The frequency of HHV-8 infection in otherwise healthy blood donors as well as renal allograft recipients living in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Different reports from Middle East countries demonstrated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in transplant population. This vascular malignancy occurs mostly among immunocompromised individuals. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) appears to be the causative factor for the development of this neoplasm. Transplant programs are concerned about the frequencies of HHV-8 infection either in general population or transplant patients. METHODS: The current study was conducted in two phases. Firstly, we detected antibodies against HHV-8 in 790 otherwise healthy blood donors. Secondly, a total of 125 kidney allograft recipients evaluated as being seropositive for HHV-8. We utilized enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for serologic studies. RESULTS: Among blood donors, the male to female ratio was 1.05 (405 vs. 385 ) while the mean age was 38.9 ± 11.7 years. The serostatus of none of these blood donors were positive for HHV-8. Among kidney recipients, the male to female ratio was 1.9 (82 vs. 43). The mean age was 39.01 ± 14.77 years. Two (1.6%) patients were seropositive for HHV-8. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HHV-8 infection among Iranians is likely to be low. Yet, owing to the evidence of this infection among kidney allograft recipients and its probable role in developing post- transplantation KS (PT-KS), further studies appear to be required to keep the various aspects of this infection under close surveillance.

Asymptomatic Left Bundle Branch Block Predicts New-Onset Congestive Heart Failure and Death From Cardiovascular Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Left bundle branch block (LBBB) has been proposed as a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We sought to characterize the strength of these associations in a population without preexisting clinical heart disease. METHODS: The association between LBBB and new-onset congestive heart failure (CHF) or death from cardiovascular diseases was examined in 1,688 participants enrolled in the SPPARCS study who were free of known CHF or previous myocardial infarction. SPPARCS is a community-based cohort study in residents of Sonoma, California that are > 55 years. Medical history and 12-lead ECGs were obtained every 2 years for up to 6 years of follow-up. LBBB at enrollment or year 2 was considered "baseline" and assessed as a predictor of CHF and cardiovascular death ascertained at years 4 and 6. RESULTS: The prevalence of LBBB at baseline was 2.5% (n = 42). During 6 years of follow-up, 70 (4.8%) people developed new CHF. Incidence of CHF was higher in patients with LBBB than in participants without LBBB. This association persisted after controlling for potential confounders (odds ratio (OR): 2.85; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01 - 8.02; P = 0.047). A higher mortality from cardiovascular diseases was also found in participants with LBBB after adjusting for potential confounders (OR: 2.35, 95%CI: 1.02 - 5.41; P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: LBBB in the absence of a clinically detectable heart disease is associated with new-onset CHF and death from cardiovascular diseases. Further study is warranted to determine if additional diagnostic testing or earlier treatment in patients with asymptomatic LBBB can decrease cardiovascular morbidity or mortality.

Prominent bladder cancer risk factors in Iran.

Several risk factors have been suggested for transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder (BC). Since it seems that some factors have more prominent role over the others in our region, we conducted the present case-control study with 692 bladder cancer (BC) patients versus 692 healthy controls (262 women versus 1,122 men in total) matched on the basis of gender and age (± 5 years). The enrolled cases had confirmed TCC of bladder. To gather data, we exploited a questionnaire filled up in face-to-face interviews. We classified different factors in four categories as follows: 1-dietary factors; 2-history of underlying diseases; 3-lifestyle; and 4-occupational/chemical exposures. Among dietary factors, pickles (P= 0.04) and vegetables (P= 0.001) had protective effects. In the second group, histories of all evaluated diseases were accompanied by increased risks for BC. Among life style factors, cigarette smoking (P= 0.0001), opium use (P= 0.0001), history of excessive analgesic use (P= 0.0001) and hair dye use (P= 0.02) had significant correlations with BC. However, none of the occupational exposures was associated with BC. One may conclude that some factors such as opium use may have a more important role in developing BC in our region. Nonetheless, we should categorize occupations based on their definite exposure to chemicals for conducting further studies.