دکتر علی مجیدپور

Given the global problem of antibiotic resistance among pathogens, researchers are looking for appropriate treatment alternatives to eliminate infections. Application of probiotics and their products can be a practical solution. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of cell-free supernatant (CFS) of probiotics against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

The effect of CFS of eight strains of probiotics against E. coli and S. aureus was evaluated by well diffusion method. The agent with the highest inhibition diameter was selected to investigate other antibacterial properties. They included minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and timed kill effect. Surface electron micrographs were taken to compare the treated versus untreated bacteria with CFS of Lactobacillus acidophilus (SLA) LAFTI-L10 DSL. Finally, the percent viability of the Hu02 cells was investigated after 24, 48 or 72 hours of incubation with SLA at various concentrations.

Among the tested strains, SLA showed the highest inhibitory diameter against E. coli and S. aureus (P≤0.005). Also, the MIC of SLA was equal to those of E. coli and S. aureus (12.5 μL/mL) but was different in their MBC. Almost 100% of bacteria removed after exposure to SLA (20 min.). The results of log CFU/mL demonstrated that SLA had bactericidal effect against S. aureus and E. coli. The toxicity assays showed that the percent viability of the Hu02 cells was 31.71 to 81.09 after 24, 48 or 72 hours exposure.

Our results suggest that SLA can be a suitable, effective and safe alternative to antibiotics.

Infectious diseases are one of the main leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therefore, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases are very important. Infection affects some blood indices that could be used as diagnostic markers. Therefore, this study aimed to compare blood parameters in four important and prevalent infectious diseases.

In this study, 202 out of 892 patients with a final diagnosis of UTI (urinary tract infection), septicemia, pneumonia, or diabetic foot infection were evaluated; they were hospitalized in Rasoul Akram hospital in Iran from August 2017 to February 2018. Patients' demographic and laboratory data, such as RDW (red cell distribution width), PDW (platelet distribution width), RBC (red blood cell), CRP (C-reactive protein), ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), and, WBC (white blood cells), were evaluated.

This study results showed that mortality rate in sepsis cases was higher than in other cases (42.1%). Changes in blood parameters such as RDW, PDW, and EDR levels as well as monocyte, basophil, and eosinophil counts were significant among patients with different infectious diseases, while there was no significant difference in terms of changes in some blood parameters, such as WBC, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts and CRP level between patients with different infectious diseases. For statistical analysis, one-way ANOVA and LSD post hoc tests were used.

According to this study results, it was found that the range of blood parameters varies in different types of infectious diseases. Therefore, the physician could employ routine blood parameters along with other diagnostic factors to more accurately diagnose the type of infection and prescribe more appropriate antibiotics.

The axillary hair removal laser is one of the most often used procedures to treat unwanted hairs in that region. Employing this technology can be helpful in decreasing the bromhidrosis.

In the present research, a clinical trial study over the effect of the hair removal laser on normal microbial flora at the axillary region is presented. The intervention group consisted of 30 women referred to the dermatologic clinic for the purpose of removing axillary hair by the alexandrite 755 nm laser and the control group consisted of 30 women referred to the same clinic for any other reasons. Both groups were evaluated for the type of bacterial strains on the first visit and after three and six months.

The results showed that the sense of sweat smell improved by about 63% after the last laser session. The frequency of all bacterial strains decreased in the intervention group except Staphylococcus epidermidis which was significant. In the control group, there was no significant decrement in any bacterial strains and even the prevalence of more strains including Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis increased. Counting the mean bacterial colon showed a slight decrement of the bacterial count following the laser.

The use of laser radiation, even with the aim of hair removal, can alter the microbial flora, and it can be accompanied by the improvement of the smell of sweat. The effect of the laser on different bacterial strains is quite different, which can depend on the amount of energy, the wavelength, the characteristics of the area under the laser, and also the structural properties of the membrane of the microorganism itself.