Assessment of serum vitamin B12 and folic acid in patients with oral Lichen Planus: a case control study

Oral Lichen Planus [OLP] is a chronic immunologic disorder with unknown etiology. Stress and anxiety are some risk factors for OLP and Vitamin B12 and folic acid have been proved to be effective mirco-nutrients for prevention of anxiety and depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate serum Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficiency in patients with OLP. Forty eight individuals [32 cases with histopathologically proven OLP and 16 healthy subjects] were recruited. Serum folic acid and Vitamin B12 were assessed for each individual. T-test was applied for data analysis. Vitamin B12 deficiency was found in 8 of 32 cases with OLP [25%] while in the control group it was found in 12.5% of the subjects [p>0.05]. Of the 32 patients with OLP, one had folic acid deficiency while none of the control subjects had such a deficiency [p>0.05]. Although Vitamin B12 deficiency in OLP patients did not show a statistically significant difference compared with healthy subjects, it was approximately twice as much as the control group. And it can be suggested that Vitamin B12 may have some effective roles in OLP pathogenesis while folic acid deficiency cannot be considered as a prominent risk factor in OLP. More studies are needed to prove such relation

Approach of cutaneous leishmaniasis in rodents of the rural areas of Damghan, Iran

[Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis] is a parasitic infection, which is caused by protozoa of genus [Leishmania] and usually has a reservoir of family [Jerbilineae]. There are reports of infection from different areas of Iran annually. Damghan, a township of Semnan province of Iran, is one of the endemic foci of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and it had an epidemy of this infection in 1999. Because existing Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in reservoirs can affect the probablity of human infection and can influcnce the [Preventive and Control Programms], a descriptive study was design to determine the [Cutaneous Leishmaniasis] in rodents of the rural areas of Damghan, Iran between years 2001-2002. This research was a descriptive study, done in 12 chosen villages of Damghan township. Installing hunting net randomly in different places of study area trapped the rodents. After anaesthetizing and writing all the external characteristics, impression smears were prepared from ears and the other suspicious parts of the rodents' bodies. These smears were stained with Giemsa's stain and examined microscopically for the presence of Leishman bodies. The Observation data was recorded in special charts and analyzed statistically. In this study the total number of 310 rodents belonging to 4 Species were hunted in which 250 of them had [Cutaneous Leishmaniasis]. [80.6%]. There was no signifcant difference between the rate of infected rodents in [areas having human disease reports] and [areas without it]. The major genus and species of the trapped rodents was [Nesokia indicant] which also showed the maximum rate of infection [83%].The maximum rate of infected rodents was observed in spring season [83.9%] and Western areas [86%]; and the minimum rate was in summer [73.2%] and Southern areas of the study [68%].The results indicated that prevalence rate of [Cutaneous Leishmaniasis] was extremely high in the rodents of the rural areas of Damghan township. High number of these rodents and their proximity to the houses and work places of people, may lead to exist [Cutaneous Leishmaniasis] for the following years even in [human epidemy form] and so there is a special need for designing [Comprehensive Control Programs]