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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease with an unknown aetiology. Although there is no definite treatment for this disease using proper prescribed medications, mortality and morbidity ratios could be decreased. The present study attempted to investigate adherence to medical treatment in patients suffering from SLE and to evaluate the related factors which influence adherence in order to improve patients’ prognoses. In this cross-sectional study, 132 patients with SLE who referred to the rheumatology clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital (Tehran, Iran) over the period of 2012-2013 wereexamined using a questionnaire. The applied questionnaire included two parts; the first part pertained to adherence to medication treatments (CQR: compliance questionnaire rheumatology), and the second part was related to the factors involved in adherence to medication treatments. The obtained data were analyzed using the Chi-Square test and processed by SPSS16.0 software.In this research, the mean adherence to drug treatment was calculated to be 72.48%. Among the variables of age, marital status, salary, education, distance from the clinic (accessibility), disease duration, level of patient activity, main medications consumed, and side effects, the only significant association was found between adherence level and lack of side effects due to SLE (p

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence and severity of depression in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, and healthy participants. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-three persons participated in this cross-sectional study between 2011 and 2012 in Imam Khomeini Hospital. The prevalence and severity of depression were assessed using the Hamilton Scale. Results: There was significantly higher prevalence of depression in CHC patients (35.9%) than in healthy participants (11.3%) and CHB patients (19.8%) (both P 0.05). Inactive HBsAg carriers differed significantly from CHB patients—excluding inactive HBsAg carriers—in depression prevalence (10.0% vs. 29.3%; P 0.05). Conclusion: Depression screening in chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C patients may be beneficial in disease management.

Aim: This study was designed to evaluate iron deficiency as a predisposing factor for resistant oral aphthosis inpatients with Behcet’s disease (BD).Methods: In a case control study 220 consecutive BD patients with oral aphthosis were enrolled. All patientshad been treated for at least 3 months. They were divided into two groups according to their treatment response(75 patients in the Case and 145 in the Control group). Demographic and clinical characteristics of the disease,serum iron, total iron binding capacity and serum ferritin were determined in each patient. We used indepen-dent t-test and Mann–Whitney U-test to compare the quantitative variables and chi-square test for qualitativevariables. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval at 95% (95% CI) were calculated for each item.Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in demographics or clinical characteristicsof the disease. We found iron deficiency in 72 patients (32.7%, 95% CI: 6.2), higher in the Case group thanControl (39.2% vs. 30.1%; P = 0.17). Despite the higher frequency of iron deficiency in men (26.8% vs. 14.5%),the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.09). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed thatnone of the iron deficiency or sex variables could predict the development of resistant oral aphthosis. The ORfor iron deficiency was 1.52 (95% CI: 0.81–2.86) and for male sex was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.56–1.91).Conclusion: Despite the higher frequency of iron deficiency in BD patients with resistant oral aphthosis, wewere not able to attribute this resistance to this deficiency.Key words: Behcet’s disease, iron deficiency, oral aphthosis, resistant cases, treatment.

Introduction Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in macrocytic anemia. Neurologic abnormalities of B12 deficiency include sensory deficits, loss of deep tendon reflexes, movement disorders, neuropsychiatric changes and seizures. Segmental involvement of the distal ileum, such as in tuberculosis, can cause vitamin B12 deficiency. To our knowledge, macrocytic anemia with unusual manifestations such as brain atrophy and seizures due to intestinal tuberculosis has not been reported in the literature. Case presentation A 14-year-old girl presented with complaints of paraplegia, ataxia, fever and fatigue that had started a few months earlier and which had been getting worse in the last three weeks. Her laboratory results were indicative of macrocytic anemia with a serum B12 level Conclusion Vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered in patients with neurologic features such as paresthesia, sensory deficits, urinary incontinence, dysarthria, and ataxia. The underlying cause of B12 deficiency should be determined and treated to obviate the patients' need for long term vitamin B12 therapy.