Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B and C infections among volunteer blood donors at the blood transfusion center of Ilam city, Iran

Introduction: Blood derived products have been known as an effective treatment for many years. However, this treatment is not without risk of infections transmission including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) in people who received the blood. Nevertheless, due to a high risk of blood born diseases through blood transfusion, screening for these viruses according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is mandatory. The main aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infections among healthy blood donors of Blood Donor Center of Ilam (BDCI). Materials and methods: In this study we used the information from first and repeated blood donors who referred to BDCI within February 2009 to January 2013. Demographic characteristics of donors including marital status, age, gender and blood donation pattern was extracted. Routine donor laboratory screening tests for HBV, HIV and HCV were performed. Results: HBV infection had the highest prevalence (0.14%) while HIV had the lowest ones (0.006%). The highest prevalence was among male blood donors. The prevalence of HBv, HIV and HCV infections were more common among men and first time donors (P < 0.01). The prevalence of  HIV and HCV infections were more common among married donors than singe ones (P < 0.01) HBV prevalence in singles was more (P < 0.05) compared to married blood donors. The highest and the lowest subjects with HBV, HCV and HIV infections were in range of 51 to 60 years and 18-35 years old, respectively. Conclusion: It is estimated that the prevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV infections are low in voluntary blood donors than general population which confirmed the effectiveness of education and examination of blood donors. This usually arising from the pre donation screening for risky behaviors, so deleting the high risk people. Since unsafe blood products are not used for blood transfusion, they are not considered as risk for blood safety system, but identification of these blood units is a problem for blood transfusion centers

Nanoparticles and targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy

Surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy are the main common anti-tumor therapeutic approaches. However, the non-specific targeting of cancer cells has made these approaches non-effective in the significant number of patients. Non-specific targeting of malignant cells also makes indispensable the application of the higher doses of drugs to reach the tumor region. Therefore, there are two main barriers in the way to reach the tumor area with maximum efficacy. The first, inhibition of drug delivery to healthy non-cancer cells and the second, the direct conduction of drugs into tumor site. Nanoparticles (NPs) are the new identified tools by which we can deliver drugs into tumor cells with minimum drug leakage into normal cells. Conjugation of NPs with ligands of cancer specific tumor biomarkers is a potent therapeutic approach to treat cancer diseases with the high efficacy. It has been shown that conjugation of nanocarriers with molecules such as antibodies and their variable fragments, peptides, nucleic aptamers, vitamins, and carbohydrates can lead to effective targeted drug delivery to cancer cells and thereby cancer attenuation. In this review, we will discuss on the efficacy of the different targeting approaches used for targeted drug delivery to malignant cells by NPs

rs12329760 Polymorphism in Transmembrane Serine Protease 2 Gene and Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Mortality

The protease produced by the transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) gene enhances viral infections and has been linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pathogenesis. Therefore, this study evaluated the association between TMPRSS2 and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality. TMPRSS2 rs12329760 polymorphism was genotyped using the tetraprimer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction method in 592 dead and 693 improved patients. In the current study, the frequency of TMPRSS2 rs12329760 CC than TT genotypes was significantly lower in improved patients than in dead patients. According to the findings of the multivariate logistic regression test, higher levels of mean age, creatinine, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, aspartate aminotransferase, lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, uric acid, and real-time PCR Ct values and TMPRSS2 rs12329760 CC genotype were observed to be associated with increased COVID-19 mortality rates. In conclusion, the TMPRSS2 rs12329760 CC genotype was a polymorphism linked to a significantly higher incidence of severe COVID-19. Further studies are required to corroborate the obtained findings

Application of nanomedicine for crossing the blood–brain barrier: Theranostic opportunities in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disease characterized with immunopathobiological events, including lymphocytic infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS), microglia activation, demyelination and axonal degeneration. Although several neuroprotective drugs have been designed for the treatment of MS, complete remission is yet matter of debate. Therefore, development of novel therapeutic approaches for MS is of a high priority in immunological research. Nanomedicine is a recently developed novel medical field, which is applicable in both diagnosis and treatment of several cancers and autoimmune diseases. Although there is a marked progress in neuroimaging through using nanoparticles, little is known regarding the therapeutic potential of nanomedicine in neurological disorders, particularly MS. Moreover, the majority of data is limited to the MS related animal models. In this review, we will discuss about the brain targeting potential of different nanoparticles as well as the role of nanomedicine in the diagnosis and treatment of MS and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Dimethyl fumarate: Regulatory effects on the immune system in the treatment of multiple sclerosis

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an important oral treatment option for various autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and psoriasis. DMF and its dynamic metabolite, monomethyl fumarate (MMF) are the major compounds that exert therapeutic effects on several pathologic conditions in part, through downregulation of immune responses. The exact mechanism of DMF is yet to be fully understood even though its beneficial effects on the immune system are extensively studied. It has been shown that DMF/MMF can affect various immune cells, which can get involved in both the naive and adaptive immune systems, such as T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and natural killer cells. It is suggested that DMF/MMF may exert their effect on immune cells through inhibition of nuclear factor-κB translocation, upregulation of nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2(E2)-related factor antioxidant pathway, and activation of hydroxyl carboxylic acid receptor 2. In this review, the mechanisms underlying the modulatory functions of DMF or MMF on the main immune cell populations involved in the immunopathogenesis of MS are discusse