Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: 2-phenylethanol is a colorless and aromatic compound with antimicrobial effects which is used extensively in perfumes and cosmetics, as well as in the food industry. Chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis is a vulvovaginal inflammation which is caused by Candida spp. Resistance to clotrimazole which is one of the most common drugs in the treatment of this disease was reported in many patients. In order to improve the treatment, the effect of 2-phenyl ethanol was investigated in combination with clotrimazole on Candida species isolated from chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis.
Methods: This interventional study was performed in Iran University of Medical Sciences from February, 2016 until December, 2016 on Candida species isolated from women with chronic candidial vulvovaginitis who had been referred to Lolagar Hospital of Tehran. All specimens were examined by direct microscopy, culturing on Candida CHROMagar medium (to primary identification), sabouraud dextrose agar medium) to preservation the isolates) and determining the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence (in order to final determination of Candida species). Then clotrimazole and 2-phenyl ethanol alone and in combination, was examined on isolated species, according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M27-A3 protocol (micro-broth dilution method). Finally, findings were analyzed.
Results: From 40 detected strains of Candida species in this study, 95% were Candida albicans and 5% were Candida africana. The mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of clotrimazole were 24.73±28.87 µg/ml and 30.18±33.004 µg/ml, respectively and the mean MIC and MFC of 2-phenylethanol were 2580±932.38 µg/ml and 3200±1403.29 µg/ml, respectively. The MIC50 and MIC90 of clotrimazole were 16 and 64 µg/ml, respectively. The MIC50 and MIC90 of 2-phenylethanol were both 3200 µg/ml. Most of the isolates were resistant to clotrimazole (82.5%). In combination test, the mean MIC of 2-phenylethanol and clotrimazole alone were 3200±0 µg/ml and 56±40.16 µg/ml, respectively. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) range was 0.14-0.37. Also, there was a significant difference between clotrimazole MIC values alone and in combination (P= 0.021).
Conclusion: The synergistic effect was observed in combination of clotrimazole and 2-phenylethanol.

Background: Contact lenses are transparent, thin plastic disks that cover the surface of the cornea. Appropriate lens prescription should be performed properly by an expert to provide better visual acuity and reduce side effects. The lens administration is a multi-stage, complex and time-consuming process involving many considerations. The purpose of this study was to develop a decision support system in the field of contact lens prescription.
Methods: In this fundamental study, data were collected from 127 keratoconus patients referred to the contact lens clinic at Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran during the period of March 2013 to July 2014. Five parameters in the contact lens prescribing process were investigated. Parameters were collected as follows. “Lens vertical position”, “vertical movement of the lens during blinking” and “width of the rim” in the fluorescein pattern were obtained by recording videos of the patients while wearing the lens. “Fluorescein dye concentration” under the lens was evaluated by the physician and “patient comfort” was obtained by asking the patient to fill a simple scoring system. Approved and disapproved lenses were judged and recorded based on the decision of an expert contact lens practitioner. The decision support system was designed using artificial neural networks with the mentioned variables as inputs. Approved and disapproved lenses are considered as system outputs. Artificial neural network was developed using MATLAB® software, version 8.3 (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA). Eighty percent of the data was used to train the support vector machine and the rest of the data (20%) to test the system's performance.
Results: Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, calculated using the confusion matrix, were 91.3%, 89.8% and 92.6% respectively. The results indicate that the designed decision support system could assist contact lens prescription with high precision.
Conclusion: According to the results, we conclude that hard contact lens fitness could be evaluated properly using an artificial neural network as a decision support system. The proposed system detected approved and disapproved contact lenses with high accuracy.

Background: Urinary tract infection is one of the most common infectious diseases in children, the most severe form of which is acute pyelonephritis. Vitamin D plays a very important role in regulating the immune system, this study was conducted to compare vitamin D levels in children with urinary tract infections and healthy children in Kerman, Iran in 2020.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 63 children with pyelonephritis hospitalized in Afzalipour Hospital and 68 healthy children who were referred to Samen Al-Hojaj Clinic in Kerman, Iran from January 2020 to January 2021. Inclusion criteria for patients include the following: a) the presence of clinical signs and symptoms of infection such as fever b) pyuria, neurogenic bladder, urinary stones, chronic renal failure and previous diagnosis of urinary reflux. The case group was evaluated by taking a complete history, completing a questionnaire and clinical examination, and laboratory tests. The two groups were compared in terms of variables of sex, age and vitamin D levels.

Conclusion: Inadequate vitamin D levels are associated with the prevalence of urinary tract infections, and vitamin D supplementation can be a low-risk option for preventing urinary tract infections.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation is a promising therapy for kidney repair. This study compared the regenerative effects of feline MSCs (fMSCs) and telmisartan, a renin-angiotensin blocker (RAB), in a feline model of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Methods: The fMSCs were obtained from 35 Persian cats with CKD and characterized by CD44, CD90, and CD105 markers by using real-time RT-qPCR. The cats were randomly allocated to four groups, fMSCs injection (first group), telmisartan administration (second group), no treatment (third group), and healthy controls (fourth group). The study was conducted in Kerman province from December 2018 to December 2019. The factors that may affect the risk of CKD, such as age, weight, and history of kidney diseases, were considered as independent variables. The presence or absence of CKD was the dependent variable. The cats were followed up for 120 days and evaluated by physical examination, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), serum urea, alanine transaminase (ALT), urine specific gravity (SG), and kidney histopathology. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 20) with two-way ANOVA and Tukey test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The fMSCs group showed significant improvement in GFR, BUN, SCr, serum urea, SG, and kidney histology compared to the other groups. The fMSCs group also showed increased expression of CD44, CD90, and CD105 genes in the kidney tissue, indicating enhanced stem cell activity. The telmisartan group showed modest improvement in blood pressure and proteinuria, but no significant effect on other parameters. fMSCs transplantation can restore the kidney function and structure in cats with CKD by modulating the apoptosis and proliferation of renal cells. The telmisartan  patients benefited from the anti-hypertensive and anti-proteinuric effects of the drug, but not from its anti-fibrotic or anti-inflammatory effects. Conclusion: fMSCs transplantation was more effective than telmisartan in improving kidney function and reducing kidney damage in cats with CKD. fMSCs may be a potential therapeutic option for CKD patients.