Circulating and Endometrial Profiles of miR-145, miR-155-5p, miR-224, MPP-5, and PECAM-1 Expression in Patients with Repeated Implantation Failure: A Case Control Study

Objective: An association between microRNAs (miRNAs) and adhesion proteins expression with repeated implantationfailure (RIF) has been recently reported; however, these findings are controversial. This study aims to evaluatethe endometrial and circulating expressions of miR-145, miR-155-5p, and miR-224 in addition to the endometrialexpressions of membrane protein palmitoylated-5 (MPP-5) and endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) inpatients with RIF compared to control subjects.Materials and Methods: This case-control study was carried out between June 2021-July 2022. Subjects included 17patients with RIF and 17 control subjects, who had previous spontaneous term pregnancy with a live birth, who referredto the Medical Centre of Arash Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Endometrial tissue samples were obtained via hysteroscopyand Pipelle catheter in the RIF and control subjects, respectively. Plasma samples were collected after ovulationin all subjects. The expression levels of MPP5, PECAM-1, miR-224, miR-145, and miR-155-5p were evaluated byquantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The student’s t test, chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, andanalysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for data analyses.Results: RIF patients had less endometrial miR-155-5p expression, and higher endometrial and circulating expressions ofmiR-145 and miR-224 compared to control subjects. Endometrial PECAM-1 and MPP5 expression significantly decreased inpatients with RIF compared to the control group. There was a positive correlation between circulating miR-224 and endometrialmiR-155-5p, and between circulating miR-155-5p and endometrial PECAM-1 expression levels in patients with RIF.Conclusion: The present study suggests that circulating miR-224, endometrial miR-145, and PECAM-1 can bereliable, novel biomarkers for diagnosis of RIF

The pregnancy outcome in patients with minor β-thalassemia

Background: β-thalassemia is the most common hereditary disease in Iran and more than 2 million carriers of the β-thalassemia mutant gene are living in this country.Objective: To determine pregnancy outcome of women with β-thalassemia minor.Materials and Methods: In this retrospective, case-control study in two universities affiliated hospitals in Shiraz, all pregnancies occurred between 2006 and 2008 were included. Patients were divided in two groups regarding the presence of β-thalassemia minor. Patients in case and control groups were matched according to maternal age, gestational age and number of previous pregnancies. Cesarean delivery, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus, premature rupture of membranes and preterm labor were recorded in each group and were compared using the χ2 or Fisher exact tests. Results: Overall 510 β-thalassemia minor subjects and 512 healthy controls were studied. Cases with β-thalassemia minor had significantly higher prevalence of oligohydramnios (p<0.001) and cesarean section delivery (p=0.001). There was no significant difference regarding Apgar score in 1st (p=0.65) and 5th minute (p=0.25), IUGR (p=0.073), gestational diabetes mellitus (DM) (p=0.443) and preeclampsia (p=0.116) between two study groups. Conclusion: β-thalassemia minor does not significantly influence the pregnancy outcome in the negative way

The effect of NLP-based approach to teaching surgical procedures to senior OBGYN residents

Each individual has a unique way of learning which is based on personal background [1]. Neuro Linguistic Programming is an ideology of communicating with an individual. It can be applied in social relations like teaching fields [2]. Each medical student deals with a set of new information in his unique way. For example with regard to the following text on vacuum extraction, one learner focuses on definition, while the other focuses on spelling, and the third one just on shapes [3] (Figures 1-3)