Impact of Group Prenatal Care on Contraceptive Use at Twelve Weeks Postpartum

Maternal and Child Health Journal - To compare the prevalence of highly effective contraceptive use by 12 weeks postpartum among participants of Centering Pregnancy®, a model of group...     

Molecular miR-19a in Acute Myocardial Infarction: Novel Potential Indicators of Prognosis and Early Diagnosis

Objective: Due to the increasing annual incidence rate of disability and mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the need for an appropriate diagnostic tool has become a crucial urgent issue. An increase in biomarkers and protein levels in response to AMI can be used as a predictive biomarker with different sensitivities and specificities. This study aimed at investigating the role of miR-19a as a biomarker with acceptable sensitivity and specificity for early diagnosis of AMI. Methods: We studied 175 patients with AMI admitted within 12 h of symptom onset and 90 healthy subjects as control group. Patients were divided into two groups, including group I (normal vessels and no significant artery stenosis) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) group II (patients with more than 50% stenosis in vessels and severe atherosclerosis) diagnosed by angiography. The expression level of miR-19a was evaluated by the real-time polymerase chain reaction and other serum chemistries were also analyzed. Results: The results demonstrated that circulating miR-19a levels were significantly increased in patient groups compared to the control group (2.88 ± 1.06 vs. 5.93 ± 1.28, P<0.0001). We also found that miR-19a levels were higher in group II (134.62-fold) than group I (15.42-fold). The upper levels of miR-19a were significantly correlated with the increased serum levels of CK-MB (ρ=0.29, P<0.0001), CTn I (ρ=0.4, P<0.0001) and creatinine (ρ=0.27, P<0.0001). In addition, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that circulating miR-19a had considerable diagnostic accuracy for the patients with normal vessel with an AUC of 0.930 (95% CI: 0.697-0.765) and for PCI patients with an AUC of 0.966 (95% CI: 0.748-0.784). Conclusion: Circulating miR-19a possibly has prognostic value to be used as a promising molecular target for early diagnosis and prognosis of AMI.     

Frequency and Correlation of Common Genes Copy Number Alterations in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with Prognosis

Objective: It was shown by genomic profiling that despite no detectable chromosomal abnormalities a proportion of children with pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia harbors copy number alterations (CNA) of genes playing role in B-cell development and function. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of CNA in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia and correlate these findings with clinical outcome. Methods: DNA extracted from peripheral blood or bone marrow at diagnosis/relapse of fifty newly diagnosed children with precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was analyzed for CNA with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Results: The analysis revealed 76 CNA in 24 patients most frequently found in PAR1 (17%), CDKN2A/B (15.7%) and PAX5 (14.4%) genes. There were significant CNA co-occurrences between PAX5, CDKN2A/B, BTG1, ETV6, PAR1 or XP22 genes, (p <0.020) and the high-risk group. There was a significant correlation between EBF1, RB1, and IKZF1 alterations and bone marrow relapse. Patients with CNA in screened genes are more likely to succumb to their disease except for those with PAR1 or XP22 genes (p <0.050). Conclusion: The multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification could be considered as an independent diagnostic tool allowing prompt identification of patients at high risk of treatment failure and, subsequently, a more adequate treatment approach.     

Differential expression of salivary S100A7 in oral submucous fibrosis

Aim

To investigate the expression of salivary S100A7 levels among patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and healthy controls.

Congenital fusion of the maxilla and mandible: brief case report

Congenital fusion of the mandible and maxilla is a rare anomaly usually seen in association with various syndromes. Reports of isolated cases of bony fusion of the jaws are sparse. Only 10 reported cases were found in the literature search. Maxillomandibular fusion restricts mouth opening, causing feeding problems and difficulties in swallowing, respiration, growth, and development, and thus must be treated early. We report a case of congenital fusion of the mandible and maxilla in a 1-year-old boy and describe the clinical features of this anomaly to add to the existing literature on the subject. This is our second encounter of such a case.     

The value of radius bone in prediction of sex and height in the Iranian population

ObjectiveMeasurement of anthropometric parameters of long bones can be applied in sex determination and height prediction. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of length of the radius in forensic identification.Materials and methodsCross-sectional analysis of anthropometric parameters of the radius was done by Legal Medicine Organization of Tehran, Iran studying fresh cadavers of Iranian population during 2009 and 2010.ResultsThis study surveyed length of radius of 106 fresh Iranian cadavers, 61 men and 45 women, in the age range of 10–85 years old. The study showed that genders can be distinguished using the length of radius with a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 96%. Using the regression test, there was significant relation between the height of persons and the length of radius bone. The equations were obtained to estimate the height of the individuals on the basis of radius bone length in different age groups, with an exception in females of 40–64 Years old.ConclusionIn the cases of fresh cadavers, by using the length of radius, we could be able to determine the length of height and gender with high confidence.