Investigation of gene expression and genetic simultaneous control associated with erectile dysfunction and diabetes.

Diabetes can cause some diseases or abnormalities. One of the disorders caused by diabetes may be erectile dysfunction (ED). ED is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to establish or maintain an erect penis during sexual activity and is a common problem of men with chronic type 2 diabetes. These processes, disorders and diseases are highly influenced by the genetics of individuals. In this study, the relationship between genes and diabetes and ED has been explored by a system biology approach. For this purpose, the samples from ten control and diabetic-ED rats were collected. After a search in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), series with accession number GSE2457 comprising of 5 normal and 5 diabetic-ED rats were selected. Raw CEL files of these samples were normalized with robust multi-array average (RMA) expression measure method by using the linear models for microarray data (LIMMA) R package. The extracted probe IDs were transformed into 10451 unique and validated official gene symbols. Then, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between control and normal penile mucosa by employing the LIMMA R package. DEGs were classified by utilizing KEGG to underlying pathways by Enrichr. The expression values of DEGs were used to construct a gene regulatory network (GRN), by the GENEI3 R package. To analyze the topology of constructed GRNs, betweenness centrality was calculated. Genes with higher betweenness centrality scores were then identified, through the CytoNCA. We then took the commonality of DEGs genes and high-top ranking genes from CytoNCA via a predicted interaction network using GeneMANIA as the most likely important genes in erectile dysfunction. Among the 374 DEGs studied, 146 DEGs showed up-regulation and 228 DEGs displayed down-regulation expression in diabetic-ED rats. According to the Volcano plot, the dpp4, LOC102553868, Ndufa412, Oxct1, Atp2b3 and Zfp91 gene down-regulated and Lpl, Retsat, B4galt1 and Pdk4 genes up-regulated in ED and diabetic rats. Furthermore, genes like dpp4 acted as hubs in the inferred GRN.

Androgen regulated protein and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 in severe erectile dysfunction: A gene expression analysis, and computational study of protein structure.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the most common sexual disorders in men. During the past 30 years, there has been no new drug development for ED. Thus, exploring the genetic basis of ED deserves further study, in hope of developing new pharmacological treatments for ED. In this study, Real-Time PCR analysis was used to assess the expression of androgen regulatory protein (Andpro) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (Pdk4) genes in ED. For this purpose, the experiment was performed on 20 men with severe ED and 20 potent men. IIEF-15 was used to determine the ED severity. The study was conducted in the Department of Sexual Medicine of the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. The EDTA-Na vacuum blood tube was taken from ED patients and controls. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. After blood sampling, RNA was extracted from whole blood. Then cDNA was synthesized. The gene expression was analyzed through the qPCR method. The ß-actin was used as a reference gene. To further study these two proteins, their three-dimensional structures were predicted through I-TASSER. Compared with controls, in ED patients, the expression of the Andpro gene decreased, while the expression of the Pdk4 gene increased (p<0.01). Predicting the structure of the protein showed that Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4 had a double subunit and androgen-regulated protein had a single subunit.

Breast cancer awareness's and attitude among regular health-care users versus irregular in a sample of Kurdish women in the West of Iran.

INTRODUCTION: It is universally acknowledged that strengthen the participation rate in breast cancer (BC) screening can find cancer in its earlier stages. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of regular visits to the health centers on women's knowledge and attitude about BC screening. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, data were collected from 380 women identified with Kurdish background, who were registered in health care centers of Islamabad-e Gharb during January and February 2017. The subjects were divided into two regular and irregular groups based on the quantity of presence in health centers. Data on women's awareness and attitude about BC screening were collected by a trained interviewer using a structured questionnaire. Bivariate analysis, analysis of variance, and independent sample t-test were used to see the mean differences within the groups. The level of confidence was set at 0.05 significant. RESULTS: Women were representative of four health-care centers of the city, mainly ≤39 years old (73.9%), married (96.3%), with high school education (44.2%) characteristics. The total mean ± standard deviation of awareness score about BC was 6.03 ± 3.90. In total, 19.2% of participants had poor (<2.13), 64.2% had an average (2.13-9.93), and 16.6% had good (>9.93) awareness about BC. The results showed that the level of knowledge and attitude about BC screening was significantly different between regular and irregular groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: An important message from this study is the need for improved and coordinated BC education for all social classes of women. It is necessary to discover ways to encourage women with academic education to visit health centers regularly during interventional studies.

Effects of positive psychology interventions on happiness in women with unintended pregnancy: randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Undesirable effects Negative feelings among women with unintended pregnancies may have undesirable effects on pregnancy. However, little is known about the effect of positive feelings and protective factors on prenatal mental health of pregnant women. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of positive psychology-based interventions (PPI) on the happiness of women with unintended pregnancies. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial that included 40 women with unintended pregnancies was conducted between March and July 2017. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive 10 weekly training sessions based on positive psychology (PPI) (N = 20) or routine prenatal care (N = 20). All subjects received usual prenatal care. The level of happiness and its five domains were measured in three time points: at baseline, immediately after completing the intervention, and 45 days after the end of the intervention. The happiness was assessed using the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI). RESULTS: In the intervention group, the mean total OHI score increased from 31.3 (at baseline) to 42.5 (after completing ten sessions of PPI), and the increase remained statistically significant at a 45-day follow-up (39.8); P = 0.001. However, the total OHI score did not change significantly during the follow-up (P = 0.339). Satisfaction with life, self-esteem, and subjective well-being improved significantly after the interventions, whereas the increases observed in the scores of positive mood and self-efficacy dimensions were not significant. CONCLUSION: PPIs can improve happiness and its dimensions among women with unintended pregnancies. It is suggested that healthcare planners help women with unplanned pregnancies adapt by formulating strategies to hold training courses with a positive psychology approach and recognize and promote their positive aspects and strengths.

The effect of positive psychology intervention on quality of life among women with unintended pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that quality of life in women with unintended pregnancy is significantly less than the ones with wanted gestation. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the effect of intervention based on the positive psychology interventions on women's QoL with unintended pregnancies in Kermanshah, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, 40 women with unintended pregnancy met the eligibility criteria and were randomized into experimental (n = 20) or control (n = 20) groups. The Short-form 36-item Questionnaire (SF-36) was administered at pretest, post-test, and six weeks after the intervention. Positive psychology interventions were performed in each session once a week for 10 weeks, with a duration of 90 minutes. The Friedman test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to analyze QoL and all eight domains for within-group and between-group comparisons, respectively. The level of confidence was set at 0.05 significant. RESULTS: Distribution of matched variables was not significantly different between the two trial groups. Over the intervention period, the mean of total scores of QoL and seven dimensions showed significant improvement among the experimental group, whereas in the control group, it decreased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, in the posttest and follow-up stages, the mean score of six dimensions of QoL was higher than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to the results of the present study, unintended pregnancy has side effects on QoL in women. Positive counseling interventions can improve the quality of life in women with unintended pregnancy.

A genome-wide association study to identify candidate genes for erectile dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be caused by different diseases and controlled by several genetic networks. In this study, to identify the genes related to ED, the expression profiles of normal and ED samples were investigated by the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Seventeen genes were identified as associated genes with ED. The protein and nucleic acid sequences of selected genes were retrieved from the UCSC database. Selected genes were diverse according to their physicochemical properties and functions. Category function revealed that selected genes are involved in pathways related to humans some diseases. Furthermore, based on protein interactions, genes associated with the insulin pathway had the greatest interaction with the studied genes. To identify the common cis-regulatory elements, the promoter site of the selected genes was retrieved from the UCSC database. The Gapped Local Alignment of Motifs tool was used for finding common conserved motifs into the promoter site of selected genes. Besides, INSR protein as an insulin receptor precursor showed a high potential site for posttranslation modifications, including phosphorylation and N-glycosylation. Also, in this study, two Guanine-Cytosine (GC)-rich regions were identified as conserved motifs in the upstream of studied genes which can be involved in regulating the expression of genes associated with ED. Also, the conserved binding site of miR-29-3p that is involved in various cancers was observed in the 3' untranslated region of genes associated with ED. Our study introduced new genes associated with ED, which can be good candidates for further analyzing related to human ED.