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Background and Methods: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the most common malignancies worldwide. The diagnosis and prognosis of the patients are very poor. In this study, we used in‐silico analysis and experimental techniques to investigate novel co‐expression genes and their associated miRNA networks in CRC. For this purpose, we conducted a comprehensive transcriptome analysis using online bulk and single‐cell RNA‐seq datasets. We then validated the results on tissue samples from cancerous and adjacent normal tissues from CRC patients by RT‐qPCR. Results: Using a weighted gene co‐expression network algorithm, we identified SLC4A4 as a significantly downregulated hub gene in the CRC. The single‐cell analysis indicated that the expression level of SLC4A4 in Paneth cells is higher than in other cell populations. Further computational analysis suggested hsa‐miR‐223‐3p and hsa‐miR‐106a‐5p as two specific hub‐miRNAs for the SLC4A4 gene. RT‐qPCR analysis showed a 2.60‐fold downregulation of SLC4A4. Moreover, hsa‐miR‐223‐3p and hsa‐miR‐106a‐5p showed an increased expression level of 5.58‐fold and 9.66‐fold in CRC samples, respectively. Based on the marginal model analysis, by increasing the expression of hsa‐miR‐106a‐5p, the average expression of the SLC4A4 gene significantly decreased by 103 units. Furthermore, ROC curves analysis indicated statistically significant for diagnostic ability of SLC4A4 (AUC: 0.94, Sensitivity: 95.5%, Specificity: 95.5%) and hsa‐miR‐106a‐5p (AUC: 0.72, Sensitivity: 72.7%, Specificity: 100%). Conclusion: This study provides a framework of co‐expression gene modules and miRNAs of CRC, which identifies some important biomarkers for CRC pathogenicity and diagnosis. Further experimental evidence will be required to support this study and validate the precise molecular pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate oxidative stress state in non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) patients at the time of diagnosis and by passing three months from the treatment. 37 patients with NAFLD in summer 2019 were enrolled in this study. Also, 37 healthy controls that were matched for sex and age were included as a control group. Oxidative stress parameters such as lipid peroxidation (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and Thiols were measured by standard methods and were then compared with before treatment. At the time of diagnosis, MDA levels were significantly increased and FRAP and Thiol levels were significantly decreased. After 3 months of treatment with pioglitazone, MDA levels decreased and FRAP and Thiol group increased. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with the higher levels of MDA and lower serum levels of total antioxidant capacity and Thiol group levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Mehdi. Qeisari, Tahmine. Tavakoli, Azin. Ayatollahi, Parisa. Rashtian Sir, Angiokeratomas are vascular malformations, which are clinically characterized by solitary or multiple papules or plaques. The lesion histologically defined as [...]

Background: Pre-hypertension is known as the precursor of hypertension. We could prevent or delay hypertension by controlling pre-hypertension. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the prevalence of pre-hypertension and its risk factors in an Iranian population, East of Iran, in 2014. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1280 subjects living in Birjand, East of Iran in 2014. After explaining about the project, a questionnaire containing demographic characteristics and clinical backgrounds was filled out by all subjects. Participants were classified as pre-hypertension (PHTN) if systolic blood pressure was 120 - 139 mmHg or if diastolic blood pressure was 80 - 89 mmHg. Data were analyzed by chi-square test and multiple logistic regression using SPSS (version 22). P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Among 1286 participants, 21.4% had pre-hypertension. Results showed that pre-hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) and smoking were more prevalent among men than women (P < 0.001), while prevalence of dyslipidemia was more observed in women (P < 0.001). In addition, the risk of pre-hypertension was more in men (OR = 2.9), overweight (OR = 3.7), and obese (OR = 5.6) subjects. Smoking cigarette showed a protective effect (OR = 0.4). Conclusions: Pre-hypertension was more prevalent among men and obese subjects. Since pre-hypertension progresses to hypertension and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, it needs more attention by public health policy makers to change people's lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatment of acne is an important issue for reducing the cosmetic and psychological burden of disease. Regarding the inflammatory effect of LT-B4 in acne lesions and action mechanism of Montelukast, this study was performed to determine the efficacy of Montelukastin acne treatment comparison with doxycycline. Materials and Methods: In a randomized clinical trial that was performed in Dermatology Clinic in a Training Tertiary Health Care Center in Tehran, Iran since January 2012 to May 2014, 52 patients with moderate acne were evaluated. The included patients were randomly assigned to receive doxycycline 100 mg/day plus 1% Clindamycin solution (Group 1) or Montelukast 5 mg daily plus 1% clindamycin solution (Group 2). The acne severity index was measured and compared between two groups at baseline (on admission), 1-month and 3 months later. Independent-Sample-T, Chi-Square, and Repeated-Measure ANOVA tests were used and were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05. Results: The mean age was 26.8 ± 7.1 in Group 1 and 25 ± 4.8 in Group 2 (P = 0.1). 73% women and 26.7% 4 men in Group 1 and 86.7% women, and 13.3% men in Group 2 (P = 0.01). The mean acne severity index at baseline was 18.2 ± 6.1 and 19 ± 4.2 in Montelukast and doxycycline group, respectively (P = 0.679). The mean acne severity index after 1-month was 10.5 ± 6.2 and 12.9 ± 3.3 in Montelukast and doxycycline group, respectively (P = 0). Finally, the mean acne severity index after 3 months follow-up was 8.6 ± 4.8 and 8.2 ± 1.2 in Montelukast and doxycycline group, respectively (P = 0.01). There was no significant difference between two groups regarding the amount of decrease in acne severity index across the study (P = 0.186). However, each groups showed a significant reduction in the acne severity index, separately (P = 0.001). Conclusion: It may be concluded that Montelukast is an effective and safe medication for moderate-level acne treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The primary goal of this placebo-controlled study was determining the effect of quadruple treatment with Saccharomyces boulardii or Lactobacillus reuteri on eradication of Helicobacter pylori and side effect of the treatment. Methods:This study was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Here, eradication of helicobacter pylori was reported comparing conventional anti-H. pylori therapy versus conventional therapy supplemented with S. boulardii and L. reuteri DSMZ 17648. A total of 156 patients were included in the current study; and patients positive for H. pylori infection (n =156) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 52 patients (Group P) received conventional quadruple therapy plus L. reuteri and 52 patients (Group S) received conventional quadruple therapy plus S. boulardii daily, for 2 weeks. Also, a total of 52 patients were included as control group. At the end of the treatment period, all the subjects continued to take proton pump inhibitor (PPI) alone for 14 days and then, no medication was given for 2 weeks again. Patients provided 2 fecal samples: one sample was prepared 2 weeks after PPI discontinuation, and one sample was prepared 1 month after the first test. During follow-up, gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed using an evaluation scale (Glasgow dyspepsia questionnaire (GDQ)), and adverse events were assessed at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. Results: A total of 156 subjects who were confirmed to be affected with H. pylori infection, which 60.9% of them were female and 39.1% of them were male, with a mean age of 47.76 ± 13.92 years old (age range of 16–74 years old) participated in the study. Eradication therapy was effective for 94.2 % of subjects in Group S and 92.3 % of subjects in Group P, and 86.5 % of subjects in control group with no differences between treatment arms. In the Group S, chance of developing symptoms of nausea (OR=2.74), diarrhea (OR=3.01), headache (OR=10.51), abdominal pain (OR=3.21), and anxiety (OR=3.58) was significantly lower than control group (p<0.05). But in Group P, only chance of developing headache was significantly reduced (OR=3.75, p<0.05) and no significant differences were seen in other side effects. Conclusion: Findings of the study revealed that in case groups, eradication rates were improved compared to the control group, but this improvement was not statistically significant. However, in the group that received the S. boulardii probiotic as a supplement, the side effects of quadruple treatment were significantly reduced, showing that adding S. boulardii supplement to the treatment protocol of the patients affected with H. pylori infection can help to reduce the side effects of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The success of treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with pegylated interferon-α (PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin (RBV) is affected by several host, viral, and treatment factors. This study was designed to describe the association of interleukin (IL) 28B genotypes for rs12979860 with sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients with genotype 1 CHC infection treated with PEGIFN α-2 and RBV. Materials and Methods: Interleukin-28B genotype in 100 studied patients was detected by tagman real-time polymerase chain reaction. Before treatment blood samples were obtained, then patients were treated for 48-week with a combination therapy using of the PEG-IFN α-2 and RBV. SVR evaluated 6 months after stopping therapy, and was defined as undetectable plasma hepatitis C virus-RNA. Results: Among studied patients, 65% were IL-28B CT, 27% CC, and 8% TT. In all studied patients, SVR was 58.3%, relapse 15.6%, and null virological response 26.1%. SVR rates were 76.9% in IL-28B-CC, 56.4% in IL-28B-CT, and 12.5% in IL-28B-TT patients. Relapse rates were 7.7% in IL-28B-CC, 12.9% in IL-28B-CT, and 62.5% in IL-28B-TT patients. There was a significant difference between response to treatment in patients IL-28B-CC, CT, and TT (P = 0.003). IL-28B genotype CC, (odds ratio = 0.053, 95% confidence interval; 0.005-0.54, P = 0.03), was the independent predicting factor. Conclusion: Interleukin-28B was an important predictor of CHC treatment outcome with Peg-IFN-α and RBV. IL-28B-CC seems to be more important than IL-28B-CT/TT in predicting positive treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B with its complications has become one of the universal problems. Injection drug use is one of the most important risk factors in the transmission of hepatitis B. Therefore, we assessed hepatitis B virus prevalence among cases with a history of intravenous drug use (IVDU) as the first announcement-based study in this regard. Materials and Methods: The announcement-based detection of hepatitis B seroprevalence in volunteers with a history of intravenous drug use was conducted in the Isfahan province. A comprehensive community announcement was made in all the public places and to all physicians, in all the regions. One thousand five hundred and eighty-eight volunteers were invited to the Isfahan reference laboratories and serum samples were tested for HBs-Ag, HBc Ab, and HBs-Ab, using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: In this study, 1588 individuals volunteered, who were estimated to be 50% of all the expected intravenous drug users in the community. HBs Ag was detected in 4.2% of them. HBc Ab and HBs Ab were detected in order in 11.4 and 17.3%, respectively. Conclusion: We estimated that the seroprevalence of hepatitis B positivity in intravenous drug users was moderate to high. Therefore, it was suggested that this group be encouraged to prevent acquiring infection by vaccination, education, counseling for risk reduction, and treatment of substance abuse, and finally hepatitis B virus (HBV) screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aimed to determine the frequency of the IL28B polymorphism rs8099917 in patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treated with pegylated-interferon-α2b (PEG-IFN-α2b) and ribavirin (RBV) and its treatment outcome. Materials and Methods: The IL28B rs8099917 genotypes were determined among 100 HCV-infected patients and the viral load was also estimated. PEG-IFN-α2b and RBV combination were administrated to the patients for 48 weeks and the treatment outcome was defined. Results: Sixty-seven (67%), 27 (27%), and 6 (6%) of 100 patients were determined as TT, GT, and GG genotype, respectively. The response rate to treatment was significantly higher in patients with TT genotype. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, patients with IL28B rs8099917 TT genotype achieve higher sustained virological response than the GT and GG genotypes. Thus, when there are no alternatives, treatment with PEG-IFN-α2b and RBV combination can be suggested in patients with IL28B TT genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]