This is the first comprehensive cohort study of the health of older people ever conducted in Iran. The aim of this project is to investigate the health status of older people in Amirkola in the northern part of Iran, near the Caspian Sea. The Amirkola Health and Ageing Project (AHAP) is mainly concerned with geriatric medical problems, such as falling, bone fragility and fractures, cognitive impairment and dementia, poor mobility and functional dependence. It is planned that all participants will be re-examined after 2 years. Data are collected via questionnaire, examinations and venepuncture. AHAP started in April 2011 and 1616 participants had been seen by 18 July 2012, the end of the baseline stage of this study. The participation rate was 72.3%. The prevalence of self-reported hypertension (41.2%) and diabetes mellitus (23.3%) are high. Only 14.4% of older people considered their health as excellent or good in comparison with others at this age. The prevalence of osteoporosis (T score≤-2.5) was 57.4% in women and 16.1% in men, and 38.2 % of older people were vitamin D deficient (<20 ng/ml). Researchers interested in using the information are invited to contact the principal investigator Seyed Reza Hosseini (hosseinim46@yahoo.com).

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and one of the leading causes of death among women in the world. Plants and herbs may play an important role in complementary or alternative treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-proliferative potential of Urtica dioica. The anti oxidant activity of an aqueous extract of Urtica dioica leaf was measured by MTT assay and the FRAP method while its anti-proliferative activity on the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and fibroblasts isolated from foreskin tissue was evaluated using MTT assay. Mechanisms leading to apoptosis were also investigated at the molecular level by measuring the amount of anti and pro-apoptotic proteins and at the cellular level by studying DNA fragmentation and annexin V staining by flow cytometry. The aqueous extract of Urtica dioica showed antioxidant effects with a correlation coefficient of r 2 =0.997. Dose-dependent and anti-proliferative effects of the extract were observed only on MCF-7 cells after 72 hrs with an IC 50 value of 2 mg/ml. This anti proliferative activity was associated with an increase of apoptosis as demonstrated by DNA fragmentation, the appearance of apoptotic cells in flow cytometry analysis and an increase of the amount of calpain 1, calpastatin, caspase 3, caspase 9, Bax and Bcl-2, all proteins involved in the apoptotic pathway. This is the first time such in vitro antiproliferative effect of aqueous extract of Urtica dioica leaf has been described for a breast cancer cell line. Our findings warrant further research on Urtica dioica as a potential chemotherapeutic agent for breast cancer.

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SAT and 2-ME may be found in significant titers in less than 5% of clinically treated cases after two years. Serologic cure for both tests with lower titers were higher than with higher titers.

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Background:The most common type of oral cancer is oral squamous cell carcinoma. If it is diagnosed in the early stages; the success of the treatment can be increased. It seems that ELISA-based techniques as a screening tool for society are the most cost-effective methods for early diagnosis. CD44 is a key marker for the detection of SCC stem cells. The aim of this study was to compare the level of soluble CD44 in saliva and serum between patients with oral SCC and healthy controls.Materials and Methods:Saliva and serum were collected from 20 patients with primary OSCC and 20 healthy persons as control group. The samples were evaluated by an ELISA test kit. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22, chi-square, ANOVA, T-test and Spearman correlation test.Results:The mean of soluble CD44 level in serum and saliva of the patient and control groups are 531.51±228.95 and 453.3±113.74 (for serum) and 48.53±59.02 and 17.76±39.14 (for saliva) respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in serum and saliva solCD44 level between the patient and control groups (P value = 0.182 and P value = 0.061 respectively). Also, there was no significant correlation between the solCD44 level in each patient and control group in serum (P value = 0.61) and in saliva (P value = 0.445).Conclusions:Determination of solCD44 level in saliva and serum can be a useful method for diagnosis the person’s involvement with cancer cells and the cancer in the early stages. But according to the controversial outcomes of past studies, larger and more accurate studies are needed in groups with more cases of oral cancer.

Objective:The aim of the present study was to evaluate psychological problems in women with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).Materials and Methods:In this case-control study, 115 women with RSA were assigned to the case group and 240 non-pregnant women comprised the control group. The revised version of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90-R) and the Intolerance of Uncertainty scale (IUS) were used for assessing mental health problems.Results:The results showed that the mean Global Severity Index (GSI) of the SCL-90-R and the IUS scores in the case and control groups were 109.10±59.85 and 68.91±22.17, and 82.98±52.99 and 59.19±23.01, respectively. GSI was the strongest predictor of RSA [odds ratio (OR)=6.43; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.52-11.72]. The chance estimate of RSA was approximately 2.1 times higher in women in rural areas (OR=2.07; 95% CI: 1.16-3.69), and 2 times higher at 12 months after the last pregnancy (OR=1.99; 95% CI: 1.42-2.78).Conclusion:Psychological problems are greater after RSA. Therefore, it is suggested that the treatment of RSA emphasizes psychological counseling and psychological management.

Objectives: Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, known as TMDs, are significant public health problems and may result in pain and disability. In order to determine the prevalence of clinical/subjective TMD in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we used the research diagnostic criteria (RDC)/TMD axes. We assessed the anti-cyclic citrullinated protein (anti-CCP)-related TMD in RA for the first time.     Materials and Methods: Fifty-two RA patients were compared to 47 healthy controls with regard to complete blood count (CBC), serology, acute phase reactants (APR), and TMJ dysfunction.  Results: The anti-CCP antibody showed a significant correlation with the development of clinical TMD (P=0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI)=12.4%-35.6%). A prevalence of 50% was calculated through the RDC/TMD for such disorders. In RA patients, statistically significant differences were observed between the groups with and without clinical TMD regarding psychological depression and physical symptoms. Conclusions: According to the results, a significant correlation was found between the anti-CCP antibody and TMD. Therefore, when this antibody is detected in the blood serum, the treatment must be initiated. The RDC/TMD used in this study assessed the prevalence of TMJ dysfunction in conformity with RA-associated TMJ findings previously obtained through other conventional methods