Survey of hydatid cyst surgeries in hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences during 2004 to 2014

Background: Hydatidosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases with global distribution. Due to the prevalence of the disease in country, the study aimed to determine the clinical and laboratory findings in patients with hydatidosis admitted to surgical departments of educational hospitals, Imam Khomeini and Golestan, in Ahvaz city during 2004-2014. Materials and Methods: Data of the patients including demographic characteristics, and clinical and laboratory findings were recorded in a prepared form and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests by the SPSS software. Results: From a total of all patients, 49 (55.7) and 39 patients (44.3) were females and males respectively; 25 patients were resident in rural areas and 62 in urban areas. The mean age of the patients was 30.6±2 years. Also, the maximum and minimum percentages of the disease were observed in the age group 20-29 and 80-89, respectively. Recurrence was observed in 9 patients. The highest prevalence of the hydatid cyst was in the right lobe of the liver (26.1). Among the methods of imaging, sonography and MRI had the highest and lowest use in the diagnosis of the disease, respectively. Conclusion: Findings of this study show that the most common organs affected are the liver and the younger age group and suburbs are more prone to hydatidosis. Due to the chronicity of the disease and the late diagnosis during the visit, screening for endemic areas and high-risk persons is recommended

The effect of alcoholic extracts of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. against Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis infection is one of the most prevalent type of vaginitis in women. Considering the side effects of metronidazole and therapeutic properties of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. in traditional medicine, this study aimed to examine the anti-Trichomonas effects of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis alcoholic extracts in vitro. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on T. vaginalis isolated from 1203 persons referred to five health centers in Kashan city. Five T. vaginalis isolates were cultured in a TYI-S-33 medium and were used to study the effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The effects of different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 µg/mL) of plant extracts on the growth of T. vaginalis trophozoeites were studied 12, 24, and 48 h after the culture. Also, the culture media and metronidazole (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 µg/mL) were considered as the negative and positive controls, respectively. The effects of the extracts and drug were examined by counting the number of live and dead parasites using the trypan blue staining method. Results: Results showed that the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis and Arctium lappa had an inhibitory effect on the growth of T. vaginalis. The IC50 values of the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis, Arctium lappa and metronidazole after 24 h were 190.8, 996.7 and 0.0326 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The present study shows the in vitro anti-Trichomonas effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The anti-Trichomonas effect of Satureja hortensis extract was higher than that of the Arctium lappa extract. Further studies are recommended to investigate the anti-Trichomonas effect of major components of these plants, especially the Satureja hortensis extract

Genetic variation of Giardia lamblia isolates from food-handlers in Kashan, Central Iran

<p><strong><em>Background:</em></strong> Based on genotyping study of human isolates of <em>Giardia lamblia</em>; humans are mainly infected by two assemblages A and B. The present study was carried out to determine the sub-assemblages of <em>G. lamblia</em> isolated from food handlers referred to Kashan health centers, central Iran, 2015.</p><p><strong><em>Methods:</em></strong> In this cross-sectional<strong> </strong>study,<strong> </strong>3653 stool samples collected from food-handlers that annually refer to health center for getting a health certification and examined microscopically for <em>G. lamblia</em> cyst. Totally, 44 isolates were selected from 47 <em>Giardia</em> positive samples. Cysts were partially purified by the sucrose density gradient method. After freeze-thaw cycles, genomic DNA was extracted using QIAamp Stool Mini kit. A single step PCR-RFLP method was used to amplify a 458bp fragment at the glutamate dehydrogenase <em>(gdh</em>) locus, restriction enzymes <em>BspLI </em>and <em>RsaI</em> were used for distinguish between genotypes A and B and their subgroups.</p><p><strong><em>Results:</em></strong> Of 44 isolates, 24(54.5%) were sub-assemblage AII, 9(20.5%) group B including 7(15.9%) BIII and 2(4.6%) BIV sub-assemblage and 11(25%) isolates showed a mixed pattern of AII and B. Sub-assemblage AI was not detected in this study.</p><strong><em>Conclusion:</em></strong> The higher rate of sub-assemblage AII demonstrated an anthroponotic origin of the infection so infected food-handlers could directly transmit this protozoan to consumers via contaminated food and water. For finding of pattern of transmission and distribution of <em>Giardia</em> assemblages and sub-assemblage, more studies in human and animal population in different regions are necessary

Induction of apoptosis by alcoholic extract of combination verbascum thapsus and ginger officinale on Iranian isolate of trichomonas vaginalis

Introduction: The genus Malassezia is an important skin resident of human. The present study aimed to analyze in vitro activity of the essential oils of Lavandula stoechas, Cuminum cyminum and Artemisia sieberi against clinical strains of Malassezia species. Methods: A total of 47 Malassezia strains, including Malassezia furfur, Malassezia globosa and Malassezia obtuse, were used in this study. A disk diffusion technique was selected for testing the susceptibility of Malassezia strains to the essential oils. Results: All the essential oils showed in vitro activity against Malassezia strains, with M. furfur and M. obtusa being the highest and lowest susceptible of the strains, respectively. The highest antifungal activity was associated with the essential oil of C. cyminum (mean ± SD: 50.0 ± 0.0 mm), followed by L. stoechas (mean ± SD: 46.8 ± 3.1 mm) and A. sieberi (mean ± SD: 36.9 ± 5.7 mm). The inhibition zone ranges were 12.5 to 15.6 mm (mean ± SD: 14.4 ± 1.6 mm) for ketoconazole and 11.6 to 13.3 mm (mean ± SD: 12.4 ± 0.9 mm) for fluconazole. Although all the antifungal drugs were found to possess good antifungal activities against Malassezia strains, their effects were lower than the activities shown by the essential oils tested (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These results indicated that the essential oils tested, especially the one from C. cyminum, inhibited the growth of clinical strains of Malassezia, implying its potential use in the treatment of Malassezia infections. This indicates that this plant may be useful in preparation of new drugs

Chitosan-titanium dioxide-glucantime nanoassemblies effects on promastigote and amastigote of Leishmania major

The purpose of the present study was to design nanoassemblies of chitosan-titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with glucantime for using their synergistic effects and enhancing the toxic effects of glucantime on Leishmania parasites. The nanoassemblies were prepared by electrostatic interactions and optimized by a response surface central composite design. The effects of glucantime, chitosan and TiO2 NPs amounts were studied on the particle size, zeta potential, loading efficiency, and release efficiency of drug from nanoassemblies. The conjugation of TiO2/chitosan-glucantime was verified by UV spectroscopy and changes in surface charge of NPs. The anti-promastigots effect of glucantime loaded in TiO2/chitosan nanoassemblies was studied by tripan blue dye test and their anti-amastigotes effect by counting the average number of parasites per infected J774 macrophages in 100 cells. The optimized formulation obtained by using 12.5 mg glucantime, 25 mg chitosan and 6 mg TiO2 NPs. Although TiO2 NPs alone were effective more than negative control in reduction of promastigots and amastigotes but they didn't show significant difference compared with free glucantime (p > 0.05). However, at the concentration of 50 μg/mL and after 72 h exposure nanoassemblies decreased the proliferation of L. major promastigotes and amastigotes 13 and 4-fold, respectively compared with glucantime alone. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

Spatial inequalities in the incidence of colorectal cancer and associated factors in the neighborhoods of Tehran, Iran: Bayesian spatial models

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with the spatial distribution of the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the neighborhoods of Tehran, Iran using Bayesian spatial models. Methods: This ecological study was implemented in Tehran on the neighborhood level. Socioeconomic variables, risk factors, and health costs were extracted from the Equity Assessment Study conducted in Tehran. The data on CRC incidence were extracted from the Iranian population-based cancer registry. The Besag-York-Mollié (BYM) model was used to identify factors associated with the spatial distribution of CRC incidence. The software programs OpenBUGS version 3.2.3, ArcGIS 10.3, and GeoDa were used for the analysis. Results: The Moran index was statistically significant for all the variables studied (p<0.05). The BYM model showed that having a women head of household (median standardized incidence ratio SIR, 1.63; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.06 to 2.53), living in a rental house (median SIR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.96), not consuming milk daily (median SIR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.94) and having greater household health expenditures (median SIR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.68) were associated with a statistically significant elevation in the SIR of CRC. The median (interquartile range) and mean (standard deviation) values of the SIR of CRC, with the inclusion of all the variables studied in the model, were 0.57 (1.01) and 1.05 (1.31), respectively. Conclusions: Inequality was found in the spatial distribution of CRC incidence in Tehran on the neighborhood level. Paying attention to this inequality and the factors associated with it may be useful for resource allocation and developing preventive strategies in at-risk areas. Copyright © 2018 The Korean Society for Preventive Medicine

The relationship between emotional intelligence and communication skills in healthcare staff

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as Emotional Quotient, is defined as an individual�s alertness on his or her own emotions, together by an alertness of the emotions in other people and the capacity to manage them and act appropriately. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the EI (Emotional Intelligence) and communication skills of healthcare staff working at ambulatory clinics in Shiraz. Methods: 108 healthcare staff was selected using simple random sampling. To assess the EI, a valid and reliable Persian version of Goleman�s questionnaire was used. To assess the communication skills, a questionnaire was designed based on previous questionnaires. For each healthcare staff, five patients were selected randomly to complete the questionnaires. Results: The total score of the EI was 76.49±2.83 out of 112. The mean total score of the communication skills was 96.80±11.63 out of 120. There was a significant relationship between the total score of EI and communication skills. The R2 coeffcient was 0.74. There was also a significant relationship between EI dimensions and the total score of communication skills (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Having a higher level of EI leads to better communication with patients and better health outcomes. © 2018, Author(s)

Giardia lamblia infection: Review of current diagnostic strategies

Giardiasis has a global distribution and it is a common cause of diarrhea in both children and adults and is transmitted via the fecal-oral route through direct or indirect ingestion of cysts. The laboratory diagnosis of Giardia spp. is mainly based on demonstration of microscopic cyst or trophozoite in stool samples but several immunological-based assays and molecular methods are also available for giardiasis diagnosis. The aim of this study was to conduct a review of the applied methods in medical laboratory and to highlight pitfalls and challenges of them for diagnosis of giardiasis. In this article we have evaluated the Giardia diagnostic methods with a broad review of literature, electronic databases and books. The search has covered the articles and some textbooks that have published up to 2018. It has been concluded that traditional microscopy combination with stool concentration method should still be held in the routine medical laboratory due to economical and high sensitivity and immunological-based assay and molecular methods which are recommended to use as a complementary test to the traditional technique. © 2019 Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases .All Rights Reserved

Epidemiology and economic loss of fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis in Arak, Iran

Aim: Fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis are important parasitic diseases worldwide, causing significant financial losses due to decrease in production and viscera condemnation in animals. We performed the current research to assess the epidemiology of these infections and determine their significance from an economic perspective in Arak, Iran. Materials and Methods: In total, we evaluated 118,463 sheep, 207,652 goats, and 43,675 cattle through necropsic analysis at the slaughterhouses. The average weight of sheep, goat, and cattle liver was 1000, 900, and 5000 g, respectively. The average price of liver in the market was 8 USD/kg. Moreover, the elimination of fundamental nutrients and vitamins was evaluated in infected livers. The prevalence of fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis was determined. Analysis of variance test was applied for the statistical analysis, and the significance level was <0.05. Results: In total, Fasciola hepatica and Dicrocoelium dendriticum were detected in 0.56 (confidence interval CI, 0.54-0.59) and 0.77 (CI, 0.75-0.81) of the animals, respectively (p=0.1). The annual economic loss attributed to fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis was 26698.4 and 30479.2 USD, respectively. The total economic loss was 10,880, 9079.2, and 10,520 dollars in sheep, cattle, and goats, respectively. On the other hand, financial loss resulting from fasciolosis was 7160, 6098.4, and 13,440 dollars in sheep, goats, and cattle, respectively. In addition, economic loss due to dicroceliasis was 10,880, 9079.2, and 10,520 dollars, respectively. Conclusion: Overall, fasciolosis and dicrocoeliosis in Iran always remain common in sheep, goats, and cattle that afford major economic loss of all the country also exist in Arak province. The present study could provide basic information for further examination of liver fluke infections in Iran. © 2018 Veterinary World. All Rights Reserved