Vitamin D deficiency associated with reproductive factors in northern Iranian women: The PERSIAN Guilan Cohort Study (PGCS).

BACKGROUND: One of the public health concerns is Vitamin D deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and to determine its reproductive factor correlates in northern Iranian women. METHODS: This study, conducted on 5096 females aged 35-70 years. The study was based on data from PERSIAN Guilan Cohort Study (PGCS), a prospective, population-based cohort study in Guilan, Iran. History of reproductive and gynecologic factors, including age at menarche, age at first marriage, number of pregnancies or live births, age at first pregnancy, duration of breastfeeding, number of abortions, age and type of menopause status, use of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy, history of hysterectomy, tubectomy or oophorectomy and history of gestational diabetes and hypertension was collected. Serum 25(OH) vitamin D was measured. RESULTS: The mean 25(OH)-D concentration was 21.78 ng/mL, and 53.5% of women had vitamin D inadequacy. The multivariate analyses revealed that younger age (36-45 years) [>66 years adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-2.7, 56-65 years aOR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.1 and 46-55 years aOR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.7], not consuming oral contraceptives [aOR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.05-1.3] and pre-menopausal status [aOR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.6] were significantly independently associated with vitamin D inadequacy. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D inadequacy is common in northern Iranian women. The reproductive factors that independently correlated with vitamin D statues are oral contraceptive consumption and menopausal statue.

Detection of 23SrRNA Mutations Strongly Related to Clarithromycin Resistance in Helicobacter pylori Strains Isolated From Patients in the North of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is curved Gram negative and microaerophilic bacilli that have infected half of the world's population. It is recognized as the causative agent of duodenal ulcer, gastritis peptic ulcer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and is associated with gastric adenocarcinoma. Resistance to clarithromycin is related to point mutations in 23SrRNA gene on nt 2143 and 2144, when A turns to G, and A2143G is the most important type. These mutations lead to reduced affinity of antibiotics to their ribosomal target and are considered as the main cause of treatment failure. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of A2143G point mutation in 23SrRNA of H. pylori strains isolated from gastric biopsies of patients in Rasht, north of Iran, by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A descriptive study was performed on 89 H. pylori strains, which were isolated from gastric biopsies of patients with gastric disorders such as gastritis, peptic ulcer, duodenal ulcer, non-ulcer dyspepsia and gastric adenocarcinoma. Isolated strains were tested for clarithromycin resistance using as breakpoint a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≥ 1 mg/L by the E-test. The presence of H. pylori DNA was confirmed by amplifying the ureC (glmM) gene by PCR. Also, point mutation on 23SrRNA gene (A2142G and A2143G) was detected by PCR-RFLP using MboII and BsaI restriction endonucleases in all extracted DNA. RESULTS: Of the 89 H. pylori isolates, eighty-four were susceptible to clarithromycin, while five (5.6%) were resistant. All DNA samples of resistant strains, which were treated with BsaI had A2143G mutation. There was no point mutation in the sensitive strains of H. pylori. Also, we detected no mutation on nt A2142G of resistant strains. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the frequency of clarithromycin resistance was lower than the other studies conducted in Iran. Resistance frequency in samples isolated from gastric ulcer was higher than other gastric disorders. Women and patients aged more than 60 years old showed the most resistance frequency in this study. All resistant strains had the A2143G genotype.

Catalase gene C-262T polymorphism: importance in ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are by-products of the cellular metabolism and have important roles in the normal physiology of the cell. However, when ROS production exceeds the antioxidant capacity, a state known as oxidative stress, damage to cellular macromolecules emerges. A crucial role in counteracting ROS is played by the enzyme catalase. A common polymorphism in the catalase (CAT) promoter region (C-262T) alters the expression as well as blood catalase levels, and leads to a number of human diseases. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory condition of the large bowel that is known to be influenced by oxidative stress. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association of CAT C-262T polymorphism on the risk of UC. METHODS: Samples were collected from 60 patients diagnosed with UC and 78 control subjects, and genotyped by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We found that CAT C-262T genotype frequencies were significantly different between cases and controls (P = 0.002). Individuals carrying the -262C/T genotype had a greater risk for UC compared with C/C genotype (odds ratio, 4.88; 95% confidence interval, 1.73-13.75, P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that CAT C-262T polymorphism may be associated with UC, and that the -262C/T genotype may be a risk factor for the disease. Further studies are needed to confirm the results.

The Correlation between Microsatellite Instability and the Features of Sporadic Colorectal Cancer in the North Part of Iran.

Background. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between MSI and sporadic colorectal cancer in Guilan province, North part of Iran. Materials and Methods. A total of 96 patients who underwent resection for sporadic colorectal cancer in Guilan province were studied. No patients had positive family history of cancers. The frequencies of MSI were analyzed by testing the BAT-26 and BAT-25 markers. Results. MSI analysis revealed that 22.9% of the tumors (22 patients) were microsatellite instability positive and 77.1% (74 patients) were microsatellite instability negative. The highest rate of MSI (40.9%) was found in the rectal region. MSI-H status was seen more frequently in distal tumors (P = 0.04, odds ratio = 3.13, 0.96-10.14). Conclusions. Distal tumor location and MSI may associate with special clinicopathological features. It seems that there may be correlation with underlying genetic and immunologic mechanisms.