RESUMEN
Hydatid cyst is one of the parasitic zoonotic diseases in Iran and the world, and a significant percentage of hospital beds are annually allocated to these patients. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological status of hydatid cyst in hospitals affiliated to Qom University of Medical Sciences during a 12-year period. In this descriptive-analytic study, the medical records of all patients with hydatid cyst who underwent surgery in hospitals of Qom University of Medical Sciences from 2002 to 2013, were investigated. The demographical and clinical data were extracted from patients' records. Data analysis was performed using chi square test. The number of patients during this period was 82. The mean age of patients was 38.80 +/- 17.20 [min=8 and max=69]. 57.3% of the patients were female and 42.7% were male. The highest percentage of hydatid cyst was seen in menin the age group of 31-40 years [37.15%], and in women, in the age group of 21-31 [25.53%] were in the age group 21-30 years old. Frequency of the disease among housewives [51.3%] was higher than other occupational groups. Most of the patients [90%] lived in urban areas. Liver infection was seen in 74.3% of the patients. Considering that the highest frequency of the disease was reported in economically active age group and that housewives are more at risk for this disease, therefore training programs for the prevention and control of the disease appears to be essential for target groups
RESUMEN
Chemokines are classified in four distinct groups as CXC, CC, CX3C and C, depending on the presence or absence of a motif called ELR [Arg-Leu-Glu] before the first cysteine residue in their structure. CXC chemokines are also subdivided into ELR+and ELR-. Increasing evidence has indicated the existence of a chemokine network in the liver which is involved in both physiological responses and, under certain circumstances, pathological and repair processes following hepatic injury. The CXC chemokines play a major role in both these processes, and much attention has been focused on their therapeutic applications to liver disease. The aim of this study was to examine the response of cultured hepatocytes to exogenous inflammatory cytokines [TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma] regarding expression of IP-10 and growth regulatory oncogen [Gro] chemokines. In this study we employed western and northern analysis to measure chemokines at the level of protein and mRNA by hepatocytes in response to pro-inflammatory cytokines. We found that, the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, selectively stimulated expression of IP-10 but were without effect on Gro. This confirms a potential direct involvement of these cytokines in chemokine production by hepatocytes. Thus, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha may play a role in hepatic injury and inflammation and produce some of their biological effects by localized induction of chemokines by hepatocytes. Given the similarity to an acute phase response, we were able to show that IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha mimicked the effects of cell isolation and culture on induction of IP-10 expression. Further, evidence for linkages between IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha and liver injuries is seen in hepatitis C and hepatitis B in which increased levels of TNF-alpha and its soluble receptor were reported