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The oxidation of low-density lipoproteins and cell membrane lipids is believed to play an integral role in the development of fatty streak lesions, an initial step in coronary artery disease (CAD). Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is an enzyme associated with the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particle. PON1 protects LDL from oxidative modification by hydrolyzing lipid peroxides, suggestive of a role for PON1 in the development of CAD. The present study tested the hypothesis that Paraoxonase-1 promoter polymorphism T(-107)C could be a risk factor for severity of CAD in Iranian population. Paraoxonase-1 promoter genotypes were determined in 300 consecutive subjects (> 40 years old) who underwent coronary angiography (150 subjects with >50% stenosis served as cases [CAD+] and 150 subjects with < 20% stenosis served as controls [CAD-]). PON1 promoter genotypes were determined by PCR and BSTU1 restriction enzyme digestion. CAD+ Subjects did not show any significant differences in the distribution of PON1 promoter genotypes as compared to CAD- Subjects (P = 0.075). However the analysis of PON1 promoter genotypes distribution showed a higher percentage of (-107) TT among CAD+ compared with CAD- (P = 0.027). After controlling for other risk factors, the T(-107)C polymorphism had interaction with age (P = 0.012), but did not show any interaction with other risk factors such as BMI ,gender, smoking, diabetes, level of HDL-C, LDL-C, triglyceride and Total cholesterol. These data suggest that the TT genotype may represent a genetic risk factor for Coronary artery disease in Iranian population.

The use of corticosteroids is one of the methods put forward for the strengthening and speeding up the process of labor. After identification of glucocorticoid receptors in human amnion, the role of corticosteroids in starting the process of labor has been studied in numerous studies.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of intravenous Dexamethasone on preparing the cervix and on labor induction. A randomized, clinical, and double – blind trial was conducted on 172 women divided into a control and an experimental group. The inclusion criteria were that they had to be primparous, in or before the 40 the week of pregnancy, and with Bishop scores (B.S.s) of 4 or lower. The exclusion criteria were diabetes, preeclampsia, macrosomia, twin pregnancy, rupture of the membrane (ROM), breech, and women suffering from background diseases. The B.S.s of the women was measured in charge of the study, and each woman was intravenously injected with eight milligrams of Dexamethasone or eight milligrams of distilled water. Four hours after the injections, the B.S.s of the participants was measured, and they were put under the conditions of labor induction using oxytocin. Information was collected in checklists A and B. The patients were compared with respect to B.S., the time the induction started, the average interval between the start of induction and the beginning of the active phase of childbirth, and the average length of time between the start of the active phase and the second stage of childbirth.The first and five minutes Apgar scores of the two groups of women were compared. The frequencies, the means, and the standard deviations were calculated using the SPSS – 16 software, and analysis of the results was performed with the Student’s t- test and the chi-square test with P

Lipoprotein (a) [Lp (a) is formed by assembly of LDL-particles and the carbohydrate rich protein, apolipoprotein (a) [apo (a)]. Elevated plasma Lp (a) levels are an independent predictor of the development of premature coronary artery disease (CAD), but is not clear whether the apo (a) isoform plays on additional and independent role or not. To investigate the possible effect of apo (a) isoform on premature CAD (in patients < 55 years of age), we have analyzed apo (a) isoforms, Lp (a) level and their relation with many recognized CAD risk factors, in 60 male patients with angiographically defined CAD and in 60 male control with no angiographic evidence of CAD. The results show elevated Lp (a) concentration (29.4±16.1, vs. 16.5±9.9 P

Different classes of autoantibodies against two antigenic forms of modified low density lipoprotein (mod-LDL) were detected in 140 patients by indirect ELISa method. Investigated autoantibodes included total immunoglobulins (IgT). Immunoglobulin G (IgG), and immunoglobulin M (IgM) against oxidized LDL with copper ions (ox-LDL) and modified LDL with malondialdehyde (mal-LDL) (IgT-O) IgT against mal-LDL (IgT-M), IgG against ox-LDL (IgG-O), IgM against ox-LDL (IgM-o), and IgM against mal-LDL (IgM-M) were significantly (P