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Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is one the most infectious microorganism of human disease found in half of the world's population. Despite intense investigations into the spread of rosacea, the precise etiology remains unclear. There are theories, which suggest H. pylori as a predisposing factor for the occurrence. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of H. pylori in patients with rosacea. Methods: This analytical-descriptive study was conducted on patients with rosacea disease attending Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Dermatology Clinics from October 2011 to January 2011. Patients, who were 18-to 65-year-olds with confirmed rosacea diagnosis, were included in the study. All patients were referred to a dermatologist and the severity of rosacea was categorized in 3 grades of mild, moderate and severe. Then H. pylori infection was investigated using H. pylori stool antigen. P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 63 patients with rosacea, 35 patients (55.55%) were male and 28 patients (44.44%) were female. Based on the rosacea categorization, 11 (17.46%), 32 (50.79%), and 20 (31.74%) patients had respectively severe, moderate, and mild rosacea. There was no statistical significant difference regarding age and gender between different severities (P = 0.39). Forty patients (63.4%) out of all 63 were positive for H. pylori on stool antigen examination. There was no statistically significant association between H. pylori infection and gender (P = 0.87) or age (P = 0.62). There was a statistically significant difference between patients with H. pylori negative and positive test results considering severity (P = 0.013). Conclusions:In conclusion, although no association between rosacea and H. pylori infection was seen, there was a significant association between H. pylori infection and cases of severe rosacea.

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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are among the severe threats to health care systems worldwide. Here, we investigated the association of HCV genotypes and cirrhosis with T2DM among HCV-positive patients. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed from Jan 2017 to Jan 2018 at Sina Clinical-Educational infectious diseases ward, the reference center of infectious diseases in northwest Iran. All serology HCV-positive patients attending this center were included in the study. Forty-eight patients were included, 19 of which had a positive history of diabetes. Blood samples from patients were used for complete blood count, liver function tests, fasting blood sugar, HbA1C, HCV antibodies, and HCV genotype. Then the characteristics among patients with and without T2DM were compared. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: No significant difference in demographic variables were observed between patients with and without T2DM. Of 48 patients with HCV infection, 29 patients (39.58%) had T2DM. The hepatitis C infection duration among diabetic and non-diabetic patients was 9.03 ± 0.76 years and 8.53 ± 1.01 years, respectively (P = 0.04). Of 8 patients with cirrhosis, six patients (75%) had diabetes. The relative risk for diabetic patients with HCV infection to develop cirrhosis was 4.57 (95% CI [1.02-20.36], P = 0.04). The most prevalent genotype was HCV type 1 among both diabetic and non-diabetic groups. No significant association was observed in logistic regression analysis between the HCV genotypes and T2DM (P = 1.000). Conclusion: In the current study, we showed that patients with HCV infection are at a higher risk of developing T2DM, and T2DM showed to be a risk factor for the developing cirrhosis among patients with HCV infection.

Background and Objectives: One of the surgical treatments for breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is debulking lipectomy. The aim of this study is to investigate whether dermal thickness could be utilized as an objective indicator of post-operative changes following debulking. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of BCRL patients who underwent debulking lipectomy was conducted. MRI-based dermal thickness was measured by two separate trained readers at 16 regions of the upper extremity. Pre- and post-operative reduction in dermal thickness was compared across the affected and unaffected (control) arms for each patient. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess for significant change. Univariate linear regression was used to assess the relationship between dermal thickness reduction and changes to LYMPH-Q scores, L-Dex scores, and relative volume change. Results: Seventeen patients were included in our analysis. There was significant reduction in dermal thickness at 5/16 regions in the affected arm. Dermal thickness change was significantly correlated with LYMPH-Q scores, L-Dex scores, and relative volume change in 2/16 limb compartments. There was predominant dermal thickening in the dorsal compartment of the upper arm and in the ventral and ulnar compartments of the forearm. Conclusions: Dermal thickness shows promising utility in tracking post-operative debulking procedures for breast cancer-related lymphedema. Further studies with larger patient populations and a variety of imaging modalities are required to continue to develop a clinically objective and reproducible method of post-surgical lymphedema staging and monitoring.