Tehran University Medical Journal

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Alpha-interferon therapy has been approved for treatment of chronic hepatitis C and B. Candidates for treatment are patients with well-compensated liver disease and histologic evidences of chronic hepatitis who have demonstrated abnormal aminotransferase levels for more than 6 months. From 30 patients with chronic hepatitis with diseases prolonged more than 6 months, we selected only 16 patients with necessary criteria for interferon therapy (10 patients with chronic HBV and with evidence of viral replication, and 6 patients with chronic HCV). Dose of interferon used for hepatitis B was 5mu TIW for 16 weeks and for hepatitis C was 3mu TIW for 24 weeks. At the end of treatment, HbeAg was eliminated from 3 patients. From 10 patients chosen, from none of them the HBsAg was not eliminated at the end of 4 months treatment. In comparison with 10% elimination of HBsAg in treated groups that have been reported in other countries, our results demonstrated that interferon therapy is less effective in Asian patients in comparison with western patients.

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Although cellular immunity involving activated macrophage is important in resistance to Brucella infections, serum factors and polymorphonuclears (PMNs) play some role in the initial responses to Brucella infections. In this research, we studied respiratory burst of PMNs against opsonized yeast and opsonized inactivated Brucella melitensis in chronic Brucellosis patients and controls with no previous history of Brucellosis. A group of 41 patients and another group of 20 blood donors as control, were included. The other 2 groups included 10 cases and 6 controls. Mean responses of PMNs of patients and controls to opsonized yeast were 110.3 and 129.3 milivolt respectively and the difference was not statistically significant. No statistically significant difference was observed between respiratory burst of PMNs exposed to inactivated Brucella in 10 patients with chronic Brucellosis (Mean 67.2) and 6 control blood donors (Mean 112.5), so we concluded that inactivated Brucella melitensis can't inhibit activity of myeloproxidase enzyme.

 

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Typhoid fever is an endemic disease in Iran and other developing countries. This disease has gradually become resistant to the first line of drugs, and because of this resistancy we have studied a new alternative drug (cefixime) on typhoid fever patients and compared it's effectiveness with chloramphenicol. For this purpose, by a randomized clinical trial in Emam Khomeini hospital between 1995-2000, we allocated 44 uncomplicated patient with established typhoid fever (positive blood or bone marrow culture) and by random selection, 24 patient were given cefixime (400 mg PO bid) and 20 patient received chloramphenicol (500 mg po Q6h). The duration of therapy were 10 and 14 days for chloramphenicol and cefixime group respectively. Median fever clearance times were 5±1.9 for cefixime recipients and 3.8±1.2 days for chloramphenicol treated patients, but for improvement in other clinical and laboratory findings, there were not any significant difference. Bacteriologic and clinical cure rate for cefixime was 100 and 92 percents respectively. Though, even cefixime like other betalactam drugs is slow in helping the fever disappearance but our study suggests that oral cefixime is effective and can be used as an alternate treatment of typhoid fever.

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Typhoid fever is an endemic disease in Iran and other developing countries. This disease has gradually become resistant to the first line of drugs, and because of this resistancy we have studied a new alternative drug (cefixime) on typhoid fever patients and compared it's effectiveness with chloramphenicol. For this purpose, by a randomized clinical trial in Emam Khomeini hospital between 1995-2000, we allocated 44 uncomplicated patient with established typhoid fever (positive blood or bone marrow culture) and by random selection, 24 patient were given cefixime (400 mg PO bid) and 20 patient received chloramphenicol (500 mg po Q6h). The duration of therapy were 10 and 14 days for chloramphenicol and cefixime group respectively. Median fever clearance times were 5±1.9 for cefixime recipients and 3.8±1.2 days for chloramphenicol treated patients, but for improvement in other clinical and laboratory findings, there were not any significant difference. Bacteriologic and clinical cure rate for cefixime was 100 and 92 percents respectively. Though, even cefixime like other betalactam drugs is slow in helping the fever disappearance but our study suggests that oral cefixime is effective and can be used as an alternate treatment of typhoid fever.

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Background: This research was conducted for the purpose of determining the effect of hormonal and non-hormonal contraception on the mother milk and infants growth among lactating women received by south Tehran’s Health Centers. In this regard a broad spectrum study from December 2000 until February 2001 was done by Tehran university.

Materials and Methods: By sampling method, 200 lactating women were chosen randomly. They were divided into two groups according to their preferred method of contraception: 67 women chose hormonal method and 133 women chose non –hormonal method.

Results&Conclusion: During the time of the study on infants growth (increase in head circumstances, increase in height, increase in weight), There was no significant difference between the two groups. If we take the effect of contraceptive methods into consideration, the Triglyceride levels in non-hormonal group were increased considerably compared to the other group. Other ingredients were almost the same.

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Background: Behcet’s disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease with unknown origin characterized by recurrent oral aphtous ulcers, genital, ocular and skin lesions. A single point mutation 1691G to A in the factor V gene increases the risk of venous thrombosis. This study designed to determine factor V Leiden mutation in Behcet’s disease, and to find out it's relationship with the clinical manifestations in Khuzestan province, Iran. Methods: One hundred patients with Behcet's Disease (44 males and 56 females) based on international diagnostic criteria and 70 healthy subjects were included in the study.Patients and controls were tested for the presence of factor V Leiden mutation using polymerase chain reaction method. Results: The prevalence of factor V Leiden mutation was significantly higher in BD (10 out of 100, 10%) compared with healthy control subjects (1 out of 70, 1.4%), (p=0.025). Vascular lesions in this study were deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (7%), subcutaneous thrombophlebitis (5%), stroke (1%) and retinal vasculitis (39%). It was found that there was no association between venous thrombosis and the factor V Leiden mutation in Khuzestanian patients. Also, no association between other vascular lesions and the factor V Leiden mutation was recognized. On the other hand there was a significant association between DVT and anterior uveitis (p=0.033). Conclusion: In this study we did not find any association between clinical manifestations in BD patients and factor V Leiden mutation in Khuzestan province, Iran but in BD patients with DVT, factor V Leiden mutation might be a risk factor for the development of anterior uveitis.