Arch Iran Med
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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremia is described as persistent HCV RNA among HCV exposed individuals. HCV viremic rate is defined as the proportion of anti-HCV positive and HCV RNA positive individuals to total anti-HCV positive individuals. Knowledge about HCV viremic rate increases understanding HCV epidemiology and provides the likelihood of HCV viremia infection in a given population. The aim of this study was to evaluate HCV viremic rate and demographic parameter correlations among HCV confirmed Iranian blood donors. ⋯ The results of this study show the likelihood of active HCV infection occurrence among HCV confirmed Iranian blood donors, as the majority are in the active phase of HCV infection. The viremic rate was associated with first time donation. More effective donor selection process and paying special attention to maintenance of non-infected first time donors as a resource of regular donations are needed to improve blood safety. Follow-up studies on viremic first time blood donors are recommended to clarify impact of factors on the occurrence of HCV viremia.
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Mental health is one of the characteristic benchmarks of public health. This research aimed to evaluate mental health of survivors of the Bam earthquake which occurred in 2003 twelve years after the earthquake in fall of 2015. ⋯ The results of this study showed more than half of the Bam earthquake survivors are suspected to be suffering from mental disorders. Since natural disaster-related mental illness effects can last for many years, comprehensive screening programs at regular intervals are required. Mental health services should be available to the elderly and people at risk in order to ensure restoration of mental health after a catastrophe.
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Gender identity disorder (GID) is associated with various adverse health outcomes as well as psychiatric problems. Quality of life (QOL) in patients after surgery is an important issue, as some cases report dissatisfaction and regret after surgery. The present study compared QOL in female-to-male (FTM) GID patients before and after gender reassignment surgery (GRS) in an Iranian population. In the present study, 42 natal female patients with Gender Disorder diagnosis, who were referred to the Fertility Research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences for GRS from December 2014 to December 2015, were prospectively recruited. ⋯ In conclusion, as the results of the present study highlight, FTM GD patients have a low QOL before surgery that is significantly improved after surgery.
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The ability of stem cells to differentiate into different cell types makes them a key component of healing damage in regenerative medicine. As human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly (HUCWJ) is available non-invasively, HUCWJ does not raise any ethical issues with higher differentiation potential compared to adult stem cells. With the ability to express embryonic stem cell markers, HUCWJ can be considered as a good candidate in regenerative medicine applications. The objective of this study was to find if these cells form cell aggregates with the same features as that formed by embryonic stem cells (embryoid body) and could form three germ layers. ⋯ These aggregates mainly kept their mesenchymal state and showed a poor differentiation potential toward ectoderm and endoderm identity.
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Our aim was to determine the association between age at menarche (AAM) and breast cancer adjusted for recall bias (misclassification) in AAM. ⋯ After adjustment for misclassification related to recall bias, this study provides evidence that the self-reported mode of AAM has a moderate impact on calculation of the OR.