Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and types among women attending regular gynecological visit in Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Persistent infection by HPV is now recognized as the main cause of cervical cancer. HPV prevalence data is not yet available in Iran. This study is organized to evaluate type-specific HPV prevalence and to compare it with Pap smear results among Iranian women attending regular gynecological visits. METHODS: A total of 851 women aged 18 - 65 years, attending regular gynecological visits, were retrospectively evaluated. HPV detection and genotyping was performed by use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). Cytological evaluation was done by Papanicolaou method and the association between cytological results and HPV status was analyzed. RESULTS: 19 different HPV types were detected in 265 of the 851 specimens (31.1%). Overall HPV infection as well as infection with High Risk (HR) HPV types was highest in women aged 18 - 25 years and decreased with age. Type-specific prevalence of HPV-16 and 18 was 7.3% and 2.8%, respectively, and a large number of women (20.2%) were infected by HR HPV types other than HPV-16 and/or HPV-18. There was also an upward trend in the prevalence of HR HPV infections as the abnormality in cytology increased. The prevalence of HPV co-infection was 29.1% of HPV positive patients and declined from LSIL (18.2%) to HSIL (3.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that the burden of HPV infection among Iranian females was higher in comparison with previous estimates reported from Iran. Furthermore, higher prevalence of premalignant changes in Iranian women infected with HR HPV types, other than vaccine types, should be considered in immunization programs and development of population-specific HPV vaccines. This remarkable difference in prevalence of HPV types among previous studies, confirms our need to further investigations on epidemiology of HPV infection in Iran.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Galectin-9 for Diagnosis of Endometriosis in Comparison with Laparoscopy.

Background: Endometriosis is a common devastating gynecological disease with severe complications. Researches on noninvasive diagnostic tests with acceptable accuracy are still ongoing. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum Galectin-9 (Gal-9) level in comparison with laparoscopic results in endometriosis patients. Methods: Sixty-one patients, referred to Booali, Rasool-e-Akram, and Pars Hospitals affiliated to Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences, were recruited. Patients laparoscopically diagnosed with endometriosis were assigned to the case (n=32) and who diagnosed with other diseases were assigned to the control group (n=29). In general, 56 patients (30 in case and 26 in control group) completed the study. The serum level of Galectin-9 was measured using ELISA method before laparoscopy and was compared between the groups. Next, categorical variables were compared using Chi square and quantitative variables using independent samples t- test or Mann-Whitney U test. The Gal-9 cut-off was calculated using the Youden's index and ROC curve; then, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and positive and negative likelihood ratio of Gal-9 were reported. The p<0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Mean serum level of Galectin-9 was 669.3±416.50 pg/ml in the case group and 265.42±492.30 pg/ml in the control group (p=0.001). Considering a cut-off value of 138 pg/ml, Galectin-9 had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 88.46% for diagnosis of endometriosis (p<0.001). Conclusion: Galectin-9 measurement is helpful in diagnosis of endometriosis. Future studies are recommended for investigating the generalizability of these results.

Target antigens for perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in Iranian patients with ulcerative colitis.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) carry autoantibodies such as perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (p-ANCA). OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the target antigens for p-ANCA in Iranian patients with UC. METHODS p-ANCA target antigens including elastase, lactoferrin, cathepsin G, myeloproxidase, lysozyme, and bactericidal permeability increasing protein (BPI) were determined in 113 patients with UC using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS 59.2% of the patients were positive for at least one antigen and p-ANCA directed against lactoferrin, elastase, lysozyme, cathepsin G, Bactericidal permeability increasing protein, and myeloproxidase in 31.5%, 25.9%, 8.3%, 7.4%, 5.6%, and 0% of the patients, respectively. CONCLUSION The highest prevalence of p-ANCA was observed against lactoferrin and elastase. Also, myeloproxidase was not an antigen for p-ANCA among our patients.

Diagnostic value of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody in Iranian patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (pANCA) and anti-Saccharomyces Cerevisiae antibody (ASCA) are potential markers for diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of pANCA and ASCA in Iranian patients with IBD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 144 patients with IBD (113 ulcerative colitis and 31 Crohn's disease) and patients with non-IBD problems were assayed for ASCA by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and for pANCA by indirect immunofluorescence assay. RESULTS: Sensitivity and specificity of pANCA in UC were 39.8% and 82.1%, respectively. For CD, pASCA test provided the sensitivity of 58% and specificity of 70%. A combination of pANCA+/ASCA- for diagnosis of UC showed a sensitivity of 31.9% and specificity of 89.1%. In addition the combination of pANCA-/ASCA+ showed a sensitivity of 35.5% and specificity of 79.8% for diagnosis of CD. CONCLUSION: Due to low sensitivity of pANCA and ASCA alone or in combination, they are not valuable serological markers for diagnosis of UC or CD.