hippocampus were measured using immunoblotting. Results: B12 significantly enhanced molecular balance. PSD�95 and neurexin 1 and neuroligin concentrations were significantly reduced, whereas COX�2 and activated caspase�3 were enhanced in the hippocampus of scopolamine�injected subjects. Their alterations were decreased after B12 administration. Conclusions: Vitamin B12 protected scopolamine�injected rats and inhibited hippocampal inflammation and apoptosis and preserved pre� and post�synaptic proteins and possibly synaptic integrity in hippocampus route. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Increasing Gene Editing Efficiency for CRISPR-Cas9 by Small RNAs in Pluripotent Stem Cells
No full textGene manipulations of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering are widely used for disease modeling and regenerative medicine applications. There are two competing pathways, non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homology directed repair (HDR) that correct the double-strand break generated by CRISPR-Cas9. Here, we improved gene editing efficiency of gene knock-in (KI) in iPSCs with minimum components by manipulating the Cas9 expression vector. Either we inserted short hairpin RNA expression cassettes to downregulate DNAPK and XRCC4, two main players of the NHEJ pathway, or we increased cell survival by inserting an anti-apoptotic expression cassette of miRNA-21 into the Cas9 vector. For an easy readout, the pluripotency gene SOX2 was targeted with a T2A-tdTomato reporter construct. In vitro downregulating DNAPK and XRCC4 increased the targeting efficiency of SOX2 KI by around twofold. Furthermore, co-expression of miRNA-21 and Cas9 improved the efficiency of SOX2 KI by around threefold. Altogether, our strategies provide a simple and valuable approach for efficient CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in iPSCs. © 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
Fibrous structures fabricated from polylactic acid and nanofibrillated chitosan/ zinc oxide nanoparticles
No full textHypothesis: Nowadays, the use of mixtures of natural and synthetic polymers in the production of biological scaffolds has been considered by researchers because of their ability to achieve the desired properties. Methods: Nanofibers from polylactic acid (PLA) and nanofibrillated chitosan/zinc oxide nanoparticles (CS/ZnO) with three different blend ratios of 1:1, 2:1 and 1:0 were fabricated by electrospinning method. In order to reduce the number of experiments and thus reduce the cost of materials and time, nine different experiments were performed using Taguchi test design method with three factors: PLA concentration (PLA 7, 9 and 11 by wt), CS/ZnO concentration (5, 10 and 20 by wt) and three different CS/ZnO ratios of 1:1, 2:1 and 1:0. The contact angle and morphology of the produced scaffolds were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Findings: The results of scanning electron microscopy showed that with increasing PLA concentration, the beads and spindle-like morphologies are lost and the fibers are almost smooth and uniform. The results showed that by increasing the CS/ZnO concentration from 5 to 20, the diameter of nanofibers first decreased and then slightly increased. The contact angle of fabricated samples decreased with increasing CS/ZnO concentration from 5 to 10. Also from the samples obtained by Taguchi method, nanofiber sample containing PLA (7, CS/ZnO 2: 1) with CS/ZnO concentration of 10, due to having a smaller diameter (345±30 nm), very thin structure and lower contact angle (101°) was reported as the optimal sample. The contact angle, morphology and surface roughness for the optimum sample were examined and the surface roughness for the optimal sample was about 178 nm. Cell culture studies on the optimal sample was successfully performed. © EverScience Publication