Efficacy of Conventional Laser Irradiation Versus a New Method for Gingival Depigmentation (Sieve Method): A Clinical Trial

Introduction: Diode laser irradiation has recently shown promising results for treatment of gingival pigmentation. This study sought to compare the efficacy of 2 diode laser irradiation protocols for treatment of gingival pigmentations, namely the conventional method and the sieve method.Methods: In this split-mouth clinical trial, 15 patients with gingival pigmentation were selected and their pigmentation intensity was determined using Dummett’s oral pigmentation index (DOPI) in different dental regions. Diode laser (980 nm wavelength and 2 W power) was irradiated through a stipple pattern (sieve method) and conventionally in the other side of the mouth. Level of pain and satisfaction with the outcome (both patient and periodontist) were measured using a 0-10 visual analog scale (VAS) for both methods. Patients were followed up at 2 weeks, one month and 3 months. Pigmentation levels were compared using repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA). The difference in level of pain and satisfaction between the 2 groups was analyzed by sample t test and general estimate equation model.Results: No significant differences were found regarding the reduction of pigmentation scores and pain and scores between the 2 groups. The difference in satisfaction with the results at the three time points was significant in both conventional and sieve methods in patients (P = 0.001) and periodontists (P = 0.015).Conclusion: Diode laser irradiation in both methods successfully eliminated gingival pigmentations. The sieve method was comparable to conventional technique, offering no additional advantage

Prevalence of the UGT1A1*6 (c.211G>A) polymorphism and irinotecan toxicity in Iranian populations of different ethnicities

Background: Pharmacogenetic studies on irinotecan treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer have indicated that genetic polymorphisms in UGT1A1*6 can lead to decreased enzyme activity and accumulation of the toxic metabolite SN-38. Here, we compared the prevalence of UGT1A1*6 in an Iranian population of different ethnicities with those of other populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 healthy people of different ethnic groups including Persian, Azari, Lure, Kurdish, Arab, Baluch and Caspian in the Iranian population were enrolled. Genotyping of the UGT1A1*6 alleles (G/G, A/G, A/A) was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and direct genomic DNA sequencing. Result: The most predictive genotype among the Iranian ethnic groups, especially Persian, was the G/G genotype (wild-type genotype). The frequency of the A/G genotype among the Persian, Azari, Lure, Kurdish, Arab, Baluch and Caspian ethnicities were 15.69% (n = 27), 11.11% (n = 8), 5.88% (n = 1), 9.09% (n = 1), 10% (n = 1), 20% (n = 1) and 0% (n = 0), respectively. Only one person with Persian ethnicity was homozygous for the mutation in UGT1A1*6 (0.58%). Additionally, the frequency of the A and G alleles in Iranians was 6.83 and 93.16%, respectively. Conclusion: The identification of the UGT1A1*6 alleles is necessary among the different Iranian ethnic groups before irinotecan therapy, suggesting that genotyping would be helpful for clinicians to optimize chemotherapy or identify individuals at risk of adverse drug reactions before clinical trials

Prevalence of the rs7903146C>T polymorphism in TCF7L2 gene for prediction of type 2 diabetes risk among Iranians of different ethnicities

BACKGROUND: Pharmacogenetics is the study of genetic polymorphisms affecting responses to drug therapy. The common rs7903146 (C>T) polymorphism of the TCF7L2 gene has recently been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this study, prevalence of the rs7903146 (C>T) polymorphism in the TCF7L2 gene for prediction of T2D risk was examined in an Iranian population of different ethnicities. METHODS: The prevalence of rs7903146 (C>T) and the predicted phenotypes, including extensive metabolizers, intermediate metabolizers, and poor metabolizers were investigated in blood samples of 300 unrelated healthy individuals in an Iranian population, including Fars, Turk, Lure, and Kurd, using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism and direct genomic DNA sequencing. RESULTS: The homozygous wild-type (C/C), heterozygous (C/T), and homozygous (T/T) allelic frequencies of rs7903146 (C>T) in the TCF7L2 gene were 29% (extensive metabolizers), 66.34% (intermediate metabolizers), and 4.66% (poor metabolizers), respectively. The C/C, C/T, and T/T genotypic frequencies of the rs7903146 (C>T) allele were significantly different (P<0.01) among Iranians of different ethnicities. The frequency of the homozygous T/T variant of the rs7903146 (C>T) allele was significantly low in the Lure (P<0.01) and high in the Fars (P<0.001) ethnicities. Additionally, the frequency of the T/T variant of the rs7903146 (C>T) allele in the South of Iran was the highest (P<0.04), while the East of Iran had the lowest frequency (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The prediction of rs7903146 (C>T) is required in drug research and routine treatment, where the information would be helpful for clinicians to optimize therapy and adverse drug reactions and predict drug response in individuals at risk of T2D

The Efficacy and Safety of Intrathecal Autologous Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Pilot Study

Purpose: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an uncommon and aggressive neurodegenerative disorder that influences the lower and upper motor neurons. There are low eligible drugs for ALS treatment; in this regard, supplemental and replacement treatments are essential. There are relative studies in the field of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) therapy in ALS, but the different methods, differently used medium, and difference in follow-up periods affect the outcome treatment. Methods: The current survey is a single-center, phase I clinical trial to evaluating the efficacy and safety of autologous bone marrow (BM)-derived MSCs through intrathecal administration in ALS patients. MNCs were isolated from BM specimens and cultured. The clinical outcome was evaluated based Revised Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating (ALSFRS-R) Scale. Results: Each patient received 15±3×106 cells through subarachnoid space. No adverse events (AEs) were detected. Just one patient experienced a mild headache after injection. Following injection, no new intradural cerebrospinal pathology transplant-related was observed. None of the patients’ pathologic disruptions following transplantation were detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The additional analyses have shown the average rate of ALSFRS-R score and forced vital capacity (FVC) reduction have decreased during 10 months following MSCs transplantation versus the pretreatment period, from -5.4±2.3 to -2±3.08 ALSFRS-R points/period (P=0.014) and -12.6±5.22% to -4.8±14.72%/period (P<0.001), respectively. Conclusion: These results have shown that autologous MSCs transplantation reduces the disease’s progression and has favorable safety. Trial Registration: This study performed as a phase I clinical trial (code IRCT20200828048551N1)

The effect of vitamins E, C and selenium as stimulants of the immune system on blood factors, growth and immunity of Asian cates (Lates calcarifer)

ABSTRACT This study was performed to evaluate the effect of immune system stimulants (vitamins E, C and selenium) on biochemical and immunity indices of Late calcarifer. For this purpose, two treatments were selected. Treatment 1 or control group was fed with food without immune stimulant and treatment 2 with diet containing vitamins E, C and selenium at 2% of the biomass weight. Finally, growth efficiency indices were compared in two treatments. Results showed final weight of the control and treatment groups was 761.33 ± 35.8 g and 850.00 ± 5.77 g, respectively. The specific growth rate of the control and treatment groups was 1.3 ± 0.02 and 1.35 ± 0.01 but the feed conversion ratio did not show a significant difference. Hemoglobin and erythrocytes showed a significant increase compared to the control in treatments containing immune stimulants and supplementation (p < 0.05). White blood cells ranged from 41417 ± 2964.84 in the treatment to 42500 ± 683.13 in the control treatment. The number of red blood cells in the control treatment was 2810000 ± 19.1763 and the recipient treatment was 3951667 ± 14588.84. Immune system stimulants including vitamins E, C and selenium can play a role in improving the growth, blood, biochemical and safety indices of farmed Late calcarifer

Effect of different levels of energy and different sources of protein on the growth performance, feeding index, survival rate and body composition of juvenile pacific white shrimp

The present study was carried out in order to establish an economical affective diet so that the white leg shrimp grows well in the suthern part conditin of Iran. With the consideration of 3 dietary energy levels (E1=262, E2=312 and E3=362 kcal 100 g -1diet) and 6 ratios of fish meal:soybean meal (P1=100%, P2=80%, P3= 60%, P4=40%, P5= 20% and P6=0%), 18 experimental diets were established. Completely randomized design was used to assign 54 polyethylene 300 litrs round tanks provided by aeration and flow through water systems and was stocked by 19 juvenile as 3 replicates to each shrimps (0.77±00 g). After 56 days growing period maximum growth and nutritional performances were respectively observed in the P6E1(containing 100% soybean meal and 262 kcal 100 g -1diet) and P5E1(containing 80% soybean meal and 262 kcal 100 g -1diet). Also most survival rate of the shrimp was in the P5E2 (containing 80% soybean meal and 312 kcal 100 g 1diet) and P3E3 (containing 40% soybean meal and 362 kcal 100 g -1diet) respectively. Results of the present study suggest the possibility replacements of at least 80% of dietary fish meal by soybean meal in the diet of white leg western shrimp in the condition of southern part of Iran

Four novel ARSA gene mutations with pathogenic impacts on metachromatic leukodystrophy: a bioinformatics approach to predict pathogenic mutations

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) disorder is a rare lysosomal storage disorder that leads to severe neurological symptoms and an early death. MLD occurs due to the deficiency of enzyme arylsulfatase A (ARSA) in leukocytes, and patients with MLD excrete sulfatide in their urine. In this study, the ARSA gene in 12 non-consanguineous MLD patients and 40 healthy individuals was examined using polymerase chain reaction sequencing. Furthermore, the structural and functional effects of new mutations on ARSA were analyzed using SIFT (sorting intolerant from tolerant), I-Mutant 2, and PolyPhen bioinformatics software. Here, 4 new pathogenic homozygous mutations c.585G>T, c.661T>A, c.849C>G, and c.911A>G were detected. The consequence of this study has extended the genotypic spectrum of MLD patients, paving way to a more effective method for carrier detection and genetic counseling

Potentially Highly Effective Drugs for COVID-19: Virtual Screening and Molecular Docking Study Through PyRx-Vina Approach

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) infection outbreak a global health emergency. Drug repurposing, which concerns the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic target indications, has emerged as a successful strategy for drug discovery due to the reduced costs and expedited approval procedures. Material and Methods: The crystal structure of a protein essential for virus replication has been filed in the Protein Data Bank recently. Based on this structure and existing experimental datasets for SARS-CoV2(COVID-19) we present results deriving from the virtual screening of a database of more than 1000 drugs in the DrugBank that have been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Results: Results showed that some of the known protease inhibitors currently used in HIV and Cancer infections might be helpful for the therapy of COVID-19 also. Results also showed that Levomefolic acid, or vitamin B9, is recommended therapy because of its oral sources and no side effects. Conclusion: Between all studied FDA-approved drug, VitaminB9 and Etoposide which used for HIV protease inhibitor, revealed strong interaction with protease binding pocket and placed well into the pocket even better than the lopinavir-ritonavir, and since this compound is FDA-approved and successfully passed various testing steps, therefor there is a hope that this drug, could be a potential drug to treating the COVID-19

A comparison of the practice of Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) for psychiatry patients in department of psychiatry, Fatemeh Zahra hospital, Bushehr, Iran 2008-2009

Background: Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments in psychiatry. The aim of this study is to survey the Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) practice in department of psychiatry, Bushehr Port University of Medical Sciences (BPUMS), Bushehr, Iran in 2008 to 2010. Material and Methods: In this retrograde study all the patients that had been admitted in department of psychiatry of Fatemeh Zahra Hospital during 2008 to 2010 and had received ECT, were included. The patients were studied to survey their clinical diagnosis and epidemiological data. Statistical analysis conducted using SPSS software version 12. Results: Of 801 patient that were admitted, 254 (31.7%) had received ECT. Clinical diagnoses of the patients received ECT according to their frequency included schizophrenia (33.1%), Bipolar Mood Disorder (BMD) (32.6%), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (13.7%), schizoaffective (11.4%), drug abuse (4.7%) and others. Male to female ratio of ECT receivers was 1.5 to 1. The mean age of the subjects was 34.5 year. The average number of ECT sessions for each patient was 7.4. Conclusion: The rate of ECT practice among psychiatry inpatients in department of psychiatry of BPUMS is high comparing to other psychiatry centers. Patients with schizophrenia in contrast to MDD were the most common group that received ECT. The reason for our findings needs to be surveyed in other studies

Application of Zeolite, a biomaterial agent, in Dental science: A Review Article

Introduction: Zeolite is an aluminosilicate biomaterial which has been used widely in medicine, tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, wound dressing, as an antibacterial agent and also it has been taken into consideration in dental sciences. So the aim of this study is reviewing the application of this amazing substance in dental sciences.Materials and Methods: In recent years there are many investigations on application of Zeolite. This review has been done on the application of this agent in dentistry. According to investigations from 1980, zeolites applications in dentistry were classified to the application in tissue engineering, root canal therapy, prosthodontics, periodontics and implant, restorative dentistry and oral medicine.Results: zeolite is a porous, biocompatible and antibacterial agent and according to its suitable properties it has been used as tissue engineering scaffold, wound dressing and so on. Zeolite is an antibacterial agent that can be used in root canal disinfection and in soft liner dentures. It can inhibit pathogens of dental caries and periodontal disease. According to biocompatibility of Zeolite, it also can be used as implant coating to improve osteointegration. It has also been used to detect squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusion: It seems that Zeolite can be considered as an amazing substance in dental sciences