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Background: Endoscopic examination of the gastrointestinal tract through macroscopic and histopathological evaluation provides a tool to differentiate the major causes of functional dyspepsia. The distinction is not always clear. This study aimed to assess the frequency and type of the macroscopic and histopathological changes in gastrointestinal tract endoscopy in patients with symptoms of functional dyspepsia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 97 patients aged 10–85 years who underwent gastroscopy due to functional dyspepsia symptoms. The patients had no history of weight loss, major comorbidities like diabetes or cirrhosis, non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) consumption, peptic ulcer, or any other confounding causes. Biopsy specimens were taken from the stomach and duodenum for histopathological examination. The presence of Helicobacter pylori infection was established based on histopathological examination and a positive rapid urease test. Results: Gastric biopsies of 97 patients with functional dyspepsia were studied. In histological examination of gastric mucosal biopsies, chronic inflammation was present in 94 (96.9%), activity was seen in 47 (48.5%), glandular atrophy was seen in 3 (3.1%), and intestinal metaplasia was seen in 9 (9.2%) patients. H. pylori was identified on gastric mucosal biopsies in 46 (47.4%) patients based on sections stained with H&E and Giemsa. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it is concluded that patients with functional dyspepsia have a higher frequency of gastric mucosal inflammation and H. pylori infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Functional dyspepsia is a common, troubling, and usually chronic disorder. Although the merit of using pathological assays has not been confirmed, medications affecting eosinophils may result in some improvements. Disseminated distribution of mast cells may also be an essential factor. Given the probable associations and lack of evidenced-based data, this study was conducted to comparatively investigate the number of eosinophils and mast cells in the duodenum in functional dyspepsia patients and healthy controls. METHODS In this case-control study, 150 consecutive subjects in Kerman, Iran, were enrolled in 2015 and 2016; the subjects consisted of 100 patients with functional dyspepsia and 50 asymptomatic healthy controls. Samples from the two groups were compared for the number of eosinophils, mast cells, and Helicobacter pylori presence by grasp biopsy. RESULTS The mean number of mast cells significantly differed between the groups (P = 0.001), but the eosinophil count was similar (p > 0.05). Female gender, no opioid use, and H. pylori may increase mast cell count (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Overall, the mast cell count was significantly different between people with functional dyspepsia and people without it, but the eosinophil count in the two groups was similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:In tumoral cells, the HER-2/Neu is an oncogene and overexpression would result in further membranous proteins. The role of this gene is known in ling and breast cancers. This study was undertaken to determine the HER-2/Neu overexpression in gastrectomy samples in patients with gastric cancer and its association with tumor histopathology prognostic factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 48 samples of gastric cancer under gastrectomy. The slides were prepared to assess HER-2/Neu stained by IHC method (Biogenax Kit and DAOK criteria). Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 20.0. Results: Out of 48 cases, 79.2% were males. The mean age was 59.93 ± 13.95 years and the mean tumor size was 5.5 ± 2.45 cm. Majority of cases were in anthrum and pylor (43.8%). Lauren class showed a higher frequency of intestinal type (72.9%). In surgery the majority of cases were found to be in T3 stage (87.5%). Her-2/Neu was positive in 10.4% of cases and it was negative in 89.6% of cases. Despite the higher rate of tumors with further expression of HER-2/Neu in those with a size over 5 cm and with vascular invasion, there was no significant association between Her-2/Neu and other variables (P > 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, overexpression of HER-2/Neu in gastric cancer is low (10.4%) and there is no significant association with other variables. It is suggested that further similar studies with a larger sample size be carried out to definitely determine the association between this marker and prognostic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common gastrointestinal cancer in Iran. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) accounts as one of the main risk factors for gastric non-cardia cancer (GNCC). It is suggested that high serum selenium level may have a protective role in GNCC. In this cross-sectional study, we determined the serum Se level and the status of H. pylori infection in two populations with GC and functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods: The enrolled patients were 85 (27 women, 58 men) with recent pathologically proven GNCC (adenocarcinoma) and 85 (34 women, 51 men) FD patients. Serum Se was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. H. pylori IgG antibody was detected by quantitative enzyme immunoassay. Results: The mean age in the GNCC and FD patients were 62.85±14.6 and 58.9±14.7 years, respectively (P=0.08). The serum selenium levels were 111.6±27.7 and 129.9±32.1 μg/L (mean±SD) in GNCC and FD patients, respectively (P<0.001). The frequency of H. pylori infection was 49.4% (n=42) and 68.2% (n=58) in GNCC and FD patients (P=0.013). The crude and adjusted odds ratio (OR) between GNCC and the linear effect of serum selenium level were 0.98 and 0.982, respectively (P=0.002). This means that each unit increase in serum selenium level decreases the odds of cancer by 2%. Conclusion: Serum selenium level was significantly lower in GNCC cases. It suggests that lower serum selenium might have some association with the risk of GNCC. H. pylori infection does not play a significant impact on this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Hepatitis B virus infection is one of the most common causes of acute and chronic hepatitis worldwide. Furthermore, since most people with hepatitis B virus are asymptomatic, timely diagnosis is important for prevention. This study has evaluated the prevalence of Hepatitis B seromarkers in marriage candidates. Design: In this Cross-sectional study, 370 marriage volunteers selected by the simple sampling method were investigated in 2011 - 2012. Results: A total of 185 men and 185 women were investigated. Mean Age of participants was 24.7 years. The prevalence rates of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) and anti-hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) were 1.1%, 47.6% and 8.9% respectively. Frequency of HBsAg was 0.5% and 1.6% in men and women respectively. The prevalence of anti-HBs was 43.8% in men and 51.45% in women. Anti-HBs was more common in young people and those with higher levels of education and positive history of vaccination. The prevalence of anti-HBc was 8.1% and 9.7% in men and women respectively. Conclusion: Although Kerman is a low endemic area, due to the high risk of transmission to the spouse and offspring, screening for HBV study before marriage is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Approach to the small intestine has been difficult even with newer methods. Double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) has been created for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in diseases of the small intestine. Small intestinal diseases have different etiologies in each country. The DBE has been introduced in recent years in Iran. Our aim was to study the indications and results of DBE in some academic centers in Iran. Methods: Fifty-five patients with symptoms and signs related to small intestine without definitive diagnosis but with previous workup were enrolled in the study. The DBE was performed in three different medical universities in Iran. Results: The mean age of the patients that underwent the DBE was 47.2 ± 17.3 years. Abdominal pain (54.5%) and occult gastrointestinal bleeding (23.6%) were the most common presentations. Small bowel lesions were detected in 26 patients (47.3%); the most common lesions were ulcer (46.2%) and polyps (19.2%). Crohn's disease (12.7%) was the commonest diagnosis found in DBE procedure. Patients presenting with abdominal pain or lower hemoglobin level were more likely to be diagnosed (both p≤ 0.05). Small intestinal diseases were ultimately diagnosed in 47.3% of the patients. Twenty percent of the patients had another disease outside the small bowel. Conclusions: DBE is an effective and relatively safe diagnostic and therapeutic option for small bowel evaluations. Accurate selection of patients and more experience technicians and physicians will improve the efficacy of this procedure in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in patients with psoriasis. Patients and methods The study group included seventy-three patients with psoriasis aged 20-50 years and an equally sized sex and age matched control group. CVD risk factors including diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), dyslipidemia, obesity and smoking history were assessed. Results Most of the CVD risk factors were more prevalent in psoriasis patients versus controls. The risk factors with a positive correlation included: DM (OR: 4.96, CI: 1.165-14.89), HTN (OR:3.16, CI:1.01-9.81), hypertriglyceridemia (OR:3.91, CI: 1.51-10.09), obesity (OR: 2.74, CI: 1.34-5.60) and increased level of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (OR:1.77, CI:1.08-1.73). No significant differences were found between two groups for high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and cigarette smoking. Conclusion CVD risk factors were more common in this young and middle aged psoriasis patients group, so early screening test for CVD risk factors is recommended in this group of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Noncompliance with the recommended infection control measures by the healthcare professionals (HCPs) plays a major role in transmission of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) viruses in hemodialysis (HD) wards. This study aimed to determine the compliance rate of the HCP with safety measures in the HD wards in southeast Iran. Patients and Methods. A total of 208 patients were enrolled. Adherence of HCPs with standard infection control measures was assessed. Results. Sixty-one HCPs with a mean age of 32.4 ± 11.2 years old were responsible for healthcare services. Compliance with the following items was weak: not sharing medications trolley (29.8%), disinfecting the shared instruments (46.2%), using single use materials for many patients (52.4%), carrying used materials in disposable containers (51.9%), not returning of unused materials to the clean room (55.3%), and adherence to hand washing (58.7%). Periodic monitoring for HBV and HCV was performed on 100% and 69.7% of the patients, respectively. Less than 2/3 of HCPs participated in the retraining courses. Conclusion. Compliance of HCPs with safety measures for viral hepatitis prevention was partly inadequate in HD wards. Emphasis on retraining of HCPs and official supervision would be effective steps in the reduction of viral dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the risk factors and frequency of hepatitis B and C virus co-infections in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients., Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Control of Diseases Centre of Kerman Medical University, southern Iran, between May and December 2011. Demographic features and history of high-risk behaviours were evaluated in 165 patients positive for human immunodeficiency virus. Third-generation hepatitis C virus antibody and hepatitis B surface antigen tests were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. SPSS 18 was used for statistical analysis., Results: Out of the 165 patients, 136 (82.4%) were male and 29 (17.6%) were female. The mean age of the subjects was 40.4 +/- 9 years. Positive hepatitis C antibody was found in 122 (73.9%) and positive hepatitis B surface antigen was present in 6 (3.6%). Frequency of all three viruses co-infection was 3 (1.8%). History of imprisonment (OR = 17.5; 95% CI: 7.1-43.1) and drug injection addiction (OR = 15.3; 95% CI: 6.4-36.1) were the most significant risk factors involved in hepatitis C virus co-infection., Conclusion: Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection was high and it was strongly related to history of imprisonment and drug injection addiction.