ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular diseases are the main causes of death in diabetic patients and lipid disorders are among the main risk factors for these diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of Conicity index [CI], body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC] and physical activity [PA] with lipid levels and to determine the best anthropometric measurement predictor of lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes. A cross sectional study was conducted on 700 patients with type 2 diabetes. Measurements including weight, height, WC, BMI, CI and PA were obtained for each subject and fasting serum triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], HDL-cholesterol [HDL-C] and LDL-cholesterol [LDL-C] were documented. Overall, 97% of men and 95% women had abnormal CI. About 84.5% of participants had BMI over 25 [kg/m2]. In addition, 55.3% of men and 88.5% of women had abdominal obesity based on WC. There was significant increases in TG, TC and LDL-C and reduction of HDL-C with increasing CI quartiles. BMI showed significant and positive correlation to LDL-C. The correlation between WC and TG and LDL/HDL were also significant. PA showed a positive and significant correlation to HDL-C and negative correlation to BMI, WC, CI, and LDL / HDL in all subjects. CI, BMI, WC and PA have significant correlations to blood lipid disorders in type 2 diabetic patients and can be used in screening and predicting the risk of lipid disorders in type 2 diabetic patients. None of the measurements however showed a stronger relationship to these disorders in patients with type 2 diabetes
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Waist Circumference , Body Mass Index , Motor Activity , Lipids , Anthropometry , Cross-Sectional StudiesABSTRACT
Brucellosis is a febrile zoonotic infection and has worldwide distribution among humans as well as animals. Although the seroprevalence of brucellosis in various animals has been described in Iran, there is only one report on equine brucellosis in the region. This study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis in racing clubs and private horse owners in the south of Iran and risk factors associated with the disease in horses. 312 randomly selected equine serum samples were investigated for the presence of antibodies against Brucella genus, using slide agglutination by Rose Bengal plate test [RBPT], serum agglutination test [SAT] and 2-mercaptoethanol [2-ME] test, using whole cell antigen. PCR assay was also used for detection of clinically suspected cases. Most seropositive horses in this study were asymptomatic. The true seroprevalence of brucellosis was found to be 9.9, 8 and 7% by RBPT, SAT and 2-mercaptoethanol tests, respectively. All horses with history of clinical signs [3.2% of all samples] had RBPT, SAT and 2-mercaptoethanol positive results. It was also revealed that age, sex and a history of contact with ruminants had no effect on acquiring the infection in positive cases. In the PCR, one of the three horses with fistula withers produced amplicon of 450 bp fragment of wbo sequences specific to Brucella spp. field strain. This study showed the seroprevalence of brucellosis in horses of Fars province and it was indicated that the PCR assay may be helpful in detection of clinically suspected horses
ABSTRACT
Much research has shown that Human Papiloma Virus [HPV] plays an important role in cervix cancer and it is the cause of 99% of cervix cancer worldwide. Lots of research has been done to find a proper method for HPV diagnosis and screening in patients with genital warts. This study aimed at comparing PCR method with Pap smear test in HPV screening. Considering the presence of DNA of HPV, 45 vaginal and cervix swap samples of women with genital warts were tested by means of specific PCR and Pap smear from September 2010 to April 2011. Out of 45 vaginal and cervix swap samples of women suffering genital warts, 37 samples [82.2%] are positive. Of 45 Pap smear samples, 13 [29%] are neoplasia and 32 [71%] normal. The difference between the results of PCR and Pap smear is due to low specification and sensitivity of Pap smear. Thus it is recommended using diagnostic PCR method in addition to Pap smear in order to promote the quality of screening in individuals with genital warts
ABSTRACT
A wide variety of opportunistic pathogens has been detected in hospital surfaces. Among these, Pseudomonas species are one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections, frequently found in hospital environments. The purpose of this study was identification of antimicrobial susceptibility of Pseudomonas spp. isolated from different Section of ShahidRajaeii hospital, Tonekabon. The samples [460] from different sections of Shahid Rajaeii hospital, were collected between December 2010 and June 2011. The identification of the strains was performed by using biochemical tests and API20NE [Biomerieux] ,and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates against different antibiotics was determined by disc diffusion test. Of 460, 61[%13/26] strains of Pseudomonas are isolated from all the sources. The highest rate of Pseudomonas spp. is recorded in Surgery and ICU, while the lowest in Dialysis ward. Of 61 strains of Pseudomonas, 52 [85/25%] are belonged to Pseudomonas aerugmosa, six [9/83%] to Pseudomonas stutzeri, two [3/28%] to Pseudomonas putida and one [1764%] to Pseudomonas fluorescens. The environments of the hospital can be the vehicles of Pseudomonas spp., therefore, both the patients and personnel should have extra attention to their personal hygiene to avoid Pseudomonas infection
ABSTRACT
Beta-thalassemia patients have a high prevalence for hepatitis C virus [HCV] infection. In developing countries, HCV antibody is reported to be high in this group of patients. This study aims to determine the distribution of HCV amongst beta-thalassemia patients in northern Iran. This study was undertaken from October 2010 to June 2011 on 245 beta-thalassemia patients who referred to hospitals in Mazandaran and Gilan Provinces for blood transfusions. The presence of HCV antibodies in their plasma was measured by ELISA and viral genome was determined by Nested-PCR. SPSS software and the chi-square test were used for statistical analyses. Of the 245 beta-thalassemia patients, 46 [18.8%] were identified by ELISA to have HCV antibodies. Of these, 28 [11.4%] were positive for the viral genome. Overall, this study demonstrated a significant relationship between age, social background, dental work history and foreign travel with viral prevalence. The prevalence of HCV in this study group is reported at 11.4%. In comparison to its prevalence in the society as a whole, less than 1% is quite high. For this reason, utilizing a more proper screening system is essential
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis B virus [HBV] is one of the most important health problems transmissible through blood transfusions. Generally, a number of people with ?-thalassemia are susceptible to HBV since they receive multiple blood transfusions. These people have high infection rates despite vaccination against HBV. In this study, we explore the seroprevalence and risk factors of HBV infection in thalassemic patients who reside in Ardabil. This was a descriptive study on 120 thalassemic major patients who referred to Bo-Ali-Sina Hospital in Ardabil. Patients' demographic characteristics and blood samples were obtained The ELISA technique detected the presence of HBsAg, HBsAb and HBcAb. We used SPSS software and the chi-square test for statistical analyses. Of 120 patients, there were 64 males and 56 females. The median age was 17.3 +/- 4.5 years. Prevalence of HBsAg was 3.3%. There were 29.2% of patients HBsAb positive and 4.16% HBcAb positive. Statistical analysis showed no significant correlation between transfusion times and serological markers [HBsAg, HBsAb, HBcAb]. Of note, there was a meaningful relationship between duration of disease and HBsAb markers [p < 0.05]. The prevalence of HBV in thalassemic patients in Ardabil was 3.3%. According to the results,show that infection rates could be mediocre than to population of this province. High quality transmission of blood products effectively decreases incidence of infection
ABSTRACT
Prenatal diagnosis of fetal sex is usually performed by invasive methods such as sampling through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. One potential non-invasive approach involves analysis of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma or serum. The objective of our study was to investigate the feasibility of using fetal DNA in maternal plasma for prenatal diagnosis of fetal sex. In this experimental study, a nested polymerase chain reaction [PCR] techniques was developed for fetal SRY gene identification using cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 32 pregnant women at the gestational period from 8 to 13 weeks and cell-free DNA was extracted by the phenol/chloroform method from plasma. The nested PCR was carried out to amplify the fragment of SRY gene by two sets of PCR primer pairs. Analysis was then performed on the PCR product. Specifically, the presence of Y-chromosome sequences in maternal blood plasma indicated that the fetus is male, whereas lack of signal will indicate that the fetus is female. Among the 32 pregnant women, SRY sequences were detected in 14 plasma samples after nested PCR amplification, while the 18 women bearing female fetuses had the negative results. The sensitivity of this technique was 87.5%. The phenol/chloroform extraction of fetal DNA in maternal plasma is an effective and simple method, and the nested PCR amplification of SRY sequence is a convenient and low-cost approach for the non-invasive early prenatal diagnosis of fetal sex