Investigation of osteopontin levels and genomic variation of osteopontin and its receptors in Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Failure in self-tolerance towards ß-cells in diabetes mellitus (DM) pathogenesis involves a series of complex events that are governed by environmental and genetic factors. Considering the importance of osteopontin (OPN) in T-helper-1 (Th1) cells development, the aim of this study was to evaluate the serum level and gene polymorphism of OPN in Iranian Type 1 diabetic (T1DM) children. METHODS: In this case-control study, 87 T1DM children and 86 healthy ones were enrolled. Blood samples of both groups were checked for OPN level. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped by RFLP analysis for OPN rs1126772, its receptor integrin α4 (ITGA4) rs 1449263, and CD44 rs8193. RESULTS: Serum levels of OPN in diabetic children were significantly higher in cases compared to the control group (p=0.023), but there was no significant relationship between OPN rs1126772 (p=0.79), its receptor integrin α4 (p=0.31), and CD44 rs8193 (p=0.45), and T1DM. CONCLUSION: Higher amounts of OPN were seen in T1DM children. It is assumed that OPN might have inducing effects on T1DM development, particularly when genetically susceptible individuals are predisposed by an environmental insult. However, the 3 SNPs of OPN and its receptors did not show noticeable association with T1DM. The power of our study (~19%) was insufficient to observe any significant statistical difference between the groups; moreover, this study does not exclude the possibility of association of other SNPs of OPN and its receptors with this disease, and more studies are needed to clarify the issue.

Hypoparathyroidism and intracerebral calcification in patients with beta-thalassemia major.

BACKGROUND: Hypoparathyroidism is one of the most important endocrine complications of thalassemia major. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of intracerebral calcifications in patients with thalassemia with and without hypoparathyroidism. METHODS: 47 beta-thalassemia patients with hypoparathyroidism underwent a brain CT scan to investigate the presence and extent of intracerebral calcification. 30 age- and sex-matched beta-thalassemic patients with normal parathyroid function who had undergone brain CT for headache, or some other minor neurologic problems were also enrolled in the study serving as controls. The amount of intracerebral calcification, hematologic parameters, and some clinical findings were compared between both groups. RESULTS: Intracerebral calcification was present in 54.2% of beta-thalassemia patients with hypoparathyroidism. The most frequent sites of calcification were basal ganglia, and frontoparietal areas of the brain. Thalami, internal capsule, cerebellum and posterior fossa were other less frequently calcified regions of the brain. In contrast, there was no evidence of intracerebral calcifications in the 30 thalassemic patients with normal parathyroid function. There was not a statistically significant difference between serum ferritin concentrations in thalassemia patient with hypoparathyroidism and those with normal parathyroid function (2781 vs. 2178, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Intracranial calcification is a common finding in thalassemia patients with hypoparathyroidism, it can be extensive and involves most regions of the brain.

Endocrine function in thalassemia intermedia.

UNLABELLED: Thalassemias are the most common genetic disorder on a wordwide basis. ß-thalassemia is a severe hemolytic anemia which results from genetic defects in the synthesis of the hemoglobin ß-chain. Various endocrine abnormalities have been described in patients with thalassemia major. Endocrine disturbances have also been observed in patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI). In this study endocrine functions were investigated in TI and here the frequency of different abnormalities is reported. Ninety-three patients (40 males, 53 females) with thalassemia intermedia, 11-40 years old (mean 19.4 yr) were studied. Medical history was obtained and a complete physical examination was done for each patient. The age, sex, weight, height and serum ferritin levels were recorded using a questionnaire. Growth Hormone (GH) secretion, thyrotropin (TSH), T(4), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and cortisole levels were determined in these patients. The mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) serum ferritin level was 452.4 ± 312.60 µg/L. Mean ± SD hemoglobin concentration was 9 ± 1 g/dl. Short stature was present in 46% of patients. Growth hormone deficiency was one of the most frequent (31%) endocrine abnormalities in these patients. Primary hypothyroidism was observed in 21.5% of patients. Hypoparathyroidism was found in one patient (1%). Failure of puberty was present in 2% of patients, secondary ammenorrhea was observed in 6.4% of patients and diabetes mellitus (DM) in 2% of patients. CONCLUSION: Growth retardation and GH deficiency should be considered as common finding in TI. Therefore endocrine evaluation of these patients is suggested to prevent complications and to improve the overall quality of life.

Immunological findings in kala-azar, Iran.

Quantitation of immunoglobulins in patients with systemic leishmaniasis show a rise in IgM and IgG. Complement C3 levels in severely ill patients were very low, whereas generally within normal range in patients with uncomplicated recoveries. The cell mediated immune response of those kala-azar patients examined appeared to be depressed as measured by PHA skin tests. This depression was rapidly reversed following chemotherapy with Glucantim.

Enteric pathogens in infants and children in Shiraz, Iran: A study of their incidences and infectious drug resistance.

Gastroenteritis is a serious problem among young children in Shiraz Iran and often requires antibiotic therapy as it is commonly superimposed on other debilitating clinical conditions. Stool specimens from over four hundred cases of gastroenteritis among children up to six years of age were examined for the presence of bacterial pathogens and the pattern of drug sensitivity for each pathogenic genus was determined. The presence of infectious drug resistance factors among these isolates was also established.

Immunofluorescence and counter immunoelectrophoresis in the diagnosis of kala-azar.

Techniques of indirect immunofluorescence (IF) and counter current immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) were employed and compared for the diagnosis of kala-azar among children in Fars Province of Iran. It is suggested that the diagnostic titre for kala-azar by immuno fluorescence is over 1 in 64. In fact a majority of the cases had a titre of more than 1 in 256. CIEP using soluble antigens prepared form the promastigote form of Leishmania donovani, was also applied to sera from patients with systemic leishmaniasis and other diseases. The CIEP test correlated well with the indirect immunofluorescent test. It is therefore suggested that CIEP, which is a rapid and less sophisticated test, can be applied for the diagnosis of kala-azar cases and epidemiological surveys.