Showing 3 results for Assmar
M Assmar, M Farahmand, Z Aghighi, N Ghaemi, A.m Ayatollahi,
Volume 1, Issue 2 (7 2003)
Abstract
Leishmaniasis affects 1.5-2 million people annually and has been recognized as a major public health problem by the World Organization.
In Iran the incidence rate of the disease among school children in Ardestan province was 3.2 per thousand. As no effective vaccine has been found yet, control of the disease depends on effective drug therapy. The pentavalent anitmonials (pentostam and glucantime) are the current drugs of choice, but their use has been associated with side effects and a certain degree of toxicity. Furthermore, resistance towards these medications is not uncommon. For these reasons we studied the effectiveness of Vinca major alkaloids in treating Leishmania major infections both in vitro and invivo. Vinca has been used for centuries as a traditional remedy in the treatment of various diseases. The effectiveness of different concentrations of Vinca on Leishmania major promastigotes was evaluated and the results showed a significant decrease in the number of promastigotes with higher concentrations and increasing exposure times (PO.005). Results of in vivo trials showed that intralesional injections of purified extracts in chlorofromic phase induced a significant decrease in the mean lesion diameter in Balb/c mice compared to the untreated group.
H Nahrevanian , M Assmar , S. M Ghorbani ,
Volume 3, Issue 2 (3 2005)
Abstract
Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic zoonosis prevalent all over the world and recognized as one
of the important causes of diarrhea in children and immunodeficient subjects. The
manifestations range from self-limited acute diarrhea in immunocompetent individuals to
fatal chronic diarrhea in immunocompromised patients. In this study, conducted in Greater
Tehran, 214 patients in 7 disease categories in 10 hospitals were investigated. Samples
were collected from both patients with immune deficiency symptoms (Test group) and
those with an intact immune system (Control group).
Overall, 22.4% of patients had diarrhea and 77.6% had stools with a normal consistency.
1.4% of immunocompromised patients and 6.3% of those with diarrhea were found to
harbor Cryptosporidium infections. These Cryptosporidium-positive cases included one
patient with AML and two AIDS patients. The incidence rate of infection in AML and
AIDS patients who had diarrhea was 11.1% and 33.4%, respectively. While the infection is
usually self-limited in immunocompetent subjects, it could be fatal in immunodeficiency
states. Therefore attention must be paid to effective disease prevention in
immunocompromised subjects.
M Assmar , A Ter Hovanessian , S.r Naddaf , N Piazak , H Masomi ,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (3 2005)
Abstract
A total of 509 Anopheles Stephensi and 20 Anopheles Culicifacies mosquitoes were collected during two seasonal activity peaks (June, July, August and September) in the years 2000 and 2001, from 36 localities around Minab, Iranshahr and Kahnouj cities. The identity of specimens was confirmed using Shahgodian PAN morphological key. DNA was extracted from the head and thorax of all specimens and subjected to nested PCR using species-specific primers for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum. Three An. Stephensi mosquitoes from Minab and one An. Culicifacies mosquito from Iranshahr were positive for P. vivax, while one An. Stephensi was shown to harbor both P. vivax and P. falciparum.
