Influence of sexually transmitted infections on the cervical cytological abnormalities among Iranian women: A cross-sectional study

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one of the world’s most severe health challenges. The existence of STIs such as human papillomavirus (HPV) might cause cervical cell changes leading to cervical cancer. Objective: This study aims to assess the association of STIs with cervical cytological abnormalities and genital warts among women in northeastern Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 190 women referred to the central laboratory of Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research, Mashhad, Iran from March to July 2022. The presence of genital infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Herpes simplex viruses (1 and 2) were assessed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. HPV genital infection was detected based on the principles of reverse hybridization, and cellular changes in the cervix were examined by the liquid-based cytology technique. Results: The mean age of participants was 35.33 ± 8.9 yr. 34 different HPV genotypes were detected in all HPV-positive cases, and the most common genotype was low-risk HPV6. No significant association was found between STIs and cervical cytology abnormalities. The prevalence rates of sexually transmitted pathogens among HPV-positive and HPV-negative individuals were 10.9 and 1.6%, respectively. The frequency of genital warts was significantly higher in cases with multiple infections of high- and low-risk HPV genotypes. Conclusion: High percentages of the participants with non-HPV STIs and HPV infection had normal cervical cytology. It is advised to use STIs and HPV diagnostic tests along with cytology examinations for cervical cancer screening. Key words: Sexually transmitted infections, Human papillomavirus, Cervical cancer, Genital wart, Genotypes

Serum anti-hsp27 antibodies concentration in diabetes mellitus; population based case-control study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Different biomarkers have been investigated for the diagnosis of diabetes pathogenesis or its complications. There are also reports regarding an increased level of anti-HSP27 antibodies in atherogenesis. We aimed to evaluate serum anti-heat shock protein 27 antibodies level in subjects with diabetes mellitus and undiagnosed individuals.  Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 6447 MASHAD study subjects, including four groups with diabetes mellitus (n=610), undiagnosed diabetes (n=162), impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (n=619) and normal (n=5056) subjects. Demographic and anthropometric data were obtained from all participants. Fasting serum glucose (FSG) and other parameters were measured. In-house enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay method was used for measuring Anti-HSP27 antibodies levels. Results: There were significant differences in weight (p=0.034), body mass index, waist, and hip circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, lipid profile and high sensitive- C reactive protein (p<0.001) between four groups of diabetes mellitus, undiagnosed diabetes, impaired fasting glucose, and normal subjects. The serum anti-HSP27 antibody titer did not show a significant difference between studied groups. Conclusion: Serum antibody titers to HSP27 were not significantly different between four groups categorized based on their FSG levels in a large population

Changes in the Epidemiology of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Northeastern Iran.

The province of Khorasan-Razavi in the North East of Iran is an endemic area for anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL caused mainly by Leishmania tropica) and zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL caused mainly by Leishmania major). Based on clinical signs, some cities were considered as ACL foci while others were considered to be endemic for ZCL. This paper reviews studies performed on patients diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) via the use of direct slide examination, ELISA, electrophoresis isoenzyme, RAPD PCR and PCR in Mashhad; the study also includes cases of CL in other cities of the Khorasan-Razavi province where only PCR used as a diagnostic tool. The data show that both Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major caused CL in most of the cities investigated. Our review shows that Leishmania major was found in areas where ACL is prevalent and Leishmania tropica was observed in areas with high incidence of ZCL. This distribution represents a major change in the epidemiological pattern of Leishmania in the Khorasan-Razavi province

Factors Associated with The Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease in The Mashad: A Cohort Study

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and specifically in Iran. Accurate assessments of Coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence is very necessary for public health. In current study we aimed to investigate the incidence of CHD and importance of several classical, modifiable and un-modifiable risk factors for CHD among an urban population in eastern Iran after 6 years of follow-up. Methods The population of MASHAD cohort study were followed up for 6 years, every 3 years in two step by phone and who reported symptoms of CVD were asked to attend for a cardiac examination, to estimate the incidence of CHD with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as well multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of several baseline characteristics with incidence of CHD event. Evaluation of goodness-of-fit was done using ROC analysis. CHD cases divided into four different classes which include: stable angina, unstable angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. Results In the six years\u27 follow-up of Mashhad study, the incidence rate of all CHD event in men and women in 100,000 people-years with 95% confidence intervals were 1920 (810-3030) and 1160 (730-1590), respectively. The areas under ROC curve (AUC), based on multivariate predictors of CHD outcome, was 0.7825. Conclusion Our findings indicated that the incidence rate of coronary heart diseases in MASHAD cohort study increases with age as well as our final model designed, was able to predict approximately 78% of CHD events in Iranian population

Association of Paraoxonase-1 Genotype and Phenotype with Angiogram Positive Coronary Artery Disease

Funding Information: This study was supported by Mashhad and Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The authors would like to thank technicians of Sina, Sadi, Ghaem catheterization laboratory and technicians of Isfahan Alzahra genetics laboratory.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Association between diabetes mellitus and rs2868371; a polymorphism of HSPB1

Introduction: Diabetes (DM) is a type of metabolic disorder that its types are generated by collectingof genetic and environmental risk agents. Here, the association between HSPB1 polymorphism as a genetic risk factor and DM was investigated. Methods: Total 690 participants from MASHAD cohort study population were recruited into the study.Anti-HSP27-level was assessed followed by genotyping using Taqman®-probes-based assay. Anthropometric, demographic and hematological/biochemical characteristics were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier curves were utilized, while logistic regression models were used to assess the association of the genetic variant with clinical characteristics of population. Results: Finds was shown there are meaningful differences among groups of age, height, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, FBG,TG, HDL-C, and hs-CRP, and was no big -significant difference between theexists in different HSP27 SNP in the two studied groups (with and without DM), also was no remarkable relation between genetic forms of HSPB1and T2DM. This investigation was the first research that analyzed the relationship between the genetic type of the HSPB1 gene (rs2868371) and Type 2 diabetes (DM2). In our population, the CC genotype (68.1%) had a higher prevalence versus GC (26.6%) and GG (5.3%) genotypes and the data shown that no genetic difference of HSPB1 gene polymorphism (rs2868371) was related with DM2. Conclusion: HSPB1 polymorphism, rs2868371, was not associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus

A retrospective study of cutaneous fungal infections in patients referred to Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran during 2000-2011

Background and Purpose: Detection of agents responsible for cutaneous mycosis may be effective in the prevention of fungal infections from environmental and animal sources. With this background in mind, in this study, we aimed to identify the distribution of cutaneous mycotic infections in patients referred to Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran during 2000- 2011. Materials and Methods: In total, 8694 patients suspected of superficial and cutaneous mycosis, referred to the Medical Mycology Laboratory of Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran, were recruited during March 2000-2011 and were examined in terms of fungal infections. Results: Of 8694 suspected patients, 3804 (43.75%) cases suffered from superficial and cutaneous mycosis. In total, 1936 (50.9%) patients were male, and 1868 (49.1%) were female. Malassezia infections (58.1%), dermatophytosis (33.1%), cutaneous candidiasis (6.8%), aspergillosis (1.6%), and saprophytic cutaneous mycosis (0.4%) were the most common infections. Conclusion: In this study, Malassezia infections were the most common superficial and cutaneous mycoses. Therefore, it seems essential to focus on the prevention of these infections in our society

Evaluation of Morphological and Mitochondrial Alterations of Mouse Fetus after Exposure to Methyl tert-butyl Ether: Effect of MTBE on Fetus Mouse

Although the biokinetics, metabolism, and chemical toxicity of methyl tert-butyl ether are well known, little attention was paid to the potential toxic effects of MTBE on reproduction and development in mammals. To evaluate the effects of MTBE on pregnant animals, two groups (control and test) of NMRI mice were chosen. In test group 500 and 1000 mg/Kg of it were administered intraperitonealy at 11 days of gestation and in control group no injection was made. Caesarean section was performed at 15 days of the gestation, and the fetus and placentas were examined externally. Based on our morphological results, MTBE caused significant increase (p < 0.05) in the weight of fetuses and the weight of placentas, the diameter of placentas and crown-rump length of fetuses. Also, our mitochondrial results showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in mitochondrial swelling, ROS formation and also significant (p < 0.05) decreased in MMP on mitochondria isolated from liver and brain in test group. These results suggest that MTBE through ROS formation may induce the mitochondrial dysfunction which in turn leads to inhibition of angiogenesis and morphological alterations in fetus of mouse

Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 and risk of cardiovascular disease: High‐density lipoprotein dysfunction versus serum HDL‐C concentrations

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is thought to be protective against cardiovascular disease (CVD), and HDL dysfunction is considered to be a risk factor for CVD. It is unclear whether there is an association between Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV1) infection and CVD risk. We have assessed HDL lipid peroxidation (HDLox) as a marker of HDL dysfunction and CVD risk in a subgroup of the MASHAD cohort study. One hundred and sixty two individuals including 50 subjects positive for HTLV1 infection and 112 individuals negative for HTLV1 infection were recruited. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters including serum hs-CRP, fasted lipid profile (HDL-C, LDL, triglycerides, and cholesterol), and fasting blood glucose were determined. Serum HDLox was also measured in the study participants. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the association between serum HDLox and HTLV1 infection. None of the traditional CVD risk factors were associated with HTLV1 infection, including serum HDL-C. However, serum HDLox was independently associated with the presence of HTLV1 infection. Logistic regression analysis showed that subjects who were positive for HTLV1 infection were also significantly more likely than uninfected individuals to have higher HDLox (odds ratio 9.35, 95%CI: 3.5-24.7; P < 0.001). HDLox was increased approximately 20% (P < 0.001) in infected subjects compared to the uninfected group. Serum HDLox is a marker of CVD risk factor and increased in individuals affected by HTLV1 infection compared to healthy subjects. © 2019 BioFactors, 45(3):374-380, 2019

The association between a variant of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A/B gene and risk of cardiovascular disease

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Despite progress being made in the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs, one third of deaths are due to CVDs. We have investigated the association between the rs1333049 polymorphism of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A/B (CDKN2A/B) gene with CVD outcomes in a population sample recruited as part of the Mashhad-Stroke and Heart-Atherosclerotic-Disorders (MASHAD) cohort. Methods and results Five hundred and nine individuals who had a median follow-up period of 10 years were recruited as part of the MASHAD cohort. Anthropometric, and biochemical parameters were assessed followed by genotyping using TaqMan-real-time-PCR based method. Our data showed that carriers of the GG genotype were significantly more likely to develop CVD, compared to those with a CC or CG genotypes (OR: 4.77, 95%CI: 2.62–8.68, p = 0.001). Similar result we also found in second population which were follow up for 10 years. In particular cases who had an event in recessive genetic model (CC vs CG + GG) had a higher risk of developing CVD (OR: 5.57, 95%CI: 2.80–11.06, p = 0.001). Conclusion We have found that carriers of the GG genotype of the CDKN2A/B gene locus were at increased risk of CVD in a representative population-based cohort, indicating further functional analysis to explore the value of emerging marker as a risk stratification biomarker to identify high risk cases