The Effect of Passive Smoking on Total Antioxidant Capacity of Serum and Saliva in Rats

Objective: Active and passive smoking lead to the production of a number of oxidants and antioxidants with various adverse health effects compromising the immune system. Tobacco use increases the production of free radicals as well. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of passive smoking on total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of serum and saliva in rats.Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 18 rats with an age range of 7-11 weeks weighing 160-200 g; 9 of them were exposed to cigarette smoke 3 times daily for 8 minutes. The 9 controls were not exposed to cigarette smoke. After injection of 0.2 mg/kg midazolam and 0.5  mg/kg pilocarpine, serum and saliva samples were taken from subjects in the exposure and control groups at 0, 15 and 30 days. Serum cotinine was measured using ELISA kit. TAC of saliva and serum was measured using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. TAC values at different time points were statistically analyzed in each group using Repeated Measures ANOVA and compared between the two groups using t-test.Results: At baseline, no significant difference existed between the two groups in terms of serum cotinine concentration but at days 15 and 30, cotinine serum concentration significantly increased in the exposure group. At baseline and 30 days, no significant difference existed between the two groups of passive smoker and non-smoker in terms of serum TAC values but at day 15, serum TAC values were significantly higher in the exposure group. Also, TAC of salivawas significantly higher in the passive smoker group at baseline and at day 15 but at day 30, the difference in this respect between the two groups was not statistically significant.Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, changes in TAC of serum and saliva in rats due to exposure to cigarette smoke were compensated by their immune system activity. However, further investigations are still required in this respect

The Effect of Mir-451 Upregulation on Erythroid Lineage Differentiation of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding regulatory RNAs that control mRNAs post-transcriptionally. Several mouse stem cells miRNAs are cloned differentially regulated in different hematopoietic lineages, suggesting their possible role in hematopoietic lineage differentiation. Recent studies have shown that specific miRNAs such as Mir-451 have key roles in erythropoiesis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were infected with lentiviruses containing pCDH-Mir-451. Erythroid differentiation was assessed based on the expression level of transcriptional factors (Gata-1, Klf-1, Epor) and hemoglobin chains (α, β, γ , ε and ζ) genes using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and presence of erythroid surface antigens (TER-119 and CD235a) using flow cytometery. Colony-forming unit (CFU) assay was also on days 14th and 21th after transduction. Results: Mature Mir-451 expression level increased by 3.434-fold relative to the untreated mESCs on day 4 after transduction (P<0.001). Mir-451 up-regulation correlated with the induction of transcriptional factor (Gata-1, Klf-1, Epor) and hemoglobin chain (α, β, γ, ε and ζ) genes in mESCs (P<0.001) and also showed a strong correlation with presence of CD235a and Ter- 119 markers in these cells (13.084- and 13.327-fold increse, respectively) (P<0.05). Moreover, mESCs treated with pCDH-Mir-451 showed a significant raise in CFU-erythroid (CFU-E) colonies (5.2-fold) compared with untreated control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our results showed that Mir-451 up-regulation strongly induces erythroid differentiation and maturation of mESCs. Overexpression of Mir-451 may have the potential to produce artificial red blood cells (RBCs) without the presence of any stimulatory cytokine

Effect of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide and HLA-DRB1 subtypes on clinical disease activity index in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a crippling disease with a global prevalence of approximately 0.5%-1% in adults. Genetic, environmental and immunologic factors contribute importantly to pathogenesis of RA. American College of Rheumatology (ACR) assists in early diagnosis of the disease. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of HLA- DRB1 gene and anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide (CCP) antibody on Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and to determine the frequency of HLA-DRB1 alleles in the patients with RA. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 64 patients with RA referring rheumatology clinic of Hajar Hospital, Shahr-e-Kord, Iran were enrolled based on ACR criteria (1987) by convenience sampling. All patients were examined to assess primary CDAI and referred to laboratory for serologic tests [Rheumatoid Factor (RF) and anti-CCP]. After the patients’ DNA was extracted, HLA-DRB1 was determined per single specific primer-polymerase chain reaction by inno-train kits. The patients were re-examined six months later. Results: The most prevalent type of HLA-DRB1 in the studied patients was 04. In patients with HLA-DRB1 (04), HLA-DRB1 (01), and HLA-DRB1 (15), CDAI decreased pronouncedly after six months, but in other patients it did not (p<0.05). Of the patients, 81.3% had high titers of anti-CCP, but no association between anti-CCP and CDAI was found. Conclusion: RA could be a multifactorial disease. The patients with HLA-DRB1 (04), HLA-DRB1 (01) and HLA-DRB1 (15) showed a good response to routine treatments. The patients with HLA- DRB1 (04) are likely to have no decrease in secondary CDAI. High titers of anti-CCP in patients may indicate the severity of RA in the studied region and perhaps environmental, genetic and unknown or idiopathic factors are aetiologically crucia

Frequency of myasthenic crisis in relation to thymectomy in generalized myasthenia gravis: A 17-year experience

BACKGROUND: Myasthenic crisis is the most serious life-threatening event in generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term impact of thymectomy on rate and severity of these attacks in Iranian patients. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical records from 272 myasthenic patients diagnosed and treated in our neurology clinic during 1985 to 2002. Fifty-three patients were excluded because of unconfirmed diagnosis, ocular form of MG, contraindication to surgery, concomitant diseases and loss to follow-up. The Osserman classification was used to assess the initial severity of the disease. Frequency and severity of the attacks were compared between two groups with appropriate statistical tests according to the nature of variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the predictors of myasthenic crisis in the group of patients without thymoma. RESULTS: 110 patients were in thymectomy group and the other 109 patients were on medical therapy. These two groups had no significant differences with respect to age at onset, gender, Osserman score in baseline and follow up period. 62 patients (28.3% of all 219 patients) had reported 89 attacks of myasthenic crisis. 20 patients of 62 (32%) were in thymectomy group and 42 (68%) were in the other group. There was significant difference between the two groups in number of patients with crisis (P = 0.001; odds ratio = 2.8 with 95% CI of 1.5 to 5.2). In addition, these attacks were more severe in group of non-thymectomized patients as the duration of ICU admission was longer and they needed more ventilatory support during their attacks. Regression model showed thymectomy and lower age at onset as two predictors of decrement in myasthenic crisis rate in non-thymomatous MG patients. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that frequency and severity of myasthenic attacks as important endpoints in evaluation of MG patients. Thymectomy seems to have a preventive role on rate and severity of these attacks

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children

How to Cite This Article: Soleimani F, Vameghi R, Kazemnejad A, Akbar Fahimi N, Nobakht Z, Rassafiani M. Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children. Iran J Child Neurol. 2015 Winter;9(1):76-86. AbstractObjectiveCerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of chronic disability that restricts participation in daily life for children. Thereby, it is comprised of quality of life. Quality of life (QOL) measures have been a vital part of health outcome appraisals for individuals with CP and to obtain empirical evidence for the effectiveness of a range of interventions. The CP QOL-Child is a condition-specific QOL questionnaire designed for children with CP to assess well-being rather than ill-being.Materials &amp; MethodsForward and backward translations of the CP QOL-Child were performed for: (1) the primary caregiver form (for parents of children with CP aged 4–12 years); and (2) the child self-report form (for children with cerebral palsy aged 9–12 years). Psychometric properties assessment included reliability, internal consistency, and item discrimination, construct validity with Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) was done. SPSS was used to analyze the results of this study.ResultsA sample of 200 primary caregivers forchildren with CP (mean = 7.7 years) and 40 children (mean = 10.2 years) completed. Internal consistency ranged from 0.61–0.87 for the primary caregivers form, and 0.64–0.86 for the child self-report form. Reliability ranged from 0.47–0.84. Item discrimination analysis revealed that a majority of the items (80%) have high discriminating power. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a distinguishable domain structure as in the original English version. Moderate associations were found between lower QOL and more severe motor disability(GMFCS; r = .18–.32; p &lt; .05 and MACS; r= .13 - .40; p &lt; .05). The highest correlation between the primary caregiver and child forms on QOL was in the domain of functioning and consistent with the English version.ConclusionContent validity, item discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the Persian version of the CP QOL- Child were all acceptable. Further study of concurrent validity of this version is needed.  References Bax M, Goldstein M, Rosenbaum PL, Leviton A, Paneth N, Dan B et al. Executive Committee for the Definition of Cerebral Palsy. Proposed definition and classification of cerebral palsy, April 2005. 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Classification and definition of disorders causing hypertonia in childhood. Pediatrics 2003; 111: e89–97.Sanger TD. Pathophysiology of pediatric movement disorders.J. Child Neurol 2003; 18: S9–24.Delgado M, Albright A. Movement disorders in children: Definitions, classifications and grading systems. J Child Neurol 2003; 18: S1–8.Palisano R, Rosenbaum P, Walter S, Russell D, Wood E, Galuppi B. Development and reliability of a system to classify gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 1997; 39:214-223.Riahi A, Rassafiani M, Binesh M. The Cross-Cultural Validation and Test-Retest and Inter-Rater Reliability of the Persian Translation of Parent Version of the Gross Motor Function Classification System for Children with Cerebral Palsy. J of Rehab 2013; 13(5), 25-30.Morris C, Galuppi BE, Rosenbaum P. Reliability of family report for the Gross Motor Function Classification System. 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Qual Life Res 2001; 10: 347–357.Massaro M, Pastore S, Ventura A, Barbi E. Pain in cognitively impaired children: a focus for general pediatricians. Eur J Pediatr 2013; 172(1):9-14Elbasan B, Duzgun I, Oskay D. Is There any Difference in Health Related Quality of Life, Self Care and Social Function in Children with Different Disabilities Living in Turkey? Iran J Pediatr 2013; 23, 281-288.

microRNA-15b target Sall4 and diminish in vitro UCB-derived HSCs expansion

Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) are cells that have the ability to self-renewal and differentiate into all of hematopoietic lineages. The lack of donors and unavailable efficient protocols for ex vivo expansion of HSCs, are obstacles in successful cell therapies. MicroRNAs (also refer as miRNAs or miRs) have significant roles in hematopoiesis; they can effect on HSCs expansion, maintaining undifferentiated state, self-renewal and differentiation. Recently attentions have been given to these small regulatory molecules to utilize them in order to expand HSCs. Using bioinformatics analysis we identified Sall4 as putative target of miR-15b and miR-219-5p. Relative expression levels of miRNAs and Sall4 were evaluated by qRT-PCR. Here we show 247-fold and 4.2-fold increasing Sall4 expression level compared to control group in CD34+ cells nucleofected by anti-miR-15b and anti-miR-219-5p, respectively. These data showed that anti-miR-15b can promote clonogenic capacity of HSCs and also we found that miR-15b alone was able to increase the number of CD34+HSCs in vitro by more than 2 fold by targeting Sall4. Moreover, level of CD34 marker in HSCs nucleofected by anti-miR-15b increased more than 50 %. Our analysis showed no statistically difference in mRNA level of Sall4 after nucleofection of anti-miR-219-5p. Sall4 is a factor capable of enhancing HSC expansion significantly. We demonstrated that inhibition of miR-15b can enhance ex vivo expansion of UCB-derived HSCs and also expression of Sall4 allowed expansion and preserve self- renewal of CD34+ HSCs

The effect of HLADRB1 subtypes, on clinical diseases activity index in rheumatoid arthritis patients referred to rheumatology clinic of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences

زمینه و هدف: بیماری آرتریت روماتویید (RA)، شایع ترین بیماری التهابی مفاصل است و در صورت عدم درمان مناسب می تواند منجر به ناتوانی قابل توجه فرد بیمار گردد. عوامل متعدد ژنتیکی، محیطی و ایمونولوژیک، در پاتوژنز این بیماری نقش دارند. هدف این مطالعه بررسی اثرات ژن HLA-DRB1 بر روی شاخص فعالیت بالینی بیماری (CDAI) در بیماران مبتلا به آرتریت روماتوئید و نیز تعیین فراوانی نسبی آلل های HLA-DRB1 در این بیماری می باشد. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه توصیفی تحلیلی تعداد 64 نفر از بیماران مبتلا به RA مراجعه کرده به کلینیک روماتولوژی بیمارستان هاجر شهرکرد به روش نمونه گیری در دسترس بر اساس معیار های کالج روماتولوژی آمریکا (ACR) سال 1987 و با نظر تشخیصی روماتولوژیست انتخاب گردیدند. پس از آن همه بیماران برای تعیین CDAIاولیه مورد معاینات بالینی قرار گرفتند. پس از استخراج DNA بیماران، با استفاده از روش فنل کلروفورم انواع زیر گروه های ژن HLA-DRB1 با استفاده از کیت های تخصصی و بر اساس متد SSP-PCR تعیین گردید. معاینه دوم بیماران 6 ماه بعد انجام شد و با تکمیل چک لیست مربوط به هر بیمار تجزیه و تحلیل داده ها با استفاده از تست های آماری کای اسکوئر و تی تست گروه های زوجی انجام شد. یافته ها: شایعترین HLA-DRB1 موجود در بیماران مورد مطالعه نوع 04* با فراوانی نسبی 3/31 درصد بود. در بیماران دارای 15*، 01*،04*HLA-DRB1، شاخص فعالیت بالینی شان بعد از 6 ماه واضحاً کاهش پیدا کرده (05/0>P)، ولی در سایر گروه های بیمار این نتایج دیده نشد (05/

Association of deficiency of coagulation factors (Prs, Prc, ATIII) and FVL positivity with preeclampsia and/or eclampsia in pregnant women

Background: Thrombophilia is a pathological state of increased blood coagulability. It causes problems during pregnancy including preeclampsia, stillbirth, repeated abortions, and detached pair. Out of the most prevalent factors causing inherited thrombophilia, protein S (Prs), protein C (Prc), and antithrombin III (ATIII) deficiency, and Factor V Leiden (FVL) mutation could be mentioned. This study aimed to investigate association of these parameters with preeclampsia. Methods: In this case-control study, 142 pregnant women with preeclampsia referred to Obstetric Clinic of Hajar Hospital, southwest of Iran, were assigned to the case group after clinical laboratory tests and according to specialist point of view and 142 pregnant women with normal blood pressure were assigned to the control group. After obtaining consent and completing relevant questionnaire, a 4-cc blood sample was taken from the patients. Coagulation factors and FVL rate were measured and after 6 months patients were followed- up. Data analysis was done by SPSS software using t-test. Results: In view of deficiency of Prs, Prc, and ATIII, no statistically significant association was observed between case and control groups (P>0.05). Statistical t-test indicated that the rate of FVL deficiency in pregnant patients with preeclampsia was significantly different from that in the control group (p=0.03). In addition, the body mass index of case group was significantly higher than that of control group prior to pregnancy (P=0.001). In case group, preeclampsia history contributed to development of current preeclampsia in contrast to control group (p<0.001). The patients of case group were followed up after 6 months in view of blood pressure and all had a normal mean blood pressure at the completion of the study. Conclusion: Measurement of FVL deficiency could help to decrease the unpleasant complications of vascular disorders during pregnancy. But, screening test for pre-eclampsia does not seem necessary to determine the deficiency of coagulation factors, Prs, Prc, and ATIII. © 2014, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). All rights reserved

The insecticidal effect of diatomaceous earth against adults and nymphs of Blattella germanica

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo evaluate the insecticidal effect of diatomaceous earth (DE) against adults and nymphs of Blattella germanica.MethodsThis cross sectional study has been done on the laboratory strain of German cockroaches. Two stages, nymph and adult, were exposed to six dose rates of the DE, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 g/m2, at 24, 48 and 72 h exposure period. Mortality (number of dead cockroaches) was assessed after 24 h. Other exposed specimens were transferred to the beakers contained food and water for counting the retard mortality rate after 1 week.ResultsIncreasing in dose rates of DE increased mortality rate, so that the lowest and highest mortality rates were observed in 2.5 and 25 g/m2, respectively. The results of the statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the lethality of 50% of DE plus water on the German cockroach nymphs.ConclusionsDue to the resistance of German cockroach against organochloride, organophosphorus, carbamate and pyrethriodes insecticides, it is suggested to use DE for insect's control