The fascioliasis situation in humans and livestock of Iranian Mazandaran is analysed for the first time. Coprological studies showed 7.3% and 25.4% global prevalences in sheep and cattle, respectively. Studies in slaughterhouses indicate that sheep and cattle may be the main reservoir species, buffaloes may play local roles in the transmission, and goats and horses probably only participate sporadically. Morphometric studies by computer image analysis showed that forms intermediate between Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica appear in addition to both species. A total of 107 infected humans were diagnosed during the 1999-2002 period, which suggests that fascioliasis may be widespread. The absence of differences in human fascioliasis among gender and age groups differs from other human endemic areas. Both human and animal infections show marked differences between western and eastern Mazandaran. Traditions in herbal condiments for human consumption, methods of animal husbandry and annual rainfall may explain the higher prevalences in western Mazandaran.
Background:Testicular cancer accounts for about 1 - 1.5% of all malignancies in men. Radical orchiectomy is curative in 75% of patients with stage I disease, but advance stage with retroperitoneal lymph node involvement needs chemotherapy. All patients who have residual masses ≥ 1 cm after chemotherapy should undergo postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND).Objectives:Treatment of advanced nonseminomatous testicular cancer is usually a combination of chemotherapy and surgery. We described our experience about postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND) in our center.Patients and Methods:In a retrospective cross-sectional study between 2006 and 2011, patients with a history of postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND) in Imam Khomeini hospital were evaluated. All patients had normal postchemotherapy serum tumor markers and primary nonseminomatous cancer. We reviewed retrospectively clinical, pathological, and surgical parameters associated with PC-RPLND in our center.Results:Twenty-one patients underwent bilateral PC-RPLND. Mean age was 26.3 years (ranged 16 - 47). Mean size of retroperitoneal mass after chemotherapy was 7.6 cm. Mean operative time was 198 minutes (120 - 246 minutes). Mean follow-up time was 38.6 months. Pathologic review showed presence of fibrosis/necrosis, viable germ cell tumor and teratoma in 8 (38.1%), 10 (47.6%) and 3 (14.28%) patients, respectively. One patient in postoperative period of surgery and three patients in two first years after surgery were expired. Of 17 alive patients, only two (11.8%) had not retrograde ejaculation.Conclusions:PC-RPLND is one the major operations in the field of urology, which is associated with significant adjunctive surgeries. In appropriate cases, PC-RPLND was associated with good cancer specific survival in tertiary oncology center.
Background:Current research findings demonstrate that acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine, has beneficial effects on several acute and chronic infectious and inflammatory diseases. Acupuncture promotes tissue healing and regulates immune response in various disease conditions. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan from genus Leishmania. Acupuncture is supposed to accelerate healing of CL because of common mechanisms involved in the cure of the CL lesions.Materials and Methods:60 BALB/c mice were experimentally infected with L. major strain MRHO/IR/75/ER and divided into three groups: (1) Treatment group received acupuncture 2 times a week for 5 weeks (10 sessions) with intraperitoneal diazepam as a sedative agent. (2) Diazepam control group only received diazepam the same as the treatment group. (3) Control group did not receive any intervention. Size of the lesions was measured before the experiment, on session 5 and 10 and 4 weeks after the experiment. Parasite burden was evaluated by microscopic assay as well as quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction technique.Results:Size of the lesions decreased significantly on session 5 in treated group in comparison with session 0 (P = 0.02) while the size of the lesions increased significantly in two control groups on session 5 and 4 weeks after treatment (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01 respectively). Mean parasite burden did not show a significant difference between or within groups on session 0 and 10 by any methods.Conclusions:This investigation showed that acupuncture decreased size of the CL lesions by session 5 in the BALB/c mice model, but did not cause a significant reduction in parasite burden.
Background:Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists initiate androgen deprivation in treating prostate cancer (PC). Triptorelin is a synthetic GnRH and many of its market brands such as Diphereline have been introduced so far.Objectives:We compared the efficacy of a sustained-release formulation of Triptorelin (Microrelin), domestically produced in Iran, and compared it with Diphereline in a double-blinded randomized clinical trial.Patients and Methods:Patients were randomly assigned to Group A (Microrelin S.R. 3.75 mg, Pooyesh Darou, Iran) and Group B (Diphereline S.R. 3.75 mg, IPSEN, France). Each patient received monthly intramuscular injections. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and circulatory testosterone were measured at baseline and after one, 3, and 6 months.Results:Each group contained 40 patients. In Group A, PSA was reduced from 75.78 ± 72.43 ng/mL to 1.93 ± 1.40 ng/mL after 6 months and testosterone was reduced from 3.50 ± 1.12 nmol/L to 0.81 ± 0.05 nmol/L. There was no significant difference between the efficacy of Microrelin and Diphereline. Two patients in the Microrelin Group and one patient in the Diphereline Group failed to reach medical castration (testosterone < 1.7 nmol/L), which illustrates that the power of Microrelin and Dipherelin in initiating medical castration is about 95% and 97.5%, respectively.Conclusions:Our study showed that Microrelin is as effective as Diphereline in reducing PSA and testosterone and can be recommended to initiate medical castration in patients with PC.
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