KE and EE genotypes of ICAM-1 gene K469E polymorphism is associated with severe preeclampsia.

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is one of the most important complications of pregnancy that is associated with significant mortality and morbidity in mother and fetus. Since the etiologic factors in its development are still unclear, we aimed to examine the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) gene K469E polymorphism in preeclamptic and control healthy women.

Materials And Methods: Genetic polymorphism was analyzed in 192 PE and 186 healthy control women.

Effect of self-efficacy enhancement program on self-care behaviors in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Given the importance of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and role of different factors in self-care behaviors of COPD patients, this study was conducted to determine the effect of self-efficacy program on self-care behaviors of COPD patients.

Materials And Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 62 COPD patients were recruited in which 31 subjects were in control group and 31 were in experimental group. Subjects were selected based on purposive sampling from Imam Hospital affiliated to the Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2011.

Association of FAS and FAS ligand genes polymorphism and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Unlabelled: FAS/FASL pathway plays a critical role in maintaining peripheral immune tolerance; therefore, the apoptosis genes, Fas and Fas ligand (FasL), could be suitable candidate genes in human SLE susceptibility.

Materials And Methods: In this case-control study, 106 SLE patients and 149 sex, age, and ethnicity matched healthy controls were genotyped for the Fas A-670G and FasLC-844T polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP).

Results: The frequency of -670AA genotype was significantly higher in SLE patients than control group and the risk of SLE was 2.

Awake craniotomy for tumor resection.

Surgical treatment of brain tumors, especially those located in the eloquent areas such as anterior temporal, frontal lobes, language, memory areas, and near the motor cortex causes high risk of eloquent impairment. Awake craniotomy displays major rule for maximum resection of the tumor with minimum functional impairment of the Central Nervous System. These case reports discuss the use of awake craniotomy during the brain surgery in Alzahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran.

Plasma zinc level in hepatitis C patients with or without Beta thalassemia major; is there any difference?

Background: Zinc deficiency has been reported frequently in hepatitis C patients in the literature. Furthermore, a decrease in zinc level has been shown in beta thalassemia major as well. Iranians consume a large amount of phytate in their regimens which can bind with zinc and decrease its gastrointestinal absorption.

Embedding islet in a liquid scaffold increases islet viability and function.

Introduction: Islet transplantation is a promising strategy to restore efficient insulin regulation in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. However, shortage of islet donors, poor islet survival and toxicity of immunosuppressants often reduce the graft functional lifetime.

Methods: We previously showed that a fibroblast populated-collagen matrix (CM) significantly improved engrafted islet viability/function.

Effectiveness of Methadone Maintenance Treatment in Prevention of Hepatitis C Virus Transmission among Injecting Drug Users.

Background: Injecting drug users (IDUs) are a major and most important risk factor for rising hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in Iran.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in prevention of HCV infection transmission among IDUs.

Patients And Methods: A mathematical modeling has been used to estimate number of HCV infections averted.

Association between TLR4 and TLR9 gene polymorphisms with development of pulmonary tuberculosis in Zahedan, southeastern Iran.

Some evidence suggests that a variety of genetic factors contribute to development of the tuberculosis (TB). TLR4 and TLR9 have been proposed as susceptibility genes for TB. This study was performed in 124 newly diagnosed TB cases and 149 healthy controls in a TB-endemic region of Iran.

Conservative management of cervical ectopic pregnancy: systemic methotrexate followed by curettage.

Introduction: Cervical ectopic pregnancy is among the rarest clinical conditions happening in women of reproductive age. Yet its management can cause a high rate of morbidity. Therefore, conservative treatment of this condition is a matter of debate.

Sublingual versus vaginal misoprostol for cervical ripening before hysteroscopy: a randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of two routes of misoprostol (sublingual and vaginal) for cervical ripening before hysteroscopy.

Methods: One hundred and ten perimenopausal women who were referred to a tertiary hospital for surgical hysteroscopy enrolled in this double-blind randomized clinical trial. They were divided into two groups to receive 400 mg misoprostol either sublingually or vaginally 6 h before hysteroscopy.

An unusual intracardiac image.

One of the most serious complications in cardiovascular surgery is the unintentional deposit of material and surgical instruments. Very few articles portray these complications in children. This is not the case with regard to interventional and surgical cardiovascular procedures in adults.

Association between the CD14 gene C-159T polymorphism and serum soluble CD14 with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Functional C-159T polymorphism in the promoter region of the CD14 lipopolysaccharide receptor has been reported to be associated with the development of tuberculosis (TB).

Objective: To assess the association of CD14 C-159T polymorphism and serum soluble CD14 (sCD14) levels with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in an Iranian population living in a TB-endemic area.

Design: A case-control study was performed prospectively on 120 newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients and 131 healthy subjects.

Recurrent febrile respiratory distress in infant: which diagnosis?

Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) of the lung is a rare congenital anomaly. CCAM diagnosis can be made by prenatal ultrasound or in postnatal cases with regard to respiratory distress or recurrent respiratory infections. We present, for diagnostic purposes, a case of a patient, aged 4 months who had suffered since birth from recurrent bronchopulmonary infections.

Liver Hemangioma Might Lead to overestimation of Liver Fibrosis by Fibroscan; A Missed Issue in Two Cases.

Background: The assessment of liver fibrosis is an important way for prediction of liver disease progression and patient's prognosis. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is strongly associated with stage of liver diseases. overestimation of liver fibrosis in heart failure has been reported.

Granisetron adjunct to fluvoxamine for moderate to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Several small studies have shown beneficial effects of ondansetron, a serotonin 5-HT(3) receptor antagonist, in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The efficacy of other 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists in patients with OCD is still unclear. Granisetron does not alter cytochrome P450 activity and might have a lower risk of drug interactions, a longer duration of action and a better tolerability profile than other 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists.

Association of plasma nitric oxide concentration and endothelial nitric oxide synthase T-786C gene polymorphism in coronary artery disease.

Nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized from l-arginine by endothelium nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) and plays important roles in many physiologic and pathologic processes. NO involved in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis. In the present study we hypothesized that polymorphisms of NOS gene might be associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and plasma NO concentrations.

Transient inactivation of the nucleus accumbens reduces both the expression and acquisition of morphine-induced conditioned place preference in rats.

In the present study, the effects of transient inhibition of the shell and core parts of the nucleus accumbens by lidocaine on the expression and acquisition of morphine-induced conditioned place preference in male Wistar rats were investigated. In addition, the number of bouts of sniffing, rearing, and compartment crossing was scored. Lidocaine hydrochloride was injected into different parts of the nucleus accumbens 5 min before each morphine session for the transient inhibition of particular anatomical regions.

Development and Validation of a Simple, Rapid and Inexpensive PCR-RFLP Method for Genotyping of Common IL28B Polymorphisms: A Useful Pharmacogenetic Tool for Prediction of Hepatitis C Treatment Response.

Background: In 2009, 3 genome-wide association studies implicated IL28B single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as the strongest genetic pretreatment predictor of sustained virological response (SVR) in hepatitis C infection. Recently, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) included IL28B testing in their guidelines.

Objectives: The main aim of this study was to develop and validate a simple, rapid, and inexpensive polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method for genotyping of common IL28B polymorphisms (rs12979860 and rs8099917).

Community-based targeted case finding for tuberculosis and HIV in household contacts of patients with tuberculosis in South Africa.

Rationale: South Africa has a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV-coinfected adults in whom TB is often diagnosed late in the course of disease.

Objectives: Improved case-finding approaches for TB and HIV are needed to reduce mortality and prevent transmission.

Methods: We identified newly diagnosed index TB cases in a rural district and enrolled their households in a TB-HIV contact-tracing study.

Six-month follow-up of Iranian women in methadone treatment: drug use, social functioning, crime, and HIV and HCV seroincidence.

Background: In general, information about women who use drugs comes from studies performed in the West. Whether women in countries such as Iran are likely to enter drug treatment or how they will respond is not known.

Purpose: To examine the short-term impact of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) on drug use, dependence, social functioning, crime, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) risk behavior and seroincidence in female drug users in Iran.

Dynamic response of intraocular pressure and biomechanical effects of the eye considering fluid-structure interaction.

The vibration characteristics of shell structures such as eyes have been shown to vary with intraocular pressure (IOP). Therefore, vibration characteristics of the eye have the potential to provide improved correlation to IOP over traditional IOP measurements. As background to examine an improved IOP correlation, this paper develops a finite element model of an eye subject to vibration.

Adenosine deaminase activity in fertile and infertile men.

Adenosine deaminase (ADA; E.C.3.

Characteristics of Iranian women seeking drug treatment.

Background: In the west, men are twice as likely as women to develop a drug problem, but female users have higher rates of morbidity than male users. Iran has the world highest per capita opiate consumption, but little is known about female drug users. In 2007, we established a free methadone clinic with ancillary services for female drug users in South Tehran.