mohammad sadegh naghizadeh

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common allergic disorder. Detection of responsible pathogenic allergens in AD patients by reliable methods has a fundamental role in the prevention, management, and treatment of AD. This study was conducted to determine the most common allergens by the skin prick test (SPT) and immunoblotting among AD patients referring to an allergy clinic in Birjand City, Iran.

The presence of AD was confirmed by an expert allergist. Serum levels of total and specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) against 30 food and inhalant allergens were evaluated by a commercial immunoblotting kit (AlleisaScreen).

The skin prick test was performed by a battery of 17 allergens. In total, 34 AD patients (mean age, 28.76 ± 17.36 years; range, 1-60 years; F/M ratio: 0.88) were enrolled in this study. The sensitization rates to at least 1 fungus, pollen, food, or indoor allergen by the immunoblotting method were 32.35%, 61.76%, 52.94%, and 47.05%, respectively. The most prevalent allergens were ragweed (52.94), Olive tree (41.16), Eucalyptus (35.29), date palm (35.29), and grass mix (32.28).

The study found that 85.29% of the studied population were sensitized to at least 1 allergen. Pollens and date palms were the most common allergens among AD patients, but the pattern of sensitization in SPT and immunoblotting was not exactly similar. Detection of allergens to which patients are sensitized and avoidance can help in the management of the disease and its symptoms.

 Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a universal health challenge all around the world. Several factors like viral load, genetic characteristics, age, sex, and immune status contribute to variable clinical outcomes of HBV infection. The sequels of HBV infection vary remarkably among persons ranging from the spontaneous deletion of infection to persistent infection.

 The present study aimed to evaluate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms IL10-1082 with HBV clearance.

 Sixty subjects with Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) infection and 60 subjects who spontaneously recovered HBV were enrolled in the study. The IL-10-1082 polymorphisms were determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction with Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR–RFLP).

 The clearance of HBV infection demonstrated a significant association with IL-10-1082 polymorphisms in the GG genotype (P = 0.03), while there was no association with other genotypes. Reduced risk of chronic hepatitis B infection was associated with IL-10-1082 GG (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.07 - 5.09). Besides, IL-10-1082 A/G alleles did not differ clearly between the two study groups (P = 0.07)

 The IL-10-1082 polymorphisms may be associated with a reduced risk of CHB infection and recovery after HBV infection.
 

Viral infections are a public health problem.

We would like to evaluate the seroprevalence of hepatitis B, C, and human immunodeficiency virus infections (HIV) in a large sample of the Afghanistan population in Kabul.

In total, 196516 Afghani citizens went to Fateme-al-Zahra clinic to perform obligatory checkup for traveling to Iran. The serum samples were primarily checked by rapid tests for HBV, HCV, and HIV, and in case of positive results, a commercial ELISA kit used as the confirmatory test.

Out of 196516 participants, 153763(78%) were men and 42753 (22%) were women. The seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV infections was 1.23% (2430), 0.13% (265) and 0.018% (16), respectively. The prevalence of HCV and HIV was significantly higher in males than females (m/f: 0.097%/0.037% vs. m/f: 0.008%/0%, respectively; P < 0.05). The simultaneous co-infection of HBV-HCV and HBV-HIV was 0.004% and 0.0005 %, respectively.

This study showed a low prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV among the study group. Considering the selection bias, sensitivity, and specificity of rapid tests, the real prevalence expected to be quite higher. Proper strategies to improve the social awareness and implement preventive vaccination for HBV can decrease the incidence of these infections.

This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of E. campestre using the aqueous extracts, obtained from the aerial parts, on Ethylene Glycol (EG)-induced calcium oxalate kidney stone in rats.

64 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 8 groups. Group I was considered as negative control and received normal saline for 30 days, group II as kidney stone control received EG for 30 days, groups III to VI as prophylactic treatment received EG plus 100, 200 or 400 mg/kg extracts for 30 days and groups VI to VIII received EG as therapy from day one and 100, 200 or 400 mg/kg extract from the 15th day. On the 30thday from the start of induction, rats were euthanized. Blood was collected and the kidneys were immediately excised. Slides from each one’s kidneys were prepared and stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin method. Also levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined in rat’s serum by competitive ELISA kit.

E. campestre reduced IL-1β and IL-6 levels, showing a significant reduction for both cytokines in all prophylactic groups, especially at the dose of 400 mg/kg (P-value < .001). Moreover, IL-1β (p = .011) reduced significantly in the therapy groups in 400 mg/kg dose. Crystal count reduction was seen in all prophylactic and therapy groups in comparison with group II.

These results suggest that the E. campestre extract has potent suppressive effect on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in rat. Also, E. campestre decreases crystal deposition in the kidney of the hyperoxaluric rat.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which has been well known for its role on calcium and phosphate homeostasis since many years ago, but several studies in recent years have shown that vitamin D is involved in a variety of other processes which can be included its role on the immune system and the related diseases. In this article, the most recent findings about the role of vitamin D in the immune system and a number of immune-related diseases have been investigated. Reviewing the articles shows that vitamin D and its receptor have an important role in the function of the body immune system. It seems that screening of vitamin D levels in the society can play a useful role not only in the preventing certain diseases and cancers but also in reducing the severity of the disease and better responding to common treatments.

Chronic Hepatitis B virus infection is a multifactorial disease with a variety of clinical outcomes. Since interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is a significant immune factor in antiviral defense, this case-control study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism of rs2430561 and hepatitis B infection outcome in a population of Birjand city, eastern Iran. Blood samples were collected from 60 chronically HBV- infected patients and 60 healthy subjects with the history of HBV infection. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood by the salting-out method. The first intron of IFN-γ with a length of 264 bp was amplified by Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction (ARMS-PCR) followed by sequencing. Our results exhibited a statistically significant difference between patients and control individuals (p-value<0.001). The frequency of the allele A was 73.3% in HBV- infected patients, whereas in controls (individuals with a history of HBV infection) it was 46.7%. A statistically significant relationship was found between the IFN-γ (+874T/A, rs2430561) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and chronic HBV infec tion in the studied population. The obtained results showed that HBV infected individuals with T allele have less risk of progressing to chronic HBV infection. It also suggests that the homozygous carriers of the A allele are more vulnerable to chronic HBV infection.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the main infectious agent that causes liver disease and may lead to an acute or chronic HBV infection. Evidence from many studies have determined that host genetic factors play a significant role in determining immunization, clinical course, and recovery from HBV infection. A 32-bp deletion in the region of CCR5 gene (CCR5 ∆32) is one of the mutations that is known to provide genetic protection against chronic HBV infections.
In this study, the researchers aimed at assessing the protective effect of CCR5 ∆32 in subjects, who had recovered from HBV infection, as well as subjects that developed chronic HBV infection, in Birjand, Iran.
The study consisted of 60 patients with chronic HBV infection (patient group) and 120 patients, who had previously recovered from HBV infection (control group). Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples by the salting out method, and then samples were analyzed for the CCR5 ∆32 genotype utilizing the gap-polymerase chain reaction (Gap-PCR) technique. Variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test and P values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.
The researchers found only one heterozygous CCR5 ∆32 mutation in the control group and absolutely no homozygous CCR5 Δ32 mutation in either the patient or control group.
Because of no significant visible correlation between carrying the mutation and the possibility of recovery from HBV infection in the city of Birjand, it seems the protective effect of this mutation is absent in Birjand’s population.