Cord Blood Lipid Profile in a Population of Iranian Term Newborns

Premature coronary artery disease (CAD) and its risk factors are highly prevalent in Iran. It is well documented that atherosclerosis starts in childhood and there is evidence that this association with adult levels may originate at birth, so assessment of serum lipid levels in neonates might be of importance. In this study we aimed to measure serum lipoprotein and apolipoprotein levels in a representative sample of Iranian newborns. Cord blood lipid profile, apolipoprotein A, apolipoprotein B, and lipoprotein a (LPa) were analyzed in 378 full-term, Iranian newborns. The mean values of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A, apolipoprotein B, and Lpa in girls were 81.4 ± 28.3, 35.9 ± 22.4, 31.1 ± 9.9, 87.9 ± 20.2, 34.2 ± 18.2, and 21.0 ± 2.8 mg/dL, respectively; these values in boys were 75.2 ± 21.1, 32.1 ± 16.3, 28.8 ± 8.7, 84.3 ± 16.0, 32.6 ± 14.2, and 19.5 ± 2.7 mg/dL, respectively. Median values of triglycerides (TGs) in boys and girls were 61 and 62 mg/dL, respectively. Female neonates had significantly higher concentrations of TC and HDL-C than males (81.4 ± 28.3 vs. 75.2 ± 21.1, p = 0.02, and 31.18 ± 9.97 vs. 28.8 ± 8.7, p = 0.02, respectively). Other biochemical factors were not significantly different between genders. The mean and median concentrations of LPa were 20.3 and 18.7 mg/dL, respectively, which are almost five times higher than those reported in some other studies. The TG concentration was 1.5–2 times higher than those previously reported. Our findings indicate that serum concentrations of LPa and TG in Iranian neonates are higher than those in previous studies; this disorder, which is likely placing Iranians at increased risk for future CADs, needs to be assessed in longitudinal studies.     

An inverse relation between CagA+ strains of Helicobacter pylori infection and risk of erosive GERD

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is investigating the association of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and its cytotoxic-associated gene A (cagA) strain with reflux esophagitis. METHODS: In a case-control setting (May 2005-2006), patients with reflux esophagitis (case group) were compared with age and gender matched people suffering from symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease with normal upper gastrointestinal endoscopic findings (control group) in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. The rates of H. pylori and its cagA positive infections were separately compared between the 2 groups and the subgroups with different severity of reflux esophagitis. RESULTS: Ninety-two and 93 patients were enrolled in the case and the control groups. The rate of H. pylori infection was insignificantly lower in the case group (81.5% versus 87.10%, p=0.29, odd ratio 0.654, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 0.293 to 1.495). The CagA positive infections were found significantly more frequent in the control group (59.1% versus 40.2%, p=0.01, odd ratio 0.465, 95% CI 0.258 to 0.836). There was no significant difference between the severity subgroups of the disease for H. pylori (p=0.30) or cagA positive infection rates (p=0.40). CONCLUSION: The CagA positive strains might have a protective effect against reflux esophagitis.     

Hospital-acquired infections in a tertiary hospital in Iran before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift - Infection prevention protocols are the accepted standard to control nosocomial infections. These protective measures intensified after the coronavirus 2019...     

Accuracy of 18-F-FDG PET imaging in the follow up of endometrial cancer patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature

ObjectivesWe reviewed the available literature on the accuracy of 18-F-FDG PET imaging in the follow up of the endometrial cancer patients and presented the results in systematic review and meta-analysis formatMethodsMedline, SCOPUS, ISI web of knowledge, Springer, and Science direct were searched with “PET AND Endometr*” as key words. All studies that evaluated the accuracy of 18-F-FDG imaging in the follow up of treated endometrial carcinoma were included if enough data could be extracted for calculation of sensitivity and/or specificity.ResultsEleven studies (541 patients in total) were included in the analysis. Pooled diagnostic indices (patient basis) for detection of overall recurrence were as follows: sensitivity 95.8% [92.2–98.1], specificity 92.5% [89.3–94.9], positive likelihood ratio (LR +) 9.53 [6.52–13.91], negative likelihood ratio (LR ?) 0.075 [0.044–0.128], and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) 204 [91.97–453.5]. 18-F-FDG performance was better in studies conducted by PET/CT as compared to PET. The treatment plan changed in 22–35% of the studied patients.Conclusion18-F-FDG PET is an accurate method for detection and localization of recurrence in post-therapy follow up of endometrial carcinoma. It can also change the treatment planning by localizing the recurrent lesions.     

Age-related accumulation of T cells with markers of relatively stronger autoreactivity leads to functional erosion of T cells

Background

Although it is known that regulatory T cells (Tregs) can suppress the function of effector T cells, and may contribute to impaired immune response, the precise role of Tregs during the course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains to be elucidated. A newly identified subset of the CD4⁺Foxp3⁺ Tregs, the CD39⁺ Tregs, has been associated with viral infections and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, we hypothesized that this discrete Treg subset may contribute to the chronic infection of HBV.

Results

Initial characterization studies of healthy peripheral CD39⁺FoxP3⁺CD4⁺ T cells revealed that the majority were CD45RA^- Treg cells. Subsequent analysis of HBV-infected patients (38 asymptomatic HBV carriers (AsCs), 37 chronic active hepatitis B (CAH), 29 HBV-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF)) and healthy individuals (25 controls) was conducted to assess association with HBV copy number and the liver injury marker alanine aminotransferase (ALT). A higher percentage of CD39⁺ Tregs was detected within the population of FoxP3⁺CD4⁺ T cells in peripheral blood of AsCs patients. Moreover, the percentage of CD39⁺ Tregs was significantly less in CAH and ACLF patients. The increased proportions of circulating CD39⁺ Tregs were positively correlated with serum viral load, but inversely correlated with serum ALT level.

Conclusion

These findings not only suggest that CD39⁺ Treg cells may be involved in HBV disease progression but also identify CD39⁺ Tregs as a dynamic immune regulatory cell population that may represent a new target of immunomodulatory therapeutic interventions.     

Ghrelin, peptide YY and their receptors: gene expression in brain from subjects with and without Prader-Willi syndrome

Ghrelin and peptide YY (PYY) are peptides generally produced by the gastrointestinal organs which are involved in appetite regulation via highly specialized centers in the brain. Abnormal plasma ghrelin and PYY levels compared with controls have been reported for subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) which is characterized by infantile hypotonia, poor suck reflex and failure to thrive followed by hyperphagia and marked obesity in early childhood. We studied gene expression of ghrelin, peptide YY, and their receptors (i.e., GHS-R1a, GHS-R1b, and NPY2R) in six different brain regions (frontal cortex, temporal cortex, visual cortex, pons, medulla, and hypothalamus) obtained from three subjects with PWS, two individuals with Angelman syndrome, and six controls to determine if expression of these genes is detectable in different regions of the brain in subjects with and without PWS. In general, expression of these genes using RT-PCR was detected in all subjects and no obvious differences were seen in their pattern of expression between subjects with or without PWS. Additional studies including quantitative gene expression measurements will be required to further evaluate the role of these genes in the eating disorder seen in PWS.