مجله مطالعات علوم پزشکی
سال سی و چهارم شماره 4 (تیر 1402)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen and most important cause of hospital infections, which causes septicemia and death through various virulence factors such as exotoxin A. In the present study, P. aeruginosa exotoxin A (as a toxic factor) was prepared with the aim of obtaining a new recombinant vaccine candidate and conjugated with gold nanoparticles and its immunogenic effects were evaluated in an animal model.

Native exotoxin A was first extracted and purified from culture medium of P. aeruginosa by selective sedimentation and dialysis. In order to produce recombinant exotoxin A, genomic DNA of this bacterium was cloned in Escherichia coli using a suitable vector. Gold nanoparticles were prepared using Turkevich method and conjugated to the prepared exotoxin A by electrostatic force. Finally, the size and conjugation were confirmed using electron microscopy and fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively. Finally, quantitative data were presented in average of three repetitions and standard deviation, as well as qualitative data were presented in frequency (percentage).

The obtained results showed that P. aeruginosa exotoxin A can be extracted from the culture medium with relative purity. Also, expression of recombinant protein by E. coli and using of E. coli PET22b vector led to production of recombinant exotoxin A in high concentration. The gold nanoparticles were conjugated with both intrinsic and recombinant exotoxin A. The obtained results showed that the gold nanoparticle is well conjugated with exotoxin A.

In general, the present study showed that it is possible to produce recombinant and natural exotoxin A with high concentrations in the laboratory and conjugate it with gold nanoparticles.

Fibroids are solid ovarian tumors, usually originating from connective tissue, that vary in size; from the small size of small nodules on the ovarian surface to large neoplasms weighing several kilograms.

a 43-year-old married woman, nulli gravida, without any past medical history,
who complained of Amenorrhea in six past recent months, was referred to our academic hospital in Tabriz, Iran. According to the size of the abdomen, it was not possible to determine the exact size of the uterus by pelvic examination. The laboratory test was normal, and CA-125 was 79.6. In CTS scan, mild pericardial effusion, massive pleural effusion in the right lung, and a solid cystic mass without a sharp limit with size of 114╳91╳91 mm above the uterus that probably was originated from left adnexa was reported. In the right adnexa, a mural nodule cystic lesian with size of 46╳43 mm with a huge amount of abdominal fluid was revealed. According to the patient's symptoms, resend abdominal distension, pain, and Amenorrhea, and medical imaging after counseling with the patient, she was referred to Hemato-oncologists, and nine sessions of chemotherapy was performed and again referred to CT scan. According to the observations of CT scan and clinical examination, the patient underwent laparotomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and myomectomy was performed.
The frozen section result was included fibro-thecoma, Adeno fibroma cyst, and uterine Leiomyoma, and so was benign.

In cases of accompanying ovarian mass with ascites and pleural effusion, and abnormal uterine bleeding pattern, it is very important to think about benign ovarian mass differential diagnosis such as Fibrothecoma with Meigs syndrome after removal of the ovarian neoplasm, and there is a prompt resolution of both abdominal and pleural fluid.

The studies have shown that some natural components have antidepressant effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of administration of royal jelly as a secretion nutrient derived from the salivary glands of worker bees on some depressive behaviors, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in mice in which depression was induced by Reserpine.

In this experimental study, 42 male mice were divided into 6 groups of 7, including control (normal saline), reserpine (negative control), fluoxetine (positive control), and three reserpine groups treated with 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of royal jelly via the intraperitoneal route. In order to investigate depression, forced swimming and tail suspension tests which are forms of behavioral despair were used. Brain TAC and MDA levels were also determined. The data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software and OneWay ANOVA test at a significance level of p<0.05.

Reserpine treatment significantly increased the time of immobility in the forced swimming and tail suspension tests. Royal jelly significantly reduced the immobility time in both behavioral tests at 200 and 400 mg/kg doses. Reserpine treatment significantly decreased brain TAC and increased MDA levels in the brain. Royal jelly at 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly increased brain TAC and reduced the MDA level.

It seems that the royal jelly has a significant potential in reducing symptoms of depression and brain oxidative stress, which may be due to its ingredients.

Lead is one of the heavy element and toxic metal with wide uses. It may enter the human body through breathing and skin. On the other hand, magnesium and selenium can play a protective role against lead toxicity with their antioxidant effects. In this study, we investigated the protective role of magnesium and selenium elements on the activities of gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartic aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase in rats poisoned with lead in the short and long term.

In this experimental study, 60 male rats were divided into 12 groups of 5 each. First, lead was injected into the rats with concentrations of 280mg/kg and 80mg/kg in periods of 15 and 45 days. In the experimental groups, selenium + lead and magnesium + lead salts were injected. The level of enzyme activity was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Duncan Test by SPSS version 22 software and evaluated with significant levels of P<0.05, P<0.01, and P<0.001.

In both time periods, the simultaneous injection of lead and selenium showed a significant increase in ALT enzyme activity compared to the control group (P values = 0.01 and 0.05, respectively), but no significant changes were observed in AST and GGT enzymes. (P>0.05). In the groups receiving lead and magnesium simultaneous, no significant changes in ALT and AST enzymes activity were observed compared to the control (p>0.05). In the long term, in the groups receiving lead and magnesium, a decrease in AST activity alone was observed (p<0.001). In the same period, in the groups receiving selenium, a decrease in GGT activity alone was observed (P<0.05).

According to the obtained results, it is expected that magnesium has the ability to protect the liver against lead poisoning, however, in the case of recipients of selenium along with lead, the effects of poisoning exacerbation were observed.

Considering the high rate of fasting in the month of Ramadan among patients with cardiovascular diseases, in this study we decided to compare the rate of hospitalization due to decompensated heart failure and fasting in the month of Ramadan with other months.

1315 patients with heart failure admitted in Ayatollah Taleghani and Seyyed al-Shohada Hospitals in Urmia, Iran in Ramadan, Sha'ban and Shawwal months, with LVEF above 35% and below 50% were examined, and their files were extracted from hospital archive. Demographic and clinical information, the number of hospitalizations with uncompensated heart failure, and the variables related to the patients were compared using statistical tests.

The average age of hospitalized patients in Ramadan, one month before Ramadan and the month after Ramadan was 71.966±13.39, 72.46±13.20 and 72.72±12.84 years, respectively. Out of 1315 patients with uncompensated heart failure, 410 (31.2%) were admitted in the Ramada, 499 (37.9%) were admitted before Ramadan, and 406 (30.9%) patients were admitted after Ramadan, which was not significant statistically.

The results of our study showed that in patients with LVEF above 35%, fasting does not increase hospitalizations due to uncompensated heart failure, and the number of hospitalizations in these patients does not increase significantly during Ramadan.

Circadian rhythms are natural processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and are repeated approximately every 24 hours and controlled by an internal circadian clock. Incorrect functioning of the circadian clock system disrupts the normal sleep pattern. The molecular regulation of this system is done by several clock genes, the most important of which is the CLOCK gene that encodes a transcription factor that plays a central role in regulating the molecular circadian clock. In this study, the rs1801260 polymorphism of the CLOCK gene was investigated in Iranian patients with insomnia.

In this study, 60 blood samples were collected from people with profound problems of insomnia, inability to control sleep and irregular sleep as the patient group and 60 samples from people without any history of insomnia or sleep disorder as the control group. Then DNA was extracted and rs1801260 polymorphism was assessed by ARMS-PCR using specific primers for normal and mutated alleles and the results were analyzed.

According to the results, 50% of patients had GG, 36.7% had AG and 13.3% had AA genotype. In the control group, the frequency of GG, AG and AA genotypes was 30%, 26.7% and 43.3%, respectively. Also, this polymorphism is significantly associated with insomnia in patients (p<0.05) and has no significant relationship with gender, age and lifestyle of patients.

These findings show that the rs1801260 polymorphism and the presence of the G allele in this position have a significant relationship with sleep disorder and it seems to play an important role in occurrence of insomnia in the Iranian population. Therefore, checking the CLOCK gene in patient or susceptible people can be helpful for effective prevention and treatment of the disease.