Comparison of Thymus vulgaris (Thyme), Achillea millefolium (Yarrow) and propolis hydroalcoholic extracts versus systemic glucantime in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in balb/c mice

Background & objectives: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by sand flies. Many investigations are performed to find an effective and safe treatment for leishmaniasis. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of herbal extracts of Thymus vulgaris (Thyme) and Achillea millefolium (Yarrow), propolis hydroalcoholic extract and systemic glucantime against cutaneous leishmaniasis in Balb/c mice. Methods: A total of 45 mice were randomised into five groups each including nine mice. They were treated with pure ethanol 70°, systemic glucantime, Achillea millefolium hydroalcoholic extract, Thymus vulgaris hydroalcoholic extract and propolis hydroalcoholic extract for six weeks. The statistical tests including student t-test were used for analysis. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, ver 13.00. Results: Mean of ulcer size reduction were –17.66, –22.57, 43.29, 36.09 and 43.77% for the alcohol, glucantime, yarrow, thyme and propolis groups, respectively. The results were suggestive that Thymus vulgaris, Achillea millefolium and propolis hydroalcoholic extracts were significantly more effective in reduction of ulcer size as compared with glucantime (p = 0.006, 0.002 and 0.008, respectively). Interpretation & conclusion: Our results are suggestive that Thymus vulgaris, Achillea millefolium and propolis extracts are effective for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice. Regarding these results, we suggest that efficacy of these extracts alone or in combination are evaluated against human cutaneous leishmaniasis as a randomized clinical trial

A comparative study of long interspersed element-1 protein immunoreactivity in cutaneous malignancies

Background: Skin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and commonly classified into malignant melanoma (MM) and Nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs), which mainly include basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The extent to which Long Interspersed Element-1 (LINE-1, L1) ORF1p is expressed in cutaneous malignancies remains to be evaluated. This study aimed to assess LINE-1 ORF1p immunoreactivity in various skin cancer subtypes. Method: The expression level of LINE-1 ORF1p was evaluated in 95 skin cancer specimens comprising 36 (37.9) BCC, 28 (29.5) SCC, and 31 (32.6) melanoma using the tissue microarray (TMA) technique. Then the association between expression of LINE-1 encoded protein and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Results: We showed that LINE-1 ORF1p expression level was substantially higher in BCC and SCC patients compared with melanoma samples (p 0.05). Conclusions: According to our observation, LINE-1 ORF1p immunoreactivity in various skin tumor subtypes extends previous studies of LINE-1 expression in different cancers. LINE-1ORF1p overexpression in NMSCs compared with MM can be considered with caution as a tumor-specific antigen for NMSCs. © 2020 The Author(s)

Detectability of Her2 positive tumors using monoclonal antibody conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles in MRI

Detecting an imaging signal from a small number of cells is vital when a disease needs to be diagnosed in an early stage of development. Molecular and genetic information from cancer cell types provide a guide for specific imaging based on gene expression and their activities on the cell membrane. Various physical and biological parameters affect the capability of an imaging system to provide an efficient procedure for biomarker imaging. Iron oxide based magnetic nanoparticles conjugated to breast cancer monoclonal antibody (Her2) were used as a specific contrast agent for detection of the tumor cells in nude mice models. All processes for the nanoparticle synthesis, antibody development, and conjugation strategies were designed and evaluated in the current work. The final engineered product was found to be without precipitate containing 20 μg antibody/mg magnetic nanoparticles at 10 mg Fe/ml solution. This contrast agent has a high affinity for the BT474 breast cancer cells. MRI images of nude mice bearing tumor cells confirm this specific biomarker based imaging protocol. Copyright © 2011 American Scientific Publishers

Distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups in patients with keratoconus: A case-control study

Association of keratoconus (KC) with genetic predisposition and environmental factors has been well documented. However, no single study has investigated the possible relationship between ABO and Rh blood groups and KC.Methods:A case-control study was designed in a university hospital enrolling 214 patients with KC in the case group and equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy subjects in the control group. Primary characteristics, ABO blood group, and Rh factors were compared between the two groups. Topographic findings of KC eyes and the severity of the diseases were investigated according to the distribution of the blood groups.Results:Blood group O and Rh+ phenotype were most frequent in both groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of ABO blood groups or Rh factors. Mean keratometery (K), central corneal thickness, thinnest corneal thickness, flat K, steep K, sphere and cylinder, spherical equivalent, and uncorrected visual acuity were all similar between ABO blood groups and Rh+ and Rh- groups. However, the best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) had the highest value in AB blood group (0.35±0.22 logMAR, P0.005). Moreover, the blood group AB revealed the highest frequency for grade 3 KC, followed by grades 1, 2, and 4 (P0.003).Conclusion:We observed no significant excess of any particular blood group among KC cases compared with healthy subjects. Except BCVA, none of the keratometric or topographic findings was significantly different between blood groups. © 2015 Contact Lens Association of Opthalmologists, Inc

Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Performance of the Mothers of Children Affected by Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is one of the health problems of many tropical and subtropical regions and is endemic in many parts of Iran especially. Cutaneous leishmaniasis not only is a health problem but also is a social and cultural problem in Iran. Education about health for high risk population seems to have a critical role in prevention of leishmaniasis and therefore evaluation of knowledge, attitude and performance are of importance. For the success of prevention and control programs of any disease, the most important prerequisite is community participation. Program implementers need to understand the disease-related knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the community, because these are the important determinants of community participation. There are no data from Iran focusing on these aspects, and thus this study presents the information on KAP related to cutaneous leishmaniasis (C.L) in Iran. Methods In this study 166 mothers that had at least one child with CL were studied. Data collection was performed using questionnaires that were designed by epidemiologist and were analyzed using SPSS software. Results The mean of KAP score was 15.7 ± 1.6 (range of 11.5–19). 48 mothers (28.9%) had weak KAP, 79 mothers (47.6%) had average KAP and 39 mothers (23.5%) had excellent KAP. Conclusion According to our results, about 28.9% the mothers had inappropriate KAP score about leishmaniasis highlighting the fact that at least one third of the Isfahan population needs practical education about combating with leishamaniasis. To close the gap between the knowledge and practice of the mothers, face to face education and use of instructional aides are recommended