Iranian Journal of

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Objective: To compare the effect on insulin absorption intra-nasally of Acanthophyllum squarrosum (ASQ) compared with Acanthophyllum saponaria (ASA) and sodium cholate (NAC), which have proven pro-absorptive effects.
Methods: The formulation used in this study contained 2IU insulin (per rat), 1% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and a pro-absorptive agent at the same concentration. We assessed the hypoglycaemic effect of each formulation in 5 rats in the fasting state.
Results: There was no significant difference in the pro-absorptive effects of ASQ, ASA, and NAC. Blood glucose levels 2 hours after administration of insulin, given as a percentage of baseline glucose concentration, were as follows for the three formulations used: ASQ: 36.78±11.06%, ASA: 27.46±2.39%, and NAC: 39.94±14.93%. Conclusion: Acanthophyllum squarrosum has a significant pro-absorptive effect, comparable to that to Acanthophyllum saponaria.

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Background: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of clinical hyperthyroidism at the national and sub-national levels using the claims data.
Methods: National anti-thyroid medications (methimazole and propylthiouracil) sales data in 2014 were extracted from pharmaceutical sales data that were reported by Iran's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). By using prescriptions data of Social Security Insurance Organization (SSIO) and Medical Services Insurance Organization (MSIO) in 2014, age-sex-province proportions of drug consumptions and Defined Daily Dose (DDD) of anti-thyroid medications were calculated. Moreover, by systematic review and meta-analysis of published literatures in hyperthyroidism in Iran, the prescription rate of anti-thyroid medications was calculated. Finally by using the whole data, the prevalence of clinical hyperthyroidism was estimated in each age and sex groups in national and provincial levels.
Results: : The prevalence (95% confidence interval) of clinical hyperthyroidism in Iran in 2014 is 0.32% (0.21-0.51%); 0.44% (0.29-0.68%) in females and 0.2% (0.12-0.33%) in males. Among provinces the least prevalence rate of clinical hyperthyroidism is 0.24% (0.16-0.38%) which belongs to Sistan and Baluchistan, and the highest prevalence rate is 0.38% (0.24-0.6%) which belongs to Gilan.
Conclusion: The prevalence rate that reported by this study is compatible with other surveys which performed in the world and Iran. As a result using claims data is a good source to predict prevalence of chronic diseases that have specific drugs.

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Background: A novel nanocomposite-modified electrode based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) decorated with crown-ether and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was fabricated to investigate 5-HT determination.
Methods: The morphology of nanocomposite was characterized by scaning electron microscopy (SEM). Diabetic zebrafish was obtained by overfeeding via glucose. 5-HT was successfully determined in the presence of dopamine (DA), ascorbic acid (AA), urea, glucose, and L-tryptophan (L-Trp) by using electrochemical methods.
Results: The nanocomposite exhibited satisfactory electrochemical catalytic activity for 5-HT determination using square-wave voltammetry (SWV). The electrochemical behavior of 5-HT at the nanocomposite/GCE displayed reasonable oxidation current and potential. The limit of detection (LOD) of 5-HT obtained from the real samples, containing the control and diabetic group by using the proposed system and HPLC method, was calculated to be about 0.3 and 0.1 µg/L, respectively. The prposed system also demonstrated high selectivity, reasonable sensitivity, and good stability and reproducibility for 5-HT sensing. The nanocomposite was applied for the determination of the biomarker 5-HT in the diabetic and control groups of zebrafish and displayed excellent recoveries about 93 and low relative error about 3% while compared with standard method.
Conclusions: It seems that the 5-HT level can be used for earlier diagnosis of diabetes.

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Background: In this study, we investigated the diagnostic power of ultrasound in the diagnosis of malignancy in thyroid nodules in Iranian patients. For this purpose, we examined the relationship between ultrasound findings and pathology findings.
Methods: The present study is a retrospective study. The patients with a diagnosis of thyroid nodules who underwent ultrasound and FNA, were included in this study. To assess the relationship between the results of FNA and the ultrasound characteristics of nodules, we classified the results of FNA into malignant and benign groups and then compared ultrasound characteristics between the two groups. In cases which the FNA results were indeterminate (AUS/FLUS or FN/SFN), the postoperative pathology result was considered (if thyroid surgery was done and the result was available).
Results: In total, 201 nodules were included in this study. The results showed that hypoechogenicity, irregular/ill-defined margin, microcalcification, malignant flow pattern in Doppler sonography and concurrent cervical lymphadenopathy with suspicious features were significantly associated with malignant thyroid nodules. However, other ultrasound findings, such as the size and location of the nodule, presence of a cystic components within the nodule, the presence of a Halo sign, and the presence of a taller-than-wide shape, could not distinguish between benign and malignant nodules. Finally, the results of the present study showed that the accuracy of ultrasound in the diagnosis of malignancy in thyroid nodules is high.
Conclusion: This study suggests that the use of ultrasound can be very effective in diagnosing malignancy in thyroid nodules.