BACKGROUND Golestan Province in north-eastern Iran has one of the highest incidence rates for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) worldwide. Earlier studies have reported higher incidence rates in the areas of Golestan which are mainly inhabited by individuals of the Turkmen ethnic group. However, it is not clear whether in those areas the incidence among Turkmens is higher in comparison ...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to determine the helminthic species occurring in great gerbil Rhombomys opimus collected from Maraveh Tappeh, Golestan Province, northeast Iran. METHODS During 2010-2011, a total of 77 R. opimus were captured from rural areas of Maraveh Tappeh, Golestan Province, using Sherman live traps and examined for infectivity with any larva or adult stages of helmint...

Copyright © 2014, Kowsar Corp.; Published by Kowsar Corp. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. During my much needed vacation in northern Iran, at the first leg of the journey, we stayed at a hotel complex ...

BACKGROUND During the last decades, the number of dentistry units increased significantly across the country. The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of dental units of Iran provinces regarding dental health inputs and outputs using Data Envelopment Analysis approach. METHODS In this applied descriptive-analytical study, the study population included all of Iran 31 provinces. The o...

BACKGROUND Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a major health problem in many developing countries including Iran. ESCC has a very poor prognosis, largely due to late diagnosis. As a first step in developing an early detection and treatment program, we conducted a population-based endoscopic screening for ESCC and its precursor lesion, esophageal squamous dysplasia (ESD) in asymptomati...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to determine the molecular characteristics of Echinococcus granulosus from paraffin-embedded tissues of hydatid cysts isolated from human and protoscoleces of hydatid cysts from sheep, cattle and camel isolates using PCR- RFLP of ITS1- rDNA analysis in Golestan Province, northern Iran. METHODS E. granulosus isolates from human patients infected with...

UNLABELLED Background Several studies have examined the effects of folic acid fortification on the occurrence of orofacial clefts. This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of flour fortification with folic acid on oral clefts in Northern Iran. METHODS In this hospital based study from March 2006 to September 2009, we screened the total number of live births at all hospitals in Golest...

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between selenium (Se) concentration in rice and the incidence of esophageal cancer (EC) in a high risk area in Northern Iran. METHODS This ecological study was conducted in Golestan province of Iran in 2012. In this area, 45714 acres of land are cultivated by rice. A total of 69 rice samples were taken. We investigated Se concentrations by the voltammetric...

This research compared the numbers and types of different Mycobacterium species in soil samples taken from 2 areas of Golestan province, Islamic Republic of Iran, 1 with a high prevalence of tuberculosis and 1 with a low prevalence. From 220 samples, 91 grew positive cultures (41.4%) and 161 different strains were diagnosed. The most common species isolated were Mycobacterium fortuitum, M. flav...

BACKGROUND Golestan Province in northeastern Iran has one of the highest incidences of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in the world with rates over 50 per 100,000 person-years in both sexes. We have analyzed TP53 mutation patterns in tumors from this high-risk geographic area in search of clues to the mutagenic processes involved in causing ESCC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Biops...