Effectiveness of Paromomycin on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Some treatment reported for cutaneous leishmaniasis. The studies examined the impact of the paromomycin has different characteristics and results. The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of paromomycin in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran. METHODS: Literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, Scientific Information Database, IranMedex, Magiran, Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (from February 2000 to May 2016), and references cited in the text of selected studies. Search terms used were "paromomycin", "cutaneous leishmaniasis", "randomized"," aminosidine", "controlled trial", and "clinical trial". Random effects models were used to calculate the measure of association, with 95% confidence intervals, to analyze the efficacy of paromomycin in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. RESULTS: Initial search yielded 76 citations. Of these original results, 9 met our specific selection criteria. Four of the randomized controlled trials compared the efficacy of paromomycin in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with that of a placebo; they were included in the meta-analysis. The success rate of treatment with paromomycin was higher than that with the placebo (pooled RR=4.50, 95% CI: 2.54 to 8.02; P=0.001 and I2=26.7%), whereas the difference with the non-placebo treatments was nonsignificant (pooled RR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.58 to 1.073; P=0.131 and I2=83.3%). CONCLUSION: No significant difference was observed between paromomycin and the other treatments in their effectiveness in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Because no single drug is effective against all the forms of leishmaniasis, we suggest multidrug therapy.

Incidence of Esophageal Cancer in Iran, a Population-Based Study: 2001-2015.

PURPOSE: Even though Kurdistan, the western province of Iran, has a cancer surveillance system, a detailed analysis of incidence rate has not been yet performed. We describe Age Standardized Incidence Rates (ASRs) for esophageal cancer (EC) in Kurdistan Province of Iran in 2001-2015. METHODS: Incidence cases of EC were obtained from a population-based cancer registry. We obtained ASRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) per 100,000 populations for each calendar year group. RESULTS: Between 2001 and 2015, 1362 incidence cases with EC were reported to the cancer registry. Annual ASRs in 2006-2010 were more than the other years in both men and women, respectively. Most ASRs were reported among women in Divandarreh (18.95, 95% CI 14.76, 23.92), Saqez (12.75, 95% CI 10.73, 15.01), Sanandaj (8.84, 95% CI 7.64, 10.17), and Qorveh (8.19, 95% CI 6.54, 10.12), and among men in Divandarreh (19.38, 95% CI 15.38, 24.06), Saqez (13.64, 95% CI 11.49, 16.05), Sanandaj (8.70, 95% CI 7.56, 9.96), and Marivan (7.93, 95% CI 6.26, 9.88). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that EC in Divandarreh, Saqez, and Sanandaj has the highest ASRs, and these areas are considered as high-risk areas for this disease in the Iranian province of Kurdistan. Therefore, to understand the reasons of these problems, a considerable work is needed.

Distribution of breast cancer risk factors in two groups of healthy people referral to cancer registry and Shahid Mottahari center.

The aim of this study is evaluation of breast cancer risk factors distribution in two groups of healthy people referral to cancer registry and Shahid Mottahari center in Iran. This study is cross-sectional study which is part of the study to estimate Gene-Environment Interaction in women with breast cancer with case-control studies in Shiraz. In this study, two control groups have been used. The sample size of 300 was specified for each group. Selection sources of groups include Cancer Registry Center and referred people to surgical and internal ward of Shahid Mottahari Clinic. Information collect tools have included Form No. 1 in Cancer Registry Center which includes information of age, use of oral contraceptives history, breastfeeding history, number of live births, age at menarche, age at first childbirth, etc. Considering the results obtained, it was showed that the highest frequency (144) in the group of Cancer Registry Center belongs to high school education, but the highest frequency of Shahid Mottahari Clinic is related to primary education (176).There is statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of education, history of breast cancer in first-degree relatives and age at first birth, (P<0.05). Due to the easy availability of data on non-cancer patients referred to the cancer registry center, researchers may be encouraged to use them as a control group, but we must bear in mind that, this Group may be different in terms of some variables, and this difference leads to bias in the estimation of considered exposure effects.

Validity and reliability of the Farsi version of the ECOS-16 questionnaire for females with osteoporosis.

The purpose of this study was to develop a Persian version of ECOS-16 Questionnaire and assess its reliability and validity. Two hundred and twenty women with postmenopausal osteoporosis were included in the study. Patients who were diagnosed as secondary osteoporosis by clinical and laboratory examinations were excluded. For reliability, an internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient) of ECOS-16 total score was calculated. The age of the study participants ranged from 50 to 75 years old (59.9 ± 7). Cronbach's alpha of the Persian version of the ECOS-16 was 0.84. Therefore, the Persian version of the ECOS-16 is a reliable and valid questionnaire to be used in the evaluation of quality of life in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

A comparison of case-control and case-only designs to investigate gene-environment interactions using breast cancer data.

BACKGROUND: The traditional methods of studying the gene-environment interactions need a control group. However, the selection of an appropriate control group has been associated with problems. Therefore, new methods, such as case-only design, have been created to study such interactions. The objective of this study was to compare the case-only and case-control designs using data from patients with breast cancer. METHODS: The interaction of genetic and environmental factor as well as the ratio of control to population odds ratio was calculated for case-only (300 patients with breast cancer) and case-control (300 cases of breast cancer and 300 matched controls) designs. RESULTS: The confidence intervals and -2log likelihood in all variables in case-only design was smaller than those in the matched case-control design. In case-only design, the standard errors of some variables such as age at menarche, the first delivery at the age of 35 yrs and more or no delivery, the history of having live birth, use of oral contraception pills, breastfeeding history were less than those in the matched case-control design. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the case-only design is an efficient method to investigate the interaction of genetic and environmental factors.

Reverse transcription PCR-based detection of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus isolated from ticks of domestic ruminants in Kurdistan province of Iran.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a potentially fatal viral vector-borne zoonosis which has a mortality rate of up to 30% without treatment in humans. CCHF virus is transmitted to humans by ticks, predominantly from the Hyalomma genus. Following the report of two confirmed and one suspected death due to CCHF virus in Kurdistan province of Iran in 2007, this study was undertaken to determine the fauna of hard ticks on domestic ruminants (cattle, sheep, and goats) and their possible infection with CCHF virus using reverse transcription PCR technique. This is the first detection of CCHF virus in ticks from the Kurdistan province of Iran. Overall, 414 ixodid ticks were collected from two districts in this province. They represented four genera from which 10 separate species were identified. The Hyalomma genus was the most abundant tick genus (70%). It was the only genus shown to be infected with the CCHF virus using RT-PCR technique. The number of ticks positive for CCHF virus was 5 out of 90 (5.6%) adult ticks. The three remaining genera (Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus, and Dermacentor) were all negative following molecular survey. Four of the five virally-infected ticks were from cattle mainly in the Sanandaj district. We concluded that CCHF virus is present in the Hyalomma ticks on domestic ruminants (cattle) in Kurdistan province of Iran.