A relationship between carpet kneading and myopia

History and Objectives: Myopia is the most common refractive disorder with a prevalence of 25% in the world with different etiologic factors including the role of focusing on nearby objects. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between carpet kneading and the incidence of myopia in Birjand in 1994. Materials and Methods: The cohort strategy of this study was performed on 453 carpet-kneading workers as case group and 100 other ones as control group not involved in this occupation. They were matched regarding age and gender. All of them were examined by an optometrist using retinoscope and autorefractometer and then examined by an ophthalmologist. For statistical analysis, chi-square test was used. Results: There was an incidence of 29.2% for myopia in case group and 10% in control group (P<0.0005), that is, 2.9 times than that of control ones. Meanwhile, the incidence of myopic astigmatism in case group was 4 times greater than control group (In all age groups). In addition, a significant relationship was found between period of occupation and duration of work in each day and the occurrence of myopia (P<0.001). Conclusion and Recommendations: Carpet-kneading could lead and/or accelerate the occurrence of myopia and it is recommended to perform more studies more studies in this field

Mutations in known and novel cancer susceptibility genes in young patients with pancreatic cancer

Background: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of mortality due to cancer, globally. It has a poor prognosis and is usually diagnosed at later stages when tumor resection is not possible. Heritability for pancreatic cancer is relatively high and clinically significant. Methods: A group of 24 pancreatic cancer patients with young age at onset, from a referral hospital in Tehran University of Medical Sciences were screened for mutations in 710 cancer relevant genes using next generation sequencing technology. Results: Two patients had pathogenic mutations in known pancreatic cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1/2. Two other patients also had potentially pathogenic mutations in 2 novel candidate genes including PARP4 and EXO1. Conclusion: BRCA1/2 genes are the most commonly mutated pancreatic cancer susceptibility genes that should be considered in all pancreatic cancer cases with young age at onset or a family history of cancer. PARP4 and EXO1 also are potential candidate genes for susceptibility to pancreatic cancer. Identifying the hereditary cases of pancreatic cancer will help to offer more targeted treatments to the patients and also to prevent cancer in family members who might be a mutation carrier. \ua9 2018 The Author(s)