Association of HLA-DQ4/5 genotype polymorphisms with celiac disease in a group of children in Southwest Iran: A case-control study.

Background and Aim: Celiac disease (CD) has proinflammatory and pathogenic immune responses to gluten in intestinal tissue, leading to structural changes in the mucosa of the small intestine. The association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ2 and DQ8 genotypes with CD has been previously reported. This test has a negative predictive value close to 100%, so its main purpose is to rule out the detection of CD completely or almost completely. There is limited information regarding HLA-DQ4/5 in CD. This study was conducted to determine the HLA-DQ4/5 genotypes in a group of Southwestern Iranian children with CD. Methods: We conducted a case-control study in Southwest Iran involving 100 participants, employing a nonprobabilistic sampling method. Samples were taken from participants' oral buccal mucosa at Imam Sajjad Hospital of Yasuj, Iran. Then DNA was extracted from these samples and used to determine the frequency of HLA-DQ4/5 genotypes through Sequence-Specific Primer-Polymerase Chain Reaction assay. SPSS 20 was utilized for statistical analyses. Results: Fifty diagnosed patients with CD (high anti-tissue transglutaminase [tTG]-IgA level [upper limit of normal] with pathological findings of Marsh III) and 50 non-CD individuals (normal anti-tTG-IgA level and normal total IgA level) were enrolled in the study from August 5, 2022 to October 15, 2023. Findings showed that the DQ4a*4b allele has the highest frequency in the CD samples (78%, p < 0.01) followed by the DQ5a*5b allele (12%, p < 0.01). Additionally, there was a higher prevalence of DQ4/DQ5 in patients with CD compared to controls (odds ratio = 6.5, confidence interval = 0.84 to 69.46, p < 0.01). Furthermore, a significant association was found among HLA DQ4/5 genotype, age (>9.5) (p < 0.01), and gender (female) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The observed significant differences among HLA-DQ4 and HLA-DQ5 in Iranian CD samples against controls and the high value of the relative risks showed the significant function of the studied alleles in the prevalence of CD in Iranian patients.

Advanced Parental Age and Risk of Positive Autism Spectrum Disorders Screening.

BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a life -long neurodevelopmental disorder and significantly influences the quality of life in children. The screening of ASD in children aged between 16-30 months to early detection and early intervention for better prognosis. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the southwest of Iran (Yasuj) with dominant Lore ethnicity in 2017. A total of 1504 mother- child pairs with children aged between 16-30 months were selected through simple random sampling from the integrated national health system as the framework. ASD screening was implemented using the Modified checklist for autism in toddlers- revised, with follow-up interview (M-CHAT-R/F). Demographic data such as sex of children, and parental age at their time of pregnancy were collected for all children. RESULTS: Risk of ASD was low, moderate and high in 1447 (96.2%), 54 (3.6%) and 3 (0.2%) in screening, respectively. The estimated rate of ASD prevalence was 80 per 10000 (12 out of 1504) or 1 in 125. Mother's age ≥35 (P value = 0.002, OR = 11.65, CI95%: 2.49-54.35) and father's age ≥40 (P value = 0.0001, OR = 19.64, CI95%: 4.89-78.82) were predicting factors of ASD in toddlers aged 16-30 months. CONCLUSIONS: Given that, increasing the age of marriage in Iran and recent trend towards delayed childbearing; children born to older parents are at a higher risk for having ASD. So, increasing the public awareness is necessary.

Introduction to clinical pathology: A brief course of laboratory medicine in the field for medical students.

OBJECTIVES: Teaching of clinical pathology to medical students has been ignored in many countries such as Iran. We aim to introduce a practical brief course and its proper timing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three groups of medical students from consecutive years of entrance passed a 1.5 working day practical course on the field. Their level of knowledge was assessed by pre- and post-tests. Their idea and satisfaction were gathered by questionnaires. RESULTS: Knowledge of students became significantly higher after the course. Their satisfaction was high. Students in later year of education got significantly higher marks. Most of the students wished such a course should be away from basic sciences period and as near as possible to internship. DISCUSSION: Due to overloaded curriculum of general medicine in Iran, we decided to run a brief practical course of laboratory medicine education for medical students. Although the course was practical, the knowledge of students became higher. Students with more clinical experience and knowledge absorbed more. Being actively involved in the classes lit the enthusiasm of students and made them satisfied with the course. It seemed that the course should be placed in later years of clinical training to get the best uptake and results.