A Single Center Survey of Patients With Congenital Neutropenia: Report From Northwestern Iran

Neutropenia is characterized by a decrease in circulating neutrophil counts and consequent infections.  The present study was performed so as to describe the clinical and laboratory findings of patients with congenital neutropenia in northwestern Iran. The patients' records of 31 patients with congenital neutropenia out of 280 neutropenic patients who had been referred to Tabriz Children's Hospital during a 3-year period (2011-2014), were reviewed. Thirty-one cases (17 female and 14 male), with a mean age of 5.3 ± 5.7 years, were diagnosed to suffer from congenital neutropenia. The disorders associated with congenital neutropenia were combined immunodeficiency (8 cases), severe congenital neutropenia (6 cases), common variable immunodeficiency (4 cases), severe combined immunodeficiency (2 cases) and metabolic syndrome (1 case). The median age of the onset of disease was 26.2 ± 60.8 months. The most common clinical manifestations during the course of illness were otitis media (13 cases), pneumonia (12 cases), recurrent aphthous stomatitis, lymphadenopathy and gingivitis (11 cases). Four neutropenic patients died because of recurrent infections. Neutropenia may occur in the context of the primary immunodeficiency disorders. Unusual, persistent or severe infections always pose a speculation to search for an underlying immunodeficiency syndrome and neutropenia, so as to avoid further life-threatening complications as a result of any delay in diagnosis

The Effect of UV Light on Increasing the Arsenate Resistance of Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans

Introduction: Mutations are the most popular way to increase the efficiency of mineral waste bioleaching. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans are used as an important microorganism in biohydrometallurgy. Arsenate is one of the toxic elements in mines, which reduces the efficiency of A. ferrooxidans leaching. The purpose of this research was to increase the resistance of A. ferrooxidans to high concentrations of arsenate. Materials and Methods: This research was an analytical – descriptive study. The studied population was isolated A. ferrooxidans bacterium from the Sarcheshmeh copper mine in Kerman. The highest tolerable concentration of arsenate was determined by successive cultures of this bacterium at increasing concentrations of arsenate. The bacteria were exposed to UV radiation at different times and then cultured in higher concentrations of arsenate. Results: The results showed that the wild strain was able to grow in the medium containing 20 mM of arsenate. With adaptation, this bacterial strain could grow in medium containing increasing concentrations (40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140 mM) of arsenate. When the bacterium was exposed to UV ray for 60 minutes, it was able to grow at a concentration of 120 mM of arsenate. Conclusion: The results indicated a very good effect of UV ray on increasing the arsenate resistance of A. ferrooxidans. It is suggested that this modified strain can be used in real environments for bioleaching

The pattern and risk factors associated with adverse drug reactions induced by Reteplase in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction: The first report from Iranian population

Objective: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the main leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Reteplase is a fibrin-specific thrombolytic which is used in the treatment of AMI. There is a limited number of studies reporting the postmarketing adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by reteplase. This study was aimed to examine the reteplase pattern of ADR and its associated risk factors in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Methods: A cross-sectional, prospective study in an 8-month period was done at the University affiliated referral cardiovascular center. The Naranjo probability scale and World Health Organization criteria for severity of ADRs were used for assessing the ADRs. The linear regression and logistic regression tests were used to evaluate the correlation between ADRs and risk factors. Findings: The all 20 patients who received reteplase during the study period were entered. The majority of patients (n = 17) experienced at least one ADR. The results showed that the incidence of ADRs was mainly associated with gender and age, and the number of ADRs was associated with the history of diabetes and taking anti-diabetic agents. The gender was the main predictor in the occurrence of ADRs (odds ratio: 32, 95% confidence interval: 1.38–737.45; P = 0.030). Conclusion: The results showed that gender, age, diabetes mellitus, and using of anti-diabetes medications are the risk factors associated with the incidence of ADRs by reteplase