Evaluation serum levels of Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and its association with clinical parameters in severe COVID-19

Inflammopharmacology - Severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with dysregulated immune response and extreme inflammatory injury. Considering the role of insulin growth factor-1...     

Partners in crime: Autoantibodies complicit in COVID-19 pathogenesis

Autoantibodies (AABs) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) and serve as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in assessing these complex disorders. Viral infections have long been recognized as a principal environmental factor affecting the production of AABs and the development of autoimmunity. COVID-19 has primarily been considered a hyperinflammatory syndrome triggered by a cytokine storm. In the following, the role of maladaptive B cell response and AABs became more apparent in COVID-19 pathogenesis. The current review will primarily focus on the role of extrafollicular B cell response, Toll-like receptor-7 (TLR-7) activation, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation in the development of AABs following SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the following, this review will clarify how these AABs dysregulate immune response to SARS-CoV-2 by disrupting cytokine function and triggering neutrophil hyper-reactivity. Finally, the pathologic effects of these AABs will be further described in COVID-19 associate clinical manifestations, including venous and arterial thrombosis, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and recently described post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or long-COVID.     

Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of a specific anti-insulin-like growth factor I receptor single chain antibody on breast cancer cells

Tumor Biology - Insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) is expressed on breast cancer cells and involves in metastasis, survival, and proliferation. Currently, application of...     

Short‐term and long‐term effects of slow graft function on graft survival in pediatric live donor renal transplantation

Otukesh H, Hosein R, Fereshtehnejad S‐M, Riahifard A, Basiri A, Simforoosh N, Chalian M, Jazayeri S, Chalian H, Safarzadeh AE, Sharifian M, Hoseini S. Short‐term and long‐term effects of slow graft function on graft survival in pediatric live donor renal transplantation. Pediatr Transplantation 2010:14:196–202. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: SGF generally has early and long‐term consequences for allograft survival. Limited studies have been performed on SGF and its complications in pediatric renal transplantation. Therefore, 230 children who received transplants between 1985 and 2005 in Labafi Nejad hospital were included in this study. SGF was defined if the serum creatinine level increased, remained unchanged, or decreased by <10% per day immediately after surgery during three consecutive days in the first week after transplantation. The children were divided into two groups: 183 children in group A (non‐SGF) and 47 patients in group B (SGF). The impact of SGF on renal function within the first year, long‐term graft survival and post‐transplantation complications were analyzed and compared using logistic regression model and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. The incidence of graft failure at the end of follow‐up period was significantly more common in SGF group (53.2% vs. 22.4%, p < 0.001). The median survival time was 140.25 (s.e.m. = 19.35) months in group A (non‐SGF) and 60 (s.e.m. = 17.90) months in group B (SGF) (p < 0.001). The graft survival rate was 94.9%, 91.9%, 83.9%, 79.2%, and 72% at one, three, five, seven, and twelve yr after transplantation in children without SGF vs. 75.6%, 53.2%, 47.2%, 40% at one, three, five, and seven yr after transplantation in patients with SGF. The results of our study showed that slow graft function could remarkably affect graft survival and worsen both short‐term and long‐term transplantation outcomes. Thus, the prevention of SGF is one of the most important issues in graft survival improvement.     

Comparing the analgesic effect of heat patch containing iron chip and ibuprofen for primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common and sometimes disabling condition. In recent years, some studies aimed to improve the treatment of dysmenorrhea, and therefore, introduced several therapeutic measures. This study was designed to compare the analgesic effect of iron chip containing heat wrap with ibuprofen for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. METHODS: In this randomized (IRCT201107187038N2) controlled trial, 147 students (18--30 years old) with the diagnosis of primary dysmenorrhea were enrolled considering the CONSORT guideline. Screening for primary dysmenorrhea was done by a two-question screening tool. The participants were randomly assigned into one of the intervention groups (heat Patch and ibuprofen). Data regarding the severity and emotional impact of the pain were recorded by a shortened version of McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ). Student's t test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The maximum and minimum pain severities were observed at 2 and 24 hours in both groups. The severity of sensual pain at 8, 12, and 24 hours was non-significantly less in the heat Patch group. There was also no significant difference between the groups regarding the emotional impact of pain at the first 2, 4, 8, 12 and 12 hours of menstruation. CONCLUSIONS: Heat patch containing Iron chip has comparable analgesic effects to ibuprofen and can possibly be used for primary dysmenorrhea.Trial registrationIRCT201107187038N2.     

使用Oculus Keratograph 5M测量圆锥角膜患者NITBUT和TMH

目的:比较圆锥角膜患者和正常人使用Oculus Keratograph 5M(K5M)测得的非侵入性泪膜破裂时间(NITBUT)和泪河高度(TMH),以确定这两项指标和圆锥角膜的关系.方法:50例100眼圆锥角膜患者和50例100眼正常人参加了这项研究.圆锥角膜组患者的年龄为15~60(平均28.33±8.60)y.对照组为18~60(平均26.25±1.11)岁.使用K5M测量所有受试者的NITBUT和TMH.结果:两组之间的NITBUT和TMH平均值差异无统计学意义(P=0.58,0.69).两参数的相关性研究显示,两组中NITBUT和TMH之间均无相关性(圆锥角膜组: r=0.053, P=0.721;对照组: r=-0.0501, P=0.7098).结论:研究显示圆锥角膜对泪液质量和数量都没有显著的临床影响.     

Targeting immune checkpoints: Building better therapeutic puzzle in pancreatic cancer combination therapy

Pancreatic cancer is related to a very weak diagnosis; the close parallel between disease incidence and mortality rates from pancreatic cancer reflects the fatal nature of this disease. Although early detection procedures are growing, they are not applicable yet for pancreatic cancer. The majority of cancer patients suffer from advanced disease, in which surgery has no potential effect. Based on the growing evidence, it is predicated that cancer immunotherapy alone or in combination will probably be an essential section of different cancer treatment methods. There are different kinds of immune processes, including various antitumour and tumour‐promoting leukocytes. Moreover, tumour cells utilise numerous approaches to overwhelm the immune response. Use of antibody in the therapeutic protocols is proving significant success and is probably a key element of cancer treatment. This method is directed against numerous negative immunologic regulators and immune checkpoints. In the present review, the clinical outlines of immune checkpoint inhibition are discussed in pancreatic cancer.     

The role of IL-1 family of cytokines and receptors in pathogenesis of COVID-19

A global pandemic has erupted as a result of the new brand coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pandemic has been consociated with widespread mortality worldwide. The antiviral immune response is an imperative factor in confronting the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. Meantime, cytokines recognize as crucial components in guiding the appropriate immune pathways in the restraining and eradication of the virus. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 can induce uncontrolled inflammatory responses characterized by hyper-inflammatory cytokine production, which causes cytokine storm and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). As excessive inflammatory responses are contributed to the severe stage of the COVID-19 disease, therefore, the pro-inflammatory cytokines are regarded as the Achilles heel during COVID-19 infection. Among these cytokines, interleukin (IL-) 1 family cytokines (IL-1, IL-18, IL-33, IL-36, IL-37, and IL-38) appear to have a strong inflammatory role in severe COVID-19. Hence, understanding the underlying inflammatory mechanism of these cytokines during infection is critical for reducing the symptoms and severity of the disease. Here, the possible mechanisms and pathways involved in inflammatory immune responses are discussed.

     

Hyperostosis with hyperphosphatemia and tumoral calcinosis: a case report

The combination of hyperostosis and hyperphosphatemia is very rare. In this case report, we present a boy with a combination of diffuse hyperostosis and hyperphosphatemia. We evaluated most possible known causes of hyperphosphatemia and hyperostosis. He had normal renal function and serum parathormone level. Concerning some few similar cases, most of them from Middle Eastern countries, we present this combination (diffuse hyperostosis and hyperphosphatemia) as a new syndrome to be discussed in pediatric textbooks.