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The present study conducted a placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the impact of nano-curcumin on the inflammatory cytokines in mild-to-moderate hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A total of 60 COVID-19 patients were randomly divided into nano-curcumin and control groups, and then they received 240 mg/day nano-curcumin for 7 days. The clinical manifestation and laboratory parameters in patients were recorded on days 0 and seven. Also, SYBR Green real-time PCR and ELISA techniques were implicated in assessing the mRNA expression of IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, MCP-1, and TNF-α and the serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α inflammatory mediators, respectively. Although the clinical manifestations and laboratory parameters improved via the nano-curcumin treatment, the mRNA expression of IFN-γ (p = 0.006) and TNF-α (p = 0.04) were significantly reduced. Besides, a considerable difference was observed between the nano-curcumin and control groups in the expression of IFN-γ (p = 0.001), IL-1β (p = 0.0002), and IL-6 (p = 0.008). In addition, there was a significant difference between the nano-curcumin and control groups in the serum levels of IL-1β (p = 0.042). The evidence demonstrated that nano-curcumin could be implicated as a complementary medication to act as an antiinflammatory agent and inhibit inflammatory complications.

Background:Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HB vaccination is an essential step in the prevention of the disease and its consequent complications.Objectives:Immune status of medical personnel in teaching hospitals of Khuzestan is not well known. Since these personnel are usually at risk of needle stick and other high-risk events, some challenges exist in infection control committee with regard to managing these events. This study was conducted to assess post-vaccination immunity status and non-response to HBV vaccine as well as its predictors among medical staff in a teaching hospital affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) in Ahvaz, southwest Iran.Patients and Methods:In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the medical staff of a teaching hospital was evaluated for their immune response against HBV and factors affecting it. The study conducted in Razi Hospital, Ahvaz City, southwest of Iran, in 2013. Demographical, clinical, and laboratory data registered in medical files of hospital staff were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 using chi-square and Fisher exact tests. Differences with P value < 0.05 were considered significant. To identify predictors for non-responders, we used odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).Results:Out of 239 participants, 43 (18 %) were men and 196 (82%) were women. Their mean age was 31.9 ± 18.1 years (range of 20 - 55 years). Fourteen (5.9%) participants were non-responders, 37 (15.5%) were poor responders, and 188 (78.6%) were good responders. The non-responders were older (> 50 years) than the responders (P = 0.0001), while the body mass index (BMI) was not significantly different (P = 0.37) between them. Diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR: 7.3, 95% CI, 1.3 - 41.7, P = 0.05), and using immunosuppressive drugs (ISD) (OR: 3.2, 95% CI, 1.1 - 11.5, P = 0.03) were two variables in association with non-response to HB vaccine.Conclusions:Non-response rate to HB vaccine in our study was approximately 6%. Age over 50 years, DM, and receiving immunosuppressive drugs may be considered as predictors for non-response to HB vaccine in medical staff.

Background: Mucormycosis is an uncommon life-threatening fungal infection. The major risk factors of this infection include uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, prolonged steroid therapy, persistent neutropenia, hematological malignancies, autoimmune disorders, trauma, burns and surgical wounds. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the epidemiology and treatment outcome of mucormycosis in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed during a period of 10 years from April 2004 to March 2014 at Razi hospital in Ahvaz, southwest of Iran, during years 2004 to 2014. Demographic data, laboratory data, clinical features, antifungal treatment, the need for surgical debridement and the outcome were collected. Data were summarized using descriptive statistical methods and analyzed by SPSS version 15 software. Results: The study included 20 patients with a biopsy-proven diagnosis of mucormycosis. Regarding the findings, the mean age was 51.4 ± 9.7 years. Eighty-five percent of patients had uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Findings showed that all the cases received amphotericin B, but surgical debridement was performed on 10 patients (50%). Most prevalent season of mucormycosis was winter (40%). Conclusions: Prognosis of patients that underwent surgery and medical therapy was significantly better than medical therapy alone (90% vs. 50% patient's survival).