Effects of Photobiomodulation Therapy on the Expression of Hypoxic Inducible Factor, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, and Its Specific Receptor: A Randomized Control Trial in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcer.

Background: Impaired angiogenesis is a significant factor contributing to delayed healing in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) due to inadequate oxygenation. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of photobiomodulation (PBM) using a Ga-As laser on the release of serum hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α (HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, and nitric oxide (NO) in diabetic patients with DFUs. Materials and methods: In this double-blind RCT, a total of 30 patients with grade II DFUs were enrolled. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: the PBM (n = 15) and the placebo (n = 15). In the PBM group, a Ga-As laser (904 nm, 2 J/cm2, 90 W) was given for 3 days/week for 4 weeks (11 sessions). In the placebo group, the power was turned off. Both groups received similar standard wound care. Before and after interventions, the levels of serum HIF-1α, VEGF, NO, and sVEGFR-2 were measured. In addition, the percentage decrease in the wound surface area (%DWSA) was measured. Results: Following the intervention, the results revealed that the PBM group had significantly lower levels of VEGF than the placebo group (p = 0.005). The %DWSA was significantly higher in the PBM group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.003). Moreover, VEGF showed a significant negative correlation with %DWSA (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The observed decrease in serum levels of VEGF and an increase in %DWSA, compared to the placebo group, suggests that PBM effectively improves angiogenesis. Furthermore, the significant correlation found between VEGF levels and %DWSA emphasizes the importance of evaluating wound surface in patients as a dependable indicator of enhanced wound angiogenesis. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02452086.

An unusual presentation of a papillary thyroid carcinoma in the struma ovarii in a 10 year-old girl: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Struma ovarii is an ovarian tumor with thyroid tissue as its predominant component. It usually occurs in older women and presents with abdominal mass, pain and abnormal bleeding. Most patients are euthyroid, but some reports have noted thyrotoxicosis originating from the malignant struma ovarii. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 10 year-old girl presented with tachycardia, normal thyroid exam and thyrotoxicosis. Thyroid scan showed no uptake with increased uptake in right ovary indicative of struma ovarii. The patient underwent oophorectomy and thyroidectomy, Pathology showed papillary thyroid carcinoma limited to the struma ovarii. Following TSH suppressive therapy and treatment with I131, she is totally symptom free. DISCUSSION: Struma ovarii should be a possible diagnosis in any female patient with thyrotoxicosis manifestations with normal thyroid scan and examination.

Evaluation of the serum zinc level in adult patients with melasma: Is there a relationship with serum zinc deficiency and melasma?

BACKGROUND: Melasma is a common acquired hypermelanosis of sun-exposed skin, particularly on the face, which presents as symmetric, light- to gray-brown-colored macules and patches. There are several studies of serum zinc levels in cutaneous disorders. So far, no studies have been carried out to assess the serum zinc level in patients with melasma. The aim of this study is to determine the serum zinc level in patients with melasma compared to healthy subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 118 patients with melasma and 118 healthy controls were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study. The two groups were matched for age and sex. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to measure serum zinc levels. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean serum level of zinc in melasma patients and controls was 77.4±23.2 µg/dL and 82.2±23.9 µg/dL, respectively (P-value=.0001). Serum zinc deficiency was found in 45.8% and 23.7% of melasma patients and control subjects, respectively. A positive family history of melasma in first-degree relatives was present in 46 (39%) of the cases, and a history of taking oral contraceptive pill was found in 95 (81%) of women with melasma. The aggravating factors for melasma were stated as: sun exposure (11.1%), pregnancy (15.3%), nutrition (2.5%), oral contraceptive pills (18.6%), and emotional stress (5.9%). The malar and centrofacial patterns were seen in 3.4% and 72% of cases, respectively, whereas 24.6% of the patients had both centrofacial distribution and malar distribution, and there was no patient with mandibular pattern. Among patients with melasma, 20.3% had thyroid dysfunction, while in the control subjects, 8.4% had thyroid dysfunction (P=.001). CONCLUSION: There is a significant relationship between low levels of zinc and melasma. Zinc deficiency may be involved in the pathogenesis of melasma. Also, treatment with oral zinc supplements can be tried in these patients to see the outcome. However, to make recommendations on screening for zinc deficiency in patients with melasma, future research of good methodological quality is needed.

Predictors of health-related quality of life among people with type II diabetes Mellitus in Ardabil, Northwest of Iran, 2014.

AIMS: The present study aims at investigating different dimensions of the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and its determinants among type II diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) referred to diabetes clinic in Ardabil. METHODS: The present study was conducted through a cross-sectional method in which 300 people with T2DM were selected using a convenience sampling method between January and May 2014. Data were collected through 26-item structured and WHOQOL-BREF questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and analytical statistical methods, independent t-test, Mann Whitney test, ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis, Welch test, and multivariable linear regression model using SPSS (V.20). RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 54.13±9.13, and about 72% of the patients were women. The mean score of the total HRQOL was 53.07±17.09; the highest score of HRQOL was related to the environmental domain (57.10±10.52) and the lowest to the dimension of social health (45.68±17.25). Based on multivariable linear regression, total QOL was influenced by gender, marital status, MHI, and comorbid renal disease. PH Dimension was associated with MHI and neuropathy; PSH with education level, comorbid depression, comorbid renal, and other disease; SR with marital, comorbid renal, and other disease; EH with marital status, Monthly household income (MHI), and education level. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, Predictors of the HRQOL in T2DM are associated with demographic and socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, and with less impact, diabetes complications, respectively. Moreover, diabetic patients had moderate HRQOL, and compared with men, scores of all domains were lower in women.

Evaluation of autoimmune thyroid disease in melasma.

Melasma is one of the most frequently acquired hyperpigmentation disorders clinically characterized by symmetrical brown patches on sun-exposed areas. To date, few studies have been conducted about the relationship between thyroid autoimmun-ity and melasma. To evaluate the thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity in nonpregnant women with melasma. A total of 70 women with melasma and 70 age-matched healthy women with no history of melasma were enrolled in the study. We studied the thyroid hormone profile in both groups. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Patients with melasma had 18.5% frequency of thyroid disorders, and 15.7% had positive anti-TPO, while subjects from the control group had a 4.3% frequency of thyroid abnormalities, and only 5.7% had positive anti-TPO. There was a significantly higher prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in women with melasma compared with control group (P = 0.008). This study suggests that there is a relationship between thyroid autoimmunity and melasma. However, to make recommendations on screening for thyroid disease in patients with melasma, future research of good methodological quality is needed.

The diagnostic value of ultrasound compared with nerve conduction velocity in carpal tunnel syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common form of peripheral entrapment neuropathy. The use of sonography for investigation and diagnosis of musculoskeletal conditions has been rapidly increasing over the past few decades. The purpose of this study was to determine whether sonography can be an alternative method to nerve conduction study (NCS) in the diagnosis of CTS. METHODS: Individuals with electrodiagnostically proven CTS and healthy control subjects were enrolled prospectively. Median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) and flattening ratio (FR) at three different levels, proximal to tunnel inlet, at tunnel inlet and tunnel outlet, and flexor retinaculum thickness, were measured. Then, comparisons between ultrasonography and NCS were made. RESULTS: We assessed 180 wrists, of which 120 were electrophysiologically confirmed as CTS diseased hands and 60 nondiseased hands in 90 patients (83 women and seven men). The mean median nerve CSA at the tunnel inlet was 13.31 ± 3.23 mm(2) in CTS diseased hands and 8.57 ± 0.82 mm(2) in nondiseased hands. Post hoc comparisons between the diseased and nondiseased hands demonstrated that the CSA at various levels of the median nerve were significantly greater in the CTS diseased hands than the nondiseased hands (P = 0.001). CSA at the tunnel inlet with a threshold of 9.15 mm(2) gave the best diagnostic accuracy with a sensitivity and specificity of 99.2% and 88.3%, respectively. The difference in cross-sectional area of the median nerve in mild, moderate and severe CTS was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonographic measurement of the CSA of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet is useful in diagnosing and grading CTS.

Seizure, deafness, and renal failure: a case of barakat syndrome.

Barakat syndrome (also known as HDR syndrome) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural deafness, and renal disease caused by mutation of the GATA3 gene located at chromosome 10p15. The exact prevalence of this disorder is not known but is very rare, with only about a dozen cases reported in the literature. Here, we report a case of 58-year-old man from Ardabil who presented with seizure due to hypocalcemia. Further history revealed bilateral deafness. Audiogram confirmed sensorineural hearing loss of both sides. His laboratory data were consistent with hypoparathyroidism and renal failure. He was diagnosed to have Barakat syndrome based on his clinical and laboratory data. In conclusion, we need to be aware of rare inherited conditions in a patient with abnormal physical and laboratory findings even though their initial presentation was seizure and hypocalcemia.

5-alpha-reductase 2 deficiency in a woman with primary amenorrhea.

Steroid 5-alpha-reductase 2 deficiency is a rare disorder leading to male pseudohermaphroditism, a condition characterized by incomplete differentiation of male genitalia in 46,XY patients. Here, we report a case of a 21-year-old woman from Ardabil who presented with primary amenorrhea, ambiguous genitalia, and lack of breast development. All of the serum hormone profiles were normal except for raised serum total testosterone. Testosterone to DHT ratio (T/DHT) was elevated before (15.72) and further increased after hCG stimulation (32.46). A chromosomal study revealed a 46,XY karyotype. A bilateral gonadectomy, recessive cliteroplasty, urethroplasty, and vaginoplasty were performed and hormonal replacement therapy using estrogen was started. In conclusion, the diagnosis of 5-alpha-reductase 2 deficiency may be suspected in infants with ambiguous genitalia or in adolescents or young adults with the characteristic phenotype and serum hormone profiles.