Medical Laboratory Journal
Volume:6 Issue: 2, 2013

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common metabolic disorder during pregnancy which is associated with 3 to 4 folds of increase in the risk of maternal and fetal morbidity، if it is not diagnosed early (1). Gestational diabetes occurs from 1% to 14%، and 90% of pregnancy-related diabetes has been related to gestational diabetes (2). Glucose challenge test (GCT) and glucose tolerance test (GTT) are recommended by American Diabetes Association (ADA) for screening and diagnosing of gestational diabetes (3). In this cross-sectional study، the subjects were the pregnant women during 24-28 weeks of gestation referred to Khatam-o-allanbia laboratory of Arak city in 2009. First، we explained the aim of the project and then obtained the written consent. After being fast for at least 8-12 hours، five ml of their venous blood was drown. For GCT، the blood samples were obtained one hour after consumption of 50g of glucose powder. The Individuals whose GCT was equal or higher than 130 mg/dl were introduced for GTT in the future days. After 8-12 hours of being fast، blood samples were taken to perform GTT. Then after eating 100 grams of glucose powder، their 1، 2 and 3 hour -venous blood samples were drown to perform glucose test، using glucose testing kit of Pars Azmun Company and Mindary BS-300 autoanalyser. The average age of referred pregnant women is 27. 37±10. 24 year. Of 417، 403 (96. 64%) have normal fasting plasma glucose (≤ 99 mg/dl) and 14 (3. 36%) have abnormal fasting plasma glucose (≥ 100 mg/dl). When normal GCT is considered ≥140 mg/dl and ≥130 mg/dl، 357 (85. 61%) and 308 (73. 56%) have normal GCT and 60 (14. 39%) and 109 (26. 14%) have abnormal GCT، respectively. The Average of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and GCT are 83. 86 (73-243) and 118. 32 (140-351) mg/dl، respectively. In 9 (64. 29%) of women with abnormal FPG، the GCT test is also abnormal. By performing GTT for the women whose GCT was equal or higher than 130 mg/dl، 24 (5. 76%) were identified with gestational diabetes and introduced for treatment. If 140 mg/dl was considered as a cutoff point of GCT، four women (0. 94%) would falsely be non-diabetic. Based on this study، the prevalence of GDM is 5. 74% that is not so high، compared to the range of 4. 8 to 7. 4% of the country (4). A study conducted by Soheilykhah et al. on 1071 pregnant women with GCT of ≥ 130 mg /dl، 31. 9% of the women had abnormal GCT. After doing GTT، 110 patients (10. 2%) have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (2) that is higher than the prevalence of other studies in Iran. Due to results of this study and other studies، it seems that the GCT is not a reliable test for screening gestational diabetes. On the other hand، if GCT is going to be used، further studies are required to review the current Cutoff point of this test.

Meningitis is one of the most common infectious of the central nervous system (CNS)، defined as an inflammation of the meninges. LIF is a potent pro-inflammatory factor. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contains the growth factors and cytokines whose concentrations have been changed in most neurological diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the LIF concentration of serum and CSF in the children with bacterial meningitis. In this study، the total protein concentration (TPC) and LIF in the serum and CSF of normal subjects and children with bacterial meningitis were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). the Values of serum TPC for children with meningitis (74. 17±7. 73 g/L) and controls (73. 50±7. 28 g/L) are not different significantly (P=0. 7)، and the TPC in the CSF of children suffering from meningitis and controls are 35±0. 03 and 0. 34±0. 05 g/L، respectively (P=0. 65). The concentration of serum LIF for children with meningitis (253±19. 14 ng/ml) is higher than that of controls (49. 75±8. 97 ng/ml)، and also the concentration of LIF in the CSF of the children with meningitis (116. 25±8. 60 ng/ml) is significantly higher than that of controls which is 9. 04±1. 83ng/ml (P<0. 001). The LIF concentration in the CSF and serum may provide additional information in the differential diagnosis of meningitis. It is also concluded that LIF could be significantly involved in the pathophysiology of meningitis.

Recurrent miscarriage (RM) is one of the most common reproductive disorders، generally considered to be the loss of three or more pregnancies before viability. One of the causes of this disorder is the immunological factors such as autoantibodies associated with anti-phospholipid syndrome. this case-control study was conducted on 80 pregnant women divided into two equal groups of healthy and RM women in Gorgan. The subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire and examined by a gynecologist to distinguish their condition، healthy or RM. The blood samples were kept at -20c and assessed by both ELISA 96 and automated ELISA processor with single dose ready-to-use test to measure β2GP1 autoantibodies of IgM and IgG. the results indicate that % 7. 5 of RM patients are seropositive for Anti-β2GP1 IgG، and % 5 for Anti-β2GP1 IgM، but in healthy pregnants، % 7. 5 are seropositive for Anti-β2GP IgG، and %7. 5 for Anti-β2GP1 IgM. Family history of abortion in RM group (33. 5%) is significantly higher than healthy one (17. 5%). based on the results، the difference between the level of Anti-β2GP1 IgM and Anti-β2GP IgG in case and control groups is not significant، but the production of this autoantibody is associated with pregnancy.

the increasing use of antibiotics، especially the third generation cephalosporins، is an important factor in the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The main reason for the development of resistance phenotype such as Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamas (ESBL) is the extensive use of broad-spectrum cephalosporins. In phenotypic survey، the Phenotyping confirmatory test and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) are used. In this study، the prevalence of the isolates resistant to third generation cephalosporin (cefotaxime) was determined based on MIC. form September 2010 to September 2011، 75 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were collected from the infections of inpatients and outpatients، referred to state and private laboratories of Gorgan. For all of the Klebsiella pneumoniae strains، MIC determination using E-test (company Liofilcheme-Italy) was performed. According to the MIC results، 26 samples (34. 6%) are resistant to cefotaxime; 22 isolates are completely resistant to concentration of 256μg. Because of the importance of risk of becoming ESBL، further studies are needed to clarify the ESBL in the region.

Giardiasis is a parasitic infection of small intestine، with a worldwide distribution and the prevalence of Giardia in different parts of the world varies between 1 to 25%. Plants have the vast range of antimicrobial and antifungal activity that can be identified as alternative treatments for bacterial and parasitic pathogens، the same as Giardia. In this study، the methanol extracts of eucalyptus plants، Satureia hortensis and Heracleum glabrescens، on Giardia cysts were studied in vitro. The cysts were isolated from the feces using a modified Bingham. After counting by Hemusytumetr، they were placed near by 200 mg / ml، 100 mg / ml and 10 mg / ml of the extracts prepared by DMSO for 30 and 60 minutes. Then، the number of dead and live cysts was counted under a microscope. the fatality effect of the extracts in 60 minutes is higher than those of 30 minutes. The methanol extracts of Satureia hortensis، Eucalyptus and Heracleum glabrescens with the dilution of 200 mg/ml in 60 mins have the fatality effect of 84/3%، 63/3% and 44%، respectively. The highest fatality (84. 3%) on Giardia cysts is related to Satureia hortensis with the dilution of 200 mg/ml in 60 mins and the Lowest (27%) is related to Heracleum glabrescens with the dilution of 10 mg/ml in 30-minute period. The significant relationship between the plant type and the fatality of methanol extracts is observed. the methanol extracts of Eucalyptus، Heracleum glabrescens and especially Satureia hortensis have anti-parasitic effects in the laboratory conditions. Thus، they can be used in the future، instead of the chemical antiparasitic drugs.

The presence of pathogenic bacteria and the factors causing food spoilage are the great challenge for public health. Attention to natural additives instead of chemical preservatives resulted in conducting several studies on plant essential oil and extracts. We aimed at evaluating the antibacterial effect of carboxymethyl cellulose coating enriched by Zataria multiflora essential oil and grape seed extract on rainbow trout meat. In this study، two concentrations of Zataria multiflora essential oil (1% and 2%) and two concentrations of grape seed extract (0. 5% and 1%) were used both alone and in combination with Carboxymethyl cellulose coating. Antibacterial effect of these treatments was evaluated by enumeration of bacteria in special culture media. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that Zataria multiflora essential oil in combination with grape seed extract significantly can decrease the number of bacteria and delay the spoilage of the samples (p<0. 05). Coating enriched by Zataria multiflora and grape seed extract can properly delay the growth of spoilage microorganisms and prolong the shelf life of meat products.

Concurrent with the development of new chemical drugs and antibiotics، their harmful effects are gradually emerged. Due to lack of harmful effects، herbal medicines have been used in the pharmaceutical industry. The aim of this study was the use of lavender essential oil as an herbal medicine for the replacement of antibiotics and chemicals. In this study، the plant essential oil was isolated by drying and distillation method using Clevenger apparatus. The antibacterial effect of this plant was evaluated by using disc diffusion method and successive dilutions. In order to control the standard of the method، antibiotic discs and standard bacterial strains were used. Based on the results، Proteus mirabilis and Enterococcus faecalis are، respectively، the most sensitive and most resistant bacteria to dilutions of 1، 1/2 and 1/4. Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis، respectively، are the most sensitive and most resistant bacteria to the dilution of 1/8، 1/16، 1/32 and 1/64. MIC and MBC methods also show that all bacteria have the same minimum inhibitory and fatality concentrations except Enterococcus faecalis with minimum inhibitory concentration of 16/1 and minimum concentration fatality of 8/1. Evaluating the results of the disk diffusion method with antibiotic discs، we can observe the better effect of this plant in comparison with gentamicin and streptomycin discs on the growth of five strains of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC1885، Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 2405، Enterococcus faecalis ATCC2321، Escherichia coli ATCC 1652 and Proteus mirabilis ATCC 2601. the essential oil of Lavender can be used instead of chemical drugs to treat bacterial infections.

High prevalence of parasitic infections can be the result of the subclinical infections. Some regular and ongoing epidemiological studies are needed to combat and control these infections. This study was conducted on elementary school students to achieve an overview of the spread of parasitic infections in Gorgan. In this cross-sectional study، using random cluster sampling، 800 of 7-12 year-old students were selected from 18 primary schools in Gorgan. The stool samples taken on three consecutive days were examined by two methods including direct smear and formalin-ether concentration. Overall، 230 (28. 8%) are infected by intestinal parasites. The protozoa are Blastocystis hominis (122; 15/2%)، Entamoeba coli (93; 11/6%)، Giardia intestinalis (79; 9. 9%)، and Entamoeba histolytic (8; 1%). The Helminthes are Hymenolepis nana (12; 1. 5%)، Entrobius vermicularis (10; 1. 2%)، Ascaris lumbricoides in 4 (0. 5%) and hook worms (3; 0. 4). Based on the results، the prevalence of intestinal parasites is quite high among primary school students especially in families with low education level، income and sanitary level. Hence، it is a necessity to promote the hygienic knowledge of the students.

Diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease resulting in disability and premature death. The Etiology of diabetes mellitus is complex، but factors such as genetic، immunological and environmental are involved. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between diabetes and blood type. In this cross - sectional study blood group of 500 patients with diabetes type 2 was determined and compared with the distribution of blood groups in 11،461 healthy people in Ahwaz. Statistical analysis was performed by independent T test، using SPSS Software (version 17) the Patients’ age is between 35 and 80 years. Their Blood groups are A (106; 20. 3 %) B (144; 27. 5%) AB (97; 18. 5%) and O (176; 32. 7%). One hundred seventy-nine (34. 2%) cases are Rh+ and the rest (344; 65. 8 %) Rh-. Regarding to the distribution of blood group AB and Rh-، which respectively are 7. 3% and 8. 4%، the chance of developing diabetes in theses people is higher than that in other people (P<0. 05). Hence، they should follow a healthy lifestyle from early years of life to reduce the risk of diabetes.

ABO phenotyping is one of the essential tests in Immunohematology. Incompatible blood group transfusion leads to acute hemolysis reactions and other serious complications. Anti A1 is a cold Antibody with no clinical significance، but if it is reacted at 37˚c can be clinically significant، which will be happened rarely. At the present، we report a Case with anti A1 having clinical significance and Anti C. The patient was suffering from Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and received repeated blood transfusion. The tests performed for this patient were blood grouping، Antibody screening، panel test and cross match. the patient’s blood group is AB (A2B) with anti A1. The presence of anti C is verified by applying Panel test. to prepare appropriate blood، Cross mach test was performed on A2B blood bags without C Antigen. During laboratory tests and blood transfusion، no reaction was observed. This report indicates that being aware of anti-antigen antibodies is an important point.