Assessment of endocarditis prophylaxis knowledge and attitudes among healthcare practitioners in Tehran and Hamadan.

BACKGROUND: Having knowledge of the dental procedures that necessitate endocarditis prophylaxis is of high importance. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the knowledge level and attitudes of general medical and dental practitioners, dental specialists, and cardiologists in Tehran and Hamadan about endocarditis. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 420 general medical and dental practitioners, dental specialists, and cardiologists in Tehran and Hamadan provinces in 2015. The questionnaire used in this research consisted of three parts as follows: part one: information on cardiac diseases; part two: dental procedures requiring endocarditis prophylaxis; part three: antibiotic diet in endocarditis prophylaxis. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the data. All the analyses were performed in SPSS version 16. RESULTS: The results showed that 86.7 had a relatively favorable and 10.5% of subjects had a favorable level of knowledge about endocarditis. Also, 58.6% of subjects had a poor attitude toward endocarditis prophylaxis. There was a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude, age, gender, and work experience (P < 0.001). There was a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude, and job groups; dental specialists had a more favorable knowledge and positive attitude than others (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We recommended developing more practical training programs in dental schools on cardiac diseases, and dental procedures requiring endocarditis prophylaxis and antibiotic diets.

Effects of Methamphetamine Withdrawal on the Volume and pH of Stimulated Saliva.

Statement of the Problem: As a stimulant drug of the central nervous system, methamphetamine reduces salivary secretion by stimulating inhibitory α2-receptors in the sympathetic system. The acidity of this substance reduces the salivary pH and causes severe dental caries and erosion in the cervical region of teeth, appearing as "meth mouth". Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effects of methamphetamine withdrawal on the volume and pH of stimulated saliva in patients under treatment at rehabilitation centers. Materials and Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 20 individuals at the rehabilitation centers of Gorgan, Iran. The volume and pH of stimulated saliva were measured at three intervals: before withdrawal, four days after withdrawal, and 30 days after withdrawal. Data analysis was performed using ANOVA test in SPSS. Results: The results showed a significant difference in the mean volume of saliva before and after withdrawal (p< 0.05). Thirty days after withdrawal, the mean volume of saliva was significantly different from the mean volume after four days (p< 0.05). Moreover, the mean pH of saliva after withdrawal was significantly different from the mean pH before withdrawal (p< 0.001). On the other hand, the mean salivary pH at 30 days after withdrawal was not significantly different from the mean pH on the fourth day after withdrawal (p> 0.05). Conclusion: It seems that methamphetamine withdrawal influences the volume and pH of stimulated saliva in patients under treatment at rehabilitation centers.

MicroRNA-127 and MicroRNA-132 Expression in Patients with Methamphetamine Abuse in East Azerbaijan, Iran: A Case-Control Study.

Background: Addiction is a personal and social problem worldwide, and has physical and psychological effects on consumers' health. Recently, miRNAs have been described as noninvasive biomarkers. Currently, methamphetamine abuse (MA) is mainly diagnosed by chromatography. This study aimed to investigate the expression and diagnostic value of miR-127 and miR-132 in blood samples of patients with MA and non-user healthy controls. Methods: A total of 60 patients with MA (case group) and 60 non-user healthy individuals (control group) were selected from Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran. Peripheral blood was obtained and total RNA was extracted. Then, cDNA synthesis was performed and miR-127 and miR-132 expression was evaluated using real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Findings: The results of this study demonstrated that miR-127 was significantly lower (0.042-fold change) in patients with MA than in the control group (P<0.05). However, miR-132 was significantly higher (7.1-fold change) in patients with MA than in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: In general, expression of miR-127 and miR-132 may alter in patients with MA. Further studies are needed to identify underlying molecular mechanisms in patients with MA.

Comparison of Salivary Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress Status in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Healthy Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND: One of the most common complications of pregnant women is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Oxidative stress can play an important role in GDM. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary antioxidants and oxidative stress markers in GDM. METHODS: Twenty pregnant women with GDM and 20 healthy pregnant women with normal blood glucose test participated in this study. Five mL of unstimulated saliva samples were collected. Spectrophotometric assay was carried out for sialo-chemical analysis. Stata software was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The GDM group exhibited no significant difference in salivary total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde compared to the healthy control group. All antioxidants markers, the uric acid, total antioxidant, peroxidase and catalase, decreased in GDM group that the difference of peroxidase and catalase was statistically significant. All of oxidative stress markers, the salivary malondialdehyde, total oxidative stress and total thiol, increased in GDM group. GDM group exhibited significantly higher salivary total oxidative stress levels. CONCLUSION: Catalase level was significantly lower and total oxidative stress was significantly higher. These two markers might have significant importance and might exhibit early changes compared to other factors in GDM. Some salivary antioxidants might have diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic implications in GDM. Other studies with large sample size on salivary and blood samples need to be done to confirm these properties and salivary samples using instead of blood samples in GDM biomarkers changes.

Evaluation of Salivary Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress Markers in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a progressive metabolic disorder. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between antioxidant and oxidative stress markers in the saliva of patients with type 2 DM and a healthy control group. METHODS: In this study, 20 patients with diabetes and 20 healthy individuals were evaluated. Salivary antioxidants markers consisted of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), uric acid (UA), peroxidase and catalase. Oxidative stress markers included total oxidant status (TOS), malondealdehyde (MDA) and total thiol (SH). Sialochemical analysis was performed with spectrophotometric assay. All the statistical analyses were conducted using STATA software. RESULTS: TAC decreased significantly in patients with diabetes. Although salivary UA and peroxidase were lower in patients with diabetes compared to the control group, the difference was not significant. Salivary catalase in patients with diabetes was significantly lower than that in the control group. MDA and TOS exhibited significantly higher levels in type 2 DM. SH levels were slightly higher in DM. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the present study, there were some changes in the salivary levels of some antioxidants and oxidative stress markers in patients with type 2 DM and could be measured as an indicator of serum changes.

Edentulous child with Allgrove syndrome: a rare case report.

Triple-A syndrome, also known as Allgrove syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. The 3 features of this syndrome are achalasia, adrenal insufficiency, and alacrima. Achalasia could be the first manifestation of the triple-A syndrome; however, its etiology is unclear. Alacrima is generally asymptomatic but can be detected by obtaining patient history. Although adrenal insufficiency could have manifestations such as asthenia, it might be wrongly diagnosed as muscle fatigue. Vitamin D and calcium supplements are usually prescribed for the prevention of osteoporosis. Neurologic manifestations could be present in adults. In some individuals with this disorder, genetic examination indicates mutations in both alleles of the AAAS gene, which encodes a special 546-amino-acid protein designated ALADIN, and in chromosome 12q13. The genetic cause of the triple A syndrome in some patients who do not have an identified mutation is unknown. While very few such cases have been reported till date, one such case was presented to us as an edentulous child.

Effects of counter torque and transposition (transfer) of installed implants timing on their integration in dog tibia.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the amount of reosseointegration after counter torquing (reverse torque) and transposing the installed implants at different times. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was done on ten tibiae of five cross-bred dogs. At the first day one implant was installed in each tibia. After one week half of the implants were randomly counter torqued (1WCT) and the other half were explanted and reimplanted in a new juxtaposition site (transposed)(1WT). At the same time three new implants were installed in each dog, one of them was considered as one week control (1WC) and remaining two as 8 week groups (8WCT&8WT). After eight weeks the 1WCT and 1WT implants were loosened by counter torque and the quantity of needed force for liberation was measured with the digital device (BGI). At the same time one implant was installed in each dog as eight week control (8WC) and the same protocol was repeated for 8 week groups after another 8 weeks. RESULTS: All implants were osseointegrated. Mean quantities of osseointegration in case groups indicated better amounts rather than control groups. CONCLUSION: Counter torque or transposition of the installed implants one week or eight weeks after the implantation did lead to osseointegration.