Association of IL-17A and IL-17?F gene polymorphisms with recurrent pregnancy loss in Iranian women

PurposeRecurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as the occurrence of two or more miscarriages before the 20th week of pregnancy. T helper17 cells are a novel subset of T cells, which secrete IL (Interleukin)-17 and are known to be involved in inflammation, autoimmunity and rejection of non-self tissues. Herein, we studied the association between IL-17A rs2275913 and IL-17F rs763780 gene polymorphisms with RPL in Iranian women.MethodsA case-controlled study was performed on two groups consisting of 85 healthy women with at least one delivery and 85 women with the history of two or more RPLs. The frequency of IL-17A rs2275913 and IL-17 F rs763780 polymorphisms were determined by PCR-RFLP.ResultsIn the RPL group, the genotypes frequencies of rs2275913 polymorphism were GG (8.2 %), AG (30.6 %), and AA (61.2 %) and in the control group, were GG (3.5 %), AG (42.4 %) and AA (54.1 %). Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the genotypes of AA, AG and GG in the two groups (p = 0.1). The genotypes frequencies of rs763780 polymorphism were TT (43.5 %), TC (49.4 %) and CC (7.1 %) in the RPL group; whereas the frequencies were TT (25.9 %), TC (70.6 %) and CC (3.5 %) in the control group. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in the TT, TC, and CC genotypes frequencies between the case and the control groups (p = 0.01).ConclusionsOur findings indicate that IL-17F polymorphism, rs763780, might be associated with a high risk of RPL in Iranian women.     

Immune responses to Helicobacter pylori infection in children with intellectual disabilities

Infection with Helicobacter pylori was assessed through serum H. pylori IgG antibody in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). The sero-status of cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) was determined as a risk determinant for severe H. pylori-associated diseases. In total, 210 children with ID were included who were permanent resident of three institutes in Tehran. Medical history and demographic data were collected by reviewing the medical file records. The anti H. pylori IgG antibody was detected in serum of 74.8% of children using ELISA. Significant correlations were found between the rate of infection and age (P = 0.001) and duration of institutionalization (P = 0.018). The likelihood of H. pylori IgG positive response increased with age with the highest response in 15-18 years age group (OR = 6.66, 95% CI: 2.14-20.17; P = 0.001). Similarly, the average titers of H. pylori IgG antibody were increased with age. The institutionalization duration of more than 49 months affected the likelihood of H. pylori IgG positive response (OR = 2.437, 95% CI: 1.12-5.26; P = 0.023). Anti-CagA titers were higher than 5 arbU/ml in 92 (58.6%) children, indicating a positive response against CagA protein. The titer of H. pylori IgG was significantly higher in CagA-positive (mean ± SE = 51.04 ± 3.41) than in CagA-negative children (38.07 ± 4.18; P = 0.017). In contrast to total H. pylori IgG titers, anti-CagA antibody had non-regular trend of alterations with age. The seropositivity rate of H. pylori infection in ID children was higher than other reports in healthy children from various regions of the country. The risk of H. pylori infection is increased with age and duration of institutionalization. The serostatus of CagA in children with IDs has not been reported so far. The regular monitoring of the CagA-positive carriers is recommended; since CagA positive cases carry the risk of progression of infection toward severe H. pylori associated sequels such as gastric cancer and duodenal ulcers.     

Curcumin has Neuroprotection Effect on Homocysteine Rat Model of Parkinson

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder which is emanated by dopaminergic death cell and depletion. Curcumin as a nontoxic matter has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative activities, and it involves antioxidant property same to vitamins C and E. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective properties of the natural polyphenolic antioxidant compound, curcumin, against homocysteine (Hcy) neurotoxicity. Curcumin (50 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) once daily for a period of 10 days beginning 5 days prior to Hcy (2 μmol/μl) intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection in rats. The studies included immunohistological and locomotor activity tests. These results suggest that homocysteine intracerebroventricular administration (2 μmol/μl i.c.v.) may induce changes in rat brain, and subsequently, polyphenol treatment curcumin 50 mg/kg (i.p.) was capable in improving locomotor function in insulted animal by protecting the nervous system against homocysteine toxicity.     

Sexual compatibility among Iranian couples: a qualitative study

Sexual compatibility increases the stability of marriage and partners’ relationships and decreases sexually transmitted diseases. This qualitative study using a content analysis approach was conducted with 36 married men and women. Interviews were conducted for data collection. As the main theme of this study, “couple's sexual companionship” emerged as the main theme of sexual compatibility, that means couples’ participation for fulfilling each other sexual needs and solving problems arising from sexual discrepancies based on sexual understandings, sexual agreements and interests for continuing the sexual relationship with the aim of mutual sexual satisfaction. Sexual compatibility did not necessarily mean similarities, as during the marital life sexual discrepancies were inevitable. However, compatible couples encountered such a situation based on understandings, agreement and love. Active participation in sexual relationships, forgiveness and consideration, no huffing, mutual respect, flexibility and an occasional use of non-penetrative sexual relationships, sexual conversation with spouses, patience and development of the sexual relationship were the prominent feature of sexually compatible couples.     

Endolift laser for jowl fat reduction: clinical evaluation and biometric measurement

Lasers in Medical Science - Recently, jawline rejuvenation and jowl fat treatment methods have received a lot of attention. Many people are extremely upset and complain about the excess fat under...     

Effect of bilateral median nerve excision on sciatic functional index in rat: an applicable animal model for autologous nerve grafting

Autologous nerve graft is still the treatment of choice in peripheral nerve injury when end-to-end nerve repair is not possible. The sciatic nerve is the most widely used nerve in rat experimental studies. To assess the possibility of using the rat median nerve as a delayed animal autologous nerve graft model in nerve regeneration studies, the effect of median nerve excision on the sciatic functional index (SFI) was evaluated. Thirty rats were distributed into three equal groups: in the sciatic and median nerve excision (SMNE) group, 10 mm of the right sciatic nerve was excised and 5 mm of both median nerves were excised a week later; in the median nerve excision (MNE) group, 5 mm of both median nerves were excised (both sciatic nerves remained intact); in the control group, no intervention was performed. SFI was calculated before and after each intervention. There was no significant difference between mean SFI values calculated before and after median nerve excision in SMNE (-86.8 versus -88.4, P = 0.61) and MNE groups (-3.9 versus -3.3, P = 0.93). Therefore, it may be suggested that median nerve excision does not affect SFI measurements in intact and/or completely injured sciatic nerve, which may propose the median nerve as an autologous donor nerve graft model in rats.     

Molecular data place the hyphomycetous lichenicolous genus Sclerococcum close to Dactylospora (Eurotiomycetes) and S. parmeliae in Cladophialophora (Chaetothyriales)

The lichenicolous anamorphic fungus Sclerococcum parmeliae was isolated in pure culture, and ITS, nuLSU and mtSSU sequences were obtained from these isolates. For comparison, sequences from S. sphaerale, the generic type, were obtained directly from freshly collected specimens. Phylogenetic analyses place S. sphaerale with species of Dactylospora and an unidentified lichen-inhabiting isolate in a strongly supported clade that is sister to a lineage comprising members of the Chaetothyriales and Pyrenulales. In contrast, S. parmeliae is inferred as a member of the Herpotrichiellaceae (Chaetothyriales) and belongs to a robustly supported clade that also includes species of Cladophialophora, Capronia semiimmersa, and Phialophora verrucosa. Within the Herpotrichiellaceae, S. parmeliae most closely resembles members of the anamorph genus Cladophialophora. Accordingly, we propose the transfer of S. parmeliae and the morphologically similar species S. cladoniae, S. hawksworthii and S. normandinae to Cladophialophora. A new lichenicolous species, Clad. megalosporae, collected twice on Megalospora in Florida and Papua New Guinea, is also described.     

Return to work after trauma: A survival analysis

Purpose: To evaluate the return to work (RTW) rate, time and predictors among trauma patients using survival analysis. Methods: This cohort study was conducted with a three-month follow-up on 300 trauma patients hospitalized in Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Kashan, Iran in 2014. The data were collected through conducting interviews and referring to patients'' medical records during their hospital stay and follow-up information at one & three months after discharge from hospital. Final analysis was conducted on the data retrieved from 273 patients. Data were analyzed by chi-square test, ManneWhitney U test and survival analysis method. Results: The rate of RTW at the end of the first and the third follow-up months was respectively 21.6% and 61.2%. Survival analysis showed that the RTW time (Time between admission to first return to work) was significantly longer among patients with illiteracy, drug abuse, hospitalization history in the intensive care unit, low socioeconomic status, non-insurance coverage, longer hospital stay, multiple and severe injuries as well as severe disability. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that trauma has profound effects on the rate and time of RTW. Besides disability, many personal and clinical factors can affect the outcome of RTW.     

Arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction by using hamstring tendon autograft and transosseous screw fixation: minimal 3 years follow-up

Background

The aim of this trial is to prospectively evaluate the outcomes of PCL reconstruction by means of quadruple hamstring tendon autograft with a double-fixation method at minimal 3-year follow-up.

Materials and methods

Only patients who underwent PCL reconstruction without any other concomitant injury were included in this study. A hamstring tendon graft is composed of a quadruple-stranded gracilis tendon and semitendinosus tendon about 10 cm in length. An arthroscopic technique via a two incision and a double-fixation method was applied. Clinical evaluations were performed for 52 patients. Clinical assessment of patients included the Lysholm knee scores, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores, thigh muscle evaluation, and radiographic investigation.

Results

On the Lysholm knee score, 90 % of the patients displayed good or excellent rating in the final assessment. In the IKDC rating analyses, 60 % of the patients demonstrated 3–5-mm ligament laxity. For the IKDC final rating, 81 % were normal or nearly normal. Seventy-nine percent of the cases revealed less than a 10-mm difference in thigh girth between their reconstructed and contra lateral limbs.

Conclusion

Arthroscopic PCL reconstruction using quadruple hamstring tendon autograft provides acceptable outcomes at a minimum 3-year follow-up. The four-stranded hamstring tendon graft is suitable in graft size and results in minimal harvesting morbidity. We recommend that quadruple hamstring tendon graft be chosen for PCL reconstruction to achieve good ligament reconstruction. A double-fixation method which has been applied in this trial can be used to provide rigid fixation.