The incidence of ABO, Kell and Rh system blood groups in general population of Qazvin, Iran

    Introduction:ABO antigens and the glycoproteins constituting the blood groups such as Kell and Rh systems are the mostly focused blood groups in transfusion medicine. Their importance is tightly associated with the presence of natural isoantibodies, their protein structure, and immunogenicity. The aim of our study was to assess the distribution of major Rh and Kell antigens and the most probable genotype in a normal population of Qazvin city, Iran.Materials and methods:This study was done on 1000 healthy people who were candidates for getting driver’s license. The blood samples were tested for Kell, ABO and major Rh antigens by standard tube agglutination method.Results:Out of 1000 samples studied, the prevalence of RhD was 86.6%. The incidence of other Rh antigens i.e. C, E, c and e was 73%, 29.8%, 72.1%, and 95.9% respectively. The most common phenotype in the samples was DCce and the least one was shown to be CcEe. Kell antigen frequency was 8.2%. On the other hand, 91.8% of people were indicated to be negative for the Kell antigen.Conclusion:Taken together, the amount of the individuals negative for the Kell and Rh system are adequate to provide new policies for identification of these antigens for both blood donors and recipients. &nbsp

CRISPR-mediated modification of DNA methylation pattern in the new era of cancer therapy

In the last 2 decades, a wide variety of studies have been conducted on epigenetics and its role in various cancers. A major mechanism of epigenetic regulation is DNA methylation, including aberrant DNA methylation variations such as hypermethylation and hypomethylation in the promoters of critical genes, which are commonly detected in tumors and mark the early stages of cancer development. Therefore, epigenetic therapy has been of special importance in the last decade for cancer treatment. In epigenetic therapy, all efforts are made to modulate gene expression to the normal status. Importantly, recent studies have shown that epigenetic therapy is focusing on the new gene editing technology, CRISPR-Cas9. This tool was found to be able to effectively modulate gene expression and alter almost any sequence in the genome of cells, resulting in events such as a change in acetylation, methylation, or histone modifications. Of note, the CRISPR-Cas9 system can be used for the treatment of cancers caused by epigenetic alterations. The CRISPR-Cas9 system has greater advantages than other available methods, including potent activity, easy design and high velocity as well as the ability to target any DNA or RNA site. In this review, we described epigenetic modulators, which can be used in the CRISPR-Cas9 system, as well as their functions in gene expression alterations that lead to cancer initiation and progression. In addition, we surveyed various species of CRISPR-dead Cas9 (dCas9) systems, a mutant version of Cas9 with no endonuclease activity. Such systems are applicable in epigenetic therapy for gene expression modulation through chemical group editing on nucleosomes and chromatin remodeling, which finally return the cell to the normal status and prevent cancer progression

Sleep Architecture in Patients With Primary Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate sleep architecture in patients with primary snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Methods: In this study, we analyzed polysomnographic data of 391 clients who referred to Sleep Disorders Research Center (SDRS). These people were classified into three groups based on their Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) and snoring; control, Primary Snoring (PS), and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) group. Sleep architecture variables were then assessed in all groups. Results: The results of this study indicated a decrease in deep sleep or Slow Waves Sleep (SWS) and increase in light sleep or stage 1 of non-REM sleep (N1) in OSA patients compared with the control and PS groups. After controlling the effects of confounding factors, i.e. age and Body Mass Index (BMI) (which was performed through multiple regression analysis) significant differences were observed among the three groups with regard to N1. However, with regard to SWS, after controlling confounding variables (age and BMI), no significant difference was found among the groups. Conclusion: The results indicated that OSA, regardless of age and BMI, may increase light (N1) sleep possibly via a decline in blood oxygen saturation (SpO2). Such increase in N1 may be responsible for brain arousal. In addition, by controlling confounding factors (age and BMI), OSA did not affect SWS in OSA patients. However, further research is necessary to determine sleep architecture in more detail in the patients with OSA

Evaluation of sleep problems in preeclamptic, healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Sleep problems are common complaints among pregnant women. This study was designed to compare subjective sleep problems in non-pregnancy condition, healthy and preeclamptic pregnancy as a major complication of pregnancy. We hypothesized that some sleep problems are more prevalent in females with preeclampsia.In this cross-sectional study, 102 women with preeclampsia, 106 healthy pregnant women in the third trimester and 103 healthy non-pregnant women were selected through random sampling. Age and parity were matched in the three groups. We used Global sleep assessment questionnaire (GSAQ) to check the subjective sleep problems, and then we performed statistical analysis using Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson Chi-square tests.Our findings revealed significant differences in initial insomnia (p = 0.034), fragmented sleep (p = 0.022), snoring (