A systematic review and meta-analysis on the epidemiology, casual agents and demographic characteristics of onychomycosis in Iran.

Onychomycosis or fungal nail infection is one of the most common fungal infections. Nearly 50% of all nail disorders are caused by fungi. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine the prevalence of onychomycosis across Iran. We searched English and Persian databases for studies reporting the epidemiologic features of onychomycosis in Iranian people from January 2000 to December 2018. Literature search revealed 307 studies, of which 24 studies met the eligibility criteria. In order to identifying the existence of publication bias among studies, funnel plots were used. The results of the meta-analysis were visualized as a forest plot representing the prevalence estimates of each study. Heterogeneity was also analyzed using the I2, Chi2, and Tau2 statistics. A high level of I2 and Chi2 was obtained among studies, which provides evidence of notable heterogeneity between studies. The results of current study revealed that the highest prevalence of onychomycosis was related to Mazandaran and Tehran provinces, respectively. As in the literature hypothesized shift in etiologic agents from yeasts to dermatophytes or molds could not be confirmed. Females were affected more frequently than males and in both sexes the highest incidence of infection occurrence was at the ages of >50 years. It seems the highest prevalence of onychomycosis in Mazandaran and Tehran provinces is due to the concentration of specialist doctors and research centers in these two provinces compared with others which leads to more detection and more care of the disease. Therefore, further educational strategies in order to accurate diagnosis in other provinces is necessary to reduce the risk of onychomycosis in Iran.

Vitamin A supplementation reduces IL-17 and RORc gene expression in atherosclerotic patients.

Vitamin A is a potential mediator of T helper cells in atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin A supplementation on expression of Th17 cells-related IL-17 and RORc genes in atherosclerotic patients. Thirty one atherosclerotic patients and 15 healthy controls were studied for 4 months. Atherosclerotic patients were randomly divided into vitamin A or placebo groups. Healthy controls and patients in vitamin A group received 25,000 IU retinyl palmitate per day. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated, cultured and divided into three groups including fresh cells, phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activated T cells and ox-LDL-activated T cells. Gene expressions of T cells were studied by real-time PCR. In atherosclerotic patients, vitamin A supplementation resulted in significant decrease in IL-17 gene expression by 0.63-fold in fresh cell, 0.82-fold in PHA-activated cells and 0.65-fold in ox-LDL-activated cells (P < 0.05 for all). RORc gene expression in fresh cells as well as ox-LDL-activated cells decreased significantly after vitamin A supplementation in atherosclerotic patients (P = 0.0001 for both). In PHA-activated cells, vitamin A supplementation significantly decreased RORc gene in both atherosclerotic patients and healthy subjects by 0.87-fold and 0.72, respectively, while in placebo group, the RORc gene expression significantly increased by 1.17-fold (P < 0.05 for all). Findings of this study suggest that vitamin A supplementation may be an effective approach to slow progression of atherosclerosis.

Haemolymph Components of Infected & None Infected Lymnaea snails with Xiphidiocercariae.

BACKGROUND: In this study the haemolymph components of infected and none infected Lymnaea gedrosiana with xiphidiocercaria larvae was compared. METHODS: Five hundred Fifty Lymnaea snails were collected from Ilam and Mazandaran provinces, Iran, during 2008-2009. The snails were transported to the lab at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and their cercarial sheddings were studied. Haemolmyphs of snails were extracted and cells were counted using haemocytometer and cell-surface carbohydrate were recognized by conjugated lectin (Lentil). Haemolymph protein concentrations were measured by Bradford protein assay method and soluble protein compositions were determined on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). RESULTS: From the 550 examined Lymnaea snails for cercariae, 27 snails were infected with xiphidiocercariae. Mean of haemolymph cells (haemocyte) number were obtained 93480±2.43 (cells/ml) for none infected snails (25 snail) and 124560±2800 (cells/ml) for infected snails (25 snail). Mannose carbohydrate was recognized on haemocyte of none infected and infected snails. Mean of protein concentration of haemolymph plasma was obtained as 1354±160 µg/ml (1.4 mg/ml) for none infected snails (25 snails) and 1802±138 µg/ml (1.8 mg/ml) for infected snail (25 snails). Comparing to none infected snails, the SDS-PAGE results of haemolymph plasma of infected snails, showed an extra protein band (70 kDa). The results showed a significant difference between the amounts and the kinds of proteins in haemolymph of infected and none infected snails. CONCLUSION: This information might be useful to understand of parasite detection, adhesion, engulfment and antigen agglutination by snail.

Heavy Worm Burden of Moniliformis moniliformis in Urban Rats with Histopathological Description.

BACKGROUND: Due to scarcity of human reports, we took advantage of the heaviest infection of M. moniliformis in rats, to describe histopathological and microanatomical valuable useful keys while confronting human occurrences. METHODS: Samples were obtained from captured rats in Tehran, capital of Iran, during two decades. Tissue sections were performed through hematoxylin and eosin staining to describe histopathological changes in rat's intestines. RESULTS: Totally, nine rats were found infected with M. moniliformis amongst 272 obtained rats. Heavy infection has been distinguished in 2 individuals with parasite burden of 141and 73 adult worms. Cross sections of worms within the lumen show mucosal thickness, infiltration of eosinophilic leukocyte and increase in goblet cells. CONCLUSION: Beyond the uncommonness of human infection with M. moniliformis unitended infections should not be ignored. Abundance of rats and roaches as definite and intermediate hosts must be considered particularly in countries with poor hygiene.