Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the main cause of infection that has the potential to cause chronic liver disease. Injecting drug users (IDUs) have a key role in HCV transmission in Iran. Knowledge of the distribution of various genotypes is essential for successful future research and control strategies.Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify HCV genotypes among chronic infected injecting drug users (IDUs) in Tehran, Iran.Patients and Methods: In this cross sectional study, we investigated HCV genotypes among 36 plasma samples from HCV infected IDUs (35 male and 1female, mean age: 33.67, and age range 20-62 years), referred to Research Center of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization(IBTO) in Tehran from December 2008 to March 2009.HCV Genotyping was performed using type-specific primers.Results: Genotypes 3a, 1a and 1b were found in 58.3 %, 25% and 16.7 % patients, respectively.Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the high prevalence of genotype 3a among injecting drug users, which is also found in Europe and United states
HSV-1 is associated with oral lesions. Recently, anti-herpetic activity of different plant species has been investigated. In this study, the effects of Artemisia aucheri aqueous extract on the HSV-1 virus-infected Vero cells were assessed. The highest cell viability occurred in plant aqueous extracts was with a concentration of 75 μg/mL, 1–2 h before viral infection. The IC50 of the aqueous extract of 24.7 μg/ml was calculated. Most percentage of infected cell inhibition (89.6%) was with the chloroform fraction in concentration of 75 μg/ml, and the least percentage of infected cell inhibition (21.7%) was in concentration of 12.5 μg/ml with the ethyl acetate fraction in comparison with untreated control. Moreover, Q-PCR results revealed that the expression of genes UL46 and US6 were significantly reduced in the presence of different treatments utilized in the experiment. In conclusion, the present study proposes that aqueous extracts of medicinal plant Artemisia aucheri have anti-viral property and may be considered as a remedy for HSV-1 treatment.
We present our study on 318 patients suspected with Fanconi anemia (FA) referred to The Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization during the period of 4 years. Mitomycin C (MMC) was used as a DNA cross-linker to study chromosomal breakage. In total 61 positive cases were diagnosed cytogenetically. The ratio of women being affected was slightly higher than men. Comparison of several hematologic and clinical parameters in FA (MMC positive) and non-FA (MMC negative) patients showed no clinically significant differences. This study also indicates that this sort of test is very useful and essential for accurate diagnosis of patients with FA with or without congenital anomalies.
Background and Aim: Tooth eruption is a multifaceted physiological process, which can be delayed by factors such as malnutrition. This study aimed to compare the serum levels of vitamin D and calcium in infants with a longer than normal eruption time of the first deciduous tooth with the control group (normal eruption). Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, serum levels of vitamin D in 61 children with a mean age of normal dental eruption in Iranian children (8 months and less) were compared with 61 children with eruption age of more than 8 months. The children were matched in terms of age, sex, place of birth and residence, age of birth, birth weight, and other eruption-related items. Student's t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The first erupted tooth in all infants was the mandibular incisor. The mean serum level of vitamin D was 38.1±24.1 ng/ml in infants with eruption age of 8 months or less and 40.0±21.5 ng/ml in the group of eruption age over 8 months (P=0.63). Serum calcium level was 10.03±0.55 mg/dl in the first group and 9.92±0.57 mg/dl in the second group (P=0.28). There was no significant relationship between gender, maternal education, A+D supplementation, infant nutrition (breast milk, formula, and combination), and different levels of vitamin D (deficient, inadequate, adequate, and toxic) with the average age of eruption of the first deciduous tooth (P>0.05). Conclusion: It seems that serum vitamin D and calcium levels in this age group do not affect the eruption time of deciduous teeth.
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