The Relationship between Prostate Cancer and Metformin Consumption: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis study.

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is the most common malignant cancer in men worldwide and after lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between prostate cancer and metformin consumption in men. METHOD: The current study is a systematic and meta-analysis review based on the PRISMA statement. To access the studies of domestic and foreign databases, Iran Medex, SID, Magiran, Iran Doc, Medlib, ProQuest, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and the Google Scholar search engine were searched during the 2009-2018 period for related keywords. In order to evaluate the heterogeneity of the studies, Q test and I2 indicator were used. The data were analyzed using the STATA 15.1 software. RESULTS: In 11 studies with a sample size of 877058, the odds ratio of metformin consumption for reducing prostate cancer was estimated 0.89 (95%CI: 0.67-1.17). Meta-regression also showed there was no significant relationship between the odds ratio and the publication year of the study. However, there was a significant relationship between the odds ratio and the number of research samples. CONCLUSION: Using metformin in men reduces the risk of prostate cancer but it is not statistically significant

Production of a Human Recombinant Polyclonal Fab Antivenom against Iranian Viper Echis carinatus

Venomous snakebite is a life-threatening injury in many tropical and subtropical areas including Iran. The gold standard treatment option for human envenomation is the use of antivenoms. Despite the unique effects of horse-derived antivenoms on the treatment of snakebite, they are not fully perfect and need improvements. In this study, human recombinant Fab fragment antivenom was produced in Rosetta-g bacterium using a gene library constructed in the previous study. The prepared Fab was purified in several steps, desalted, and lipopolysaccharide-depleted using ammonium sulfate solution and dialysis against phosphate buffer and Triton X-114 solution, respectively. Subsequently, the product was initially confirmed by the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Finally, the neutralization potency of the product was investigated in laboratory Syrian Mice. The obtained results showed corresponding reduced bands to Fab fragment with the molecular weight of about 28 kDa at a concentration of 3.1 mg/ml. There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of ELISA test (

Trametes versicolor carboxylate reductase uncovered

ABSTRACT: The first carboxylate reductase from Trametes versicolor was identified, cloned, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme reduces aromatic acids such as benzoic acid and derivatives, cinnamic acid, and 3-phenylpropanoic acid, but also aliphatic acids such as octanoic acid are reduced. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text

Prevalence of Hypertension in Renal Diseases in Iran: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Hypertension is a risk factor for renal disease. Therefore, this study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients in Iran through meta-analysis. Methods: The search was carried out using authentic Persian and English keywords in national and international databases including IranMedex, SID, Magiran, IranDoc, Medlib, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, and Google Scholar search engine without any time limitation until 2017. Heterogeneity of studies was assessed using the I (2) index. Data were analyzed using STATA ver 11. Results: In 35 reviewed studies with a sample of 39,621 subjects, the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients was 35 (95 CI: 29-41) (25 in women and 18 in men). The prevalence of systolic hypertension in renal patients was 5, diastolic hypertension 26, and diabetes 23. The prevalence of hypertension in hemodialysis patients was 34, 27 in peritoneal dialysis, 43 in kidney transplantation, and 26 in chronic renal failure. In addition, meta-regression showed that the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients did not significantly decrease during the years 1988-2017. Conclusions: More than a third of kidney patients in Iran suffer from high blood pressure. The diastolic blood pressure of these patients is about five times higher than their systolic blood pressure. Moreover, the age group under 30 is a high-risk group. The prevalence of hypertension in women with kidney disease is higher than in men. In addition, patients who have kidney transplants are more likely to have high blood pressure than other kidney patients

Prediction of myocardial infarction using Weibull accelerated failure time model: A population based study

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases rank first among causes of death in Iran and most other countries. Determination of the risk factors of these diseases and their importance in the incidence of myocardial infarction is very important in formulating preventive programs for these diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between the risk factors of heart diseases and the time to event for myocardial Infarction using the Weibull model. Materials and Methods: In the TGLS study, 5183 men and women, aged over 30 years, without cardiovascular disease from the East of Tehran were studied. Data were analyzed using Weibull distribution and Cox proportional hazard models. Results: During 6.5 years of follow up, a total of 83 new cases of MI (53 men and 30 women) accured. Cumulative incidence of MI was 0.0025. The Weibull multivariate regression model, showed significant relationships between FBS, sex, SBP and smoking and MI Wiebull regression models, showed that FBS levels over 126 mg/dl, adjusted for age, sex, LDL, SBP, DBP, HDL and TG, decrease time to MI by 2.87 compared to normal persons. Conclusion: Variables of FBS, age, sex, LDL, SBP, DBP, HDL, TG, and smoking are the most important predictive factors of Myocardial Infarction

Psychometric validation of the Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Test –Adolescents (SKAT-A) in an Iranian sample

A rise in sexually transmitted diseases and liberalization of sexual attitudes has encouraged several Islamic countries to actively pursue sexual education programs. Support for this effort requires psychometrically sound instruments that can be used to assess sexual attitudes and obtain a richer understanding of the relations between attitudes and behavior. To address this knowledge gap, we translated the Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Test—Adolescents (SKAT-A) from English to Farsi. We then examined the instrument’s factorial structure and criterion validity using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) with a sample of adolescent and young adult Iranians. A six-factor model fit well including constructs assessing premarital sexuality, masturbation, homosexuality, pornography, abortion, and sexual coercion. All scales had adequate internal consistencies ranging from .66 to .85. There was sufficient evidence supporting several different forms of measurement equivalence based on gender, age and religious participation. Associations between sexual attitudes and markers of sexual activity were moderate and in the expected directions. Total replication of the U.S. factor structure was not obtained, however, there is evidence that core constructs in the instrument assessing sexual attitudes are suitable for use in a wide range of cultures, even those predicated on a strong religious beliefs system

Hormone Replacement Therapy and Postmenopausal Cardiovascular Events: A Meta-Analysis

Context: Hormonereplacement therapy (HRT) is widely used to control postmenopausal symptoms. This therapy is also used to prevent diseases such as osteoporosis and dementia. However, clinical trials suggest some negative effects regarding postmenopausal HRT. This study evaluates the effects of HRT on postmenopausal cardiovascular events. Evidence Acquisition: We collected data from 32 articles by using valid keywords and searching databases of PubMed, Medlib, ScienceDirect, EmBase, Scopus, Index Copernicus, SID, and Iranmedex. Analysis was performed by comparing three groups of postmenopausal women: combined hormone therapy (estrogen + progesterone), estrogen alone treated group, and placebo-receiving group (control group). Data were analyzed using the random effect model meta-analysis by using R software and Stata software Version 11.2. Results: Of the collected 32 studies between 1998 and 2016, there were 1277686 subjects with an average age of 60.6 years. The prevalence of myocardial infarction were (2.64), coronary heart disease (1.7), stroke (254), cardiovascular death (1.54), revascularization (3.26 ), and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) (2.78) in the combined hormone therapy group. Also, in the estrogen-treated group were 2.95, 3.41, 2.49, 2.8, - , 3.14, respectively. In the placebo-receiving group these events were 2.09, 2.73, 2.9, 2.25, 4.96, and 11.92, respectively. The results showed that estrogen therapy could increase the incidence of stroke. Moreover, HRT could have positive effects on the serum lipid profile in postmenopausal women. Conclusion: Postmenopausal HRT appears to be non-effective on coronary artery disease, revascularization, myocardial infarction, and cardiac-related deaths; however, it could play a role in increasing the stroke rate

Surveying the relationship between Gly1057Asp polymorphism of IRS-2 gene and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes; a systematic review and meta-analysis study

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a multi-factorial disease in which influenced by several genetic and environmental factors. Insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS 2) is the main mediator of insulin in the liver which controls insulin sensitivity. Gly1057Asp polymorphism is one of the candidates to increase risk of T2DM. The present study is an attempt to study the relationship of Gly1057Asp polymorphism of IRS-2 and T2DM by a meta-analysis. A systemic search was conducted in English and Persian databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, and other academic databases for studies that have investigated the relationship of Gly1057Asp polymorphism of IRS-2 and T2DM. This association was determined using odds ratios (ORs) with a confidence interval of 95 (CIs). Heterogeneity of the studies was examined by I' index. Funnel plots and Egger tests were used to determine bias or publication bias. The collected data was analyzed in STATA through meta-analysis. Nine articles were selected as eligible for further analysis, which represented 3,196 patients with T2DM and 3409 controls subjects without T2DM. The present meta-analysis showed a significant relationship between GA genotype of Gly1057Asp polymorphism and T2DM (OR=0.88; 95 confidence interval, 0.79-0.98), whereas no significant relationship between GG and AA genotype with T2DM was seen; OR for GG and AA genotypes were 1.10 (95 CI, 0.99 -1.22) and 1.13 (95 CI, 0.95- 1.33), respectively. The results of our study show that genotype GA of Gly1057Asp polymorphism of IRS-2 gene plays a protective role and may decrease the risk of T2DM, whereas GG and AA genotypes are considered as a risk factor and related to development of T2DM to some extents

Prevalence of total cholesterol in Iran: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and purpose: Coronary heart disease is one of the most common reasons for mortality in many countries. High lipid levels such as high total cholesterol are recognized as the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Various studies investigated the prevalence of dyslipidemia in Iran, so, in current study we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all studies assessing the prevalence of dyslipidemia in Iran. Materials and methods: The search was conducted using different databases such as Pubmed, SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, Irandoc, Medlib, and Google Scholar. The search keywords and terms included total cholesterol, prevalence, meta-analysis, and Iran. Finally 41 articles that were published during 1998- 2011 were selected. Assigning weights to the studies was done based on number of samples and the prevalence was investigated using binomial distribution. Data was analyzed applying random effects model in STATA (version 10) and R software. Also, publication bias was assessed by funnel plot. Results: Total number of samples in selected articles were 205913. Prevalence of total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dl was 38 (CI95 = 30-46) which was 41 in male and 43 in female. The prevalence of cholesterol ≥ 240 mg/dl (CI95) was 17 (15-19); 15 in male and 18 in female. This prevalence was seen in both urban (18) and rural (23) areas. Conclusion: Precise information and knowledge on prevalence of lipid profile disorders could help clinicians and policy makers to plan for suitable interventional programs that decrease the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. © 2015, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved