Trend in dental research output in Iran over a period of 20 years (1990–2009)

Introduction: The number of scientific papers is a conventional metric for the measurement of a country’s research performance in a particular area. Objective: To evaluate the trend in Iranian publications of dental research results in peer-reviewed international scientific journals over the period 1999–2009, using national and international databases, and to compare the results with other countries. Methods: The search process was performed by two independent persons in PubMed and Iranian Medline (IranMedex). Data extraction included the year of publication, total number of dental papers in each year, total number of Iranian dental papers in each year and number of papers with a high level of evidence; these were compared with those in other Asian countries. Results: The total number of dental articles indexed in PubMed during the studied period was 207,689, with 671 being written by researchers who stated their affiliation as Iran. Although the proportion of Iranian dental articles to all published dental articles was 0.01% in 1990, this increased to 1.4% in 2009. Of all clinical trials indexed in PubMed from 1990 to 2009, only 0.62% had an author from Iran. The collaboration rate of authors ranged between 1 and 10. Turkey and Iran had a larger number of dental research publications compared with other Asian countries assessed in this study. Conclusion: During the last two decades, there has been a considerable increase in the number of dental papers by Iranian researchers indexed in the PubMed database.Key words: Dental, research, Iran     

Comparison of the accuracy of the London atlas and Smith method in dental age estimation in 5–15.99-year-old Iranians using the panoramic view

International Journal of Legal Medicine - Tooth development is widely used for age estimation and staging physical maturity. It is of great importance in dental age estimation in forensic...     

Breast tumor stroma: A driving force in the development of resistance to therapies

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer‐related death in women worldwide. In spite of huge advancements in early detection and ever‐increasing knowledge of breast cancer biology, approximately 30% of patients with early‐stage breast cancer experience disease recurrence. Most patients are chemosensitive and cancer free immediately after the treatment. About 50% to 70% of breast cancer patients, however, will relapse within 1 year. Such a relapse is usually concomitant with adenocarcinoma cells acquiring a chemoresistant phenotype. Both de novo and acquired chemoresistance are poorly understood and present a major burden in the treatment of breast cancer. Although, previously, chemoresistance was largely linked to genetic alterations within the cancer cells, recent investigations are indicating that chemoresistance can also be associated with the tumor microenvironment. Nowadays, it is widely believed that tumor microenvironment is a key player in tumor progression and response to treatment. In this study, we will review the interactions of breast tumor cells with their microenvironment, present the latest research on the resistance mediated by the stromal component in breast cancer, and discuss the potential therapeutic strategies that can be exploited to treat breast cancers by targeting tumor microenvironment.     

Phytochemical constituents,biological activities,and health‐promoting effects of the genus Origanum

Origanum species are mostly distributed around the Mediterranean, Euro‐Siberian, and Iran‐Siberian regions. Since time immemorial, the genus has popularly been used in Southern Europe, as well as on the American continent as a spice now known all over the world under the name “oregano” or “pizza‐spice.” Origanum plants are also employed to prepare bitter tinctures, wines, vermouths, beer, and kvass. The major components of Origanum essential oil are various terpenes, phenols, phenolic acids, and flavonoids with predominant occurrence of carvacrol and thymol (with reasonable amounts of p‐cymen and ‐terpinene) or of terpinene‐4‐ol, linalool, and sabinene hydrate. Many species of Origanum genus are used to treat kidney, digestive, nervous, and respiratory disorders, spasms, sore throat, diabetes, lean menstruation, hypertension, cold, insomnia, toothache, headache, epilepsy, urinary tract infections, etc. Origanum essential oil showed potent bioactivities owing to its major constituents' carvacrol, thymol, and monoterpenes. Several preclinical studies evidenced its pharmacological potential as antiproliferative or anticancer, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, anti‐obesity, renoprotective, antiinflammatory, vasoprotective, cardioprotective, antinociceptive, insecticidal, and hepatoprotective properties. Its nanotechnological applications as a promising pharmaceutical in order to enhance the solubility, physicochemical stability, and the accumulation rate of its essential oils have been investigated. However, Origanum has been reported causing angioedema, perioral dermatitis, allergic reaction, inhibition of platelet aggregation, hypoglycemia, and abortion. Conclusive evidences are still required for its clinical applications against human medical conditions. Toxicity analyses and risk assessment will aid to its safe and efficacious application. In addition, elaborate structure–activity studies are needed to explore the potential use of Origanum‐derived phytochemicals as promising drug candidates.     

Disability and post-trauma stress in the population over 15 years old in Kashan, Iran: A population-based study

Purpose: One of the consequences of trauma-related injuries is disability. There are more than one billion people with disabilities worldwide. Disability in people reduces their quality of life. The goal of this study was to determine the rate of post-trauma stress and disability related to trauma in the population over 15 years old in Kashan during a solar year of 2018-2019. Methods: This is a cross-sectional population-based study. A cluster sampling method was used in the city of Kashan, and 3880 persons were interviewed with individuals randomly selected in each household. If a person had trauma during one year ago, the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 and Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist were applied for further interview. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test or t-test. Results: Among the 3880 participants residing in Kashan, 274 (7.1%) reported a history of traumatic injury during one year ago in 2018-2019. Incidence of all injuries was estimated to be 70.61 (62.60-78.70) per 1000 people. For the trauma population, 213 (77.7%) were male and 75.1% were married. About half of them (50.3%, 138/274) aged 21e39 years. The most common cause of injuries was related to traffic accidents: 140 (51.1%). Of the 274 trauma participants, 47 (17.2%) reported PTSD; 244 (89.1%) had a mild disability, and 30 (10.9%) reported moderate disability. Conclusion: One of the main causes of disability in the human community is the traumatic injuries. According to the results of this study, 89.1% of trauma participants have sustained at last mild disability following trauma. These people require follow-up and post-treatment support. It should be noted that psychological complications such as PTSD are as significant as physical symptoms.     

Distinct Subsets of Noncoding RNAs Are Strongly Associated With BMD and Fracture,Studied in Weight-Bearing and Non–Weight-Bearing Human Bone

We investigated mechanisms resulting in low bone mineral density (BMD) and susceptibility to fracture by comparing noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in biopsies of non–weight-bearing (NWB) iliac (n = 84) and weight bearing (WB) femoral (n = 18) postmenopausal bone across BMDs varying from normal (T-score > −1.0) to osteoporotic (T-score ≤ −2.5). Global bone ncRNA concentrations were determined by PCR and microchip analyses. Association with BMD or fracture, adjusted by age and body mass index, were calculated using linear and logistic regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) analysis. At 10% false discovery rate (FDR), 75 iliac bone ncRNAs and 94 femoral bone ncRNAs were associated with total hip BMD. Eight of the ncRNAs were common for the two sites, but five of them (miR-484, miR-328-3p, miR-27a-5p, miR-28-3p, and miR-409-3p) correlated positively to BMD in femoral bone, but negatively in iliac bone. Of predicted pathways recognized in bone metabolism, ECM-receptor interaction and proteoglycans in cancer emerged at both sites, whereas fatty acid metabolism and focal adhesion were only identified in iliac bone. Lasso analysis and cross-validations identified sets of nine bone ncRNAs correlating strongly with adjusted total hip BMD in both femoral and iliac bone. Twenty-eight iliac ncRNAs were associated with risk of fracture (FDR < 0.1). The small nucleolar RNAs, RNU44 and RNU48, have a function in stabilization of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and their association with fracture and BMD suggest that aberrant processing of rRNAs may be involved in development of osteoporosis. Cis-eQTL (expressed quantitative trait loci) analysis of the iliac bone biopsies identified two loci associated with microRNAs (miRNAs), one previously identified in a heel-BMD genomewide association study (GWAS). In this comprehensive investigation of the skeletal genetic background in postmenopausal women, we identified functional bone ncRNAs associated to fracture and BMD, representing distinct subsets in WB and NWB skeletal sites. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.