Correlation of acidic mammalian chitinase expression with disease severity in patients with moderate/severe persistent allergic rhinitis.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess the level of acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) expression and IL-8 in nasal inferior turbinate mucosa in patients with mild and moderate to severe allergic rhinitis (AR). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Participants in this case-control study were divided into three groups, including patients with moderate and severe persistent allergic rhinitis, cases with mild forms of persistent AR, and control or healthy group. We obtained biopsies of nasal inferior turbinate mucosa from all participants. Expression of AMCase and IL-8 mRNAs were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The serum levels of AMCase and IL-8 were determined by ELISA. The number of eosinophils per field, blood eosinophils, total serum IgE levels, and specific serum IgE levels were measured. Patients' clinical manifestations were assessed by total nasal syndrome score (TNSS). RESULTS: Expression of AMCase and IL-8 in patients with moderate and severe perineal allergic rhinitis were significantly elevated compared to the control group and patients with mild persistent allergic rhinitis. Serum levels of AMCase and IL-8 were associated with specific IgE, nasal eosinophil count, and TNSS. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, there might be a relationship between the expression of AMCase and IL-8 in nasal turbinate mucosa and the severity of allergic rhinitis.

Impact of low level radiation on concentrations of some trace elements in radiation workers.

INTRODUCTION: Small variations in trace element levels may cause important physiological changes in the human body. This study aims to evaluate five important trace elements in radiation workers. METHOD: In this study, 44 radiation workers and an equal number of non-radiation workers were selected as the case and control group, respectively. The concentrations of iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, and selenium in the serum of the participants were measured using an Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). RESULTS: The mean concentrations of iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, and selenium for the case group were 107.3 µg/dl, 2.3 mg/dl, 80.9 µg/dl, 112.6 µg/dl and 216.7 ng/ml, respectively. The results for the control group were 121.9 µg/dl, 2.3 mg/dl, 82.3 µg/dl, 112.8 µg/dl and 225.2 ng/ml, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The mean concentration of iron in the case group was significantly lower than the control group (p-value = 0.012), while the concentrations of other elements in both of the groups were not significantly different. In the case group, except magnesium (p-value = 0.021), no significant relationship was found between age and the elemental concentrations. According to Spearman's test, there was a meaningful statistical correlation between the sex and concentration of iron, Mg, Zn, and Se. Also, the correlation between the concentration of magnesium and the weights of radiation workers was significant (p-value =0.044).

Silver nanoparticles increase cytotoxicity induced by intermediate frequency low voltages.

Electrical properties of the cells play a key role in biological processes. Intermediate frequencies of electrical fields influence the cells proliferation without heat generation and electrical stimulation. Silver nanoparticle (SNP) as a metallic agent can change the electrical characteristics of the cells. We study the effect of low voltages at an intermediate frequency (300 kHz) on a human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF7) in the presence of SNPs. At first, cell toxicity of SNPs was determined at different concentrations. Then three different voltages were applied to the cells for 15 min, both in the presence and absence of SNPs. The treatments efficiency was evaluated by MTT assay. The results showed that the intermediate frequency-low voltages with SNPs not only provide an additive efficacy on cytotoxicity, but also a synergism was observed between these factors. By increasing the voltage from 3 to 9 V, a rising synergistic rate was observed. It seems that the synergistic effect between SNPs and the 300 kHz low voltages can inhibit cell proliferation and/or increases cell death of MCF-7, and hence increases treatment efficiency of SNPs, effectively.

Gold-Gold Sulfide nanoparticles intensify thermal effects of radio frequency electromagnetic field.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the efficacy of thermotherapy resulting from the presence of gold-gold sulfide nanoshells (GGS) in radio frequency electromagnetic field (13.56 MHz) onthe survival of CT26 colon carcinoma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: GGS was synthesized and after characterizing and determining the features, the RF-radiation effects on aquatic environments were determined by recording temperature changes. To investigate the biological effects, cell survival rate due to GGS usage at five different concentrations, each one with applying three different exposure times of RF field, at CT26 cells were evaluated by MTT assay. RESULT: In the presence of 100 mg/L GGS and 5 min RF exposure, increasing in temperature was recorded more than 60°C. A significant difference in cell survival rate was observed, when both GGS and RF field were applied with each other or separately (p<0.001). The GGS concentration of 25mg/L with a 4 min exposure causes cell death with the efficiency of 80 percent more than using them separately. CONCLUSION: The GGS as an available nanostructure (i.e. it's not expensive and can be synthesized simply) is an environmental friendly material which has the ability to cause damage to malignant cell effectively, by absorbing the non-invasive and deeply penetrating energy of RF field.

A Comparison Between GATE and MCNPX Monte Carlo Codes in Simulation of Medical Linear Accelerator.

Radiotherapy dose calculations can be evaluated by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations with acceptable accuracy for dose prediction in complicated treatment plans. In this work, Standard, Livermore and Penelope electromagnetic (EM) physics packages of GEANT4 application for tomographic emission (GATE) 6.1 were compared versus Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) 2.6 in simulation of 6 MV photon Linac. To do this, similar geometry was used for the two codes. The reference values of percentage depth dose (PDD) and beam profiles were obtained using a 6 MV Elekta Compact linear accelerator, Scanditronix water phantom and diode detectors. No significant deviations were found in PDD, dose profile, energy spectrum, radial mean energy and photon radial distribution, which were calculated by Standard and Livermore EM models and MCNPX, respectively. Nevertheless, the Penelope model showed an extreme difference. Statistical uncertainty in all the simulations was <1%, namely 0.51%, 0.27%, 0.27% and 0.29% for PDDs of 10 cm(2)× 10 cm(2) filed size, for MCNPX, Standard, Livermore and Penelope models, respectively. Differences between spectra in various regions, in radial mean energy and in photon radial distribution were due to different cross section and stopping power data and not the same simulation of physics processes of MCNPX and three EM models. For example, in the Standard model, the photoelectron direction was sampled from the Gavrila-Sauter distribution, but the photoelectron moved in the same direction of the incident photons in the photoelectric process of Livermore and Penelope models. Using the same primary electron beam, the Standard and Livermore EM models of GATE and MCNPX showed similar output, but re-tuning of primary electron beam is needed for the Penelope model.

Gold-gold sulfide nanoshell as a novel intensifier for anti-tumor effects of radiofrequency fields.

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of various nanoparticles exposed to radiofrequency (RF) waves on cancerous tissues. In this study, a colon carcinoma tumor model was irradiated by RF in the presence of gold-gold sulfide (GGS) nanoshells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Synthesis and characterization of GGS nanoshells were initially performed. CT26 cells were subcutaneously injected into the flank of BALB/c mice to create the colon carcinoma tumor models. Then the tumors were subjected to different treatments. Treatment factors included intratumoral injection of GGS and RF radiation. Different groups were considered as control with no treatment, receiving GGS, RF irradiated and simultaneous administration of GGS and RF. Efficacy of the treatments was evaluated by daily monitoring of tumor volume and recording the relative changes in it, the time needed for a 5-fold increase in the volume of tumor (T5) and utilizing pathologic studies to determine the lost volume of the tumors. RESULTS: In comparison with control group, tumor growth was not markedly inhibited in the groups receiving only GGS or RF, while in the group receiving GGS and RF, tumor growth was effectively inhibited compared with the other groups. In addition, the lost volume of the tumor and T5 was markedly higher in groups receiving GGS and RF compared with other groups. CONCLUSION: This study showed that RF radiation can markedly reduce the tumor growth in presence of GGS. Hence, it can be predicted that GGS nanoshells convert sub-lethal effects of noninvasive RF fields into lethal damages.

An in vitro study on the photosensitivity of 5-aminolevulinic acid conjugated gold nanoparticles.

BACKGROUND: In this study, the photosensitivity of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) conjugated gold nanoparticles (conjugate) has been investigated on the MeL-Rm cell line. METHODS: After culture and proliferation of the Mel-Rm cell line, cell toxicity and the suitable cell incubation time of the conjugate were determined. Photosensitivity of the conjugate and free 5-ALA was then studied in optical doses of 20, 40, 60 and 80 J/cm(2) while light irradiation was applied by a He-Ne laser. RESULTS: A 4-h time interval was determined as the optimum incubation time for 5-ALA and the conjugate. PpIX induction into the cells showed a significant increase after incubation with the conjugate in comparison to 5-ALA alone. Also, the conjugate resulted in a two times higher cell death rate compared to free 5-ALA. CONCLUSION: The conjugate can be used as an appropriate delivery agent for 5-ALA and provide efficient cell destruction during PDT.

Effective dose of topiramate in pediatric migraine prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE: Migraine is a common neurological disorder in childhood and adolescence. Topiramate is a new anticonvulsant drug, recently being used in migraine prophylaxis in adults, although it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for prevention of pediatric migraine. The present study was planned and performed to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose topiramate in pediatric migraine prophylaxis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study, including 60 patients with migraine headaches was performed for a period of two months. The patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups - treated by topiramate < 2 mg/kg/day and > 2 mg/kg/day. All the patients were evaluated at 0, 4, and 8 weeks of the study for the clinical response. RESULTS: The patients receiving topiramate < 2 mg/kg/day (mean dose of 1.2 ± 0.7 mg/kg/day) showed a reduction in the mean (±SD) of migraine frequency from 6.2 (±2.4) to 3.0 (±1.8) episodes per month, headache intensity from 7.2 (±1.95) to 3.7 (±1.8) based on the Visual Analog Scale, and headache duration from 5.4 (±2.1) to 2.2 (±1.3) h. In the patients treated with topiramate > 2 mg/kg/day (mean dose of 2.4 ± 0.5 mg/kg/day), the mean (±SD) of monthly headache frequency reduced from 6.9 (±2.1) to 3.24 (±1.2) per month, intensity from 7.11 (±1.4) to 3.14 (±2.41), and headache duration from 5.2 (±2.4) to 1.8 (±1.2) h, at the end of follow-up (P > 0.05). The most common side effects of topiramate were paresthesias (five patients), anorexia (four patients), drowsiness (four patients). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that low-dose of topiramate (<2 mg/kg/day) is effective, well-tolerated, safe, and suggested as an alternative prophylactic treatment for pediatric migraine.

Estimation of human effective absorbed dose of 67Ga-cDTPA-gonadorelin based on biodistribution rat data.

OBJECTIVE: In this investigation, we estimated the effective absorbed dose of radiation into human organs, after an intravenous administration of gallium-67 (67Ga)-labeled gonadorelin, one of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, using biodistribution data from injected normal rats. METHODS: Five rats were killed at exact time intervals (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 24, and 48 h post injections) and the percentage of injected dose per gram of each organ was measured by direct counting from rat data. The Medical Internal Radiation Dose formulation was applied to extrapolate from rat to human and to project the absorbed radiation dose for various organs in humans. RESULTS: From rat data we estimated that a 185-MBq injection of 67Ga-cDTPA-GnRH into the humans might result in an estimated absorbed dose of 5.26 mGy in the whole body with the highest effective absorbed dose was in the lungs (2.73 mSv), and the organs that received the next highest doses were the bladder wall (1.59 mSv), liver (0.80 mSv), and bone marrow (0.52 mSv). CONCLUSION: The biodistribution of 67Ga-cDTPA-GnRH in rats showed high breast uptake and low muscle and blood uptake. These results suggest that it should be possible to perform early imaging of the breast anomalies and GnRH receptors indicating potential malignant lesions.

Determination of human absorbed dose of 67GA-DTPA-ACTH based on distribution data in rats.

The absorbed radiation dose to human organs has been estimated, following intravenous administration of (67)Ga-labelled adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) using distribution data from injected normal rats. Four rats were sacrificed at exact time intervals and the percentage of injected dose per gram of each organ was measured by direct counting from rat data. The Medical Internal Radiation Dose formulation was applied to extrapolate from rat to human and to project the absorbed radiation dose for various organs in a human. From rat data, it is estimated that a 185-MBq injection of (67)Ga-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-ACTH into a human might result in an estimated absorbed dose of 2.22 mGy to the whole body; the highest absorbed dose was in the bladder wall with 82.1 mGy and the organs that received the next highest doses were the lungs 31.8, liver 22.6 and spleen 8.72 mGy. These results suggest that it should be possible to perform early imaging of the lung anomalies.