Asymptomatic bacteriuria in type 2 Iranian diabetic women: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: The risk of developing infection in diabetic patients is higher and urinary tract is the most common site for infection. Serious complications of urinary infection occur more commonly in diabetic patients. To study the prevalence and associates of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Iranian population, this study was conducted. METHODS: Between February 10, 2004 and October 15, 2004; 202 nonpregnant diabetic (type 2) women (range: 31 to 78 years old) with no abnormalities of the urinary tract system were included in this clinic based study. We defined ASB as the presence of at least 10(5 )colony-forming units/ml of 1 or 2 bacterial species, in two separated cultures of clean-voided midstream urine. All the participants were free from any symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI). Associates for developing bacteriuria was assessed and compared in participants with and without bacteriuria. RESULTS: In this study, the prevalence of ASB was 10.9% among diabetic women. E. coli was the most prevalent microorganism responsible for positive urine culture. Most of the isolated microorganisms were resistant to Co-trimoxazole, Nalidixic acid and Ciprofloxacin. Pyuria (P < 0.001) and glucosuria (P < 0.05) had a meaningful relationship with bacteriuria but no association was evident between age (P < 0.45), duration of diabetes (P < 0.09), macroalbuminuria (P < 0.10) and HbA(1c )level (P < 0.75), and the presence of ASB. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of ASB is higher in women with type 2 diabetes, for which pyuria and glucosuria can be considered as associates. Routine urine culture can be recommended for diabetic women even when there is no urinary symptom

Association of Genetic Variations in The PIK3-AKT-mTOR Pathway with Endometriosis Susceptibility: A Preliminary Case-Control Study

Background: Endometriosis is a complex, heterogeneous disease with several genetic and non-genetic pathogenic fac­tors. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway may influence both progression and different stages of endometriosis. This study aims to investigate the effects of the PIK3CA, AKT1, and mTOR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with endometriosis risk in an Iranian cohort.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, samples from 127 patients and 125 controls were examined using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).Results: The PIK3CA rs2230461 and AKT1 rs1130233 had a more than 2.5-fold significant increase in disease risk in a homozygous mutation [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.119 -5.985; 95% CI: 1.093-7.535, respectively]. However, the risk was reduced by half or less than half in carriers of the mutant alleles for mTOR rs2295080 (95% CI: 0.108- 0.927, P=0.036). We confirmed that moderate/severe endometriosis was approximately five times more common in patients with the PIK3CA mutant genotype [odds ratio (OR): 4.800, 95% CI: 2.171-10.611, P<0.001], and over two times more frequent in patients with the AKT1 mutant variant (OR: 2.674, 95% CI: 1.261-5.670, P=0.010). The mutant allele for mTOR rs2295080 was more frequent in patients with stages I and II endometriosis (P=0.022).Conclusion: The results show that PIK3CA rs2230461 and AKT1 rs1130233 SNPs are risk factors for endometriosis and the mTOR rs2295080 gene polymorphism is a protective factor for the development of endometriosis in an Ira­nian cohort. The PIK3CA rs2230461, AKT1 rs1130233, and mTOR rs2295080 gene polymorphisms should be further investigated as potential candidate SNPs for predicting endometriosis susceptibility

Positive correlation between Bax and Bcl-2 gene polymorphisms with the risk of endometriosis: A case-control study

Background: Endometriosis is a chronic, gynecological disorder, and the disease’s pathogenesis is still debatable. Genes related to apoptosis have been revealed to be deregulated in endometriosis. Objective: This study investigates the relationship between polymorphic variants of Bax -248G&gt;A and Bcl-2 -938C&gt;A promoter regions with endometriosis risk in an Iranian population. Materials and&nbsp;Methods: In this case-control study, the polymorphisms of Bax -248G&gt;A and Bcl-2 -938C&gt;A promoter regions were analyzed in 127 Iranian cases and 125 controls who were referred to Ali-ibn-Abi Taleb Educational hospital, Zahedan, Iran between May 2022 and February 2023. The genotypic analysis was performed for all the subjects using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Results: The frequencies of mutant allele A carriers and the A allele of Bax -248G&gt;A polymorphism showed about 2-fold significant increase of endometriosis risk (p = 0.04; p = 0.01, respectively). The frequencies of the mutant genotype AA and A allele carriers of Bcl-2 -938C&gt;A polymorphism were approximately 4 and 2.5-fold higher in endometriosis compared to the control women, which were highly significant (p &gt; 0.001). Moreover, the allele A frequency of Bcl-2 -938C&gt;A was associated with a 2-fold higher risk of endometriosis (p &gt; 0.001). Furthermore, the combination effects of these 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms showed that women with Bax -248G&gt;A GG and Bcl-2 -938C&gt;A AA variant alleles were associated with about 5 times higher risk of endometriosis (p &gt; 0.001). Notably, a significant difference was observed in mutant allele distribution between minimal/mild (stage I and II) and moderate/severe (stage III and IV) women with endometriosis disease. Conclusion: The results of our study provide evidence that Bcl-2 -938C&gt;A and Bax -248G&gt;A single nucleotide polymorphisms might be associated with the risk of endometriosis. Key words: Endometriosis, Apoptosis, Genetic polymorphism, Bax, Bcl-2

Comparison of serum levels of interleukin 33 in combination with serum levels of C-reactive protein, Immunoglobulin G, Immunoglobulin A, and Immunoglobulin M in recurrent pregnancy loss: A case-control study

Background: One of the critical cases of recurrent pregnancy loss is immunological factors, whereas obtaining effective prevention or treatment is necessary for cognition of reasons. Objective: In this study, we tried to evaluate some immunological factors related to recurrent pregnancy loss. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 66 women at the age of 18–35 yr who were referred to the Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ali Ibn Abi Taleb hospital, Zahedan, Iran, from August-December 2019. Interleukin 33 (IL-33) serum levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunoglobulin G, Immunoglobulin A, Immunoglobulin M (IgM), and C-reactive protein levels were measured by serology and hematology methods. Results: The mean age of total participants was 30.8 ± 3.80 yr. The mean serum IL-33 in the case group was 318.5± 254.1 pg/ml and was lower than the control group (354.2± 259.9 pg/ml), which was not statistically significant (p = 0.52). The level of C-reactive protein in the case and control was not significantly different (p = 0.27), and Immunoglobulin A and Immunoglobulin G in the case and control were also not significantly different) p = 0.46, and p = 0.16, respectively), but there were significant differences (p= 0.003) between the level of the IgM in the case and control groups. Conclusion: No statistically significant difference was observed in the IL-33 serum level, for at least 4–6 months after the last abortion in the case group and the final live birth in the control group. In contrast, serum levels of IgM were statistically significant. Finally, the need for more studies is felt according to the different results of the previous studies in this field. Key words: Interleukin-33, Abortion, IgG, IgA, IgM