Incidence of Childhood Cancers in Golestan Province of Iran

Objective

This paper presents the incidence rates of childhood cancers using the data obtained from Golestan population based cancer registry (GPCR) between 2004 and 2006.

Methods

GPCR registers only primary cancers based on standard protocols of the international association of cancer registries (IACR). We collect data on newly diagnosed (incident) cancer cases from all public and private diagnostic and therapeutic centers of the whole province. CanReg-4 software was used for data entry and analysis.

Findings

Totally 5076 cancer cases (all ages) were diagnosed in GPCR between 2004 and 2006. Of these, 139 (2.74 %) were children (aged 0–14 years) with mean (±SD) age of 8.06 (±4.48) years. The age standardized incidence rates for childhood cancer were 119.8 and 78.3 per 1000000 person-years in male and female children, respectively. Leukemia was the most common childhood cancer in Golestan province of Iran. Lymphomas and central nervous system tumors were the second and third ones, respectively.

Conclusion

The incidence rates of childhood cancers were relatively high in Golestan province of Iran. So, controlling of childhood cancers should be mentioned as an important issue in health policy making in this area.     

An Ecological Study of Organochlorine Pesticides and Breast Cancer in Rural Victoria, Australia

A number of studies have suggested that environmental contamination with organochlorine pesticides may be related to risk of breast cancer. To investigate this association in a rural part of Australia, organochlorine contamination data from a breast milk organochlorine study conducted in the state of Victoria in 1993 were used. The state was divided into 11 statistical divisions. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for the 11 regions were calculated using breast cancer incidence data from 1983 to 2002. During that time, 47,250 breast cancer cases occurred in Victoria, which had an average population of 2,147,409 women. The Ovens-Murray region, which was the region most contaminated with organochlorine pesticides, showed an elevated SIR of 1.10 (95%CI, 1.03–1.17), although two other regions with lower organochlorine contamination levels also had elevated SIRs. The rural part of the Ovens-Murray region, where the main pesticide use occurred, had the highest SIR, 1.15 (95%CI, 1.07–1.23). We did not find any significant correlation between organochlorine contamination and the age-standardized rate of breast cancer across all regions. But a positive dose-response relationship using an adjusted negative binomial model was detected for heptachlor epoxide. Our study may provide limited support for the role of environmental contamination with organochlorine pesticides in the development of breast cancer.     

Development of a multiplex nested consensus PCR for detection and identification of major human herpesviruses in CNS infections.

BACKGROUND: Rapid, sensitive and economical detection and identification of human herpesviruses as causative agents of central nervous system (CNS) infections are of clinical importance. The traditional methods for the detection of herpesviruses in CNS infections all suffer from limitations. PCR has a potential to overcome each of them. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were reducing the number of primers in multiplex PCR and increasing the sensitivity of the assay by nested PCR. STUDY DESIGN: A multiplex nested consensus PCR (MNC-PCR) was developed for the simultaneous detection of major human herpesviruses. A pair of conserved primers was designed for detection of HSV-1, HSV-2, CMV and EBV and another pair of conserved primers for nested PCR. For VZV, a different pair of primers was designed and another pair of primers for nested PCR. A reduction in the number of designed primer pairs (from five pairs to two in both stages of PCR) is an advantage in this assay. One hundred forty-seven cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients that showed clinical manifestation of CNS infections were tested. Results of MNC-PCR in CSF samples were compared with those of single PCR assay for each individual DNA virus. Sensitivity of the assay was determined with a plasmid containing VZV DNA binding protein gene and another plasmid for HSV-1 DNA polymerase gene. False negative results (due to the presence of inhibitor of DNA amplification in CSF samples) were avoided by the inclusion of beta2-microglobulin primers in the MNC-PCR assay as an internal control. RESULTS: Positive results were obtained in 20 CSF samples (8 HSV-1, 2 HSV-2, 4 CMV, 3 VZV, 3 HSV-1/CMV, CMV/VZV and HSV-1/EBV coinfections). The comparison between single PCR and MNC-PCR showed a marked increase in sensitivity of MNC-PCR test, since six negative samples in single PCR proved positive in MNC-PCR (P<0.005). Sensitivity was determined 1-5 plasmid copies for VZV and 50-100 plasmid copies for HSV-1. CONCLUSIONS: The MNC-PCR assay presented in this study can provide a rapid, sensitive and economical method for detection of viral infections and is applicable to small volumes of CSF samples.     

Groucho corepressor proteins regulate otic vesicle outgrowth.

The Groucho/Tle family of corepressor proteins is known to regulate multiple developmental pathways. Applying the dominant-negative effect of the short member Aes, we demonstrate here a critical role of this gene family also for ear development. Misexpression of Aes in medaka embryos resulted in reduced size or loss of otic vesicles, whereas overexpression of the full-length Groucho protein Tle4 gave the opposite phenotype. These results are in close agreement with phenotypes observed for eye formation, suggesting a similar role for Groucho/Tle proteins in the developmental pathways of both sensory organs. Furthermore, by using the heat-inducible HSE promoter, we observed reversible branching of the embryonic axis upon Aes misexpression, indicating a transient duplication of the organizer. Groucho proteins, therefore, are critical for organizer maintenance.     

Effects of dietary selenium supplementation on serum and liver selenium,serum malondialdehyde and liver glutathione peroxidase activity in rats consuming thermally oxidized sunflower oil

The present study compared the effects of four isocaloric diets containing (1) fresh sunflower oil not supplemented with selenium (Fresh), (2) oxidized sunflower oil not supplemented with selenium (Oxidized), (3) fresh sunflower oil supplemented with 1 ppm selenium as sodium selenite (Fresh + Se), (4) oxidized sunflower oil supplemented with 1 ppm selenium as sodium selenite (Oxidized + Se) on serum MDA concentrations, liver GPx activity and serum and liver selenium contents in growing male Sprague Dawley rats during a period of 43 days. The oxidized oil used was prepared by heating fresh sunflower oil at 180 °C for 48 h. Serum and liver selenium contents and liver GPx activity were significantly higher in the selenium supplemented groups compared to the non-selenium supplemented groups, but these parameters did not differ significantly between the oxidized oil fed groups and the fresh oil fed groups. Serum MDA concentrations increased significantly in the Oxidized group compared to the Fresh group. This suggests that the ingestion of oxidized oil resulted in, in vivo lipid peroxidation. Serum MDA concentrations remained significantly higher even in comparison of the Oxidized + Se group with the Oxidized group. Our results emphasize that the consumption of oxidized oil increases in vivo lipid peroxidation and thus can be deleterious to health. However, we did not observe a significant beneficial effect of selenium supplementation upon the ingestion of thermally oxidized oil on lipid peroxidation.     

Prophylaxis of ophthalmia neonatorum comparison of betadine, erythromycin and no prophylaxis

Ophthalmia neonatorum is a form of bacterial conjunctivitis contracted by newborns during delivery and occurs during the first month of life. Etiologic factors include Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, viruses and chemicals. Its prevalence differs in different parts of the world and is dependent mainly upon socioeconomic conditions, level of knowledge about general health, standard of maternal healthcare as well as the type of prophylactic program used. This randomized clinical trial was performed during the years 2004-05 in the Delivery Section of Vali-e-Asr Hospital on 330 neonates who were divided into three equal groups of 110; Group A received betadine eye drops, Group B received Erythromycin eye drops and Group C (control group) received no treatment. Results showed that clinical conjunctivitis occurred in 52 subjects (17%), 58% of whom constituted males. On the whole, 9% of the infected newborns were from group A, 18.4% from group B and 22.4% from group C. It was concluded that 2.5% sterile betadine eye drops had a pronounced effect on ophthalmia neonatorum (p = 0.030).     

The IL-18, IL-12, and IFN-γ expression in HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) patients,HTLV-1 carriers,and healthy subjects

Journal of NeuroVirology - Interleukin (IL)-12, IL-18, and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) can induce Th1-inflammatory responses in favor of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis...