[Effect of Feijoa supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes]

Treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia in diabetic patients significantly decreases microvascular and coronary artery diseases. Feijoa is the fruit of an evergreen tree in tropical areas which contains high amounts of polyphenols with anti oxidant, antimicrobial and anti inflammatory activity. In view of its composition we evaluated its potential for reducing cardiovascular risk factors [control of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypertension] in patients with type 2 diabetes. Subjects were 34 men and women, 40-75 years old with type 2 diabetes, who were randomly assigned to receive either Feijoa [150 mg daily] or placebo. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups regarding age, height and body weight. Blood pressure, serum level of fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, glycosylated hemoglobin, were measured and compared at the beginning and after 12 weeks. Blood pressure decreased after 12 weeks in the Feijoa consumption group. Fasting blood sugar, glycosylated hemoglobin, cholesterol and triglycerides also decreased in the feijoa group in comparison to controls. Feijoa improves control of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in diabetic patients and reduces the risk of coronary vascular diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes.

[ comparative evaluation of the effects of new antihistaminic drugs [loratadine and claritin] in treatment of allergic rhinitis]

Allergic rhinitis is one of the most important diseases that occurs commonly in east IRAN specially northeast, Khorasan. Approximately 10-15% of general population suffers from it. One of the best methods of treatment of allergic rhinitis, that is the most usual, is the usage of classic antihistaminic drugs [such asChlorpheniramine], but their side effects, specially somnolence and malaise, made a few patients to discontinue such treatment. More than a decade has showed that the Non Sedating Anti Histaminic Drugs [Terfenadin, Astemizole andLoratadine] are free from these side effects and do not show the CNS and anticholinergic disorders. The evaluation of their efficacy in the epidemiology of IRAN, beside the comparison of generic products with the registrated ones, is the main goal of this research. In this clinical study, the efficacy and adverse reactions of the Loratadine and its registratedproduct called Claritin are compared with Chlorpheniramine on 90 patients. It has been performed in northeast IRANand the study is a kind of double blind, prospective studies. 30 patients have received Chlorpheniramine, as the same for Loratadine and Claritin. Then the results are compared with each other by Chi- square test. According to results and the P. value for each controlled sign and symptoms, it seems that all the three drugs act effectively in this setting. On the other hand, there is a suitable growth in their efficacy from Chlorpheniraminetoward Loratadine and then Claritin. Also for the side effects, there is a meaningful difference in somenolence, headache, giddiness and xerostomia between Chlorpheniramine with the others and also a decline in these side effects from Loratadine toward Claritin. The results suggest that in the geographic condition of IRAN, Loratadine and specially Claritin can be use as the powerful and effective nonsedating antihistamines that do not cross the blood brain barrier to show adverse disorders and will be a successful treatment of Allergic rhinitis in the first line, specially in patients who are sensitive to other antihistaminic drugs. Claritin due to acceptable clinical efficacy and lower side effects is preferred toLoratadine and makes the drug managers to pay more attention to quality improvement of the generic products

Chondroblastoma of bone a review of 25 cases

Chondroblastoma is an uncommon benign bone tumor with a tendency to reoccur after surgical treatment. Between 1994 and 2006, 25 cases diagnosed as chondroblastoma of bone were treated by the authors. The most common site in order of frequency was the distal femur [6 cases], followed by the proximal tibia [5 cases], the proximal humerus [4 cases] and the proximal femur [3 cases]. Other sites included the acetabulum, greater trochanter, lesser trochanter, talus, cuboid, distal humerus and scapula [one case in each]. Five cases had already a local recurrence at presentation. All lesions were curetted and the cavities filled by iliac crest bone graft in 14 cases, cement in 8 cases, bone graft substitutes in one case and nothing in 2 cases. The average follow-up period was 35.6 months [from 6 months and up to 147 months]. All except one patient, who had a double recurrence, had functional MSTS score over 25. Among the 25 patients, two patients had a local recurrence [8%]; one with a chondroblastoma of the pelvis and the other with a chondroblastoma of the proximal humerus. The use of a burr was a technically important step to achieve an adequate curettage in all cases. In conclusion, using cement may have reduced the incidence of local recurrence in comparison to the use of bone grafts. Recurrent cases can still be treated effectively by adequate curettage with low incidence of local recurrence

Primary tumors and cysts of the mediastinum in Khorasan, North East of Iran

Thirty-three patients with primary tumors and cysts of the mediastinum are reviewed. An attempt has been made to correlate cell type and method of treatment with prognosis. The prevalent tumors and cysts were found to be primary malignant lymphoma, echinococcosis, benign thymoma, undifferentiated carcinoma and neurogenic tumors. Selected case reports of interesting patients are included to emphasize specific problems of management. Primary tumors of the mediastinum are a relatively rare entity. Experience with these tumors in the Ghaem Medical Center have been reviewed

Evaluation of serum interlekin - 2 Roc in H A M / TSP patients and HTLV - 1 carriers in Mashhad - Iran

Seropositive rate of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 [HTLV-1] in Mashhad [a city in the north east of Iran] is 2.3% which is a new endemic area in the world. Less than 2% of these HTLV-1 carriers suffer from HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis [HAM/TSP]. Twenty serum samples from HAM/TSP patients, 44 from HTLV-1 carriers and 20 from healthy individuals were tested for serum IL-2R[alpha] by ELISA method. The mean soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha [sIL-2R[alpha] in HAM/TSP patients, HTLV-1 carriers and healthy subjects was 1420, 1460 and 374 pg/ml respectively. This study revealed that the level of sIL-2R[alpha] in HAM/TSP patients and HTLV -1 carriers was significantly more than healthy subjects [P<0.05], but no significant difference between HTLV-1 carriers and HAM/TSP patients was found

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type I

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type one [MEN I] is an autosomal dominant syndrome comprising parathyroid, pituitary and pancreatic islet cell tumours. The gene for MEN I has been mapped to 11q13 and is flanked by markers close enough to construct haplotypes segregating with the defective gene with > 99.5% predictive accuracy. Biochemical screening for disease manifestation can then be restricted to those carrying the chromosome 11 haplotype incriminated in that family. Because some patients may represent new mutations or may be unaware of family history, the possibility of MEN I should be entertained whenever a patient with a component of the syndrome is encountered

Hereditary angioedema [HAE]: study of 30 cases

Hereditary angioedema [HAE] is not a rare condition in Iran. HAE is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. We studied 30 cases of HAE from 1987 to 1992, twenty females and 10 males, with a mean age of 24.8 years. Clinical presentation was nonpitting edema of the face in all cases. In HAE type I, screening of complement profile revealed a C1 inhibitor deficiency in 60% and C4 deficiency in 66% of cases; but in type II HAE, the complement profile seems to be normal. Complement component study is a good tool for the diagnosis of type I HAE

Towards understanding the molecular basis of thyroid cancer

Cancer is a multistep phenomenon and multiple genetic lesions are involved in the emergence of the cancerous lesion. This has best been demonstrated in colonic cancer. The authors review their work and that of others highlighting what is known about thyroid cancer. They implicate ras mutations predominantly in follicular carcinoma, rearrangement of the ret proto-oncogene in papillary carcinoma and the tumor suppressor genes p53 and retinoblastoma gene product in all stages of thyroid carcinoma. They find a low rate of ret proto-oncogene rearrangement in the Saudi population [>5%] as compared to elsewhere in the world [20%]. They find TSH receptor message abundance to be predictive of prognosis in thyroid cancer patients. Lastly, they examine whether the abundance of the antimetastatic gene nm23 message abundance negatively correlated with the tendency of thyroid tumors to metastasize and find that not to be the case in thyroid carcinoma. The study of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in the pathogenesis of thyroid cancer is in its infancy; however, rapid progress is being made in identifying genes participating in malignant thyroid cell transformation

Mycobacterium vaccae immunotherapy in the treatment of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis: a preliminary report

Multiple drug resistance [MDR] of tubercle bacilli to chemotherapy is becoming a problem of major concern. In this study 41 patients infected with resistant strains of tubercle bacilli received immunotherapy with killed Mycobacterium vaccae as an adjunct to continuing chemotherapy. Eleven of the 41 patients were cured and became sputum negative. The combined therapy was particularly effective in male patients with short histories of previous chemotherapy. We conclude that immunotherapy with M. vaccae may be helpful in the treatment of multiple drug resistant tuberculosis

Gravimetric and spectrophotometric analysis of water sorption in composite restoratives

Forty samples of two composite resin restoratives were prepared to study the water sorption using gravimetric and Spectrophotometric methods. Arco-Dent composite showed significant water sorption value either by weight or volumetric methods. Quayle Dental composite showed insignificant water sorption. The water sorption values and rate of Arco Dent had a direct relation to the time of immersion till the equilibrium state. The recent volumetric as well as the gravimetric methods are valid and give nearly comparable results. The authors advice using double beam Spectrophotometric to study volumetric changes of the materials as a function of water sorption as it is a recent and an accurate method

Clinical manifestation of adult-T-cell lymphoma/leukemia associated with HTLV-1 in northeastern Iran

The association of adult T cell lymphoma-leukemia and progressive myelopathy with human T lymphotropic virus type I [HTLV-1] has been proved. Several areas in the world are considered to be endemic areas for this virus. Our survey of the general population, as well as a study of 13 cases of lymphoma/leukemia in Khorasan province, may confirm this region or others in Iran as part of the endemic area

Effect of etching process of glass ionomer cement on its antimicrobial properties

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of etching process ofglass ionomer cement on its antimicrobial properties. One light activated andone chemically activated glass ionomer cement was prepared according to themanufacturer's direction. The specimens of each tested material were dividedinto three subgroups. The obtained results indicated that chemicallyactivated glass ionomer cement showed greater bacterial inhibition than thelight activated system. Etching of glass ionomer cement did not alter itsantimicrobial potentiality. The application of bonding agent over etched glassionomer decreased its antimicrobial activity

SEM study on the interface between calcium hydroxide and composite resin restoration

A SEM study was conducted to estimate the type of interface between calcium hydroxide and composite resin restoration. A low viscous resin was tried in the interface. The results showed an improve in the approximation between the two tested materials

distribution of class I HLA antigens in 1000 normal individuals in Khorasan Province

In this paper, the antigen and gene frequencies of class I HLA antigens were evaluated in 1000 individuals in Khorasan province in northeast Iran, and compared with statistics of other countries. The results and a general discussion are presented