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Introduction: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a prevalent lethal condition. The clinical feature of this type of poisoning varies from headache and nausea to more severe conditions. After recovery from the acute intoxication, neurological or behavioral problems may emerge. In 3%-40% of cases, delayed neuropsychiatric syndrome (DNS) in post CO poisoning, generally develops within few weeks after a preliminary remission from acute poisoning. Case Presentation: We report a patient with relatively suitable premorbid. He was admitted to the hospital with fire burning, co poisoning and discharged home with good general conditions and mental status by receiving normal baric oxygen 100%. later in post-operative management of skin graft he developed a fulminant neurological deficit by impaired memory and concentration, loosening of association, disorientation to place, time and person, agitation, aggression, mood labiality, urinary incontinency and encopresis, slow psychomotor retardation, false and approximate answers to questions, auditory and visual hallucination, staring and inappropriate laughing. As the patient was not responsive to neurological treatment, he was referred to psychiatric service. DNS in this patient resolved gradually during a short period of psychopharmacotherapy and supportive psychotherapy. Conclusion: CO poisoning may lead to neuropsychiatric sequel and neuroimaging changes which could be reversible.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a therapeutic option in different fields based on its growth factors. We investigated influence of PRP on islet survival, function, transplantation outcomes, and pancreatic genes expression in diabetic rats. In vitro: pancreatic isolated islets were incubated with/without PRP then viability, insulin secretion, and content were assessed. In vivo: Series 1 were designed to determine whether islet treatment with PRP improves transplantation outcome in diabetic rats by evaluating plasma glucose and insulin concentrations and oxidative parameters. Series 2, effects of PRP subcutaneous injection were evaluated on pancreatic genes expression and glucose tolerance test in diabetic rats. PRP enhanced viability and secretary function of islet. Reduced glucose and malondialdehyde levels as well as increased insulin levels, superoxide dismutase activity, and expressions of pdx1 and insulin were observed in diabetic rats. PRP treatment has positive effects on islet viability, function, transplantation outcome, and pancreatic genes expression in diabetic rats.

Introduction: Parquet poisoning has been elaborated to be very common among developing countries, particularly in regions with agriculture economy. One of the most common presentations of paraquat poisoning is oropharyngeal burns. Herein, we report a patient from a dry and warm district in the geographic center of Iran where agriculture and, as a result, paraquat poisoning are not commonly reported. Case Presentation: A 25-year-old man presented to hospital subsequent to a suicide attempt by ingesting oral paraquat poison. He gradually developed odynophagia and trismus-like appearance that, after a psychiatric consultation, was misdiagnosed as a drug side effect in the form of dystonia. Upon further physical examination, oral ulcers on his tongue were revealed to be responsible for the symptom. Conclusion: Paraquat poisoning is very rare in regions with lower rates of agriculture activities. In any patient with poisoning, however, it is necessary to consider intraoral examination to rule out any other suspected diagnosis.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes histological alterations which in turn affects functional activity. Studies have demonstrated that dental pulp-derived stem cells conditioned medium has beneficial effects on the nervous system. Besides, collagen hydrogel acts as a drug releasing system in SCI investigations. This research aimed to evaluate effects of dental pulp-derived stem cells conditioned medium loaded in collagen hydrogel in SCI. After culturing of Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs), SHED-conditioned medium (SHED-CM) was harvested and concentrated. Collagen hydrogel containing SHED-CM was prepared. The rats were divided into five groups receiving laminectomy, compressive SCI with or without intraspinal injection of biomaterials (SHED-CM and collagen hydrogel with or without SHED-CM). After 6 weeks, histological parameters were estimated using stereological methods. The total volume of preserved white matter and gray matter (p0.05) as well as the total number of neurons and oligodendrocytes in the rats received SHED-CM loaded in collagen hydrogel were significantly higher, and also lesion volume and lesion length were significantly lower (p0.05) compared to those of the other injured groups. In conclusion, intraspinal administration of SHED-CM loaded in collagen hydrogel leads to neuroprotection, proposing a cell-free therapeutic approach in SCI.

Transplantation of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) has shown to have a vital role in promoting nerve regeneration after SCI. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of BMSCs transplantation in healing of spinal cord injury (SCI) in mice based on morphologic parameters. Forty two male mice were randomly divided into 3 groups of control with no intervention, experimental SCI without treatment, and experimental SCI transplanted with 2 × 105 BMSCs intravenously. To induce SCI bilaterally, T10 was compressed for 2 min. The animals were sacrificed 3 and 5 weeks after SCI and T7-T11 segments of spinal cord were removed and stained by Giemsa and H&E methods. Stereological assessment estimated the gray and white matter volume, the number of neurons and neuroglia and diameter of central canal. The average amount of gray matter in SCI injury group was significantly lower than control group. An increase in the number of neurons was noted after cell transplantation. The number of neurons in SCI injury group significantly decreased in comparison to the control group. In cell transplantation group, a significant increase in the number of neurons was visible when compared to SCI injury group. The increase in the number of neurons after cell transplantation denotes to the regenerative potential of BMSCs in SCI. These findings can be added to the literature and open a new window when targeting treatment of SCI.

Background: Brain tumors are among the most lethal and devastating cancers. Medulloblastoma tumor is a common solid brain malignancy, arising in the posterior fossa. Stereological methods are used in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain unbiased estimation of the total volume of the structure of interest. Objectives: In the current study, we evaluated cerebellar tumor volume pre- and post-operative in patients suffering from meduloblastoma tumor using MRI and Cavalieri method. Patients and Methods: The study was performed on 16 subjects consisting of two groups of eight people including patient and control groups. Slide direction were in both sagittal and axial planes. Pre- and post-operative volume of medulloblastoma tumor were determined on MR scanning images using the point-counting approach of Cavalieri method. Results: The post-operative tumor volume in both sagittal (P = 0.028) and axial (P = 0.046) MR images was statistically reduced by 90% compared to the pre-operative volume. Moreover, the pre-operative volume of the cerebellum in patients increased by 38% in patients as compared to the normal subjects (P = 0.028). Conclusion: It could be concluded that MRI-estimated tumor-volume might be useful in evaluating the efficiency of surgical treatment and prognostication of tumor regression rate.

Background Premature ovarian failure is one of the major side effects of chemotherapy drugs. Blood plasma contains several factors that might lead to the repair of different tissues. Objective The chemoprotective effects of plasma derived from mice with different ages and genders were assessed on ovarian tissue in cyclophosphamide-treated mice. Methods Forty-two adult female mice were divided into six groups as follows: (A) control; (B) 0.9% sodium chloride as vehicle; (C) cyclophosphamide; (D) cyclophosphamide + young male blood plasma; (E) cyclophosphamide + old male blood plasma; (F) cyclophosphamide + young female blood plasma. Ovarian failure was induced by injecting cyclophosphamide. On the 1st day, three groups received simultaneous injections of 150 μL intraperitoneal and 70 μL intravenous plasma derived from mice of different ages and genders. Each plasma type (150 μL) was then injected intraperitoneally every other 3 days for 19 days. On day 21, the dissected ovaries were stained for stereological analysis. Also, estrogen and progesterone levels were measured. Results Cyclophosphamide had damaging effects on ovarian parameters and led to reduced hormone levels in comparison with the control group. However, treating with young female and, old male blood plasma, to a lesser degree, showed beneficial effects on the number of primordial follicles, pre-antral follicles, and granulosa cells. Also, these two treatments had protective effects on the volume of ovarian parameters as well as estrogen and progesterone levels in comparison with the cyclophosphamide group (P Conclusion Plasma derived from mice of different ages and genders can ameliorate premature ovarian failure against the adverse effects of cyclophosphamide.

Aim: HIV-infected patients risk coinfection with HBV and HCV. This study aimed to investigate molecular epidemiology of HBV and HCV coinfection in Iranian HIV-infected individuals. Materials & methods: In this cross-sectional study, serological markers of HBV and HCV infection (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg], hepatitis B e-antigen [HBeAg], hepatitis B e-antibody [HBeAb] and hepatitis B core antibody [HBcAb]) and anti-HCV antibodies [anti-HCV Abs] were tested in 198 Iranian HIV-infected patients. From plasma, HBV viral load was determined using COBAS TaqMan 48, and HCV-RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-nested PCR. Results: 85 out of 198 (42.9%) patients were anti-HCV Ab positive and 42/198 (21.2%) had detectable HCV-RNA. Eight (4.0%) had traceable HBV-DNA. All these patients were infected by HBV genotype D. 55 (27.8%) were HBcAb positive. Nine (4.4%) were HBsAg and anti-HCV Ab positive. Conclusion: None were HIV-RNA/HCV-RNA/HBV-DNA positive, 21.2% were HIV-RNA/HCV-RNA positive and 4.0% were HIV-RNA/HBV-DNA positive. Therefore, studies on diagnosing these infections in HIV-infected individuals may be valuable.

Background: Bone age assessment (BAA) is a radiological process with the aim of identifying growth disorders in children. The objective of this study is to assess the bone age of Iranian children in an automatic manner. Methods: In this context, three computer vision techniques including histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), local binary pattern (LBP), and scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) are applied to extract appropriate features from the carpal and epiphyseal regions of interest. Two different datasets are applied here: the University of Southern California hand atlas for training this computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system and Iranian radiographs for evaluating the performance of this system for BAA of Iranian children. In this study, the concatenation of HOG, LBP, and dense SIFT feature vectors and background subtraction are applied to improve the performance of this approach. Support vector machine (SVM) and K-nearest neighbor are used here for classification and the better results yielded by SVM. Results: The accuracy of female radiographs is 90% and of male is 71.42%. The mean absolute error is 0.16 and 0.42 years for female and male test radiographs, respectively. Cohen's kappa coefficients are 0.86 and 0.6, P < 0.05, for female and male radiographs, respectively. The results indicate that this proposed approach is in substantial agreement with the bone age reported by the experienced radiologist. Conclusion: This approach is easy to implement and reliable, thus qualified for CAD and automatic BAA of Iranian children.

Neurons like other living cells may have ultraweak photon emission (UPE) during neuronal activity. This study is aimed to evaluate UPE from neural stem cells (NSC) during their serial passaging and differentiation. We also investigate whether the addition of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) or enhancement of UPE (by AgNPs or mirror) affect the differentiation of NSC. In our method, neural stem and progenitor cells of subventricular zone (SVZ) are isolated and expanded using the neurosphere assay. The obtained dissociated cells allocated and cultivated into three groups: groups: I: cell (control), II: cell + mirror, and III: cell + AgNPs. After seven days, the primary neurospheres were counted and their mean number was obtained. Serial passages continuous up to sixth passages in the control group. Differentiation capacity of the resulting neurospheres were evaluated in vitro by immunocytochemistry techniques. Measurement of UPE was carried out by photomultiplier tube (PMT) in the following steps: at the end of primary culture, six serial cell passages of the control group, before and after of the differentiation for 5 minutes. The results show that neither mirror nor AgNPs affect on the neurosphere number. The UPE of the NSC in the sixth subculturing passage was significantly higher than in the primary passage (P < 0.05). AgNPs significantly increased the UPE of the NSC compared to the control group before and after the differentiation (P < 0.05). Also, the treatment with AgNPs increased 44% neuronal differentiation of the harvested NSCs. UPE of NSC after the differentiation was significantly lower than that before the differentiation in each groups, which is in appropriate to the cell numbers (P < 0.0001). The mirror did not significantly increase UPE, neither before nor after the differentiation of NSC. As a conclusion, NSC have UPE-properties and the intensity is increased by serial passaging that are significant in the sixth passage. The AgNPs increases the UPE intensity of NSC that pushes more differentiation of NSC to the neurons. The mirror was not effective in enhancement of UPE. As a result, UPE measurement may be suitable for assessing and studying the effects of nanoparticles in living cells and neurons. This work was supported by grant No. 94-01-01-10157 from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. This article was a part of the thesis written by Esmaeil Fereydoni, MSc. student of Anatomy.

The presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome in liver biopsy or peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) specimens in the absence of detectable HCV-RNA in plasma of the people with or without anti-HCV antibodies has defined as occult HCV infection (OCI), whereas occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) is detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome in the absence of traceable hepatitis B surface antigen in the plasma samples of patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the presence of OBI and OCI in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. In this cross-sectional research, 190 Iranian HIV-infected individuals were enrolled from September 2015 to February 2019. All participants were tested regarding various serological markers for HCV and HBV infections. Viral RNA and DNA were extracted from plasma and PBMC specimens, and the presence of HCV-RNA in plasma and PBMC samples was tested using reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), HBV viral load was determined in plasma samples using COBAS TaqMan 48 Kit, and also the presence of the HBV-DNA in PBMC samples was tested by real-time PCR. In this study, the prevalence of OBI and OCI in HIV-infected individuals was 3.1% and 11.4%, respectively. The genotypes of HCV in the patients with OCI were as follows: 57.1% were infected with subtype 3a, 35.7% were infected with subtype 1a, and 7.1% was infected with subtype 1b. It is noteworthy that in this study, two patients (1.1%) had OCI/OBI coinfections. The present study revealed that 1.1% of Iranian HIV-infected individuals had OBI and OCI at the same time. Therefore, it seems that designing prospective surveys to determine the presence of this coinfection in HIV-infected individuals is informative.

High incidence of articular cartilage defects resulting from age-related degeneration or trauma injuries is a major problem worldwide. Limited self-regeneration ability of cartilage often leads to inappropriate biochemistry and structure of healed tissue. Considering Impairments of traditional treatments, cell-based therapies are promising. The rapid ex vivo expansion and chondrogenic differentiation capability make dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) a favorable cell type for therapeutic application, however strategies in order to efficient cartilage tissue-like production are imperative. In the present study the potential role of hypoxia mimicking agent, cobalt chloride (CoCl2), on chondrogenic differentiation of human DPSCs was surveyed. Cell viability assay used to obtain the optimum dose and exposure time of CoCl2. DPSCs were differentiated in pellet culture system after CoCl2 pretreatment. Chondrogenic differentiation efficiency was evaluated by histological and immunohistological analyses. The results showed that CoCl2 led to increased pellet size, integrity and matrix deposition with organizations more resembled typical cartilage lacuna structure. Furthermore, CoCl2 could improve differentiation by elevated chondrogenic markers, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and collagen II expression. CoCl2 pretreatment mitigated hypertrophy, as well, which was reflected in decreased collagen X expression. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) specific activity did not change significantly by CoCl2 preconditioning. Based on current study hypoxia mimicking agent, CoCl2, could be suggested to promote DPSCs chondrogenic differentiation.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has a potential effect on tissue repair through proliferation and differentiation of tissue progenitor cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PRP on the testis structure and function in infertile rat model by stereological method. Thirty-two male rats were divided into four groups. Infertility was induced by the administration of busulfan (BUS) (10mg/kg, I.P., single dose). PRP (80μl, testis local injected, single dose) was administered for the subjects. After 48 days, semen analysis was performed and blood samples were taken from the heart to measure the testosterone. Then, the left testis was removed, fixed, embedded, sectioned, and stained by HE; after that the testes were analyzed. The results showed that BUS can decrease the sperm count, motility, normal morphology, length of the spermatozoon tail, volume of the testis, seminiferous tubules, germinal epithelium height, and the number of spermatogenesis lineage cells in comparison with the control group (p 0.01). PRP increased the number of spermatogenic stem cell, count, motility and tail length of the sperm and testosterone level in BUS-treated animal significantly, but it did not have any effect on the volume of the testis, germinal epithelium height, Sertoli and Leydig cells number, and seminiferous tubules length. It concluded that PRP can improve the structural and functional impairment of the testis in treatment by BUS.

Background: The follicular growth and development may be affected by abused drugs. Nandrolone decanoate (ND) as an anabolic androgenic steroid can damage the morphological and functional features of the ovary and may lead to reproductive failure. Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of synchronized and non-synchronized administration of Human Menopausal Gonadotropins (hMG) with ND on ovarian tissue and level of sex hormones in the adult female rat. Materials and Methods: Forty adult female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into eight groups. The five experimental groups received 3 and/or 10 mg/kg of ND synchronized and non-synchronized with 10 IU of hMG and hMG alone. The two shams and control groups received solvents of ND and hMG. The animals' serum levels of Follicle-stimulating hormone, Luteinizing hormone, progesterone and estrogen and the weight, volume and dimensions of the ovaries were measured. The ovaries were prepared for apoptosis assessment and morphological study. Results: The ovarian volume and sex hormones in the experimental groups were decreased, but ovarian weight and dimensions didn’t change. The rate of apoptosis was increased in the experimental groups as follows; a low and high dose of ND synchronized with hMG 48.80±18.70 and 65.20±14.20 respectively vs. Sham 1, 33.20±17.80, a low and high dose of ND non-synchronized with hMD 55.80±17.20 and 75.20±14.30 respectively vs. Sham 2, 31.60±32.40 groups, p˂0.01. Follicular and stromal cells were damaged in the experimental groups except for the hMG group. Conclusion: Administration of ND decreased the serum level of Luteinizing hormone, Follicle-stimulating hormone, progesterone and estrogen and damaged ovarian tissue irreversibly and irreparably and hMG cannot prevent the destruction of the follicles in the adult female rats. This can be a serious warning to women who abuse ND.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) polymorphisms, C−1562 T and -90 (CA) n repeats, which influence transcriptional activity of this gene, are proposed to play a role in MS susceptibility and its development. In the present study, the possible association of MMP-9 polymorphisms in Iranian MS patients is studied. Methods: Association of MMP-9 mentioned gene polymorphisms with MS susceptibility was evaluated in unrelated Iranian subjects referred to Al-Zahra Hospital, Isfahan, Iran during 2014 to 2017. Results: -1562 T allele of MMP-9 was associated with increased MS risk. However, we found no overall significant effect of −90 (CA)n repeat on MS susceptibility. Conclusion: For as much as MMP-9 molecule is a potential target for MS therapy, to determine whether any of MMP-9 polymorphisms influence MS susceptibility in Iranian MS patients or not, concerning the significant influence of T allele on MS susceptibility and the non-significant association regarding CA repeats, further research is needed before proposing any definite conclusion.

Background: Diabetes is a chronic disease that can affect almost all of the body organs, including male and female reproductive systems. Objective: This study was designed to investigate the preventive effects of metformin on stereological and ultrastructure characteristics of the ovary in the streptozotocin-induced diabetes adult female rats. Materials and Methods: Seventy adult (8-10 wk) female Sprague-Dawley rats (180-200 gr) were equally divided, as follows: (n = 10/each) control; STZ-induced diabetes (single dose of 65 mg/kg STZ, IP); metformin-treated (50 mg/100 gr of body weight, orally); diabetic-metformin-treated; sham 1, (single dose of sodium citrate); sham 2, (0.5 ml of daily oral distilled water); and sham 3, (sodium citrate + distilled water treated). The body mass index, ovarian weight, blood sugar level, cholesterol, and triglyceride were measured. The stereological and ultrastructural features of ovary were assessed. Results: The blood sugar of induced-diabetic rats was increased (p < 0.01). The BMI (p < 0.01), number of granulosa cells (p = 0.04), primordial, primary and secondary follicles (p = 0.03), total volume of ovary (p < 0.01) and cortex, nucleus diameter ratio to the ooplasm were decreased. The number of atretic follicles in the diabetic and diabetic + metformin-treated rats were increased (p < 0.01). The ultrastructural characteristics of ovary were more damaged in diabetic rats. Conclusion: Diabetes has destructive effects on ovarian follicles and causes follicular atresia. Also, the size of oocytes, numbers of granulosa cells and ooplasmic organelles, which are involved in the folliculogenesis are affected by diabetes and metformin has no preventive effects.

Numerous bioactive growth factors and cytokines in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) have recently made it an attractive biomaterial for therapeutic purposes. These growth factors have the potential to regenerate the injured tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of PRP in hepatotoxic animal model. Hepatotoxicity was induced in rats by oral administration of 4 mL/kg/week of CCl4 diluted 1:1 in corn oil for 10 weeks. To confirm the hepatotoxicity, 24 h after the last CCl4 administration, blood samples were collected via cardiac puncture to assess the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, albumin, total protein, and total bilirubin. Twenty-four hours after blood collection, the experimental animals received a single injection of PRP (1 mL) via the anterior mesenteric vein. One week later, all biochemical tests were performed again, and the rats were scarified and their livers were removed, prepared histologically, and stained. The stereological analyses were performed to evaluate the effects of PRP on histopathological features of CCl4-treated livers. The results were compared statistically with the corresponding control and CCl4+normal saline (NS)-treated animals. A significant decrease in the number and volume of hepatocytes (p = 0.01), and also a reduction in the volume of sinusoids (p = 0.001) and connective tissue (p = 0.04), were observed in the PRP-treated animals compared with the CCl4+NS-treated ones. Our findings demonstrated that application of PRP had beneficial effects on CCl4-induced fibrosis; however, it had detrimental effects on the total number of hepatocytes and the volume of hepatocytes and sinusoidal spaces.

Introduction: Multiple paraphilia is characterized as a disorder that includes three or more paraphilias; for instance pedophilia, exhibitionism, or rape together make up multiple paraphilia. It is hard to estimate prevalence rates of paraphilias due to changes in criterion with time and in divergent cultures. Case Presentation: Our case is a young man whose marriage lead to exacerbation of his paraphilic behavior and more substance abuse. He represented with multiple type of paraphilia simultaneously, which can occur rarely. Conclusions: There’s a possibility of different paraphilia occurrence at the same time and to prevent further aversive consequences of the aggregation of paraphilia; devising a treatment plan for such patients would avoid devastating conditions.

Ovarian failure is diagnosed by ovarian destruction and reducing sex hormonal levels. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contains several growth factors that induce tissue repair and may induce folliculogenesis.This study evaluates the effect of PRP on ovarian structures and function in cyclophosphamide (Cy)-induced ovarian failure in female rats by a stereological method.Thirty-two adult female rats were divided into four groups (Control, Cy, Cy + PRP, and PRP). Female infertility was induced by Cy (75 mg/kg, single dose, intraperitoneally). Animals were treated by PRP which was obtained from age-matched male rats (200 μL, single dose, intraperitoneally). Blood samples were collected for measurement of hormones. The animals were dissected and the right ovaries were removed, fixed, sectioned, and stained by HE. Stereological methods were used to estimate cortex and medulla volume, and the number and diameter of follicles, follicular cell, and oocyte using light microscopy.Cyclophosphamide had the maximum effect in decreasing on cortex volume, the pre-antral follicles number, a diameter of follicular cells and oocyte diameter in the antral follicle and the reduction of estradiol and progesterone levels compared with the control group. PRP had a dominant positive effect on the ovarian cortex volume, pre-antral follicles number and antral follicle diameter relative to the control group. PRP also decreased oocyte diameter in pre-antral follicle in infertile animals (p 0.001).It seems that PRP has a protective effect on ovarian failure in the infertile female rat model.

Due to the similar routes of transmission, individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may become infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) simultaneously. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of HCV co-infection in Iranian individuals with HIV infection, and to genotype HCV in plasma and PBMC specimens of these patients. From September 2015 to October 2016, a total of 140 Iranian individuals with HIV infection were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The RNA from plasma and PBMC specimens was extracted, and genomic HCV-RNA was amplified using RT-nested PCR with primers that target 5'-UTR. The HCV genotyping used the RFLP technique. To confirm HCV genotype, 10 randomly selected HCV-positive samples were also submitted for sequencing. The mean age of patients was 35.7 ± 13.5 years (range: 1-66). Out of 140 patients, 62 (44.3 %) were positive for anti-HCV antibodies; among these, viral genomic RNA was detected in 34 (24.3%) and 39 (27.9%) of the plasma and PBMC specimens, respectively. The HCV genotyping showed a similar pattern of subtypes 1a (44% vs 46.2%), 3a (32.4% vs 33.3%), and 1b (17.6% vs 17.9%) in all sera and PBMC samples. It is noteworthy that the HCV genotypes in plasma and PBMC specimens of 6 HCV co-infected patients were not the same. This study reveals that HIV/HCV co-infection is high in Iranian patients (44.3%), especially in people who have high-risk factors (83.9%). Also, HIV/HCV co-infected individuals may have dissimilar HCV genotypes in their plasma and PBMC specimens.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a source of growth factors may induce tissue repairing and improve fibrosis. This study aimed to assess the effects of PRP on kidney regeneration and fibrosis in gentamicin (GM)-induced nephrotoxicity rat model by stereological study. Thirty-two male rats were selected. Nephrotoxicity was induced in animals by administration of GM (80 mg/kg/daily, intraperitoneally [IP], 8 day) and animals were treated by PRP (100 µL, intra-cortical injection using surgical microscopy, single dose). Blood samples were collected for determine blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) before and after PRP therapy. At the end of experiment, right kidneys were sectioned by Isotropic Uniform Random (IUR) method and stained with H & E and Masson’s Trichrome. The stereological methods were used for estimating the changes in different structures of kidney. PRP increased the number of epithelial cells in convoluted tubules, and decreased the volume of connective tissue, renal corpuscles and glomeruli in GM-treated animals (P < 0.05). Our findings indicate that PRP had beneficial effects on proliferation of epithelial cells in convoluted tubules and ameliorated GM-induced fibrosis., Graphical Abstract

Curcumin has protective effects on a variety of CNS injury models. Our purpose was to assess the effects of curcumin on the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and functional recovery in sciatic nerve crush (SNC) of rats.The fifth lumbar DRG was removed 28 days after SNC. Sciatic functional index (SFI) and also the DRG structure were evaluated, using stereological methods to assess the effects of curcumin.The volume and number of A- and B-cells were reduced in the SNC as compared with the sham-operated animals. In curcumin treated rats, the volume decreased but in a lesser extent and it was ∼10% and ∼15% higher on the average in comparison with the non-treated SNC (P0.04). In curcumin treated rats, the number of cells also decreased but in a lesser extent and it was ∼17% and ∼36% higher in comparison with the non-treated crushed animals (P0.02). The surface area of A- and B-cells reduced in the SNC and SNC plus curcumin in comparison with the sham-operated rats (P0.01). The number of satellite cells was reduced in the SNC as compared with the sham-operated animals. In curcumin treated rats, the number of satellite cells decreased but in a lesser extent and the number of satellite cells was ∼19% higher in comparison with the non-treated (P0.02). SFI test shows that the motor function of the rats treated with curcumin significantly improved at 21st days after sciatic nerve crush.The results demonstrate that curcumin promotes the functional recovery and has a neuroprotective effect on the DRG after sciatic nerve injury in the rats.

To determine the effects of noise exposure on hearts of newborn mice, 48 pregnant mice were exposed to recorded aircraft flight noise (100 dB) for 150 min from the 2nd day of pregnancy to 7th day after delivery. Mice of the same age were selected as control group. The weights and crown-rump lengths of the fetuses and the newborns were measured, and their hearts were removed under deep anesthesia on the 1st, 7th, and 14th days after birth and prepared histologically. Quantitative changes of the hearts were measured stereologically by the Cavalieri method. The ultrastructural changes of cardiac myocytes were examined using transmission electron microscopy. No histological changes were observed, but the volumes of newborns’ hearts in the experimental groups increased significantly compared to the control group. Photomicrographs of cardiac muscle cells revealed nuclear envelope changes, chromatin condensation, and increased mitochondria and myofibrils in noise-exposed newborns. It is concluded that the newbor...

Background: Formaldehyde (and its compositions) is a chemical substance that is widely used in chemical industries (detergents, cosmetics and so on), medicine (for sterilization of operation room and its instruments and fixation of histological specimens and cadavers) and even in textiles and papers. Methods: In recent years many studies have been done in formalin effects on people health. But anybody did not study formalin effects on nose and throat in persons that have direct contact with this substance in Iran. For this reason; questionnaires were sent to personnel of anatomical sciences departments in medical schools were selected as experimental group and personnel of high schools as control group. Questionnaires were prepared that had following indexes: Nasal signs (runny nose and smell sense changes), throat signs (sore throat), occupation, sex, age, formalin contact (duration and direct or indirect contact) and diseases history. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test. Results: Results showed that contact with formalin causes decrease (or loss) of smell sense and increase of runny nose and sore throat. These changes have direct relation with contact duration and direct contact. Relation between contact with formalin and these changes is significant (P

Vojdani, Z., Khozani, T.T., Dehghani, F., Panjehshahin, M.R., Habibi, A. and Mehrabani, D. 2007. Effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of soybean on embryonic growth and ossification indices in mouse. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 31: 117–120. To evaluate the effects of soybean hydro-alchoholic extraction on growth and ossification indices, fifty female mice were randomly selected and caged with males overnight. The day when vaginal plug was observed was considered as zero day of gestation. Pregnant mice were fed 3, 30, 150 and 300 mg/kg of soybean extract and water as the control to 10 mice each from 5th to 16th day of gestation. Then they were sacrified on 17th day and fixed. Fetus weight, its crown-rump length (CRL) and the biparietal diameter (BPD) were measured. The ossification index (OI) was determined. The OI differed from control with the highest soybean extract group only. It is concluded that overuse of phytoestrogen rich feeds such as soybean should not be recommended during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether prostaglandin E2 improves angiogenesis in full-thickness skin grafts. DESIGN Randomized study SUBJECTS 20 male rabbits, divided into 2 experimental and 2 control groups. METHODOLOGY Prostaglandin E2 (experimental groups) or prostaglandin E2 vehicle (control groups) was injected locally into experimental skin autografts once a day for up to 5 days. Five and 10 days after the surgery, the grafts were harvested and after processing, fractional and absolute volumes of the vessels were estimated in the grafted skin using stereologic methods. MAIN RESULTS Gross appearance of the control and experimental grafts were the same. Qualitative histologic examination of successful grafts in experimental and control groups showed areas of viable epidermis with a negligible inflammatory infiltrate and moderate fibrosis. Blood cells were frequently seen in the vessels under investigation. Histologic slides showed significantly higher mean fractional volume (percent) and absolute volume of the vessels (mm3) per unit volume (mm3) of the grafted skin in the experimental groups than in the control groups. CONCLUSION Fractional and absolute volume of the vessels were greater in prostaglandin E2-treated grafts than in the control grafts. Prostaglandin E2 appears to increase the volume of vessels in full-thickness skin grafts and can be explored as an agent to improve angiogenesis of the grafts.