Clinical outcomes of breast leptomeningeal disease treated with intrathecal trastuzumab, intrathecal chemotherapy, or whole brain radiation therapy.

Purpose: Leptomeningeal disease is a rare presentation of advanced metastatic breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate craniospinal progression between intrathecal (IT) trastuzumab, IT chemotherapy, and whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in leptomeningeal disease.

Methods: A total of 56 patients were identified with breast cancer leptomeningeal disease at our institution treated with IT trastuzumab (n = 18; 32%), single-agent IT chemotherapy (methotrexate n = 14 or thiotepa n = 1; 27%), or WBRT alone (n = 23; 41%).

Food insecurity and the risk of undernutrition complications among children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to examine the association between household food insecurity and the risk of being underweight, stunting, and wasting in children and adolescents.

Methods: Pertinent studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases up to June 2018. A total of 21 studies met the inclusion criteria to be included in the pooled analysis.

Possible anti-obesity effects of phytosterols and phytostanols supplementation in humans: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Present meta-analysis investigates the effects of phytosterols and phytostanol (PS) supplementation on anthropometric indices, using data from randomized controlled trials. We performed a systematic search in the databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochran, and Web of Science. Weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were presented.

Effects of silymarin supplementation on blood lipids: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

Dyslipidemia is a leading cause of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Several studies used silymarin as an herbal supplement in hyperlipidemic subjects. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effect of silymarin supplementation on blood lipids.

Novel Genomic-Based Strategies to Personalize Lymph Node Radiation Therapy.

Current standard radiotherapy doses have been derived from empiric methods rather than a scientific framework. Subclinical nodal dosing remains relatively uniform across most disease sites, despite heterogeneity in patient and tumor biology. It is now clear that there are subsets of patients who will benefit from genomically-informed radiotherapy planning, and there are increasing efforts toward prescribing radiation dose to match the radiosensitivity of the tumor.

Trunk Disease Fungi Associated with Syzygium cumini in Iran.

Syzygium cumini trees with dieback symptoms and cankers were observed in two provinces in Iran. Isolations were made from diseased branches and cankers and from asymptomatic S. cumini wood samples.

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Protect Cyclophosphamide-induced Testicular Toxicity in Mice.

Background: Cyclophosphamide (CP), as a chemotherapy drug, causes severe damage in testicular tissue through producing free radicals. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (NC) exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of NC on CP-induced testicular damage in mice.

Cardiopulmonary responses to maximal aerobic exercise in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a debilitating chronic condition, which requires complex and expensive disease management. Exercise has now been recognised as a critical factor in improving health and quality of life in patients with CF. Hence, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is used to determine aerobic fitness of young patients as part of the clinical management of CF.

Effect of Eicosapentaenoic Acid Supplementation on Paraoxonase 2 Gene Expression in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial.

Unlabelled: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is recognized as one of the most prevalent metabolic diseases, and it is mostly associated with oxidative stress, atherosclerosis and dyslipidemia. Paraoxonase 2 (PON2) due to its antioxidant properties may play a role in the atherosclerosis development. Although long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, the exact mechanism of action is still unknown.

Susceptibility to ERAP1 gene single nucleotide polymorphism modulates the inflammatory cytokine setting in ankylosing spondylitis.

Aim: To evaluate the association of ERAP1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the risk of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and their role in modulation of the inflammatory interleukin (IL)-17/IL-23 axis in the disease.

Methods: For genotyping, 190 AS cases and 190 healthy controls were enrolled. After DNA extraction, all the subjects were genotyped for rs17482078, rs469876, and rs27038 polymorphisms using single specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.

Zinc status and polycystic ovarian syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Several studies have investigated serum zinc levels in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), but the results of these studies remain inconclusive. Therefore, to derive a more precise estimation, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate serum zinc concentrations in women with PCOS in comparison with healthy subjects. Electronic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar up to April; 4, 2018 without any restriction.

Sleep Architecture and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Activity in Paradoxical and Psychophysiological Insomnia.

Introduction: There are controversial reports about association between sleep and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) activity. Studies have reported the influence of insomnia on HPA hormones. However, they usually ignored the heterogeneity of insomnia symptoms, so subtypes of the disorder have not been considered in the reports.

Gradient-Based Multi-Objective Feature Selection for Gait Mode Recognition of Transfemoral Amputees.

One control challenge in prosthetic legs is seamless transition from one gait mode to another. User intent recognition (UIR) is a high-level controller that tells a low-level controller to switch to the identified activity mode, depending on the user's intent and environment. We propose a new framework to design an optimal UIR system with simultaneous maximum performance and minimum complexity for gait mode recognition.

Efficacy of synbiotic supplementation in obesity treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

Several investigations have been reported the beneficial effects of synbiotic in participants with obesity, but these findings have been inconsistent. Therefore, we systematically reviewed available randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to elucidate the overall effects of synbiotic supplementation on anthropometric indices among participants with overweight or obesity. Five electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of science, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar were searched up to October 2018.

The role of microRNAs regulating the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in breast cancer development, progression, and metastasis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate several biological and physiological processes in mammalian cells, including cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and metabolism. Recent studies have confirmed the alteration of them during the cancer development. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), belonging to the large family of proteases, have also been demonstrated to play crucial roles in tissue remodeling, and to support cancer progression and metastasis.

Strategies toward rheumatoid arthritis therapy; the old and the new.

Currently, medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are glucocorticoids (GCs) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), predominantly used for controlling the pain and inflammation, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), administered as first-line medication for newly diagnosed RA cases, and biological therapies, used to target and inhibit specific molecules of the immune and inflammatory responses. NSAIDs and other GCs are effective in alleviating the pain, inflammation, and stiffness due to RA. DMARDs that are used for RA therapy are hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, leflunomide, and sulfasalazine.

The role of microRNAs in prostate cancer migration, invasion, and metastasis.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is considered the most prevalent malignancy and the second major cause of cancer-related death in males from Western countries. PCa exhibits variable clinical pictures, ranging from dormant to highly metastatic cancer. PCa suffers from poor prognosis and diagnosis markers, and novel biomarkers are required to define disease stages and to design appropriate therapeutic approach by considering the possible genomic and epigenomic differences.

Evaluation of ERAP1 Gene Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Impressing the Inflammatory Cytokine Profile of Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), an autoinflammatory disease, has been associated with impaired Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase (ERAP) 1 activity, which is involved in priming antigenic peptides. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the genetic variant of ERAP1 gene could impress the inflammation status of the AS patients. For genotyping, 140 AS cases and 140 healthy controls were enrolled.

Applying Two Different Bioinformatic Approaches to Discover Novel Genes Associated with Hereditary Hearing Loss via Whole-Exome Sequencing: ENDEAVOUR and HomozygosityMapper.

Background: Hearing loss (HL) is a highly prevalent heterogeneous deficiency of sensory-neural system with involvement of several dozen genes. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) is capable of discovering known and novel genes involved with HL.

Materials And Methods: Two pedigrees with HL background from Khuzestan province of Iran were selected.

Using the Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) grade as a prognostic marker for radioembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: The Child-Pugh (CP) class is a commonly used scoring system to measure liver function in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We correlate the Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) grading system and CP to overall survival in our HCC patients receiving radioembolization.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients who received radioembolization for HCC between the years 2009-2014.

Neck circumference and blood pressure among children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Emerging evidence suggested that large neck circumference (NC) in children and adolescents may be an indicator of increased blood pressure. We sought to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis regarding the association between NC and blood pressure in children. Pertinent studies were identified by searching PubMed and Scopus databases, up to January 2018.

The effects of silymarin supplementation on metabolic status and oxidative stress in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

Objective: The effect of silymarin supplementation on metabolic status and oxidative stress of subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has not been conclusively studied. Therefore, the efficacy of silymarin supplementation in these patients was assessed through a meta-analysis.

Methods: The following databases were searched up to May 15, 2018: PubMed, Scopus, Ovid (Cochrane library), Google scholar and ISI web of science.

An ergonomic intervention to relieve musculoskeletal symptoms of assembly line workers at an electronic parts manufacturer in Iran.

Background: Prolonged, awkward postures among assembly line workers can lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).

Objective: This study determined the prevalence of WMSDs and ergonomic risk factors among assembly line workers at an electronic parts manufacturer, and introduced a low-cost ergonomic intervention.

Methods: Data were gathered by means of a questionnaire.

The impact of pycnogenol supplementation on plasma lipids in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.

The effects of pycnogenol on plasma lipids are controversial. A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials were conducted to obtain a conclusive result in humans. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were systematically searched until March 2018, to explore the clinical trials that examined the effect of pycnogenol supplementation on lipid parameters among adult human.

The role of tumor suppressor of resveratrol and prednisolone by downregulation of YKL-40 expression in CCRF-CEM cell line.

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by excessive accumulation of lymphoblast and progenitors. Leukemia is the most common cancer in children and ALL is the most common subtype. Many studies have shown that the YKL-40 gene is one of the most widely expressed genes in tumors, including leukemia, but not in healthy blood cells.