International journal of basic science in medicine
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Mar 2017

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a muscle-derived tumor and is the most common pediatric soft tissue sarcoma representing 5% of all childhood cancers. Statistically, soft tissue sarcomas account for approximately 10% of all cancers in children, of which more than half of these tumors are RMS. Thus, RMS is a major clinical problem in pediatric oncology. RMS is caused by a disruption in the pathway of primitive mesenchymal stem cells directed towards myogenesis. In most cases of patients diagnosed with RMS there is a genetic or chromosomal alteration involved. In past few years there have been discoveries of more therapeutic approaches that has improved the quality of life in RMS patients and has resulted in a better survival rate in this population from 25% to 60%. However, Additional researches and clinical trials are needed in order to minimize the devastating consequences of the pediatric cancer including RMS. In the current mini review we will briefly discuss current knowledge in RMS focusing on most common biological and clinical aspects of the disease.

Iron toxicity within cardiomyocytes is considered as the main pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction in transfusion dependent thalassemia (TDT). Various methods such as measuring serum ferritin, evaluating cardiac functional and structural parameters by either cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) or echocardiography, and monitoring the heart rate variability (HRV) have been proposed to monitor cardiac iron content in patients. High inconsistency is present regarding predictability of various parameters derived by each of these methods in order to predict the cardiac iron overload. The aim of present review was to grasp the most appropriate parameters predicting cardiac hemosiderosis in TDT. Predicating values for cardiac iron deposition of the most in-use indicators such as ferritin, cardiac T2* relaxation time, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and HRV were discussed. In addition, a description on the most effective preventive measures for cardiac hemosiderosis was provided.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been comprehensively characterized in the 21th century yet. MS is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with unknown etiology. It is a heterogeneous disease both in the course and clinical symptoms and in the clinical response to treatment. Pharmacogenomics has potential to impress the treatment strategies of the diseases. It is related to the targeted populations that are genetically identifiable with the therapeutic interventions and it permits to elicit quick and optimized curative outcomes alongside the least possible side effects. In the case of successful manipulation of the personalized medicine, the trial-and-error approach for the treatment of diseases such as MS would no longer be mandatory. Moreover, pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic investigations contribute to the determination of genetic background of individual patients and may open new horizons to the personalized medicine. By identifying the various biological and social determinants of MS outcomes, personalized medicine could be applied in medical interventions and psychosocial manifestations, exercise and nutrition. Application of this highly personalized approach is promising and hopefully would culminate in cost-effective care.

The patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) suffer from the malfunctions of the sexual behaviors, and several mechanisms have been proposed to describe these disorders. The innate immunity may be involved in the malfunctions of T2D patients. Melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) and retinoic acid (RA)-inducible gene 1 (RIG-1), as the innate immunity receptors, are the responsible molecules for the activation of some intracellular signaling pathways and the induction of inflammation. Thus, this study aimed to examine the molecules which may participate in the induction/stimulation of sexual malfunctions in the female T2D patients.
Sexual functions were evaluated in 41 female T2D patients using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to quantify MDA5 and RIG-1 mRNA levels.
Results showed that increased RIG-1 mRNA levels were significantly associated with the bad orgasm in the female T2D patients compared to the female patients with good orgasm. Expression of RIG-1 and MDA5 levels were not associated with other sexual functions’ criteria.
The findings of this study demonstrated that bad orgasm is associated with the increased RIG-1 expression. Consequently, the correlation between inflammation and bad orgasm in a RIG-1 dependent manner is suggested.

Tumor growth depends on intrinsic properties of malignant tumor and tumor microenvironment. Cytokines are secreted substances of the tumor microenvironment which are widely produced by tumor and immune cells. The aim of this research was to evaluate concentrations of interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 7 (IL-17) and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in the breast cancer microenvironment.
One hundred sixteen women between 18-73 years of age (61.15 ± 24.39) were enrolled in this study. Based on pathologic diagnostic assessment, patients were divided into 2 categories: those affected with benign breast tumor, and the subjects suffering from malignant breast tumors. Biopsy specimens were collected. Following homogenization, IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-4 concentrations were determined in tumor tissues, adjacent tissues of the tumor, and blood serum samples of these 2 groups of patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.
Concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-4 were measured in tumor tissue samples, adjacent tissues of the tumor, and blood serum samples in both groups. Malignant breast tumor samples had significantly higher concentrations of IL-4 and IL-17 compared with benign breast tumor samples. And also the concentration of IFN-γ in adjacent tissues of the tumor and in blood serums in patients with malignant breast tumors was significantly higher than that in the benign breast tumor samples. However, there was no significant difference between the concentration of IFN-γ in neoplastic breast tumor tissues and that in the benign breast tumor tissues (P > 0. 05).
Our data indicated that IL-17 and IL-4 cytokines but not IFN-γ had higher concentrations in the subjects with malignant tumor compared with those with benign tumor. The present findings indicated that the concentrations of IL-4 and IL-17 in tumor tissues may be associated with the severity of breast malignancy.

3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay is a safe, convenient, and low-cost technique with high applications for the measurement of cell proliferation rate in researches and clinical laboratories. Our aim was to evaluate the proliferation rate of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and production rate of Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) by these cells after various mitogens stimulation in different situations.
The MTT test was performed with various concentrations of mitogens including concanavalin A (ConA), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) on the PBMCs. The cells were incubated for 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours in the culture medium and TNF-α cytokine assay was performed on the supernatant of the cultured splenocytes using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.
The optimal time and incubation of the PBMCs with the mixture of PHA-ConA were 5 μg/mL and 72 hours, respectively. The TNF-α level increased significantly after PHA-ConA and PHA stimulation.
The results showed that the mixture of PHA-ConA (at the concentration of 5 μg/mL) can give rise to the optimal results on stimulation of the PBMcs using the MTT assay after 72 hours incubation.

Physical activity and exercise due to increased cellular oxidative process lead to increased free-radical production and reactive oxygen species. "Oxidative stress" is defined as the disturbed balance between oxidative and antioxidative indicators in favor of oxidative species.
In this semi-experimental study, 23 sedentary boys volunteered to participate. They were randomly assigned to 2 groups of training (n = 13) and control (n = 10). The combined trainings included endurance running with 60% to 80% of maximum heart rate and resistance weight training with 40% to 50% and one repetition maximum intensity. Blood samples were taken from the subjects’ forearm vein, 24 hours before and 48 hours after the last training session in a fasting state. Paired and independent t tests were used to locate the inner-group and inter-group changes respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. A P Malondialdehyde (MDA) level as a marker of oxidative stress in the exercise group decreased significantly after 24 sessions of exercise (P = 0.015), while the index of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) significantly increased in the exercise group (P = 0.021). There was no significant difference in the 2 indexes in the control group (P The present study suggests that combined training provides a good balance between indicators of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense among sedentary boys and this would prevent the overproduction of free radicals.

Exercise and herbal medicine are therapeutic approaches used to control blood sugar and blood pressure in diabetic patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of interval exercise and nettle supplements on blood glucose, and its role on blood pressure control in men with type 2 diabetes.
In this quasi experimental study, 40 men with type 2 diabetes aged 30-50 years old who were qualified based on our inclusion criteria were chosen and randomly divided into 4 groups (interval training [IT], nettle supplement [NS], nettle supplement combined with interval training [IT], and control). Blood pressure (BP) and fasting blood glucose (FBS) were measured at pre-test and post-test conditions. Paired sample t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used as statistical tests. Significance level was considered at P ≤ 0.05.
Significant differences were detected regarding FBS levels in the three experimental groups in comparison with the control group (P According to our results, aerobic IT and nettle supplementation are effective methods for controlling blood sugar and BP in patients with type 2 diabetes. We also showed that using the combination of the 2 methods was more effective than using the either method alone.

Imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an organism expressing metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) enzyme, and is a serious agent of hospital infection holding a serious universal therapeutic challenge. Carbapenems are potent options for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections. The rate of MBLs expression has been variable among imipenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates. In the present study, we investigated the presence of MBL in the clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa.
A total of 60 P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from Kerman hospitals during 2014-2015. The antibiotics susceptibility was assessed using disk diffusion test. MBL positivity in P. aeruginosa was investigated using double disk synergy test (DDST) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with amplification of blaVIM-2, blaVIM-1 and blaSPM-1.
From 60 P. aeruginosa isolates, 28 (46.6%) were imipenem-resistant. Among these, 17 (60.7%) were identified as MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates using DDST. Results of PCR test demonstrated the existence of 8 (28.5%) P. aeruginosa, producing blaSPM-1.
The frequency of blaSPM-1-producing P. aeruginosa isolates from Kerman Hospitals was relatively high. Therefore, it is recommended that the distribution of MBL-mediated resistances be managed.

L-carnitine may improve athlete’s performance by increasing lipids oxidation. The goal of the present study was to assess the acute impact of L-carnitine supplements on lactate, glucose, saturated oxygen and VO2max levels in young men.
Ten young males completed 2 sessions of exhausting exercise (Bruce test). In the first session, the participants consumed placebo and in the second session, they consumed 3 g of L-carnitine 90 minutes before the test. The 2 sessions were 1-week apart. Then dependent parameters were measured.
A significant difference was detected in VO2max and lactate between the placebo and supplement groups (P 0.05) between the 2 groups.
The present study showed that L-carnitine supplementation before exercise decreases lactate and increases VO2max in young men.

Escherichia coli is commensal bacterium of human intestine. The gut is a common pool of E. coli isolates causing urinary tract infections (UTIs). Some of fecal E. coli (FeEC) by the possession of certain virulence factors is able to cause diseases in human and other mammalian models. To evaluate the health threats coordinated with a given fecal source of E. coli strains, we determined the frequency of genes expressing virulence determinants in fecal E. coli isolates collected from human feces in Zabol, southeast of Iran.
Escherichia coli isolates (n = 94) were separated from the feces of patients attending teaching hospitals, and screened for various virulence genes: fimH, his, hlyA, ompT, irp2, iucD, iroN, and cnf1 by using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.
The prevalence of virulence genes was as follows: adhesins (fimH, 98% and iha, 26%), alpha-hemolysins (hlyA, 10%), outer membrane protease (ompT, 67%), aerobactin (iucD, 67%), iron-repressible protein (irp2, 91%) and salmochelin (iroN, 33%) and cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (cnf1). According to the diversity of different virulence genes, the examined isolates exhibited 29 different patterns.
Our results demonstrated that most of the assessed isolates harbored several virulence factors. Our findings propose possibility of human feces serving as a source for pathogenic organisms, supporting the notion that fecal materials of humans play a role in the epidemiological chain of extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli. This is the first report of the frequency of virulence factors among E. coli isolates collected from human feces in Iran.