Relationship among sera lipoprotein abnormalities in healthy individuals with background of diabetic sibling

As the prevalence of lipoprotein abnormalities in adolescents is increasing dramatically, the identification of relevant risk factors is a major public health challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a family history of diabetes could be a risk factor for lipid abnormalities in healthy individuals. This study is a cross-sectional case control study. 179 men and women were studied in two equal-member groups (with diabetic parents' background and without any diabetic sibling). Both groups matched in body mass index (BMI), age and sex. The serum concentration of oxidized-low density lipoprotein (LDL), Apo B100 and insulin were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay technique and TG, Chol, HDL-C, FBS and GTT by enzymatic methods. The LDL-C level was calculated using the Friedewald formula. The results show that there were no significant variation in the amount of plasma FBS, GTT, Cho, TG, LDL and HDL between the two groups, whereas a significant increase was found in the amount of insulin (P = 0.02), Apo B100 (P = 0.001), OX-LDL (P = 0.001) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.03) in the case group as compared to the control group. We conclude that a family history of diabetic parents can lead to lipid parameters abnormalities and CVD risk factor via aggregation of inherited defected genes.Key words: Diabetes, oxidized-low density lipoprotein (LDL), Apo B100, lipoproteins

Epidemiology of hepatitis B in pregnant Iranian women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Perinatal transmission is one of the most common routes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission. This study aims to identify the epidemiological features of HBV among pregnant Iranian women. This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Two authors independently searched several online databases without time limit until May 2017. The databases include Magiran, Iranmedex, SID, Medlib, IranDoc, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The data were analyzed based on a random-effects model using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 2. Thirty-seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The prevalence of HBV among pregnant Iranian women was 1.18 (95 CI: 0.09-1.53). The prevalence of HBV among pregnant women living in urban and rural areas was 1.60 (95 CI: 0.06-4.30) and 1.70 (95 CI: 0.09-3.2), respectively. The prevalence of HBV among housewives and working pregnant women was 4.3 (95 CI: 1.4-12.5) and 1.2 (95 CI: 0.02-5.8), respectively. The risk of developing an HBV infection was significantly associated with illiteracy (p = 0.013), abortion (p = 0.001), blood transfusion (p < 0.001) and addicted spouse (p = 0.045). However, no significant relationship was observed between HBV infection and urbanization (p = 0.65), occupation (p = 0.37), history of surgery (p = 0.32) or tattooing (p = 0.69). Vaccination coverage (receiving at least a single dose) in pregnant women was 9.8 (95 CI: 5.3-17.5). The prevalence of HBV among pregnant women is lower than in the general population of Iran. HBV vaccination coverage was low among pregnant Iranian women. Therefore, health policy-makers are recommended to enforce immunization programs for HBV vaccination among high-risk pregnant women

Pharmaceutical solid-state characterisation techniques

The solid state of a pharmaceutical material impacts on every aspect of its formulation; from solubility and thermodynamic stability to tabletability and flowability. Due to this fundamental connection characterising the solid state is key to providing the information necessary to reduce possible future manufacturing or formulation issues, which critically cuts drug product development costs and time. In this chapter a summary of the importance of the solid state and solid form screening in the pharmaceutical industry is presented. This is followed by an introduction to some of the solid state characterisation techniques routinely utilised in the pharmaceutical industry together with examples of the information provided by each