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Diagnosis of fungal keratitis in patients with corneal lesions at Amiralmomenin hospital in Rasht, Iran
Rhoghaye Tighnavard Bejarbane , Roshanak Daie Ghazvini , Shahram Mahmoudi , Reza Soltani Moghaddam, Mahin Safara, Heidar Bakhshi , Parivash Kordbacheh ,
Volume 75, Issue 5 (August 2017)
Abstract
Background: Keratomycosis is a fungal infection of the cornea which could be sight-threatening and even causes eye loss. Considering the high humidity and the dominance of agriculture as important predisposing factors of keratomycosis in north of Iran, this study was carried out for diagnosis of fungal keratitis in patients with corneal lesions in Rasht, Gilan province, Iran. 
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2015 to November 2016 on 56 patients with corneal lesion suspected to keratomycosis and referred to eye emergency ward of Amiralmomenin hospital, Rasht, Iran. Corneal scraping was performed in all cases and specimens were subjected to direct examination and culture. Only colonies grown in sites of corneal scraping inoculation were considered significant. Fungal isolates were identified according to their macroscopic features of colonies and microscopic characteristics in slide cultures. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 21 (IBM SPSS, Armonk, NY, USA) and P<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The patients included 42 (75%) men and 14 (25%) women with the mean age of 49.5 years (9 to 90 years). Positive culture was observed in 9 cases but, only in one of these patients direct examination was positive and fungal elements were seen in 10% KOH preparation. Though, fungal keratitis was confirmed in 9 (16%) patients including seven (77.8%) men and two (22.2%) women. The majority of cases (88.9%) had a history of corneal trauma with plants and they were mainly farmer. According to statistical analysis, there was a significant association between corneal trauma and keratomycosis (P=0.007). The most common etiologic agents were Fusarium spp. (n: 4, 44.4%), followed by Aspergillus flavus (n: 2, 22.2%), Penicillium sp. (n: 1, 11.1%), Acremonium sp. (n: 1, 11.1%), and Cladosporium sp. (n: 1, 11.1%) respectively.
Conclusion: In the presence of sufficient predisposing factors such as corneal injuries caused by plants, keratomycosis could be caused by a variety of fungi. Furthermore, low sensitivity of direct examination in this study, revealed the necessity of culture in diagnosis of keratomycosis.

Identification of Candida species by molecular and mycological methods in pregnant women with vulvovaginal candidiasis
Nahid Arefi Lisar , Parivash Kordbacheh , Sasan Rezaie , Mahin Safara , Roshanak Daie Ghazvini , Heidar Bakhshi , Zahra Omidvar Jalali ,
Volume 75, Issue 12 (March 2018)
Abstract
Background: Vaginal candidiasis is common in during pregnancy. It may lead to complications like abortions, premature birth, low birth weight, chorioamnionitis and fungal systemic neonatal infection. The aim of present study was identification of Candida species by mycological and molecular methods in pregnant women with vaginal candidiasis.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 80 pregnant women with or without clinical symptoms of vulvovaginal candidiasis referred to Shahid Noorani Talesh Hospital, Gilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from April to December 2015 (8 months). All specimens were examined by direct microscopy and culture on CHROMagar Candida medium for isolation and differentiation of major clinical-significant Candida species (spp.). Cultured media were incubated at 35 °C for 48 hours and evaluated based on color and number of grown colonies. If no growth was observed, the media were incubated for several additional days. Subcultures were done on Sabouraud dextrose agar (Merck, Germany) and Corn meal agar with Tween 80 media (Micromedia, Hungary) for further study. Identification of Candida spp. carried out by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method.
Results: In this study, vulvovaginal candidiasis was observed in 20 (25%) patients. Twenty-two isolates were obtained from culture of specimens on CHROMagar Candida medium (Paris, France). The most common isolated species was Candida albicans 16 (72.8%) and followed by Candida glabrata 5 (22.7%), Candida tropicalis 3 (13.6%) and Candida krusei 1 (4.5%) cases. Two patients had mixed infection with 2 different Candida species (C. albicans and C. glabrata) While using PCR-RFLP method, the Candida species were identified as 13 (59.1%) Candida albicans, 5 (22.7%) Candida glabra, 3 (13.6%) Candida tropicalis and 1 (4.5%) Candida krusei cases, respectively. In direct examination were seen yeast budding cells and pseudohyphae in 8 culture positive specimens. In the present study, results of conventional mycological method in differentiation of Candida spp. were consistent with molecular results in 80% of cases. There was also significant correlation between vulvovaginal candidiasis with clinical symptoms (P<0.0001), including diabetes mellitus (P<0.014), and taking antibacterial drugs (P<0.003) in pregnant women.
Conclusion: PCR-RFLP was able to identify correctly the Candida spp. as a complementary method.

Balance in the elderly and its determinants
Mehdi Safarpour, Seyed Reza Hosseini , Hojjat Zeraati , Ali Bijani , Akbar Fotouhi ,
Volume 76, Issue 5 (August 2018)
Abstract
Background: With aging, muscles strength decrease. Balance disorder is one of the common aging problems which can cause falls and serious injuries. The purpose of this study was to present a model along with the determinants of balance status in the elderly.
Methods: This cross-sectional study is part of a cohort study, "investigation of the health status of elderly in Amirkola City", which was performed on 1616 old people aged≥ 60 years, (response rate 72 %). The baseline data of this study were collected in the Center for Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Centre of the Babol University of Medical Sciences during March 2011 to July 2012. We considered the age, sex, physical activity, quadriceps muscle strength, daily activity, serum level of vitamin D, BMI, number of comorbidities and orthostatic hypotension as independent variables. Using the results of Berg balance test, the balance status of participants (as dependent variable) was categorized into two groups: score between 41-56 as normal (low risk of fall) and score < 41 as balance disorder (medium or high risk of fall). Then, the association of independent variables with balance status were evaluated in the logistic regression model.
Results: The mean and standard deviation of participants' age was 69.37±7.6 years, 54.7% of them were men and 7.5% of them had balance disorder. The odds ratio of medium or high falls in women to men, the number of comorbidities, having strong quadriceps to weak muscles, seniors aged 80 years and over, to 60-69, seniors with high physical activity to low physical activity, daily activities were (OR=2.1, 95%CI: 1.0-4.1), (OR=1.7, 95%CI: 1.0-2.9), (OR=0.05, 95%CI: 0.0-0.4), (OR=5.0, 95%CI: 2.3-10.6), (OR=0.3, 95%CI: 0.1-0.6), (OR=14.4, 95%CI: 3.4-60.4), respectively and statistically significant. The odds ratio of fall for vitamin D, orthostatic blood pressure and BMI variables did not show any statistically significant differences. The results of the analysis showed that the balance in all age groups in men was better than women.
Conclusion: Weak quadriceps, aging, being a woman and having comorbidities are the most important risk factors of balance disorder in the elderly.

The prevalence of respiratory allergens in patients with asthma and allergic rhinitis in Ardabil province
Rasool Molatefi, Adel Ahadi, Hossein Salehzadeh, Elham Safarzadeh, Hadi Abbasi,
Volume 78, Issue 8 (November 2020)
Abstract
Background: Because of geographic variation and regional types of allergens, it is recommended that allergists identify common allergens in their area of activity. In the present study, the prevalence of respiratory allergens in patients with asthma and allergic rhinitis was investigated.
Methods: This study is descriptive and retrospective. The required data of this study were extracted from the records of 661 patients who were referred to the Asthma and Allergy Clinic of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences (Ardabil province, Northwest of Iran) from April 2016 to March 2017. After confirmation of allergic asthma or rhinitis by the asthma and allergy specialist, these patients were subjected to a prick test with allergen extracts. In the group of grasses the extract of nine grasses, in trees the extract of 11 Tree mix, in weeds the extract of Common weed mix, in animal allergens the three extracts of Standard cat, Dog epithelia, Cockroach mix, in weeds the Mite mix and in fungi, three extracts of Mold mix1, Alternaria and Aspergillus mix were used. All the data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 25.
Results: According to results, of the 661 patients who were studied, 462 ones had positive and 273 had significant prick test results. The grasses group with 293 positive (44.3%) and weeds group with 259 positive results (39.2%) were more common than the other categories. Among the significant positive tests, these two categories with 161 and 142 significant positive tests were indicated as the most common allergens. Respiratory allergens were also more common in patients with a family history of allergies in weeds and trees categories, but there was no significant difference in sensitization pattern according to the history of tonsillectomy.
Conclusion: Patients in Ardabil with allergic rhinitis and asthma were more sensitized to weeds and grass mixtures. It is recommended to provide preventive recommendations to allergic patients and the development of localized skin testing packages and additional studies should be conducted focusing on these two categories of allergens.

The intra-rater reliability of the measurement of the center of pressure sway in young women with dorsal hyper kyphosis and young healthy women in standing position: a pilot study
Banafshe Safaeifard, Mehri Ghasemi, Khosro Khademi-Kalantari , Alireza Akbarzadeh-Baghban, Yaghoub Shavehee,
Volume 79, Issue 4 (July 2021)
Abstract
Background: Posturography is a method in which the postural stability of adults is evaluated by measuring the center of pressure sway. This study aims to evaluate the reproducibility of measuring the center of pressure oscillation in standing position with internal perturbation in healthy young women with and without hyperkyphosis.
Methods: Ten women with dorsal hyperkyphosis with the mean age of 23.5±2.65 years and 10 healthy women with the mean age of 21.9±1.3 years (October 2018 to February 2019) were recruited for the study. Subjects were asked to perform rapid bilateral arm elevation while standing on a force plate. Standard deviation of the amplitude and The standard deviation of the velocity of the center of pressure sway in anterior-posterior, Medio-lateral directions and the area of sway were used for statistical analysis. Measurements were carried out by one examiner with a 1-day interval in The Biomechanics laboratory of The School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The relative reproducibility of the measurements was calculated by Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable changes (MDC).
Results: The intra-rater reliability of standard deviation of the center of pressure sway velocity and amplitude of both directions in both groups were more than 0.75. The intra-rater reliability of the area of the center of pressure sway in the healthy and hyperkyphosis group were 0.42 and 0.38 respectively.
Conclusion: Standard deviation of the amplitude and standard deviation of the velocity of the center of pressure sway can be considered as reliable variables for assessing static balance in young women with and without dorsal hyperkyphosis in future studies. However, the inconsistency of sway area especially in women with hyperkyphosis suggests that the use of it for differentiation between subjects and the assessment of the outcome of any interventions on the postural stability should be considered with caution. 

A journey in anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity with emphasizing on doxorubicin: a review article
Atlasi Safaei, Mohammad Sheibani , Yaser Azizi,
Volume 79, Issue 8 (November 2021)
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and has become a health problem worldwide. The reported incidence of new cancer cases is estimated at 19.3 million, with a mortality rate of 10 million in the world in 2020. There are several therapeutic approaches for cancer, including chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is consuming anti-neoplastic drugs, alone or in combination. However, it causes damages to the normal cells and has many side effects. Cardiac complications are common side effects of some chemotherapy agents. Cardiac myocytes are potentially more susceptible to the long-term adverse effects of chemotherapy agents due to the less regeneration ability in cardiac cells. Moreover, heart muscle dysfunction (cardiomyopathy) and cardiovascular complications may occur in cancer survivors even a year after chemotherapy or radiation therapy and influence their quality of life. Anthracyclines are commonly used in chemotherapy; especially doxorubicin is the most widely used drug of this family. Doxorubicin is an effective anti-malignant agent prescribed for the treatment of some solid tumors (e.g. ovary, breast, and gastrointestinal cancers). Doxorubicin can cause several side effects, ranging from cancer treatment’s common side effects such as fever, nausea, and vomiting to lethal cardiac side effects. Assumed that doxorubicin has many therapeutic and cytotoxic mechanisms, cardiotoxicity induced by doxorubicin is very common and there is no reliable treatment for this problem. The cardiac side effects of doxorubicin during a chemotherapy regimen can be acute, chronic, or even gradually progressive and persistent after the termination of doxorubicin therapy. In patients undergoing doxorubicin therapy, reported symptoms are cardiac rhythm and blood pressure changes, pericarditis, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, and congestive heart failure. The pathophysiology of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity is very wide. Disruption of normal mitochondrial function, decreased amount of antioxidant factors, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), an imbalance in calcium hemostasis, activation of inflammatory cytokines, targeting topoisomerase-IIβ (Top2b), and induced DNA damage are associated with doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Increased doxorubicin in mitochondria activates the redox cycle that ultimately leads to the production of reactive oxygen species in both normal and tumor cells. The present review aims to investigate the cardiotoxic mechanisms of doxorubicin and explain different types of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.
 

A multi-step centrifuge method for extraction of leucocytes and preparation of Tc-HMPAO labeled leucocytes
Nasim Vahidfar, Mahdieh Parvizi, Marzyehsadat Peyman, Hana Safar, Saeed Farzenehfar , Mehrshad Abbasi,
Volume 80, Issue 2 (May 2022)
Abstract
Background: Labeled leucocytes could be used for localization of infection foci after surgeries or in inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases. Extraction of leucocytes needs 10% Hetastarch which is not available in Iran. We provide a method employing multiple centrifuges to extract and label leucocytes with Tc-HMPAO.
Methods: The study was conducted from April to June 2018 in the Nuclear Medicine Unit of Valiasr Hospital. Leucocytes were extracted from a 60 ml blood sample anticoagulated with Acid-citrate-dextrose through four-step centrifugation as below: 1-whole blood was centrifuged at 1k cycle per minute (CPM) for eight minutes to precipitate red blood cells (RBC). Supernatant including RBC free plasma, WBC, and platelet was extracted for the next step. 2-WBC was precipitated at 1.8k CPM for five minutes and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as supernatant. 3- PRP was centrifuged at 3k for five minutes and cell-free plasma (CFP) was extracted as supernatant, and 4- precipitate WBS at step two was washed with saline and centrifuged at 0.5k CPM to achieve washed WBC. Then the leucocytes were labeled with 40 mCi Tc-HMPAO through 15 minute incubation at 37-38 degrees centigrade. The extra free pertechnetate was eliminated using two additional centrifugation steps as follows: 1-0.5k CPM for five minutes to dispense free pertechnetate, and 2-0.5 for five minutes to achieve high radiochemical purity labeled WBC. Finally, the labeled WBC was re-suspended in CFP and reinjected to the patient. Imaging at 2-4 hours was done. The pathology and imaging of labeled WBC distribution are reported
Results: No RBC was detected in microscopy. The majority of the leucocytes were lymphocytes with rare accompanying platelets. The radiolabeling efficiency of the procedure was higher than 40%. The viability test indicated more than 80% of viable cells. The radiochemical purity of the final product was more than 95%. Two to four hours after injection, low background images were acquired. The liver and spleen were target organs with low-grade urinary, thyroid, and GI activity.
Conclusion: Employing multi-stage centrifugation, Tc-HMPAO labeled leucocyte scan could be efficiently performed.

Antioxidant effects of adipose derived stem cells conditioned media against high glucose-induced injuries in cultured of C28I2 chondrocytes
Sedigheh Safari, Akram Eidi, Mehrnaz Mehrabani, Mohammad Javad Fatemi , Ali Mohammad Sharifi ,
Volume 81, Issue 1 (April 2023)
Abstract
Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis characterized by progressive loss of articular cartilage, causing pain and loss of articular function. High glucose is a crucial inflammatory factor playing a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of OA that induces ROS production. Since most of the current therapies for OA are short-term benefits, hence, there is high demand for finding novel therapeutic agents for OA treatment. Recent studies have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells secrete important therapeutic factors that protect chondrocytes. In the current study, we investigated the protective potential of Adipose-derived stem cell conditioned medium (CM-ADSC) as an alternative to cell therapy in high glucose-mediated oxidative stress in C28I2 human chondrocytes.
Methods: This experimental study was performed in the Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from May 2018 to August 2020. Adipose-derived stem cells were cultured until they reached 90% confluence then washed with PBS and cultured in a FBS-free medium for 48 hours. The conditioned medium was collected and centrifuged. The protective effect of the concentration of conditioned medium on high glucose (75mM)-induced oxidative stress in C28I2 cell viability was evaluated by WST-1 assay. Total RNA was isolated from the treated and untreated cells with TRIzol reagent. The mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes including, glutathione S-transferase-P1 (GSTP1), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase1 (SOD1) was evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in treatment and non-treatment groups.
Results: Adipose-derived stem cell conditioned medium pretreatment remarkably protected C28I2 cells against high glucose. The expression of mRNA of CAT, GSTP1, and SOD1 significantly increased following treatment with the conditioned medium (50%) for 24 hours in high glucose-exposed cells as compared to the control.
Conclusion: Present study indicates that the Adipose-derived stem cell conditioned medium can reduce oxidative stress. It seems that the conditioned medium may protect cartilage in the progression of osteoarthritis.

Investigating the effect of surgery time on improving the performance of fine movements of lower limbs in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury
Loghman Barani, Hossein Jafari Marandi , Masoud Zeinali, Hossein Safari,
Volume 81, Issue 2 (May 2023)
Abstract
Background: Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI) is one of the catastrophic events, the rate of which has been growing compared to the past decades. Complications caused by TSCI have a wide spectrum and can range from complete paralysis to numbness of the limbs. Additional to the injury severity and disability of the patient, the recovery rate depends on the treatment strategies. Despite extensive efforts and research in this field, there are still few treatment options for TSCI patients. Controversial results have been reported, however, spinal cord decompression is the only certainty for the treatment of these patients. In the present study, patients with thoracic and lumbar fractures were undergone decompression, less and more than 24 hours, and the recovery rate (RR) was compared after 6 months.
Methods: In this study, patients with lumbar and thoracic fractures who were referred to the neurosurgery department of Ahvaz Golestan Hospital during May 2019 to December 2021 were included. Decompression was performed at the fracture level as a total and at the upper and lower levels of the fracture as a partial decompression. To evaluate fine motor movements, picking up a small object with toes and following a rectangular path were used. Also, the gross motor movements, upper and lower proximal and distal muscle forces were measured.
Results: 160 patients including 133 men (83.1%) and 16.9% women (27) with 36±12 years mean age were included. The most fracture location was lumbar (53.1%), followed by the thoracic (43.1%) and fractures in both regions (3.8%). The most injured  vertebras were L1 (27.5%) and T12 (18.8%). Six months later, 61.9% of patients had a good score for removing a small object with toe, of which 67.5% belonged to patients with<24 hours surgery (P=0.01). Also, RR for ability to follow a rectangle (P=0.017) and lower limit gross motor were significantly better in patients with<24 surgery (P=0.02). However, no significant difference was found between the two groups for improved sensations (P<0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that decompression<24 hours in TSCI is associated with a significant improvement in lower fine movements.
 
Investigating the correlation between the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the IFNAR2 gene with the severity of the Covid-19 disease
Mahnaz Safari, Pooneh Rahimi, Akram Sadat Tabatabaee Bafroee,
Volume 81, Issue 8 (November 2023)
Abstract
Background: Understanding the complex processes of the immune system in dealing with the covid-19 infection, which is probably related to polymorphisms in cytokine and chemokine genes, can explain the pro-inflammatory condition of patients. Accordingly, in the present study, the correlation between the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the pro-inflammatory IFNAR2 gene and the severity of the disease of COVID-19 was investigated.
Methods: This research was reviewed by the ethics committee of the Pasteur Institute of Iran and was approved by this committee with the ethics code IR.PII.REC.1400.042. and continued from December 2021 to November 2022. This study was conducted on 954 patients with COVID-19, who were divided into two groups: those who recovered and those who died. COVID-19 infection in all 954 volunteers has been confirmed through rtReal Time-PCR of oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal swabs.After taking blood samples from patients and extracting DNA, IFNAR2 gene was amplified using specific primers. Then RFPL method and Cac8I restriction enzyme were used to investigate rs2236757 polymorphisms in IFNAR2 gene. Genotype of people was determined according to the pattern of formed bands. The results were statistically analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: Calculation of genotypic frequency of rs2236757 polymorphism in IFNAR2 gene showed that in general 21% of cases had AA genotype, 47% GA genotype and 32% GG genotype. The allelic frequency of this polymorphism showed that 56% of cases had G allele and 44% had A allele. In investigating the correlation of rs2236757 polymorphism in IFNAR2 gene with the severity of the disease of Covid-19, the OR value for the GG genotype was equal to 1, which indicates the absence of the role of this polymorphism in the severity of the disease. On the other hand, A allele was significantly more in recovered people than in deceased people, and the value of OR<1 also confirmed this issue.
Conclusion: The results showed that rs2236757 in the IFNAR2 gene is related to the reduction of disease severity, which indicates the important role of genes related to inflammatory responses, as well as the role of genetic variants of these genes in the severity of COVID-19.

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