Journal of Advances in Medical and Biomedical Research
Volume:31 Issue: 148, Sep-Oct 2023

PNS (Peripheral nervous system) disease comprises a wide range of manifestations from acruable damage to nerve body degeneration. Finding proper imaging sequences of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to maximize the detection sensitivity and specificity of PNS injuries, is the purpose for which this study was conducted. In this regard, due to Wallerian degeneration, axonal degeneration and inflammation after nerve injury, were mentioned as the inseparable factors of nerve damage, and clues to be detected by the MRI. Gadofluorine M and USPIO nanoparticles are candidates which provide contrast in multiple aspects, such as diagnostic approaches and drug tracking. For instance, the P904 USPIO particle is proper for long-term monitoring, while the CS015 (PAA-coated USPIO), USPIO-PEG-tLyP-1, and USPIO nanovesicles are appropriate for drug delivery. Besides contrast agents, the implication of gradient echo or 3D DW-PSIF provides more precious data over conventional sequences, including T2-weighed on the physiological or pathological PNS status. Eventually, although the real-time imaging and simplified procedure of the ultrasound technique have advantages over MRI, the low-resolution disvalues its benefits. Alternatively, there is a growing trend in the application of Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) to acquire a clear concept of disease diagnosis, along with Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to successfully monitor the rate of nerve regeneration that is applicable for therapeutic approaches.

 Incomprehensive studies have examined the therapeutic and side effects of curcumin on the treatment of debilitating diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). This study aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin on RA.

 This double-blind clinical trial was carried out on 64 RA patients with an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)-Disease Activity Score (DAS)-28>2.6. The patients were then randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. In addition to the routine treatment, the intervention group was treated with 80-mg/day capsules of curcumin (nano-micelles). Further, the patients were followed up for three months, and clinical-laboratory examinations were recorded in this study.

 There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding the trends of the disease activity indicators, including DAS-28, disability index, physician assessment, and the number of tender joints (P>0.05). Further, a significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of pain score changes and the number of swollen joints. Additionally, the curcumin-treated subjects obtained lower mean pain and fewer swollen joints, compared to those in the control group (P<0.05).

 The present study revealed that curcumin had no significant therapeutic effects on reducing the activity of RA; however, no significant side effects were observed on the patients, and it also showed its analgesic effect well.

 Based on literatures, the patients with essential tremor have a thinner Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) layer in Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging, compared to the healthy population. Thus, we decided to examine the ocular-neural state of patients with essential tremor, by examining RNFL and Retinal Ganglion Cell Layer (RGCL) in the OCT reports of patients referred to Hazrat Rasool Akram Hospital in the years 2020 to 2022.

 This research was implemented in the form of case-control study.50 patients were recruited into each group of tremor, and healthy controls. OCT parameters, including thickness of RNFL and RGCL were evaluated and recorded.

 The study findings revealed a significant difference in the mean superior, superior nasal, superior temporal sections of the right eye and superior temporal and inferior temporal regions of the left eye in RNFL between the control group and all patients (P < 0.01). Moreover, the results showed that there was a significant difference in the GCL in superior 6 mm of the right and left eye between the control group, and all patients (P <0.01).

 Regarding the results this study, it seems that patients with essential tremor have a significant decrease in some RNFL and GCL factors compared to healthy people. However, the majority of variables examined from RNFL and GCL in our study did not show significant differences. Moreover, this thinning could be associated with the neurodegenerative nature of the disease.

 In the field of vascular surgery, the use of tissue-engineered vascular grafts is advancing and new synthetic tissues are being utilized to replace damaged blood vessels. These synthetic vessels, made through tissue engineering techniques, must mimic the shape and mechanical properties of native vessels. This study was performed to assess the function of an artificial vascular graft in an animal model.

 The evaluation of artificial vessels was carried out on rat and sheep models. The artificial vascular scaffolds were made of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyurethane (PU), and Polycaprolactone (PCL) polymers. In the first phase, the fabricated scaffolds were implanted in rats and after 45 days, the grafts were removed and evaluated pathologically. In the second phase, the structures were implanted into the carotid arteries of sheep. Doppler ultrasound and angiography imaging were done to assess changes in carotid blood flow. Eleven months later, the artificial grafts and surrounding tissues were removed and evaluated pathologically.

 In the rat samples, no hypodermic infections, systemic inflammation, or fibrosis of adjacent tissues were observed. In the sheep samples, no local or systemic complications were reported one week after surgery. No complications were seen after 11 months in the two sheep that received PCL/PU grafts. In contrast, ultrasound evaluation showed thrombosis in the two other sheep that received PET/PU/PCL grafts.

 This study shows that the implanted artificial vessel used in sheep carotid arteries has a favorable patency rate and satisfactory clinical results, and in terms of mechanical properties, it may be a good candidate for vascular replacement.

 Conventional treatment of Acanthamoeba typically involves a combination drug strategy, but its efficacy in clinical settings remains incomplete. Evaluating the therapeutic potential of existing drugs is a way used to introduce effective treatments for infectious agents. This study aimed to assess the in vitro anti-Acanthamoeba effect of valproate (VPA).

 An experimental study was conducted using Acanthamoeba cysts belonging to the T4 and T5 genotypes. Cysts collected from the culture medium were exposed to gentamicin, polymyxin, and three different concentrations of VPA for varying durations (1, 4, 6, and 24 hours). The treated cysts were stained with trypan blue, and the percentage of growth inhibition was calculated. Additionally, the viability of treated cysts was assessed by culturing them on non-nutrient agar plates for one month.

 The Acanthamoeba cysts of T4 and T5 genotypes showed susceptibility to VPA. The minimal cysticidal concentration (MCC) of VPA for maximum growth inhibition in both single and combination drug assays were 100 and 3 mg/ml, for durations of 24 and 4 hours, respectively. The growth inhibition observed in the groups exposed to gentamicin and polymyxin differed significantly from the growth inhibition in the group treated with ≥100 mg/ml VPA (P< 0.05).

 VPA enhances the effects of gentamicin and polymyxin on Acanthamoeba. Combining a low concentration of VPA (≥3 mg/ml) with gentamicin and polymyxin increases the potency and speed of action of these antibiotics.

 Bacteria play a major role in urinary tract infections (UTIs); therefore, it is necessary to be aware of their regional prevalence and the causative pathogens for better prognosis and rapid treatment in clinical settings. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of bacterial isolates involved in UTI samples and their antibiotics resistance pattern.

 In this cross-sectional study, bacterial infections from 4214 urine samples were analyzed from December 2016 to December 2018. After biochemical tests, disk diffusion susceptibility procedures were performed on all positive clinical cultures, according to CLSI guidelines. The obtained data were sorted and statistically analyzed by SPSS 26.

 Out of 3582 suspected UTIs samples, 2006 (56%) were females and 1576 (44%) males in the 0-99 years old age range and mainly consisting of middle-aged and elderly patients (62.2%). Escherichia coli (53.43%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (15.99%) were the most frequent isolates. Among gram negative bacteria, nitrofurantoin and among gram- positive, vancomycin represented the lowest resistance rates at 25.27% and 26.74% respectively. Piperacillin showed the least efficacy with a resistance rate of 76.04%, followed by cefazolin with a 74.94% resistance rate.  In gram positive bacteria, vancomycin and gentamicin showed more promise with respective resistance rates of 19.34% and 27.34%. The highest resistance was associated with ampicillin (68.61%) and Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (66.06%).

 Alarming resistance rates were observed in ampicillin and piperacillin, which should be taken into account in therapy guidelines in this area. Prevalence of resistant strains can be avoided by developing appropriate healthcare policies and community awareness.

 Microsatellites are ideal markers for detecting population differences in humans and considered as potentially a useful tool and biomarkers in forensic medicine. This study aimed to examine and compare the diagnostic value of three Y-STRs loci in racial studies by HRM method.

 Peripheral blood samples of 200 Iranian Kurdish men living in western cities of Iran (Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Sardasht, and Ilam) were collected and analyzed for allele and haplotype frequencies using HRM technique during 2017 to 2019.

 Most allelic replications in the AC004617 (І), AC004617 (ІІ) and AC022486 loci were related to alleles 13, 29 and 30, and 12, respectively. Also, the AC022486 locus was potentially more beneficial as a population differentiation marker than the other three studied loci.

 The HRM technique was an accurate and inexpensive method for investigating the genetic differences between the four studied populations.

 Psoriasis is one of the most common skin disorders in humans and is believed to have genetic foundations. The aim of this study is to identify potential genetic biomarkers for psoriasis using penalized methods.

 The gene chip GSE55201, which included 74 individuals (34 patients with psoriasis and 30 healthy individuals), was obtained from GEO. Three penalized approaches were used in logistic regression, including Least Absolute Shrinkage Selection Operator, Minimax Concave Penalty, and Smoothing Clipped Absolute Deviation, to identify the most important genes associated with psoriasis. To validate the results, Random Forest was used to assess the predictive power of the selected genes in a validation dataset.

 The analysis identified ADORA3 and C16orf72 as two genes that were commonly associated with psoriasis. The independent samples t-test revealed significantly higher expression of ADORA3 and C16orf72 among psoriasis cases (p<0.001). The area under the ROC curve for predicting psoriasis was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.80-0.96) for ADORA3 and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.75-0.94) for C16orf72. The Random Forest analysis showed that the model using these genes had a prediction probability of 0.68 (95% CI: 0.53-0.83).

 Among all the methods used, MCP outperformed other penalties, selecting a smaller subset with compatible performance. Two key genes, ADORA3 and C16orf72, were found to be associated with psoriasis and were identified for further study. These genes may serve as genetic biomarkers for predicting psoriasis.

 Insufficient mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells and delayed engraftment are reported in autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). The aim if this study was to identify and introduce predictive factors for mobilization and engraftment.

 The participants include AHSCT candidates. Pre-apheresis CD34+ cells and CD34+ count per kilogram (CD34+ CPK) in the apheresis products were assessed by flow cytometry. There were other parameters connected to platelet and neutrophil engraftment as well as mobilization by granulocyte-stimulating growth factor (G-CSF). Univariate, multivariate, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used in the statistical study.

 The predictive value of CD34+ CPK for platelet engraftment was fair (AUC: 76.9%) with the cut-off of 3.5×106, while it was poor for neutrophil engraftment (AUC: 64.4%) with the cut-off of 3.4×106. The multiple-variate analysis demonstrated that age and CD34+ CPK were positively correlated with platelet engraftment (p-values less than 0.01 and 0.005, respectively), while CD34+ CPK and total dose of infused G-CSF (TDIG) were associated with neutrophil engraftment (p-values: 0.03). In high rates, the TDIG correlated negatively with CD34+ CPK, CD34+ cell counts in pre-apheresis peripheral blood samples, and total engraftment, indicating negative effects of high and long-term doses of G-CSF on mobilization and engraftment.

 The management of AHSCT will be more efficient by considering the age, CD34+ CPK, and TDIG. For enhanced engraftment, adjusting the G-CSF injection days for <4 days and total dose of G-CSF on <4000 micrograms are suggested.

 Algae phenolic extracts have received special attention because of their effective and efficient antioxidant properties and their obvious effects in inhibiting various diseases related to oxidative stress, such as cancer. This study aimed to document the phenolic extract of Spirulina platensis against cancer cell line SK-GT-4 and regular cell line HBL100.

 Phenolic compounds were extracted from S. platensis, and the extract was checked for its anticancer activity by MTT. The constituents of phenolic extract were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

 The results showed that the half maximal inhibitory concentration value for Phenolic extract was 36.52 µg/mL for 50% of cell death. HPLC analysis revealed that the compounds with possible therapeutic effects are gallic acid, ferulic acid, cinnamic acid, syringic acid, and vanillic acid, which have anticancer activity.

 The results of this study point out that the S. platensis phenolic extract has anticancer potential, and the phytoconstituents contributed to the anticancer effects.

The association between recurrent acute pancreatitis and primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is uncommon. We report the case of a 45-year-old woman who presented with recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis. After the second episode of pancreatitis, she was diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism. Interestingly, she had no additional risk factors for pancreatitis. However, a year after successful parathyroid surgery, she showed no symptoms of pancreatitis and her serum levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium remained within normal ranges. Primary hyperparathyroidism can manifest as acute pancreatitis due to hypercalcemia. Therefore, we recommend monitoring the serum calcium levels in patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions should be undertaken for primary hyperparathyroidism to prevent the recurrence of pancreatitis and hypercalcemia.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious virus that can bring about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Thalassemia syndrome refers to diverse degrees of flaws in α or/and ꞵ globin chains production in erythroid cells. As thalassemia disease is one of the most prevalent problems in Central and Southeast Asia and also can be found in Europe, North America, and Australia, the increasing awareness of momentous risk factors may be supportive for decision making and managing thalassemia patients with a severe clinical picture are required. Some evidence has shown that new emerging COVID-19 can be the origin of serious hitches encompassing the increased possibility of multiple microvascular thrombotic events. COVID-19–associated coagulopathy (CAC) may occur through endotheliopathy, endothelial cell infection and endotheliitis induced by COVID-19 subsequent to inflammatory cell infiltration and endothelial cell apoptosis. Although a few researches on thalassemia population have not propounded thalassemia disease as a significant risk factor for poor clinical outcomes after COVID-19, the care and treatment of the patients who are inflicted by the novel coronavirus should be performed more cautiously due to existing vast variety of clinical glitches which are frequent amid severe cases of thalassemia. In the long run, further data regarding CAC in hospitalized thalassemia cases with COVID-19 infection are needed to reveal the rate of coagulopathy and also determine the necessity of performing coagulation testing counting D-dimer, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen level, and platelet count.