Prevalence and morphological characterizations of Linguatula serrata nymphs in camels in Isfahan Province, Iran

Linguatula serrata, well known as tongue worm; is an aberrant cosmopolitan parasite, which inhabits the canine respiratory system (final host). The discharged eggs infect many plant feeder animals including human causing visceral and nasopharyngeal linguatulosis which is known as “Marrara syndrome”. In current study, the prevalence of infection with L. serrata nymphs in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of slaughtered camels was investigated in Isfahan Province, Iran. The MLNs of 232 slaughtered camels, including 115 females and 117 males, were examined for L. serrata nymphs. Camels were categorized into four age groups, namely under six months, six months to two years, two to four years and greater than four years. Also, the morphometrics of the nymphs were measured using the classic parasitology methods. Results showed that 21.12% of examined camels were infected with L. serrata. Age and sex had no significant effect on the prevalence of this parasite in camels. The size of the different parts of nymphs’ body were recorded and evaluated. The infection rate to the nymphs of parasite in hemorrhagic and black-colored lymph nodes were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher than the infection rate in normal-colored nodes. Also, results showed that in soft lymph nodes, the infection rate was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more than those of normal and hard nodes. A high prevalence of infection in camels suggests possibility of similar high rate of infection in other animals, and people in the investigated area. This, in turn, emphasizes the need for more preventive measures to reduce the risk of zoonotic outbreaks

Sjögren-Larsson syndrome in two brothers: a case report

Sjögren-Larsson syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that was originally recognized in the coexistence of congenital ichthyosis, spastic diplegia or quadriplegia and mental retardation. We recently saw two cases with characteristic features of this rare syndrome. Two brothers aged 21 and 25 years presented with triad of congenital ichthyosis, mental retardation and spastic diplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed demyelinating disease in one of these cases. Electrodiagnostic studies were normal in all cases

Determinants of Households Health Expenditure : A Population-Based Study

Studies have shown that the determinants of households’ health expenses are in doubt in Iran. Patients deal with pain and trouble while facing with increasing health services payments. Thus, their quality of life decreases in all aspects. The objective of this research lies on the analysis of Iranian households’ health expenditure (HHE) using multilevel modelling methodology. Data collected through Household Income and Expenditure Survey by Statistical Center of Iran. A total of 38299 Iranian households were sampled. This nationally-representative cross-sectional survey collected information from March 2013 to March 2014 using a three-staged cluster sampling method. Descriptive statistics and multilevel modelling employed for data analysis. Data analysis was performed using R programming language version 3.3.2 and SPSS version 20. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Our findings indicated that families spent about seven percent of their annual income on HHE. Annual median of medical expenses and income per capita were 1020 and 44460 thousand rials, respectively. Family income, age, and activity status of household head had significant positive effects on annual HHE (P<0.05). Female headed families spent about 10% less health expenses than male headed households annually (P<0.001). Although, rural and illiterate heads experienced lower health expenses, their effects were not statistically substantial (P>0.05). More attention on HHE will be needed from researchers and politicians, as it has proved to be no easy matter in the low-income and deprived areas

Proteins expression clustering of Alzheimer disease in rat hippocampus proteome

Because of the huge amounts of proteomic data and demand for new methods of laboratory analysis results, proteins collective analysis, in addition to taking less time, biostatistician assist at identification of new patterns in the data set. In this study, rat hippocampus proteome in normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) were analyzed by using proteomic techniques and bioinformatics’ analysis. Protein extracts from normal and Alzheimer's rats were separated by using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE). The silver staining method was used for detecting spots. Bioinformatics analysis of proteome were performed by progensis same spots software. Bioinformatics and statistical analysis of 2DE gel techniques obtained 760 protein spots were detected in both normal and AD rats.  Comparisons between controls and Alzheimer gel containing 20 common proteins were expressed significantly differences. 16 new proteins were expressed in AD, while 36 proteins were suppressed. Proteins clustering by using correlation analysis evaluated 3 clusters in the proteome; Principal component analysis also confirmed the results of clustering. Finally, we can conclude that a significant expression of Alzheimer changes in the hippocampus proteome which are associated with specific biological processes summarized in 3 main clusters indicated 3 principal biological pathways of AD.

Biomarker Profiling (Erbb2, P53, and PR) for Stage I of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) accounts for one of the major health problems around the world. Since the diagnosis process can have great effect on therapy outcomes, we studied the biomarkers specific to breast tumors stage I based on examining different Iranian patients. Cases from different stages were examined to discover their highly expressed proteins. In addition, pathologic evaluations were performed as the diagnosis procedure. Considering positive percentage of over-expressed protein in different stages in the population, it is guessed that over-expression of ErBb2 and PR are positively correlated, while P53 is in negative correlation with them. Therefore, these molecules can probably account for stage I biological marker. This study suggests that alterations in over-expression of specific biomarkers in different stages may be associated to the stage classification, and can help achieve more effective therapies of this malignancy

Self-Rated Health among General Population in the West of Iran: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Socioeconomic Determinants

Background: Self-rated health (SRH), as a powerful independent predictor of mortality, has been used worldwide.However, there is currently lack of information about the SRH in Iran as a developing country. This study was conductedto investigate the relationship between SRH and socioeconomic factors in the general population in western Iran.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 enrolling 1,444 subjects aged 18 years and over in fiveareas of Kermanshah City, Iran. A single question of SRH with five scales of excellent (coded as 1), very good, good,fair, or poor (coded as 5) was used. Univariate and multiple logistic regression models were performed to determinefactors associated with poor self-rated health.Results: The proportion of poor SRH was 14.7%. Multiple logistic regression showed that the most importantdeterminants of poor SRH were older age (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)31-50year=1.96, AOR≥51year=4.93, married status(AOR=2.53), divorced or widowed status (AOR=2.62), self-reported income level as middle (AOR=2.51) andlow (AOR=4.59), rural residency (AOR=1.5), low physical activity (AOR=11.97), and having chronic diseases(AOR=6.85). In addition, the educational level had a negative relationship with poor SRH (AOR academic=0.47).Conclusion: Our results revealed that both individual and social factors are directly associated with poor SRH.Therefore, these determinant factors should be considered in health policies and planning for promoting health andSRH in the west of Iran

Gene sets involved in prostate cancer based on differential expression

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men. In spite of on-going researches in this filed, the specific causes of prostate cancer are so far unknown. In this study, we used two methods of Gene Set Analysis to improve the biological interpretation of the observed expression patterns in prostate cancer. The Gene Set Analysis is a computational method to discover gene sets whose expression is associated with a phenotype of interest. In addition, we used these methods to search gene sets defined by KEGG and BioCarta. Although, our results showed that most of the gene sets were associated with prostate cancer in the Category and Hotelling’s T2 methods, the power of the Hotelling’s T2 was more than Category method in either KEGG or BioCarta gene sets. The concordance between the results of Pubmed articles and KEGG gene sets was more than the results of Pubmed articles and BioCarta gene sets

A survey on helminthic infection in mice (Mus musculus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus) in Kermanshah, Iran

Parasitic infections of rodents can compromise scientific research as well as the health of the animals and humans. Based on previous studies, infection rate of parasitic helminths is different in various regions of Iran. The current survey was aimed to determine endoparasitic helminths infection in 138 trapped rodents of Kermanshah county, Iran. Mice and rats were trapped using metal snares from January to October 2011 and euthanized. Rodents included 110 Mus musculus (79.00%), 23 Rattus norvegicus (17.00%), and five Rattus rattus (4.00%). The gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts were removed and examined to identify parasitic helminths. The results indicated that 42.02% of examined rodents were infected with eight helminths species, i.e. Trichuris muris (14.49%), Syphacia obvelata (13.76%), Syphacia muris (2.89%), Aspicularis tetrapetra (5.07%), Heterakis spumosa (5.07%), Capillaria hepatica eggs (3.62%), Hyminolepis diminuta (12.30%), and Cystisercus fasciolaris, the larva of Taenia teanieformis (4.34%). Given the results of this study, we concluded that examined rodents were more infected with nematodes than other helminths. As rodents are usually infected with a number of zoonotic parasites, hence control of these animals has an important role in safeguarding public health

Bioclimatic Analysis and Spatial Distribution of Livestock Fascioliasis in Iran

Background: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of fascioliasis and to perform a climatological analysis of different regions of Iran based on the current situation of the parasite and its intermediate host using Geographical Information System (GIS). Methods: Meteorological data were obtained from Iran Meteorological Organization. Risk map of fascioliasis transmission was prepared based on this data and using forecasting indices. Further, the number of fascioliasis cases from 31 provinces reported to the Iran Veterinary Organization were collected and prevalence maps of livestock fascioliasis were drawn. Results: The main risk hotspots were found in Northern provinces like Golestan, Mazandaran and Gilan as well as some Southern provinces such as Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and Fars, which have ideal conditions for completion of the parasite life cycle. Moreover, Gilan Province with 10.83% had the highest rate of fascioliasis infection in slaughtered animal. Conclusion: Iran is one of the most important foci of fascioliasis globally. Several provinces of Iran have appropriate conditions for evolution of parasite life cycle and presence of its intermediate host. These regions require special attention and serious determination in order to control fascioliasis in human and animals

Socioeconomic - related inequalities in overweight and obesity: findings from the PERSIAN cohort study

BackgroundOverweight and obesity are major health concerns worldwide, with adverse health consequences during the life span. This study measured socioeconomic inequality in overweight and obesity among Iranian adults.MethodsData were extracted from 129,257 Iranian adults (aged 35years and older) participated in the Prospective Epidemiologic Research Studies in IrAN (PERSIAN) in 14 provinces of Iran in 2014. Socioeconomic-related inequality in overweight and obesity was estimated using the Concentration Index (C-n). The C-n further decomposed to find factors explaining the variability within the Socioeconomic related inequality in overweight and obesity.ResultsOf the total number of participants, 1.98, 26.82, 40.76 and 30.43% had underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity respectively. The age-and sex standardized prevalence of obesity was higher in females than males (39.85% vs 18.79%). People with high socioeconomic status (SES) had a 39 and 15% higher chance of being overweight and obese than low SES people, respectively. The positive value of C-n suggested a higher concentration of overweight (0.081, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.074-0.087) and obesity (0.027, 95% CI; 0.021-0.034) among groups with high SES. There was a wide variation in socioeconomic-related inequality in overweight and obesity rate across 14 provinces. The decomposition results suggested that SES factor itself explained 66.77 and 89.07% of the observed socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity among Iranian adults respectively. Following SES, province of residence, physical activity, using hookah and smoking were the major contributors to the concentration of overweight and obesity among the rich.ConclusionsOverall, we found that overweight and obesity is concentrated among high SES people in the study population. . Accordingly, it seems that intersectional actions should be taken to control and prevent overweight and obesity among higher socioeconomic groups. Keywords:Socioeconomic Factors; Inequality; Concentration index; overweight and obesity; PERSIAN; Ira