Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) are a group of inherited disorders characterized by recurrent infections, and in many cases autoimmunity and malignancies. A number of PID patients suffer from a variety of ocular manifestations. Although these associated ocular features are not common, awareness combined with better understanding of the contributing mechanisms will allow prompt diagnosis and specific treatment, leading to reduction or prevention of serious visual morbidities.

Background:Hemangioma, a congenital vascular malformation, is the most common benign liver lesion that is usually remain stable subsequently requiring not treatment; however, complications such as abdominal pain or fullness, coagulation disturbances, and inflammatory syndrome may occur, demanding a specific treatment of hemangioma.Objectives:To assess the safety, feasibility and efficacy of trans-catheter arterial embolization (TAE) for the treatment of Liver hemangiomaPatients and Methods:TAE was performed on 20 patients with liver hemangioma. The embolic agent used was polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles (300-400 micron, Jonson and Johnson Cordis, USA). All patients were followed up for 6 months. Imaging was carried out and patients were also evaluated symptomatically through telephone interview by a physician.Results:Twenty patients aged from 21 to 63 years (mean: 46.8, SD: 10.26) were included in this study. Post embolization syndrome, including abdominal pain, fever, and leukocytosis occurred in one patient 1 week after TAE and lasted for 3 days. No serious adverse event and TAE-related death was observed. None of the patient underwent another intervention including surgery. During follow up interval, decreased episode of abdominal pain was documented in all patients who had pain. Tumor enlargement was also stopped during the follow up. The average diameter of tumors was 97.00 mm (range: 25-200 SD: 47.85) and 88.95 mm (range: 23-195 SD: 43.27) before and after embolization, respectively. Comparison of images before and after TAE revealed statistically significant decrease in the size of lesion (P value: 0.004, t: 3.31).Conclusions:Our findings indicate that TAE is a safe and efficient procedure for the treatment of liver hemangioma. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to support therapeutic effects of TAE.

Administration of one dosage of DTP/Td vaccine during maintenance therapy and after cessation of therapy could be recommended, while one dosage of MMR vaccine at least three months after completion of therapy could be safe and beneficial.

Introduction: Osteoporosis falls among the major general health issues, specifically in the elderly, and is a widespread disease these days. According to various studies, good nutrition plays a significant role in osteoporosis prevention and treatment. The aim of this study was to conduct an extensive literature review on the effects of different nutrients to understand how macronutrients, micronutrients, and non-nutritive substances affect bone health. Methodology: To find relevant studies, the main keyword “osteoporosis” was searched in combination with “zinc,” “vitamin K,” “phosphorus,” “vitamin D,” “calcium,” “lipid,” “protein,” and “phytoestrogens” in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, SID, and Iran Medex databases. Findings: The most important element for bone health is calcium, which has a direct link to the bone mass density (BMD). In the case of calcium deficiency, high phosphorus content can damage bone tissue. The acceptable ratio of phosphorus to calcium is 0.5-1.5:1. Vitamin D is another important nutrient for bones; serum levels of vitamin D less than 20 ng/ml reduce bone density and increase the risk of fracture. High protein intake results in calcium excretion and loss of bone mass. In addition, calcium deficiency increases the risk of osteoporosis, specifically in the elderly. According to the literature, there is an inverse correlation between saturated fats and BMD. Vitamin K and magnesium deficiencies are correlated with BMD reduction and increased risk of osteoporosis. Copper and zinc are used as co-factors in the formation of collagen and elastin, and in mineralization of bone. As a result, deficiency of these elements may disrupt the process of incorporating minerals into the bone matrix. Conclusion: Good nutrition may play a significant role in osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Indeed, a healthy diet containing calcium (1,200 mg/day); vitamin D (600 IU); and certain amounts of protein, magnesium, and vitamin K can contribute greatly to bone health.

ObjectiveExtracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) emerged recently for the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions owing to its regenerative and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the aim was to compare the efficacies of ESWT and steroid injection in patients with coccydynia.DesignThirty-four patients with coccydynia were randomized into two groups. In the ESWT group, patients received radial shockwave for three weekly sessions. The second treatment group received an injection of steroid in the tip of the coccyx or sacrococcygeal junction. Outcome measures were visual analog scale, Short-Form Health Survey, and Dallas Pain Questionnaire. Visual analog scale was measured at baseline and 1 wk, 1 mo, 2 mos, and 6 mos after the intervention. Short-Form Health Survey and Dallas Pain Questionnaire were assessed before and 1 mo after treatment.ResultsThe visual analog scale score was significantly decreased in all follow-ups in both groups. There was also a significant decrease between 1 wk and three other posttreatment visits in the ESWT treatment group. Time and group interaction effect was significant on the visual analog scale (F2.64, 84.63 = 2.95, P = 0.043), in favor of ESWT. Concerning the Short-Form Health Survey and Dallas Pain Questionnaire, only some dimensions improved.ConclusionsESWT is an effective intervention in patients with coccydynia and had more long-lasting efficacy than steroid in terms of pain relief over 6 mos of observation.

We found a strong association between the polymorphisms of the TGF-β1 gene at codon 10 and codon 25 positions and atopic dermatitis.

Background: Renal cell cancer (RCC) is the tenth most common malignancy in adults. In recent years, several approaches of active and passive immunotherapy have been studied extensively in clinical trials of patients with RCC. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the clinical efficacy of various approaches of specific immunotherapy in patients with RCC. Methods: We searched Medline, Scopus, CENTRAL, TRIP, DART, OpenGrey and ProQuest without any language filter through to 9 October 2015. One author reviewed search results for irrelevant and duplicate studies and two other authors independently extracted data from the studies. We collated study findings and calculated a weighted treatment effect across studies using Review Manager (version 5.3. Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration). Results: We identified 14 controlled studies with 4013 RCC patients after excluding irrelevant and duplicate studies from 11,319 references retrieved from a literature search. Overall, five autologous tumor cell vaccines, one peptide-based vaccine, one virus-based vaccine and one dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine were studied in nine controlled studies of active specific immunotherapies. A total of three passive immunotherapies including autologous cytokineinduced killer (CIK) cells, auto lymphocyte therapy (ALT) and autologous lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells were studied in four controlled studies. The clinical efficacy of tumor lysatepulsed DCs, with CIK cells was studied in one controlled trial concurrently. The overall quality of studies was fair. Meta-analysis of seven studies showed that patients undergoing specific immunotherapy had significantly higher overall survival (OS) than those in the control group [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.89, p = 0.003]. In addition, a meta-analysis of four studies showed that there was a significant difference in progressionfree survival (PFS) between patients undergoing specific immunotherapy and patients in control groups (HR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.73-1, p = 0.05). Conclusions: Results of this systematic review suggest that some specific immunotherapies such as Reniale, ACHN-IL-2, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) virus-infected autologous tumor cells, ALT and CIK treatment could be beneficiary for the treatment of patients with RCC.

Background/Aims: There is little data concerning the incidence of alpha-1-antitrypsin"(AAT) deficiency, the most common genetic cause of liver disease, among children with neonatal cholestasis in Iran. Thus, this study was performed to analyze AAT deficiency in this group of patients. Materials and Methods: DNA samples from patients with neonatal cholestasis were investigated for Pi S and Pi Z alleles, using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: Thirty patients with neonatal cholestasis were enrolled. Among those who underwent biopsies, the results revealed neonatal hepatitis in 19, bile duct paucity in 1, steatohepatitis in 1, bile duct proliferation in 1, cirrhosis in 2, fibrosis in 2, and extrahepatic biliary atresia in 1 patient. No mutant allele was found in any patient. Conclusion: The incidence of AAT deficiency is very low in Iran; therefore, screening for AAT is not recommended for patients with neonatal cholestasis in Iran.