The Effect of Silymarin on Serum Concentration of Soluble Apoptosis Markers in β-Thalassemia Major Patients Receiving Desferrioxamine

ABSTRACT Background: Despite appropriate chelation therapy with desferrioxamine, iron deposition in visceral organs causes tissue damage in thalassemia major patients. Excess iron can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that may lead to cell death and apoptosis. Therefore, antioxidants such as plant flavonoids can be an effective treatment to reduce ROS in thalassemia patients. Aims: In this study, we aimed to investigate the serum levels of apoptosis markers in βthalassemia major patients treated with silymarin and ..

Study of reasons for extraction of permanent teeth in Shiraz 2012-2013

Introduction and Aims: Tooth extraction done for any reasons has negative effect on humans psychological aspect .more ever extraction cause disorder in mastication, atheistic and speaking. The aim of this research is to study the relation frequency of extracting permanent with the reasons of it in dental clinics and Shiraz dental school in 1392 in Shiraz.Methods: This cross-sectional study has targeted 800 patients whose 2110 teeth were removed using simple sampling method among those referred to dental clinics in Shiraz. Information such as gender, age, educational level, the main cause of the tooth removal (Tooth decay, periodontal disease, prostheses, orthodontics, and also patient’s desire to do so) and type of tooth were collected. Data analysis was performed using SPSS18 software and used chi-square test and logistic regression.Results: Caries (25%), a combination of decay and periodontal problems (19.8 %), Patient’s request (11.2%) were the most common causes of tooth removal. Chi-square test showed no significant correlation between the tooth and Gender (p=0.358χ2=11.72 ). Chi-square test showed a statically significant correlation between patients’ level of education and the tooth extraction.Conclusion: Based on the results, most of the teeth were extracted due to decay and a combination of decay and periodontal problems or patients’ request considering the fact that they could be preserved which shows the need for increasing preventive programs and further periodic examination.*Corresponding author: PhD Student of Shiraz Dental Professional, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.Email: [email protected]

Investigation of Drug-resistance substitutions in HIV-1 RT Protein in Iranian HIV Infected Patients

Abstract: Background:Currently, more than 37 million people are living with human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Reverse transcription (RT) is a main part in the life cycle of retroviruses which is   responsible for synthesis of DNA complementary to an RNA or DNA template.  Recently several inhibitors have been introduced to target RT protein; however, drug resistance is one of the greatest challenges in the improvement of effective treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Here, we determined the resistance mutations in the RT gene in treatment failure patients and searched for the dominant subtype among them.  Methods:HIV viral load and a reverse transcriptase nested polymerase chain (RT-nested PCR) reactions were performed in 15 patients with treatment failure to amplify the RT gene. Drug resistance mutations, as well as the viral subtypes, were analyzed using by using several bioinformatics software and online tools. Results: The frequency of RT related drug-resistance mutations in patients was 33.3%, among which the major mutation consisted of 20% of all those occurring in codon 184. Moreover, the results showed 6.6% and 26.6% of patients were resistant to Non-Nucleoside RT Inhibitor (NNRTIs) and Nucleoside RT Inhibitors (NRTIs), respectively. In addition, the vast majority of samples (12 patients of 15) belonged to subtype CRF35-AD.Conclusions:The present study reports updates on the mutations related to RT resistance in Iranian HIV patients receiving treatment, show that 20% of the samples had a high-level of resistance to Lamivudine, and Emtricitabine which should be confirmed for further antiretroviral (AVR) regimens for HIV infected patients. Also, two new mutations related to resistance to Nevirapine, Doravirine, Zidovudine, and Stavudine were introduced in this investigation.The present results could be used as predictive information on the response to anti-RT, and also highlight the importance of considering the periodic monitoring of HIV resistance test in HIV infected patients