Relationship of seminal reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and total antioxidant capacity with sperm DNA fragmentation in infertile couples with normal and abnormal sperm parameters.

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the amount of superoxide anion, peroxynitrite as oxidative stress (OS) markers and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) with sperm DNA fragmentation in infertile men with abnormal semen parameters. Semen samples were obtained from 102 infertile couples and divided into groups with normal and abnormal semen parameters according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Peroxynitrite and superoxide anions were detected using spectrofluorometric assays combined with 2,7 dicholorofluorescein (DCF)-DA and 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa -1, 3-diazole (NBD-CL). Colorimetric assay was used for evaluation of TAC, while DNA fragmentation was studied by using sperm chromatin dispersion test. Superoxide anion, peroxynitrite and DNA fragmentation were significantly higher in infertile couples with abnormal semen parameters as compared to infertile couples with normal semen (P < 0.01). TAC was significantly lower in infertile men with abnormal semen parameters (P < 0.01). There was also a significant positive correlation between OS markers with sperm DNA fragmentation (r = 0.59, P < 0.01 and r = 0.67, P < 0.01, respectively). We have found that imbalance between superoxide anion and peroxynitrite with antioxidant capacity in infertile men with abnormal sperm parameters is associated with higher sperm DNA fragmentation.

Health policy for common variable immunodeficiency: burden of the disease.

BACKGROUND: Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a primary immunodeficiency disease characterized by recurrent infections and increased susceptibility to autoimmunity and malignancy. OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to estimate the burden of CVID in Iran during 1985-2008 based on incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALY). METHODS: The methods developed by the World Health Organization for national burden of disease studies were applied to estimate the incidence of disease and thus calculate the years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL), years living with disability (YLD), and DALYs. RESULTS: The average age-adjusted incidence of CVID was 1 case per 200 000 per year; the average age-adjusted prevalence was 1 case per 91 000 per year. The burden of CVID (DALYs) was 25.21 years per 100000 individuals (17.86 for YLL and 7.35 for YLD). DALYs increased significantly in patients aged 5-14 years and in those with polyclonal lymphocytic infiltration phenotypes (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the measurement of DALY in patients with CVID, reducing the rate of premature death in the polyclonal lymphocytic infiltration phenotype and the rate of infectious episodes in patients with the infectious only phenotype and appropriate management with regular intravenous immunoglobulin represent the best approach to decreasing the burden of CVID.

Aminoguanidine improves epididymal sperm parameters in varicocelized rats.

INTRODUCTION: Increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) in the spermatic veins of men affected by varicocele have already been reported. But there is no study to discriminate the subtype of catalytic enzyme for synthesis of NO. In this study, aminoguanidine (AG), an inducible NO synthase inhibitor, has been used to investigate its effect on sperm parameters. METHODS: Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups. In groups A and B, left experimental varicocele was induced by a 20-gauge needle. Group C (sham) underwent a similar procedure to groups A and B, but the spermatic vein was left intact, and group D served as control group. The animals in group A were killed 10 weeks later and their sperm count, motility, morphology and vitality were evaluated. Group B received 50 mg/kg AG with i.p. injection daily for 10 weeks. RESULTS: Sperm count, motility, morphology and vitality were significantly decreased in group A in comparison to control group (p ≤ 0.05). In group B, sperm parameters improved in comparison to group A (p ≤ 0.01). Group C did not show any significant alterations in sperm parameters compared with control group. CONCLUSION: These findings may support the concept that AG can improve the sperm count, motility, morphology and vitality in infertile rats with varicocele.

Effects of aminoguanidine on infertile varicocelized rats: A functional and morphological study.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUNDS AND THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Inducible NO synthase activity has been frequently reported in varicose veins. Aminoguanidine is known to inhibit iNOS. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of aminoguanidine on varicocelized rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were divided into groups A, B, C, D, E, and F (control group). Groups A, B, C, and D rats underwent left varicocele induction with a 20-gauge needle. Group E (sham) rats underwent a similar procedure, but the renal vein was left intact. Ten weeks after varicocele induction, sperm parameters were evaluated in groups D, E, and F. Groups A and B received 50 mg/kg aminoguanidine or placebo, respectively, daily for 10 weeks. After 10 and 20 weeks of varicocele induction, the fertility outcomes of the experimental groups were evaluated. RESULTS: The values of the sperm parameters did not differ significantly between groups B and D, but were significant when compared with groups F and E (P≤0.05). The values of the sperm parameters of groups F and E showed no significant changes (P≤0.05). The changes between group A and groups B and D were significant (P≤0.05). Ten weeks after varicocele induction, rats of groups A, B, and C were still fertile. After 20 weeks, only half of the rats in group A were fertile. CONCLUSIONS: Aminoguanidine improved the sperm parameters and mating outcomes in vari-cocelized rats.

Direct estimation of life expectancy in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2003.

We estimated the life expectancy for 2003 for 23 provinces in the Islamic Republic of Iran using population and mortality data from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The underreporting of deaths above 4 years was corrected using the Brass Growth Balance method. We assumed that the distributions of population, deaths, and hence life expectancy in the 23 provinces were equal to those for all 28 provinces of the country. Thus we estimated life expectancy at birth to be 71.56 years for the total population [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 71.52-71.62]; 70.09 (95% UI: 70.02-70.16) years for males, and 73.17 (95% UI: 73.10-73.24) years for females. Our estimates were higher than the model-based estimates of the Statistical Centre of Iran, United Nations agencies and the World Bank, due to differences in the estimation methods used.

Comparison of in vitro antibacterial activities of two cationic peptides CM15 and CM11 against five pathogenic bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Escherichia coli.

In recent years, the widespread use of antibiotics has caused many bacterial pathogens resistance to conventional antibiotics. Therefore, generation of new antibiotics to control and reduce the effects of these pathogens is urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides and proteins are important members of the host defense system in eukaryotes. These peptides are potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics that demonstrate potential as novel and alternative therapeutic agents for the treatment of drug-resistant infections. Accordingly, we evaluated two hybrid peptides CM11 (WKLFKKILKVL-NH2) and CM15 (KWKLFKKIGAVLKVL-NH2) on five important pathogenic bacteria. These peptides are short cecropin-melittin hybrid peptides obtained through a sequence combination approach, which are highly effective to inhibit the growth of important pathogenic bacteria. The activity of these two cationic peptides (CM11 and CM15) in different concentrations (2-64 mg/L) was investigated against standard and clinical isolates of important hospital infection bacteria by measuring MIC, MBC, and bactericidal assay. These peptides demonstrated the same ranges of inhibitory values: The organisms in early 24 h were more susceptible to polycationic peptides (MIC: 8 mg/L and MBC 32 mg/L), but after 48 h the MIC and MBC remained constant for the CM11 peptide. Bactericidal assay showed that all bacteria strains did not have any growth in agar plates after 40 min. The result showed that these two peptides are more effective than other peptides.

Effect of aminoguanidine in sperm DNA fragmentation in varicocelized rats: role of nitric oxide.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The sperm of infertile men with varicocele exhibit markedly high DNA damage that appears to be related to high oxidative stress (OS). Aminoguanidine (AG) is a specific inhibitor of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms iNOS and an antioxidant, the effects of which decrease NO and peroxynitrite production. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of AG on sperm chromatin in varicocelized rats. METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups: control, sham, varicocele, and AG and placebo-treated groups. At 10 weeks after varicocele induction, sperm chromatin was evaluated in all groups, except in the treated groups. The treated groups received intraperitoneal injections of 50 mg/kg AG or placebo daily for 10 weeks and then were killed for chromatin assessment. Sperm chromatin was evaluated by aniline blue, acridine orange, toluidine blue, and chromomycin A(3) staining. RESULTS: The results of the 4 above tests were significantly increased between varicocele and control (and sham) groups (P < .05). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that AG improves sperm DNA fragmentation that is associated with infertility in varicocelized rats, and treatment with AG can reduce the damage to sperm DNA.

Burden of hip fracture in Iran.

To measure the burden caused by hip fracture in Iran and to compare it with other parts of the world, we applied the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) method created by the World Health Organization. The GBD method uses disability-adjusted life years (DALY), which is comprised of years of life lost (YLL) and years of life lived with disability (YLD). To calculate YLD, incidence of hip fracture was obtained from the Iranian Multicenter Study on Accidental Injuries, a large-scale nationwide prospective study. Disability weights were applied to the remaining duration of disease. To calculate YLL, remaining years of potential life at any age at death were calculated using the standard life table. A discount rate of 3% and age weighting were applied. Hip fracture generated 16,708 DALYs, comprising 8,812 (52.7%) YLL and 7,896 (47.3%) YLD. Iran accounted for 0.85% of the global burden of hip fracture and 12.4% of the burden of hip fracture in the Middle East. The female to male ratio in Iran (1.1) was lower than the global (2.2) and the Middle Eastern (1.4) ratios and higher than the ratios in China and India (1.0 and 0.9, respectively). In conclusion, hip fracture is not as much a cause of disease burden in Iran as in the developed regions of the world. We recommend utilization of the standardized GBD method to calculate burden of osteoporosis in different countries and to set local priorities according to these measures.

Epidemiology of hip fracture in Iran: results from the Iranian Multicenter Study on Accidental Injuries.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of hip fracture varies substantially between countries. As a result of improving life expectancy, the number of elderly people susceptible to hip fractures is increasing rapidly in the developing world. Little is known, however, about the epidemiology of hip fractures in the Middle Eastern countries. In this study, our objective was to estimate the incidence of hip fracture in Iran and compare it with other populations. METHODS: The data used were obtained from the Iranian Multicenter Study on Accidental Injuries, a large-scale population-based study conducted in nine provinces across the country. All of the hospitals in these provinces, which provide services to about 9.5 million people, were prospectively surveyed for any incident injury resulting from accidental events occurring in the study period of 135 days (4.5 months). All patients aged >or=50 with radiographically confirmed proximal femur fractures were included in this study. A total of 555 new cases of hip fracture (284 male, 271 female) were recorded during the study period. The annual incidence of hip fracture per 100,000 person-years was 115.2 (95% CI: 107.2-123.7) in men and 115.6 (95% CI: 107.4-124.3) in women; of these,73.2 and 89.2%, respectively, were fall-related fractures. The female-to-male ratios for fall-induced and total hip fracture rates were 1.2 and 1.0, respectively. RESULTS: The incidence rates increased exponentially after the age of 60 years in both genders and nearly tripled with each successive decade. When these results are compared to those of other studies, the Iranian age-standardized incidence rates of 127.3 (men) and 164.6 (women) per 100,000 person-years are considerably lower than those of all Western countries when standardized to data on the U.S. population in 2000. When compared with incidence rates reported for other Asian countries, those of Iranian females are the lowest next to China. CONCLUSION: The low incidence rate of hip fracture for older Iranian women may be the result of several potential factors related to genetic or lifestyle differences between Iranians and people of other countries. Further studies are required to investigate contributing factors in more detail.

Direct estimation of life expectancy in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2003

We estimated the life expectancy for 2003 for 23 provinces in the Islamic Republic of Iran using population and mortality data from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The underreporting of deaths above 4 years was corrected using the Brass Growth Balance method. We assumed that the distributions of population, deaths, and hence life expectancy in the 23 provinces were equal to those for all 28 provinces of the country. Thus we estimated life expectancy at birth to be 71.56 years for the total population [95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 71.52-71.62]; 70.09 [95% UI: 70.02-70.16] years for males, and 73.17 [95% UI: 73.10-73.24] years for females. Our estimates were higher than the model-based estimates of the Statistical Centre of Iran, United Nations agencies and the World Bank, due to differences in the estimation methods used