Interleukin 1 alpha (IL1A) polymorphisms and risk of endometriosis in Iranian population: a case-control study

Abstract

Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases and a major cause of pain and infertility. It is influenced by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Recently, genome-wide association studies have revealed a strong association between IL1A single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and increased risk of endometriosis in Japanese women. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of three IL1A SNPs, rs17561, rs1304037, and rs2856836 with the risk of endometriosis in Iranian population. Totally, 105 women with diagnosis of endometriosis and 102 healthy women as control group were included. Three SNPs of the IL1A, rs17561?G/T, rs1304037 A/G, and rs2856836 T/C, were genotyped by PCR and RFLP. The rs2856836?TC genotype was significantly higher (p?=?.002; OR?=?3.1, 95% CI: 1.5–6.5) in the patients (28.1%) than the control group (12.7%). The rs2856836?CC genotype was significantly higher (p?=?.047; OR?=?2.3, 95% CI: 1.0–5.3) in the patients (17.5%) than the control group (10.8%). The rs2856836 C allele was significantly higher (p?=?.001; OR?=?2.2, 95% CI: 1.4–3.6) in the patients (31.6%) than the control group (17.2%). The IL1A rs2856836 T/C SNP was associated with susceptibility to endometriosis and the rs2856836 C allele may increase the risk of endometriosis in Iranian women.     

Evolutionary puzzle of Toxoplasma gondii with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts: An updated systematic review and meta‐analysis

The World Health Organization has reported an annual global suicide rate of 14.5 per 100,000 people. On the other hand, it is estimated that approximately one‐third of the global population are infected with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite. It is widely assumed that microbial pathogens, such as T. gondii, are probably associated with affective and behavioural modulation. The present article aimed to assess the proposed role of toxoplasmosis in raising the risk of suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) using the available epidemiological data. Seven major electronic databases and the Internet search engine Google were searched for all the studies published between the 1st of January 1950 and 31st of October 2019. The heterogeneity and the risk of bias within and across studies were assessed. Following data extraction, pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) across studies were calculated using the random‐effects models. A total number of 9,696 articles were screened and 27 studies were regarded as eligible in our systematic review (SI with five papers and 22 papers on SA). A significant association was detected between antibodies against T. gondii with TA (ORs = 1.57; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23–2.00, p = .000). Exploration of the association between T. gondii and SA yielded a positive effect of seropositivity for IgG antibodies but not IgM. Despite the limited number of studies, a statistical association was detected between suicidal behaviours and infection with latent T. gondii.     

Low back pain education and short term quality of life: a randomized trial

Background  

Different interventions can reduce the burden of the chronic low back pain. One example is the use of a 'Back School Programme'. This is a brief therapy that uses a health education method to empower participants through a procedure of assessment, education and skill development. This study aimed to evaluate to what extent the programme could improve quality of life in those who suffer from the condition.     

Bioadhesion and biocompatibility evaluations of gelatin and polyacrylic acid as a crosslinked hydrogel in vitro

This study describes the potentiality of crosslinked hydrogels comprised of gelatin and polyacrylic acid (CHGP) as a biological glue for soft tissues and compares its bonding strength with that of fibrin glue. Water-soluble carbodimide (WSC) was used to crosslink the mixture of gelatin and polyacrylic acid (PAA). An addition of PAA to gelatin increases bonding strength and reduces the gelation time and WSC concentration. Increasing the gelatin, WSC and PAA concentration increases the bonding strength. There is a critical concentration to have a maximum bonding strength. The cured hydrogel exhibited sufficient adhesion to mouse skin with a higher bonding strength than fibrin glue. The in vitro test has been done for evaluating CHGP toxicity.     

Intrathoracic gastric fistula after bariatric surgery: a systematic review and pooled analysis

Even in the hands of highly experienced bariatric surgeons, perioperative complications are inevitable. Of these, leaks and fistulas are amongst the scariest complications. Intrathoracic gastric fistulas (ITGF) can be associated with serious morbidity, mostly when cases are misdiagnosed or detected with delay. This is a systematic review of the literature to investigate the clinical and surgical outcomes of morbidly obese adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of ITGF following bariatric surgery. A pooled analysis of 25 articles, encompassing 76 patients with post-bariatric ITGF, showed that the clinical outcome depends on the initial presentation, timing of the diagnosis in relation to symptom onset, and prompt and effective treatment. Any septic or unstable patient must undergo urgent surgical intervention, while stable patients might tolerate a step-up approach and watchful waiting for nonsurgical treatment. Among those who undergo surgery, treatment failure and the mortality rate are substantially high. Contingent upon a prompt management strategy, patients with postbariatric ITGF can generally have a favorable outcome in the long term.     

The continuing important role of radionuclide generator systems for nuclear medicine

In this review, the continuing importance and status of development of radionuclide generator systems for nuclear medicine are discussed. Radioisotope costs and availability are two important factors, and both nuclear reactors and accelerator facilities are required for production of the parent radioisotopes. Radionuclide generator research is currently focused on the development of generators which provide radioisotopes for positron emission tomography (PET) applications and daughter radioisotopes for various therapeutic applications which decay primarily by particle emission. Generator research continues to be influenced by developments and requirements of complementary technologies, such as the increasing availability of PET. In addition, the availability of a wide spectrum of tumor-specific antibodies, fragments, and peptides for radio-immunodiagnosis and radioimmunotherapy has stimulated the need for generator-derived radioisotopes. The advantages of treatment of arthritis of the synovial joints with radioactive particles (radiation synovectomy) may be expected to be of increasing importance as the elderly population increases, and many of these agents are prepared using generator-derived radioisotopes such as yttrium-90 and rhenium-188. Therapeutic use of the in vivo generator is a new approach, where the less radio-toxic parent radioisotope is used to prepare tissue-speciic therapeutic agents. Following in vivo site localization, decay of the parent provides the daughter for therapy at the target site. The principal foundation of most diagnostic agents will continue to require technetium-99m from the molybdenum-99/technetium-99m (Moly) generator. With the limited availability of nuclear reactors and facilities necessary for production and processing of fission ^99mTc and the significant issues and problems associated with radioactive waste processing, however, the possibility of utilizing lower specific activity ⁹⁹Mo produced from neutron activation of enriched ⁹⁸Mo may become practical in the future. Correspondence to: RE Knapp, Jr.     

Refining the Amsterdam Criteria and Bethesda Guidelines: testing algorithms for the prediction of mismatch repair mutation status in the familial cancer clinic.

PURPOSE: Hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) is a Mendelian dominant syndrome of bowel, endometrial, and other cancers and results from germline mutations in mismatch repair (MMR) genes. HNPCC is now best diagnosed on molecular grounds using MMR mutation screening, aided by microsatellite instability (MSI) and immunohistochemistry in tumors. Selection of families for molecular investigation of HNPCC is usually based on suboptimal methods (Amsterdam Criteria or Bethesda Guidelines), but these can be improved using additional clinical data (mean ages of affected persons and presence of endometrial cancer) in a quantitative model. METHODS: We have verified the performance of the Wijnen model and have shown that it remains valid when HNPCC is diagnosed using mutation screening, MSI, and immunohistochemistry. We have also set up and verified our own models (Amsterdam-plus and Alternative), which perform at least as well as the Wijnen model. RESULTS: The Amsterdam-plus model improves on the Amsterdam Criteria by using five extra variables (numbers of colorectal and endometrial cancers in the family, number of patients with five or more adenomas, number with more than one primary cancer of the colorectum or endometrium, and mean age of presentation) and performs better than the Wijnen model. The Alternative model avoids the need to evaluate the Amsterdam Criteria and performs nearly as well as the other models. CONCLUSION: We believe that a quantitative model, such as the Amsterdam-plus model, should be the first choice for selecting families or patients for evaluation of HNPCC using molecular tests. We present an algorithm for this process.     

Molecular survey of ITS1 spacer and Rickettsia infection in human flea,Pulex irritans

Parasitology Research - The human flea is an important ectoparasite causing serious public health problems worldwide. Planning and monitoring the control programs against this vector require the...