Uncommon cytidine-homopolymer dimorphism in 5'-UTR of the human otoferlin gene

Human otoferlin, homologous to the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatogenesis factor FER-1 that was shown to be involved in membrane vesicle fusion, belongs to a group of membrane-anchored cytosolic proteins and is found expressed in brain, cochlear inner hair cells and vestibular type I sensory cells. Nonsense and missense mutations of OTOF lead to an autosomal recessive deafness phenotype (DFNB9). We describe here an unusual C-homopolymer dimorphism at position -136 of 5'-UTR of the OTOF short splice form. Although at first identified within a family with a hereditary component of hearing deficiency this C3/C5 dimorphism is found frequently in European populations (0.4 for C3, 0.6 for C5) and does not segregate with the deafness phenotype. The polymorphic site may become useful for studying the origin of different OTOF mutations within various populations, for assessing recombination events within large pedigrees as well as founder effects and for association studies in further deafness phenotypes.     

Potential biomarkers for testicular germ cell tumour: Risk assessment,diagnostic, prognostic and monitoring of recurrence

Testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT) is considered a relatively rare malignancy usually occurring in young men between 15 and 35 years of age, and both genetic and environmental factors contribute to its development. The majority of patients are diagnosed in an early-stage of TGCTs with an elevated 5-year survival rate after therapy. However, approximately 25% of patients show an incomplete response to chemotherapy or tumours relapse. The current therapies are accompanied by several adverse effects, including infertility. Aside from classical serum biomarker, many studies reported novel biomarkers for TGCTs, but without proper validation. Cancer cells share many similarities with embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and since ESC genes are not transcribed in most adult tissues, they could be considered ideal candidate targets for cancer-specific diagnosis and treatment. Added to this, several microRNAs (miRNA) including miRNA-371-3p can be further investigated as a molecular biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring of TGCTs. In this review, we will illustrate the findings of recent investigations in novel TGCTs biomarkers applicable for risk assessment, screening, diagnosis, prognosis, prediction and monitoring of the relapse.     

Validation of a Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Association with Risk of Gastric Cancer: a Case-Control Study

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancerrelateddeaths worldwide. Studies have shown that dietary components and inflammation are implicated in the etiologyof GC. Methods: We examined the ability of a dietary inflammatory index (DII) to predict the odds of GC in a casecontrolstudy conducted from December 2014 to May 2016. The subjects were 82 cases and 95 controls who attendedspecialized centers in Tabriz, Iran. DII scores were computed from a validated 168-item food frequency questionnaire.Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, education,smoking, alcohol, H.pylori infection, physical activity, aspirin/NSAID use and total caloric intake. Results: In the fullyadjusted model, subjects with a DII score >-1.77 had nearly 3.5 times higher odds of having GC compared with subjectswith DII≤-1.77, (ORDII>-1.77≤-1.77=3.39; 95%CI=1.59, 7.22). Also, for every one-unit increase in DII, there was acorresponding increase in hs-C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1b: β=0.09, 0.16,0.16 and 0.10, respectively; and a corresponding decrease in IL-10: β=-0.11. Conclusion: Subjects who consumed a morepro-inflammatory diet were at increased odds of GC compared to those who consumed a more anti-inflammatory diet.     

Alcohol consumption for simulated driving performance: A systematic review

Purpose: Alcohol consumption can lead to risky driving and increase the frequency of traffic accidents, injuries and mortalities. The main purpose of our study was to compare simulated driving performance between two groups of drivers, one consumed alcohol and the other not consumed, using a systematic review. Methods: In this systematic review, electronic resources and databases including Medline via Ovid SP, EMBASE via Ovid SP, PsycINFO via Ovid SP, PubMed, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL) via EBSCOhost were comprehensively and systematically searched. The randomized controlled clinical trials that compared simulated driving performance between two groups of drivers, one consumed alcohol and the other not consumed, were included. Lane position standard deviation (LPSD), mean of lane position deviation (MLPD), speed, mean of speed deviation (MSD), standard deviation of speed deviation (SDSD), number of accidents (NA) and line crossing (LC) were considered as the main parameters evaluating outcomes. After title and abstract screening, the articles were enrolled for data extraction and they were evaluated for risk of biases. Results: Thirteen papers were included in our qualitative synthesis. All included papers were classified as high risk of biases. Alcohol consumption mostly deteriorated the following performance outcomes in descending order: SDSD, LPSD, speed, MLPD, LC and NA. Our systematic review had troublesome heterogeneity. Conclusion: Alcohol consumption may decrease simulated driving performance in alcohol consumed people compared with non-alcohol consumed people via changes in SDSD, LPSD, speed, MLPD, LC and NA. More well-designed randomized controlled clinical trials are recommended.     

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) Provide a Potentially Unlimited T Cell Source for CAR-T Cell Development and Off-the-Shelf Products

Pharmaceutical Research - Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy has been increasingly conducted for cancer patients in clinical settings. Progress in this therapeutic approach is...     

Safety and efficacy of autologous serum eye drop for treatment of dry eyes in graft-versus-host disease

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment of autologous serum eye drops (ASED) on dry eyes in patients with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 35 patients with a history of ocular GVHD following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation that used ASED to alleviate dry eye symptoms was performed. Patients were categorized into three different groups. If patients had available ophthalmic data before and after starting treatment was group 1 (n?=?14), had available ophthalmic data after starting treatment in group 2 (n?=?10) and had available ophthalmic data before treatment or did not have any data after starting treatment in group 3 (n?=?11). Data were collected on patient’s age, gender, primary diagnosis, visual acuity and fluorescein corneal staining were collected on individual eyes in order to evaluate the efficacy of the ASED on alleviating dry eye-related signs and symptoms.

Results: No adverse ocular effect from the ASED was found in our series (except one fungal keratitis). All patients reported either improvement (55%) or stability (45%) in their ocular symptoms upon the use of ASED. In patients with available data before and after starting treatment, the corneal staining score improved by a median of 1 (p?=?0.003) and the LogMAR visual acuity had a non-significant improvement.

Conclusion: In our study, ASED used by patients with ocular GVHD were both safe and effective. ASED should be considered in patients with GVHD who suffer from dry eyes.     

A review of heavy metals in rice (Oryza sativa) of Iran

With attention to high public concern to dietary intakes of heavy metals from various foods and rice as one of the main food of the people in the Iran, the aim of this study was to survey heavy metals in rice samples of Iran. Based on obtained results, among the metals in some Iranian cultivated rice samples, cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) concentrations were higher than national standard of Iran. But, totally in Iran, average weekly intake for Cd, As, Pb, cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) were lower than the maximum weekly intake recommended by WHO/FAO. However, the average weekly intake amount for Hg from rice in Iran is higher than the maximum weekly intake recommended by WHO/FAO.     

Combination therapy with omega-3 fatty acids plus tamsulocin and finasteride in the treatment of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)

Purpose

Inflammation and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as a part of it are common in BPH specimens and may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease through cytokines that promote cell growth or lead to smooth muscle contraction. The aim of this study is to analyze whether combination therapy with omega-3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory and COX-2 inhibitory effects, and tamsulocin plus finasteride offers an advantage compared to tamsulocin plus finasteride therapy in patients with BPH.

Materials and methods

This is a single-center blinded clinical trial. One hundred consecutive men between 50 and 70 years of age and no other comorbidities with LUTS and BPH were entered into the study and were randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acids 300 mg three times a day with meals plus tamsulocin 0.4 mg at bed time and finasteride 5 mg/day (study group) versus tamsulocin 0.4 mg at bed time and finasteride 5 mg/day (control group) for 6 months. The efficacy and safety of treatments were assessed at baseline and at month one, three and six.

Results

In our population, both treatments (groups study and control) produced statistically significant improvements in IPSS, Q _max, Q _ave and prostate volume from baseline during follow-up (p < 0.05). We found that study group showed higher improvement in IPSS (p = 0.007), Q _max (p = 0.011) and Q _ave (p = 0.004) at the 1 month interval. These higher improvements last at month three and six (p < 0.05). Prostate volume in the study group also showed more improvement at month six (p = 0.000). Adverse effects were the same in both groups during the study.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that association of omega-3 fatty acids with tamsulocin and finasteride may produce better clinical results.