Ali Ahmadi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ali Ahmadi

Research paper thumbnail of Modeling of in hospital mortality determinants in myocardial infarction patients, with and without type 2 diabetes, undergoing pharmaco-invasive strategy: the first national report using two approaches in Iran

Diabetes research and clinical practice, 2015

This study was conducted to compare the characteristics of patients, with and without diabetes me... more This study was conducted to compare the characteristics of patients, with and without diabetes mellitus, presenting with myocardial infarction (MI) and treated with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or thrombolytic therapy. Factors related to mortality due to MI in Iran were also determined. This study was a prospective analysis. To analyze the data, Stata software (chi square, t test, Cox and logistic regression) was used. Participants were patients hospitalized for MI for the first time in 540 hospitals from April, 2012 to March, 2013. Out of 20,750 patients with MI, 461 2 (22.3%) had type 2 diabetes. MI case fatality rate was 13.22% (95%CI: 12.24-14.19) and 11.78% (95%CI: 11.28-12.27) in patients with and without diabetes, respectively. The rates of CABG, PCI, and thrombolytic therapy use were 4.2%, 8%, and 58% in patients with diabetes, and 2.1%, 6.5%, and 55% in patients without diabetes. The odds ratio of mortality for ST segment...

Research paper thumbnail of Inter/intra-observer reproducibility of Gleason scoring in prostate adenocarcinoma in Iranian pathologists

Urology journal

To measure the level of inter/intra-observer reproducibility among pathologists as far as Gleason... more To measure the level of inter/intra-observer reproducibility among pathologists as far as Gleason scoring of adenocarcinoma of the prostate is concerned. A total of 101 prostate biopsy slides, diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the prostate by five pathologists from different education centers, were exposed to Gleason scoring. Two months later, the slides were re-examined by three of the same pathologists. Thereafter, the kappa was calculated for the data provided in the first and second reports of each pathologist and compared between pathologists. Inter-observer reproducibility was inappropriate, but intra-observer diagnostic reproducibility was almost perfect with a corresponding percentage of agreement of 85.2%. The inter-observer reproducibility was poor.

Research paper thumbnail of Role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer

Urology journal

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A t... more The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A total of 51 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of prostate cancer were analyzed for PTEN mutations. Tissue microdissection and polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism methods were used. Clinical and pathologic data of the patients were reviewed with regard to PTEN mutation. The Gleason score (GS) was less than 7 in 29 (56.8%), 7 in 11 (21.6%), and greater than 7 in 11 (21.6%). Tumor stage was IIa, IIb, IIc, and IV in 14 (27.4%), 4 (7.8%), 21 (41.2%), and 12 (23.6%) patients, respectively. Eleven of 12 stage IV tumors had metastases at the time of presentation. Six of 51 cases (11.6%) showed mutation in PTEN which had involved exones 1, 2, and 5. Two of these cases had localized and the others had advanced prostate cancer. One case of the tumors with PTEN mutation had a GS of 7 and 5 had GSs greater than 7. Patients with a positive mutation of PTEN had a s...

Research paper thumbnail of In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Therapy Targeting Epithelial-cell Adhesion-molecule Aptamers for non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Journal of Controlled Release, 2015

Targeted, disease-specific delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles shows wonderful promise for tran... more Targeted, disease-specific delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles shows wonderful promise for transmitting highly cytotoxic anti-cancer agents. Using the reaction of non-small cell lung cancer (SK-MES-1 and A549 cell lines) as representative of other cancer types', the present study examines the effects of EpCAM-fluoropyrimidine RNA aptamer-decorated, DOX-loaded, PLGA-b-PEG nanopolymersomes that bond specifically to the extracellular domain of epithelial-cell adhesion molecules. Results demonstrate that EpCAM aptamer-conjugated DOX-NPs (Apt-DOX-NP) significantly enhance cellular nanoparticle uptake in SK-MES-1 and A549 cell lines and increase the cytotoxicity of the DOX payload as compared with non-targeted DOX-NP (P b 0.05). Additionally, Apt-DOX-NP exhibits greater tumor inhibition in nude mice bearing SK-MES-1 non-small cell lungcancer xenografts and reduces toxicity, as determined by loss of body weight, cardiac histopathology and animal survival rate in vivo. After a single intravenous injection of Apt-DOX-NP and DOX-NPs, tumor volume decreased 60.9% and 31.4%, respectively, in SK-MES-1-xenograft nude mice compared with members of a saline-injected control group. This study proves the potential utility of Apt-DOX-NP for therapeutic application in non-small cell lung cancer. In the future, EpCAM-targeted therapies might play a key role in treating non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer.

Research paper thumbnail of Important statistical points to improve and promote the methodology of the articles on medical sciences, particularly nephrology and kidney; a review article

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2015

Quality of articles' methodology is one of the important factors which is considered by resea... more Quality of articles' methodology is one of the important factors which is considered by researchers. This study was conducted to determine statistical guidelines on promotion of methodology's quality in the articles concerning medical sciences, particularly nephrology, to assist authors and reviewers. This study is a systematic review. Initially, the keywords "Epidemiologic Methods/analysis" [Mesh] OR "Epidemiologic Methods/epidemiology" and "reporting" were selected in Medline database. Then, reliable databases were searched for relevant publications. Being relevant, containing viewpoints, and recommending statistical guidelines as well as approval of at least two of the three examiners of articles were determined as the inclusion criteria into the study. Two hundred relevant articles were retrieved. Thirty-two articles met the inclusion criteria. By the examined articles, 30 applied points have determinative role for improving and promoting qu...

Research paper thumbnail of Role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer

Urology journal, 2007

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A t... more The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A total of 51 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of prostate cancer were analyzed for PTEN mutations. Tissue microdissection and polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism methods were used. Clinical and pathologic data of the patients were reviewed with regard to PTEN mutation. The Gleason score (GS) was less than 7 in 29 (56.8%), 7 in 11 (21.6%), and greater than 7 in 11 (21.6%). Tumor stage was IIa, IIb, IIc, and IV in 14 (27.4%), 4 (7.8%), 21 (41.2%), and 12 (23.6%) patients, respectively. Eleven of 12 stage IV tumors had metastases at the time of presentation. Six of 51 cases (11.6%) showed mutation in PTEN which had involved exones 1, 2, and 5. Two of these cases had localized and the others had advanced prostate cancer. One case of the tumors with PTEN mutation had a GS of 7 and 5 had GSs greater than 7. Patients with a positive mutation of PTEN had a s...

Research paper thumbnail of New intracellular and molecular aspects in pathophysiology of colorectal cancer

Gastroenterology and hepatology from bed to bench, 2011

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancy in the world and the second cancer-related... more Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancy in the world and the second cancer-related death, many molecular and genetic aspects of this disease have been cleared as chromosomal instability and the role of some key proteins as WNT/β catenin, trypsin and others. Also recently the role of folate turnover and some neurotransmitters as serotonin were also considered. The scope of this review is to describe some details about new molecular pathways suggested for occurrence or progress of this disease.

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of oral vitamin D (cholecalciferol) replacement therapy on blood pressure in type 2 diabetes patients; a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial

Journal of nephropathology, 2014

Vitamin D is an important mediator of calcium metabolism. It has also been implicated as a potent... more Vitamin D is an important mediator of calcium metabolism. It has also been implicated as a potential contributor to the pathophysiology of various extra-skeletal conditions, consisting hypertension, renal disease, and insulin resistance. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether oral vitamin D (cholecalciferol) supplementation can lead to improvement of blood pressure in type 2 diabetes patients. This study was a double blind clinical trial conducted on 60 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Exclusion criteria were taking calcium, vitamin D supplements or any drugs effecting calcium and vitamin D metabolism in the past 6 months. Patients were administered weekly vitamin D supplementation (50000 units) for 12 weeks. Serum 25-Hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level was measured with ELISA method. Five patients (8.3%) had vitamin D deficiency, 27 (45%) had insufficient levels of vitamin D and in 28 (45%) patients vitamin D level was within normal limits. The means of systol...

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of Momordica charantia extract on kidney function and structure in mice

Journal of nephropathology, 2014

Bitter Melon (BM) is known for its hypoglycemic effect and is commonly used in populations. This ... more Bitter Melon (BM) is known for its hypoglycemic effect and is commonly used in populations. This study examined the effects and safety of bitter melon fruit in laboratory mice. In this experimental study 70 male mice (25-30 gr) were randomly divided into 7 groups. The mice were injected intraperitoneally with single doses of 0, 100, 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg/kg and multiple doses 500 mg/kg daily for 7 days. The mice were then observed for 72 hours before sacrificing. Immediately kidneys were taken out for histological examinations. Tubular cell vacuolization and flattening as well as hyaline casts, debris and dilatation of tubular lumen were the morphologic lesions which were assessed with scores from 0 to 4, while zero score addressed normal renal tissue. Serum samples were assayed for kidney function (creatinine; Cr and Blood Urea Nitrogen; BUN). Blood and bitter melon antioxidant activities were measured, too. Data were analyzed with Stata software (Stata Corp. 2011. Stata Stat...

Research paper thumbnail of Clinicopathological correlations in lupus nephritis; a single center experience

Journal of nephropathology, 2014

Renal biopsies play an important role in the diagnosis, management and prognosis of patients with... more Renal biopsies play an important role in the diagnosis, management and prognosis of patients with lupus nephritis (LN). To determine the correlation between the pathological features of LN and the demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters. This retrospective study was conducted from 2008 to 2014 on all consecutive cases of biopsy-proven LN at a nephropathology laboratory in Iran. The demographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from patients(') files and the biopsy findings from the original biopsy request forms. Of the 84 patients enrolled, 69 (82.2%) were females and 15 (17.8%) males. The mean age was 32.7±12 years. The mean serum creatinine was 1.5±0.94 mg/dl and the mean 24-h proteinuria, 1.6±1.9 grams. The majority of cases belonged to classes III and IV. The extracapillary proliferation was found in 42.86% of biopsies and endocapillary proliferation in 66.67% of biopsies. Patients of class IV-LN had a higher mean serum value of creatinine in comparison to ...

Research paper thumbnail of Efficacy of supplementary vitamin D on improvement of glycemic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; a randomized double blind clinical trial

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Studies have revealed the association between vitamin D deficiency and changes in blood glucose a... more Studies have revealed the association between vitamin D deficiency and changes in blood glucose and insulin levels as well as sensitivity of the target tissues to insulin. In this study, we examined the effect of adding vitamin D (cholecalciferol ; 50,000 units) to therapeutic regimen of T2DM patients compared to placebo on regulating the blood glucose and glycemic parameters. This study was a double blind clinical trial conducted on 60 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Exclusion criteria were taking calcium, vitamin D supplements or any drugs effecting calcium and vitamin D metabolism in the past 6 months. Serum 25-Hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level was measured with ELISA method. Patients were administered weekly vitamin D supplementation (50000 units) for 12 weeks. There was no significant relation between HbA1c and 25(OH)D level prior the study (p> 0.05). After intervention, 25(OH)D level in interventional group was significantly higher compared to that of control grou...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of serum lipids with level of blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Dyslipidemia and high blood pressure in diabetic patients increase the risk of microvascular and ... more Dyslipidemia and high blood pressure in diabetic patients increase the risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications. This study was conducted to investigate the association between serum lipids and level of blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients (T2D). A prospective analytical study was carried out in 60 patients with T2D of both genders. None of the patients had a history of hypertension, and none was treated with antihypertensive drugs. Resting systolic blood pressures and fifth phase diastolic blood pressures were measured three times while the subjects were seated, and the results were averaged second and third measurements. Sixty patients with T2D were enrolled to the study. None of the patients who had a history of gout, was treated with allopurinol or treated with antihypertensive drugs previously. Of 60 participants, mean of serum creatinine was 0.98±0.22 mg/dL. Mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 133±13 mmHg and 84±7.4 mmHg respectively. In this s...

Research paper thumbnail of A biochemical study on ameliorative effect of green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract against contrast media induced acute kidney injury

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Reactive oxygen species have been shown to be mediators of kidney injury and green tea polyphenol... more Reactive oxygen species have been shown to be mediators of kidney injury and green tea polyphenols are potent-free radical scavengers. In this study we sought to examine whether green tea was able to protect renal toxicity induced by contrast media or not. In this experimental study 40 rats were randomly divided into four groups including: 1) control group 2) contrast media group 3) contrast media plus green tea 4) Green tea pretreatment and contrast media group. Blood urea Nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine were assessed for severity of kidney injury. Serum creatinine level was higher in group II than in other groups (p<0.001). Treatment (group 3) or pretreatment (group 4) with green tea significantly reduced blood creatinine level when compared with contrast media group (group 2). In this study, beneficial property of green tea, against renal toxicity of contrast media was observed. Green tea extract is an inexpensive, nontoxic, and effective treatment modality in individuals ...

Research paper thumbnail of Epidemiologic pattern of myocardial infarction and modeling risk factors relevant to in-hospital mortality: the first results from Iranian Myocardial Infarction Registry

Kardiologia polska, Jan 27, 2014

Myocardial infarction (MI) care and treatment contribute greatly to the patients' fatality an... more Myocardial infarction (MI) care and treatment contribute greatly to the patients' fatality and mortality. Assessing and monitoring mortalities and the effective factors are necessary in MI care and treatment programs. No comprehensive and population-based study has been yet conducted in Iran to determine the epidemiologic pattern of MI and particularly in-hospital mortality rate and the effective factors. This study was aimed to determine the epidemiologic pattern of MI based on person, time, place and mortality-associated risk factors. This was a prospective, population-based cohort study which analyzed the data of 20750 MI patients in Iran in 2012. MI was diagnosed based on ICD10: the codes I21 and I22. The cohort of the patients was defined in terms of the date at diagnosis, hospitalization, and the date at discharge (recovery or death due to MI). The in-hospital mortality rate was calculated by Cox regression. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression were used to...

Research paper thumbnail of Prevalence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with colorectal cancer and their median survival time: A cohort study

Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 2014

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are worldwide epidemic. Association between DM and... more Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are worldwide epidemic. Association between DM and colon cancer was obtained in previous studies. Prevalence of DM and hypertension in the patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been reported in Iran. The present study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypertension and type 2 DM and their effect on median survival time in patients with CRC. Overall, 2570 individual-year follow-ups were conducted for 1127 patients with CRC. For the diagnosis of type 2 DM, fasting blood sugar test and glycosylated hemoglobin test were used and for hypertension, blood pressure was measured in two turns. The descriptive indices were calculated, and the mean and median survival from CRC diagnosis time was calculated using survival analysis and a comparison among survival times was done through log-rank test. Stata software 12 (Stata Corp. 2011. Stata Statistical Software: Release 12. College Station, TX: Stata Corp LP) was used for data analy...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of helicobacter pylori infection with serum magnesium in kidney transplant patients

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Few studies are available regarding the various promoting factors of H. pylori infection in kidne... more Few studies are available regarding the various promoting factors of H. pylori infection in kidney disease patients especially renal transplant individuals. This study was therefore conducted to examine the association of serum magnesium with H. pylori infection among kidney transplant patients. This cross-sectional investigation was conducted on a group of stable kidney transplant patients. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis after an overnight fast, Also urea breath test (UBT) was conducted for patients. A total of 50 cases was enrolled to the study. Mean serum magnesium value of the patients was 1.98 ± 0.62 mg/dl. Serum magnesium level in positive H. pylori patients was more than negative H. pylori patients (p=0.0005). In this study population, there was no significant difference in serum intact PTH, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, albumin levels and body mass index (BMI) between males and females or H. pylori positive and H. pylori negative sub...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of glomerular C4d deposition with various demographic data in IgA nephropathy patients; a preliminary study

Journal of nephropathology, 2015

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most prevalent primary chronic glomerulopathy worldwide. Thus, it i... more IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most prevalent primary chronic glomerulopathy worldwide. Thus, it is of vital importance to search for factors aggravating the disease progress, monitor disease activity and predict disease-specific therapy. C4d is a well-known biomarker of the complement cascade with a potential to meet the above needs. The aim of our study was, therefore, to determine whether C4d staining at the time of kidney biopsy had any correlation with the demographic, clinical and biochemical variables in IgAN. The definition of IgAN requires the presence of diffuse and global IgA deposits which were graded ≥2+ and weak C1q deposition. C4d immunohistochemical staining was conducted retrospectively on 29 renal biopsies of patients with IgAN, which were selected randomly from all biopsies. C4d immunohistochemical staining was performed on 3-μm deparaffinized and rehydrated sections of formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded renal tissues. Of 29 selected patients, 68% were male. In ...

Research paper thumbnail of Does ethnicity affect survival following colorectal cancer? A prospective, cohort study using Iranian cancer registry

Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2014

The present study compared the differences between survivals of patients with colorectal cancer a... more The present study compared the differences between survivals of patients with colorectal cancer according to their ethnicity adjusted for other predictors of survival. In this prospective cohort study patients were followed up from definite diagnosis of colorectal cancer to death. Totally, 2431 person-year follow-ups were undertaken for 1127 colorectal cancer patients once every six months. The data were analyzed by stata software using bivariate analysis, multivariate analysis, and Cox regression. The age at diagnosis was significantly different between men and women (p<0.03). 61.2% were male and the rest were female. Most patients were Fars (51.2%), followed by Turciks (21.5%), Kurds (8.2%), and 7.5% Lurs. Of the patients, 75% had a survival of more than 2.72 years, 50% a survival of 5.83 years, and 25% longer than 13.1 years after diagnosis. Risk ratio was significantly different among ethnics (p<0.05). The variables of ethnicity, being non married, tumor grade, family hist...

Research paper thumbnail of α:Non-α and Gγ:Aγ globin chain ratios in thalassemia intermedia patients treated with hydroxyurea

Asian Pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2014

To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) s... more To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) synthesis. A total of 23 thalassemia intermedia patients (13 male and 10 female) aged between 5 and 26 years were treated for five months with 15 mg/(kg·day) of hydroxyurea. Hemoglobins electrophoresis and globin chain electrophoresis was performed on each sample at different time points before and during the treatment. Fetal hemoglobin increased significantly in most patients and average episodes of transfusion decreased. Both Gγ and Aγ-globin chains increased significantly and α-globin:Nonα-globin chain as well as Gγ-globin:Aγ globin chains ratios decreased. Improvement in α:non-α ratio and consequent decrease of free α-globin chain might be the cause of beneficial effects of hydroxyurea therapy. Two patients who felt better didn't show significant increase in their fetal hemoglobin level, and this is in contradiction with the hypothesis claiming that the HbF level increase is the c...

Research paper thumbnail of Current status of the clinical epidemiology of myocardial infarction in men and women: A national cross-sectional study in Iran

International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2015

Cardiovascular disease is the main reason for mortality in men and women. Clinical epidemiology o... more Cardiovascular disease is the main reason for mortality in men and women. Clinical epidemiology of myocardial infarction (MI) in men and women has not been yet studied in Iran, one of the largest Middle East countries in South-Western Asia. This study was conducted to determine the clinical epidemiology of MI in men and women in Iran. This hospital-based, cross-sectional study used the data of 20,750 MI patients in Iran in 2012 (the codes I22, I21, I24, and I25.2). Univariate comparisons used Chi-square test for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables. P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05 was considered as significant. Totally, 20,750 MI patients (15,033 men and 5,717 women) with age range of 13-106 (mean; 61.2 ± 13.4) years were enrolled. Only 9 (0.04%) patients (8 men and 1 woman) were ≤18 years (mean age: 14.8 ± 1.9), out of whom only two men were diabetic. 22.2% (18% men and 33.4% women) of the patients had diabetes, 26.2% (28.5% men and 20.1% women) were smoker and 35.5% (28.6% men and 53.7% women) had hypertension. ST-segment elevation MI incidence was 2.8 times higher in men than women. Left bundle branch block was significantly more prevalent in men than women. Men used percutaneous coronary intervention more frequently than women did. No difference in coronary artery bypass graft was noted between men and women. Mortality incidence was approximately twice higher in men than women. The prevalence of chest pain was higher in women than men. The MI incidence pattern, mortality from MI, and risk factors prevalence are significantly different between men and women in Iran. More emphasis on these issues in training people and healthcare professionals seems to contribute partially to patients&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; timely referring to health care centers and preventing MI-associated mortalities.

Research paper thumbnail of Modeling of in hospital mortality determinants in myocardial infarction patients, with and without type 2 diabetes, undergoing pharmaco-invasive strategy: the first national report using two approaches in Iran

Diabetes research and clinical practice, 2015

This study was conducted to compare the characteristics of patients, with and without diabetes me... more This study was conducted to compare the characteristics of patients, with and without diabetes mellitus, presenting with myocardial infarction (MI) and treated with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or thrombolytic therapy. Factors related to mortality due to MI in Iran were also determined. This study was a prospective analysis. To analyze the data, Stata software (chi square, t test, Cox and logistic regression) was used. Participants were patients hospitalized for MI for the first time in 540 hospitals from April, 2012 to March, 2013. Out of 20,750 patients with MI, 461 2 (22.3%) had type 2 diabetes. MI case fatality rate was 13.22% (95%CI: 12.24-14.19) and 11.78% (95%CI: 11.28-12.27) in patients with and without diabetes, respectively. The rates of CABG, PCI, and thrombolytic therapy use were 4.2%, 8%, and 58% in patients with diabetes, and 2.1%, 6.5%, and 55% in patients without diabetes. The odds ratio of mortality for ST segment...

Research paper thumbnail of Inter/intra-observer reproducibility of Gleason scoring in prostate adenocarcinoma in Iranian pathologists

Urology journal

To measure the level of inter/intra-observer reproducibility among pathologists as far as Gleason... more To measure the level of inter/intra-observer reproducibility among pathologists as far as Gleason scoring of adenocarcinoma of the prostate is concerned. A total of 101 prostate biopsy slides, diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the prostate by five pathologists from different education centers, were exposed to Gleason scoring. Two months later, the slides were re-examined by three of the same pathologists. Thereafter, the kappa was calculated for the data provided in the first and second reports of each pathologist and compared between pathologists. Inter-observer reproducibility was inappropriate, but intra-observer diagnostic reproducibility was almost perfect with a corresponding percentage of agreement of 85.2%. The inter-observer reproducibility was poor.

Research paper thumbnail of Role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer

Urology journal

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A t... more The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A total of 51 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of prostate cancer were analyzed for PTEN mutations. Tissue microdissection and polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism methods were used. Clinical and pathologic data of the patients were reviewed with regard to PTEN mutation. The Gleason score (GS) was less than 7 in 29 (56.8%), 7 in 11 (21.6%), and greater than 7 in 11 (21.6%). Tumor stage was IIa, IIb, IIc, and IV in 14 (27.4%), 4 (7.8%), 21 (41.2%), and 12 (23.6%) patients, respectively. Eleven of 12 stage IV tumors had metastases at the time of presentation. Six of 51 cases (11.6%) showed mutation in PTEN which had involved exones 1, 2, and 5. Two of these cases had localized and the others had advanced prostate cancer. One case of the tumors with PTEN mutation had a GS of 7 and 5 had GSs greater than 7. Patients with a positive mutation of PTEN had a s...

Research paper thumbnail of In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Therapy Targeting Epithelial-cell Adhesion-molecule Aptamers for non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Journal of Controlled Release, 2015

Targeted, disease-specific delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles shows wonderful promise for tran... more Targeted, disease-specific delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles shows wonderful promise for transmitting highly cytotoxic anti-cancer agents. Using the reaction of non-small cell lung cancer (SK-MES-1 and A549 cell lines) as representative of other cancer types', the present study examines the effects of EpCAM-fluoropyrimidine RNA aptamer-decorated, DOX-loaded, PLGA-b-PEG nanopolymersomes that bond specifically to the extracellular domain of epithelial-cell adhesion molecules. Results demonstrate that EpCAM aptamer-conjugated DOX-NPs (Apt-DOX-NP) significantly enhance cellular nanoparticle uptake in SK-MES-1 and A549 cell lines and increase the cytotoxicity of the DOX payload as compared with non-targeted DOX-NP (P b 0.05). Additionally, Apt-DOX-NP exhibits greater tumor inhibition in nude mice bearing SK-MES-1 non-small cell lungcancer xenografts and reduces toxicity, as determined by loss of body weight, cardiac histopathology and animal survival rate in vivo. After a single intravenous injection of Apt-DOX-NP and DOX-NPs, tumor volume decreased 60.9% and 31.4%, respectively, in SK-MES-1-xenograft nude mice compared with members of a saline-injected control group. This study proves the potential utility of Apt-DOX-NP for therapeutic application in non-small cell lung cancer. In the future, EpCAM-targeted therapies might play a key role in treating non-small cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer.

Research paper thumbnail of Important statistical points to improve and promote the methodology of the articles on medical sciences, particularly nephrology and kidney; a review article

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2015

Quality of articles' methodology is one of the important factors which is considered by resea... more Quality of articles' methodology is one of the important factors which is considered by researchers. This study was conducted to determine statistical guidelines on promotion of methodology's quality in the articles concerning medical sciences, particularly nephrology, to assist authors and reviewers. This study is a systematic review. Initially, the keywords "Epidemiologic Methods/analysis" [Mesh] OR "Epidemiologic Methods/epidemiology" and "reporting" were selected in Medline database. Then, reliable databases were searched for relevant publications. Being relevant, containing viewpoints, and recommending statistical guidelines as well as approval of at least two of the three examiners of articles were determined as the inclusion criteria into the study. Two hundred relevant articles were retrieved. Thirty-two articles met the inclusion criteria. By the examined articles, 30 applied points have determinative role for improving and promoting qu...

Research paper thumbnail of Role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer

Urology journal, 2007

The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A t... more The aim of this study was to clarify the role of PTEN gene in progression of prostate cancer. A total of 51 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of prostate cancer were analyzed for PTEN mutations. Tissue microdissection and polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism methods were used. Clinical and pathologic data of the patients were reviewed with regard to PTEN mutation. The Gleason score (GS) was less than 7 in 29 (56.8%), 7 in 11 (21.6%), and greater than 7 in 11 (21.6%). Tumor stage was IIa, IIb, IIc, and IV in 14 (27.4%), 4 (7.8%), 21 (41.2%), and 12 (23.6%) patients, respectively. Eleven of 12 stage IV tumors had metastases at the time of presentation. Six of 51 cases (11.6%) showed mutation in PTEN which had involved exones 1, 2, and 5. Two of these cases had localized and the others had advanced prostate cancer. One case of the tumors with PTEN mutation had a GS of 7 and 5 had GSs greater than 7. Patients with a positive mutation of PTEN had a s...

Research paper thumbnail of New intracellular and molecular aspects in pathophysiology of colorectal cancer

Gastroenterology and hepatology from bed to bench, 2011

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancy in the world and the second cancer-related... more Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancy in the world and the second cancer-related death, many molecular and genetic aspects of this disease have been cleared as chromosomal instability and the role of some key proteins as WNT/β catenin, trypsin and others. Also recently the role of folate turnover and some neurotransmitters as serotonin were also considered. The scope of this review is to describe some details about new molecular pathways suggested for occurrence or progress of this disease.

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of oral vitamin D (cholecalciferol) replacement therapy on blood pressure in type 2 diabetes patients; a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial

Journal of nephropathology, 2014

Vitamin D is an important mediator of calcium metabolism. It has also been implicated as a potent... more Vitamin D is an important mediator of calcium metabolism. It has also been implicated as a potential contributor to the pathophysiology of various extra-skeletal conditions, consisting hypertension, renal disease, and insulin resistance. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether oral vitamin D (cholecalciferol) supplementation can lead to improvement of blood pressure in type 2 diabetes patients. This study was a double blind clinical trial conducted on 60 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Exclusion criteria were taking calcium, vitamin D supplements or any drugs effecting calcium and vitamin D metabolism in the past 6 months. Patients were administered weekly vitamin D supplementation (50000 units) for 12 weeks. Serum 25-Hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level was measured with ELISA method. Five patients (8.3%) had vitamin D deficiency, 27 (45%) had insufficient levels of vitamin D and in 28 (45%) patients vitamin D level was within normal limits. The means of systol...

Research paper thumbnail of Impact of Momordica charantia extract on kidney function and structure in mice

Journal of nephropathology, 2014

Bitter Melon (BM) is known for its hypoglycemic effect and is commonly used in populations. This ... more Bitter Melon (BM) is known for its hypoglycemic effect and is commonly used in populations. This study examined the effects and safety of bitter melon fruit in laboratory mice. In this experimental study 70 male mice (25-30 gr) were randomly divided into 7 groups. The mice were injected intraperitoneally with single doses of 0, 100, 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg/kg and multiple doses 500 mg/kg daily for 7 days. The mice were then observed for 72 hours before sacrificing. Immediately kidneys were taken out for histological examinations. Tubular cell vacuolization and flattening as well as hyaline casts, debris and dilatation of tubular lumen were the morphologic lesions which were assessed with scores from 0 to 4, while zero score addressed normal renal tissue. Serum samples were assayed for kidney function (creatinine; Cr and Blood Urea Nitrogen; BUN). Blood and bitter melon antioxidant activities were measured, too. Data were analyzed with Stata software (Stata Corp. 2011. Stata Stat...

Research paper thumbnail of Clinicopathological correlations in lupus nephritis; a single center experience

Journal of nephropathology, 2014

Renal biopsies play an important role in the diagnosis, management and prognosis of patients with... more Renal biopsies play an important role in the diagnosis, management and prognosis of patients with lupus nephritis (LN). To determine the correlation between the pathological features of LN and the demographic, clinical and laboratory parameters. This retrospective study was conducted from 2008 to 2014 on all consecutive cases of biopsy-proven LN at a nephropathology laboratory in Iran. The demographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from patients(') files and the biopsy findings from the original biopsy request forms. Of the 84 patients enrolled, 69 (82.2%) were females and 15 (17.8%) males. The mean age was 32.7±12 years. The mean serum creatinine was 1.5±0.94 mg/dl and the mean 24-h proteinuria, 1.6±1.9 grams. The majority of cases belonged to classes III and IV. The extracapillary proliferation was found in 42.86% of biopsies and endocapillary proliferation in 66.67% of biopsies. Patients of class IV-LN had a higher mean serum value of creatinine in comparison to ...

Research paper thumbnail of Efficacy of supplementary vitamin D on improvement of glycemic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; a randomized double blind clinical trial

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Studies have revealed the association between vitamin D deficiency and changes in blood glucose a... more Studies have revealed the association between vitamin D deficiency and changes in blood glucose and insulin levels as well as sensitivity of the target tissues to insulin. In this study, we examined the effect of adding vitamin D (cholecalciferol ; 50,000 units) to therapeutic regimen of T2DM patients compared to placebo on regulating the blood glucose and glycemic parameters. This study was a double blind clinical trial conducted on 60 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Exclusion criteria were taking calcium, vitamin D supplements or any drugs effecting calcium and vitamin D metabolism in the past 6 months. Serum 25-Hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] level was measured with ELISA method. Patients were administered weekly vitamin D supplementation (50000 units) for 12 weeks. There was no significant relation between HbA1c and 25(OH)D level prior the study (p> 0.05). After intervention, 25(OH)D level in interventional group was significantly higher compared to that of control grou...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of serum lipids with level of blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Dyslipidemia and high blood pressure in diabetic patients increase the risk of microvascular and ... more Dyslipidemia and high blood pressure in diabetic patients increase the risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications. This study was conducted to investigate the association between serum lipids and level of blood pressure in type 2 diabetic patients (T2D). A prospective analytical study was carried out in 60 patients with T2D of both genders. None of the patients had a history of hypertension, and none was treated with antihypertensive drugs. Resting systolic blood pressures and fifth phase diastolic blood pressures were measured three times while the subjects were seated, and the results were averaged second and third measurements. Sixty patients with T2D were enrolled to the study. None of the patients who had a history of gout, was treated with allopurinol or treated with antihypertensive drugs previously. Of 60 participants, mean of serum creatinine was 0.98±0.22 mg/dL. Mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 133±13 mmHg and 84±7.4 mmHg respectively. In this s...

Research paper thumbnail of A biochemical study on ameliorative effect of green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract against contrast media induced acute kidney injury

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Reactive oxygen species have been shown to be mediators of kidney injury and green tea polyphenol... more Reactive oxygen species have been shown to be mediators of kidney injury and green tea polyphenols are potent-free radical scavengers. In this study we sought to examine whether green tea was able to protect renal toxicity induced by contrast media or not. In this experimental study 40 rats were randomly divided into four groups including: 1) control group 2) contrast media group 3) contrast media plus green tea 4) Green tea pretreatment and contrast media group. Blood urea Nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine were assessed for severity of kidney injury. Serum creatinine level was higher in group II than in other groups (p<0.001). Treatment (group 3) or pretreatment (group 4) with green tea significantly reduced blood creatinine level when compared with contrast media group (group 2). In this study, beneficial property of green tea, against renal toxicity of contrast media was observed. Green tea extract is an inexpensive, nontoxic, and effective treatment modality in individuals ...

Research paper thumbnail of Epidemiologic pattern of myocardial infarction and modeling risk factors relevant to in-hospital mortality: the first results from Iranian Myocardial Infarction Registry

Kardiologia polska, Jan 27, 2014

Myocardial infarction (MI) care and treatment contribute greatly to the patients' fatality an... more Myocardial infarction (MI) care and treatment contribute greatly to the patients' fatality and mortality. Assessing and monitoring mortalities and the effective factors are necessary in MI care and treatment programs. No comprehensive and population-based study has been yet conducted in Iran to determine the epidemiologic pattern of MI and particularly in-hospital mortality rate and the effective factors. This study was aimed to determine the epidemiologic pattern of MI based on person, time, place and mortality-associated risk factors. This was a prospective, population-based cohort study which analyzed the data of 20750 MI patients in Iran in 2012. MI was diagnosed based on ICD10: the codes I21 and I22. The cohort of the patients was defined in terms of the date at diagnosis, hospitalization, and the date at discharge (recovery or death due to MI). The in-hospital mortality rate was calculated by Cox regression. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression were used to...

Research paper thumbnail of Prevalence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with colorectal cancer and their median survival time: A cohort study

Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 2014

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are worldwide epidemic. Association between DM and... more Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension are worldwide epidemic. Association between DM and colon cancer was obtained in previous studies. Prevalence of DM and hypertension in the patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been reported in Iran. The present study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of hypertension and type 2 DM and their effect on median survival time in patients with CRC. Overall, 2570 individual-year follow-ups were conducted for 1127 patients with CRC. For the diagnosis of type 2 DM, fasting blood sugar test and glycosylated hemoglobin test were used and for hypertension, blood pressure was measured in two turns. The descriptive indices were calculated, and the mean and median survival from CRC diagnosis time was calculated using survival analysis and a comparison among survival times was done through log-rank test. Stata software 12 (Stata Corp. 2011. Stata Statistical Software: Release 12. College Station, TX: Stata Corp LP) was used for data analy...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of helicobacter pylori infection with serum magnesium in kidney transplant patients

Journal of renal injury prevention, 2014

Few studies are available regarding the various promoting factors of H. pylori infection in kidne... more Few studies are available regarding the various promoting factors of H. pylori infection in kidney disease patients especially renal transplant individuals. This study was therefore conducted to examine the association of serum magnesium with H. pylori infection among kidney transplant patients. This cross-sectional investigation was conducted on a group of stable kidney transplant patients. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis after an overnight fast, Also urea breath test (UBT) was conducted for patients. A total of 50 cases was enrolled to the study. Mean serum magnesium value of the patients was 1.98 ± 0.62 mg/dl. Serum magnesium level in positive H. pylori patients was more than negative H. pylori patients (p=0.0005). In this study population, there was no significant difference in serum intact PTH, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, albumin levels and body mass index (BMI) between males and females or H. pylori positive and H. pylori negative sub...

Research paper thumbnail of Association of glomerular C4d deposition with various demographic data in IgA nephropathy patients; a preliminary study

Journal of nephropathology, 2015

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most prevalent primary chronic glomerulopathy worldwide. Thus, it i... more IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most prevalent primary chronic glomerulopathy worldwide. Thus, it is of vital importance to search for factors aggravating the disease progress, monitor disease activity and predict disease-specific therapy. C4d is a well-known biomarker of the complement cascade with a potential to meet the above needs. The aim of our study was, therefore, to determine whether C4d staining at the time of kidney biopsy had any correlation with the demographic, clinical and biochemical variables in IgAN. The definition of IgAN requires the presence of diffuse and global IgA deposits which were graded ≥2+ and weak C1q deposition. C4d immunohistochemical staining was conducted retrospectively on 29 renal biopsies of patients with IgAN, which were selected randomly from all biopsies. C4d immunohistochemical staining was performed on 3-μm deparaffinized and rehydrated sections of formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded renal tissues. Of 29 selected patients, 68% were male. In ...

Research paper thumbnail of Does ethnicity affect survival following colorectal cancer? A prospective, cohort study using Iranian cancer registry

Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2014

The present study compared the differences between survivals of patients with colorectal cancer a... more The present study compared the differences between survivals of patients with colorectal cancer according to their ethnicity adjusted for other predictors of survival. In this prospective cohort study patients were followed up from definite diagnosis of colorectal cancer to death. Totally, 2431 person-year follow-ups were undertaken for 1127 colorectal cancer patients once every six months. The data were analyzed by stata software using bivariate analysis, multivariate analysis, and Cox regression. The age at diagnosis was significantly different between men and women (p<0.03). 61.2% were male and the rest were female. Most patients were Fars (51.2%), followed by Turciks (21.5%), Kurds (8.2%), and 7.5% Lurs. Of the patients, 75% had a survival of more than 2.72 years, 50% a survival of 5.83 years, and 25% longer than 13.1 years after diagnosis. Risk ratio was significantly different among ethnics (p<0.05). The variables of ethnicity, being non married, tumor grade, family hist...

Research paper thumbnail of α:Non-α and Gγ:Aγ globin chain ratios in thalassemia intermedia patients treated with hydroxyurea

Asian Pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2014

To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) s... more To elucidate the possible ways by which hydroxyurea molecules affect globin chain (α or β-like) synthesis. A total of 23 thalassemia intermedia patients (13 male and 10 female) aged between 5 and 26 years were treated for five months with 15 mg/(kg·day) of hydroxyurea. Hemoglobins electrophoresis and globin chain electrophoresis was performed on each sample at different time points before and during the treatment. Fetal hemoglobin increased significantly in most patients and average episodes of transfusion decreased. Both Gγ and Aγ-globin chains increased significantly and α-globin:Nonα-globin chain as well as Gγ-globin:Aγ globin chains ratios decreased. Improvement in α:non-α ratio and consequent decrease of free α-globin chain might be the cause of beneficial effects of hydroxyurea therapy. Two patients who felt better didn't show significant increase in their fetal hemoglobin level, and this is in contradiction with the hypothesis claiming that the HbF level increase is the c...

Research paper thumbnail of Current status of the clinical epidemiology of myocardial infarction in men and women: A national cross-sectional study in Iran

International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2015

Cardiovascular disease is the main reason for mortality in men and women. Clinical epidemiology o... more Cardiovascular disease is the main reason for mortality in men and women. Clinical epidemiology of myocardial infarction (MI) in men and women has not been yet studied in Iran, one of the largest Middle East countries in South-Western Asia. This study was conducted to determine the clinical epidemiology of MI in men and women in Iran. This hospital-based, cross-sectional study used the data of 20,750 MI patients in Iran in 2012 (the codes I22, I21, I24, and I25.2). Univariate comparisons used Chi-square test for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables. P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05 was considered as significant. Totally, 20,750 MI patients (15,033 men and 5,717 women) with age range of 13-106 (mean; 61.2 ± 13.4) years were enrolled. Only 9 (0.04%) patients (8 men and 1 woman) were ≤18 years (mean age: 14.8 ± 1.9), out of whom only two men were diabetic. 22.2% (18% men and 33.4% women) of the patients had diabetes, 26.2% (28.5% men and 20.1% women) were smoker and 35.5% (28.6% men and 53.7% women) had hypertension. ST-segment elevation MI incidence was 2.8 times higher in men than women. Left bundle branch block was significantly more prevalent in men than women. Men used percutaneous coronary intervention more frequently than women did. No difference in coronary artery bypass graft was noted between men and women. Mortality incidence was approximately twice higher in men than women. The prevalence of chest pain was higher in women than men. The MI incidence pattern, mortality from MI, and risk factors prevalence are significantly different between men and women in Iran. More emphasis on these issues in training people and healthcare professionals seems to contribute partially to patients&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; timely referring to health care centers and preventing MI-associated mortalities.