Assessment of Spirometric Indices in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Imam Hussein Hospital, Shahroud, Iran (2016-2017)

Background: Diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent metabolic disorder. Previous related studies have shown that, lungs are target organs in diabetic micro-angiopathy. The present study was designed to investigate the spirometric indices in patients with type 2 diabetes referred to the outpatient clinic of Imam Hussein hospital in Shahroud, Iran. Method: This comparative study included 50 patients with type 2 diabetes and 50 non-diabetic subjects who were matched in terms of weight, age, and sex, and were referred to the Diabetes clinic of Imam Hussein hospital in Shahroud, Iran. MIR SPIROLAB III spirometer was used for spirometric tests to obtain FEV1, FVC, PEFR, and FEF 25-75. Decrease in these indices is determinant of pulmonary complications. Indices were compared between two groups. The relationships between some variables like glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and type of their treatment with the severity of spirometric disturbances were also assessed. Result: The average age was equal to 56.3 years old (with SD of 6.3 years) and 58.3 years old (with SD of 6.3 years), respectively in non-diabetic and diabetic group. Comparison of the FEV1, FVC, PEFR, and FEF 25-75 indices between diabetic and non-diabetic groups showed a significant difference (P.V<0.05). No significant difference was found in the FEV1/FVC ratio. According to the Pearson correlation formula, there was a significant association between decreased spirometric indices and increased concentration of Hb A1C (-.630, -.635 and-.374 for FEV1, FVC, and PEFR, respectively). There was no association between decreased concentration of FEV1/FVC and increased HbA1c. Conclusion: The findings of the study revealed that, there was a significant decrease in pulmonary functions in the diabetic group. Impaired pulmonary function can be detected in early stages of diabetes and studying the pulmonary function can be easily preformed. Accordingly, screening lungs function should be carried out regularly, as well as integrating in other routine examinations and screening tests. &nbsp

Assessment of Spirometric Indices in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Imam Hussein Hospital, Shahroud, Iran (2016-2017)

Background: Diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent metabolic disorder. Previous related studies have shown that, lungs are target organs in diabetic micro-angiopathy. The present study was designed to investigate the spirometric indices in patients with type 2 diabetes referred to the outpatient clinic of Imam Hussein hospital in Shahroud, Iran. Method: This comparative study included 50 patients with type 2 diabetes and 50 non-diabetic subjects who were matched in terms of weight, age, and sex, and were referred to the Diabetes clinic of Imam Hussein hospital in Shahroud, Iran. MIR SPIROLAB III spirometer was used for spirometric tests to obtain FEV1, FVC, PEFR, and FEF 25-75. Decrease in these indices is determinant of pulmonary complications. Indices were compared between two groups. The relationships between some variables like glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and type of their treatment with the severity of spirometric disturbances were also assessed. Result: The average age was equal to 56.3 years old (with SD of 6.3 years) and 58.3 years old (with SD of 6.3 years), respectively in non-diabetic and diabetic group. Comparison of the FEV1, FVC, PEFR, and FEF 25-75 indices between diabetic and non-diabetic groups showed a significant difference (P.V<0.05). No significant difference was found in the FEV1/FVC ratio. According to the Pearson correlation formula, there was a significant association between decreased spirometric indices and increased concentration of Hb A1C (-.630, -.635 and-.374 for FEV1, FVC, and PEFR, respectively). There was no association between decreased concentration of FEV1/FVC and increased HbA1c. Conclusion: The findings of the study revealed that, there was a significant decrease in pulmonary functions in the diabetic group. Impaired pulmonary function can be detected in early stages of diabetes and studying the pulmonary function can be easily preformed. Accordingly, screening lungs function should be carried out regularly, as well as integrating in other routine examinations and screening tests. &nbsp

Evaluation of the Incidence of Psychiatric Disorders in Dialysis Patients: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Psychiatric problems are an important concern in chronic illness such as chronic kidney disease. Knowing the frequency of psychiatric disorders may be helpful for improving quality of life in dialysis patients. This study was performed to evaluate psychiatric disorders in patients with chronic renal failure under treatment with dialysis from February 2013 to February 2014 in Shahroud, Iran.Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive comparative study, 98 dialysis patients were enrolled and psychiatric disorders were determined by SCL-90-R questionnaire.Results: The results demonstrated that 33 patients (33.7%) had psychiatric disorders, of which 18 patients had major depressive disorder, six had anxiety disorders, six had psychotic disorders and one case having paranoid thoughts, one patient had obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and one patient had phobia disorder.Conclusions: Totally, according to the obtained results in this study it may be concluded that nearly one-third of dialysis patients have psychiatric disorders, with most of these being major depressive disorder

Evaluation of the Incidence of Psychiatric Disorders in Dialysis Patients: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Psychiatric problems are an important concern in chronic illness such as chronic kidney disease. Knowing the frequency of psychiatric disorders may be helpful for improving quality of life in dialysis patients. This study was performed to evaluate psychiatric disorders in patients with chronic renal failure under treatment with dialysis from February 2013 to February 2014 in Shahroud, Iran.Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive comparative study, 98 dialysis patients were enrolled and psychiatric disorders were determined by SCL-90-R questionnaire.Results: The results demonstrated that 33 patients (33.7%) had psychiatric disorders, of which 18 patients had major depressive disorder, six had anxiety disorders, six had psychotic disorders and one case having paranoid thoughts, one patient had obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and one patient had phobia disorder.Conclusions: Totally, according to the obtained results in this study it may be concluded that nearly one-third of dialysis patients have psychiatric disorders, with most of these being major depressive disorder

MRI-based porosity index (PI) and suppression ratio (SR) in the tibial cortex show significant differences between normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic female subjects

IntroductionUltrashort echo time (UTE) MRI enables quantitative assessment of cortical bone. The signal ratio in dual-echo UTE imaging, known as porosity index (PI), as well as the signal ratio between UTE and inversion recovery UTE (IR-UTE) imaging, known as the suppression ratio (SR), are two rapid UTE-based bone evaluation techniques developed to reduce the time demand and cost in future clinical studies. The goal of this study was to investigate the performance of PI and SR in detecting bone quality differences between subjects with osteoporosis (OPo), osteopenia (OPe), and normal bone (Normal).MethodsTibial midshaft of fourteen OPe (72 ± 6 years old), thirty-one OPo (72 ± 6 years old), and thirty-seven Normal (36 ± 19 years old) subjects were scanned using dual-echo UTE and IR-UTE sequences on a clinical 3T scanner. Measured PI, SR, and bone thickness were compared between OPo, OPe, and normal bone (Normal) subjects using the Kruskal–Wallis test by ranks. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were calculated between dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) T-score and UTE-MRI results.ResultsPI was significantly higher in the OPo group compared with the Normal (24.1%) and OPe (16.3%) groups. SR was significantly higher in the OPo group compared with the Normal (41.5%) and OPe (21.8%) groups. SR differences between the OPe and Normal groups were also statistically significant (16.2%). Cortical bone was significantly thinner in the OPo group compared with the Normal (22.0%) and OPe (13.0%) groups. DEXA T-scores in subjects were significantly correlated with PI (R=-0.32), SR (R=-0.50), and bone thickness (R=0.51).DiscussionPI and SR, as rapid UTE-MRI-based techniques, may be useful tools to detect and monitor bone quality changes, in addition to bone morphology, in individuals affected by osteoporosis

Sperm DNA fragmentation: A new guideline for clinicians

Sperm DNA integrity is crucial for fertilization and development of healthy offspring. The spermatozoon undergoes extensive molecular remodeling of its nucleus during later phases of spermatogenesis, which imparts compaction and protects the genetic content. Testicular (defective maturation and abortive apoptosis) and post-testicular (oxidative stress) mechanisms are implicated in the etiology of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), which affects both natural and assisted reproduction. Several clinical and environmental factors are known to negatively impact sperm DNA integrity. An increasing number of reports emphasizes the direct relationship between sperm DNA damage and male infertility. Currently, several assays are available to assess sperm DNA damage, however, routine assessment of SDF in clinical practice is not recommended by professional organizations

Survey Effect of Peganum harmala, Thymus daenensis, Frulago angulata on wound infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A-producing in laboratory mice

Background and Aim: Burn wound is a susceptible site for incidence of resistant infections. Therefore, research for finding effective drugs against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the leading pathogen causing burn wound infection, is necessary. The current study aimed at investigating the antibacterial effect of herbs including: Daenensis thyme, Chavill (Frulago angulata), and Harmala on burn infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and then comparing the obtained results with the results of selected antibiotics on the infection. Methods and Materials: Anti-Pseudomonas activity of plants’ extractions was evaluated by well diffusion method.  The evaluation of burn wound recovery treated with Peganum harmala and daenensis thyme on burn wounds of albinos. Wound area and recovery percentage was measured. The number of neutrophils and lymphocytes, from all infected groups the sample of blood was obtained. Results: The measurement results of the zone of inhibition against Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed better consequences for Thymus daenensis. The number of colonies in the treated group with plants and ciprofloxacin showed significant differences as compared with the control group and the group treated with gentamicin. In counting the white blood cells of infected control group and gentamicin treated group, the number of white blood cells was below the normal level while the number of blood cells in groups treated with medicinal plants and ciprofloxacin were normal. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results of this study on these plant species and their positive activity on treatment of infected burn wounds, it was concluded that these plants can be considered and used as an anti-Pseudomonas

The association of interleukin-13 gene polymorphism withkala-azar patients

 Background& Objective: Host resistance towards Leishmania infection is mediated by cellular immune responses leading to macrophage activation and parasite killing. According to the important role of IL-13 in the defense against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and the known effect of the IL-13 gene polymorphisms on its production, the aim of this study was to investigate the probable relationship between IL-13 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to VL.   Materials & Methods: The patient group included 52 patients who had suffered from VL infection and the control group consisted of 104 non-relative healthy people from the same endemic areas the patients were from (southern part of Fars Province). IL-13 (position -1512 A/C) gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).   Results: There was no significant association between the frequencies of IL-13 (-1512) alleles and genotypes in the patients with VL compared to the thenormal population.   Conclusion: This study indicated that the IL-13 (position -1512 A/C) genotypes cannot be considered as a genetic susceptibility factor for leishmaniasis.

Effect of Bacillus thuringiensis parasporal toxin on stimulating of IL-2 and IL-5 cytokines production

Introduction:Bacillus thuringiensis, is a Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium that produces crystalline parasporal protein (Cry) during sporulation. Some of these Cry toxins do not show cytotoxicity against insects but they are capable to kill some human and animal cancer cells. The aim of this study was to verify whether cytocidal parasporal of B thuringiensis strains have immunostimulatory activity on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) and to evaluate the ability of IL-2 and IL-5 production. Materials and methods: B. thuringiensis toxin with cytocidal activity was isolated and treated with proteinase K. PBMNC was cultured and treated with activated crystal proteins. We evaluated the ability of different cytokines production with Flow Cytometry. Results: In this study, immune stimulatory toxins Cry1 were distinguished. This toxin can stimulate production of cytokines IL-2 and stop production of IL-5. Discussion and conclusion: According to anti-cancer effect of B. thuringiensis toxins and also immune stimulatory effect, with more research these toxins can be introduced as immunotherapy drug in cancer treatment