TO THE EDITOR—Treatment of multidrugresistant (MDR) tuberculosis requires longtime usage of toxic drugs that are unpleasant for patients and costly for patients and governments. The costs in terms of human suffering, disability, and socioeconomic loss are immeasurable. In Iran, diagnosis and treatment of the disease are offered free of charge; fees are paid by the government and several chariti...

This survey was carried out to determine the infection rate of Coenurus cerebralis in Urmia abattoir, West Azerbaijan, Iran. A total of 402 sheep heads were examined and the number of C. cerebralis cysts per each head was recorded. Thirty three sheep heads were examined each month during 12 months from 2006 to 2007. Of 402 heads, a number of 75 heads (18.65%) were infected with C. cerebralis. T...

BACKGROUND Infections caused by Hepatitis B are one of the world health's most serious problems. According to assessments, nearly 500,000 to 1.2 million people die each year due to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis B is one of the diseases which can be transferred through blood and its products. Clinical importance of genotypes of hepatitis B viru...

Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening emergency, and any delay in treatment may cause death. Because of the importance of the problem in Iran, the aim of this retrospective study was to determine the etiological agents of neonatal septicemia, and the prevalence and epidemiology of Klebsiella bacteremia in the neonatal wards. Two hundred and ten cases of neonatal sepsis occurred during the study...

BACKGROUND Leukemia is cancer of the blood or bone marrow, characterized by an unusual increase in white blood cells. It is the sixth most common malignancy in the country in both males and females. The aim of this study was to document some epidemiological features of leukemia in the Northwest of Iran. METHODS The study subjects (n=669, including 377 males and 292 females) comprised all leuk...

OBJECTIVE To compare the frequency of celiac disease (CD) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls using tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies (anti-tTGA) as a screening tool. BACKGROUND CD and MS are immune-mediated diseases, and it has been hypothesized that the genetic similarities between these conditions can predispose individuals to suffer from both. Data regarding...

Toxoplasma gondii causes the most common parasitic infection in the world. Congenital transmission, prenatal mortality and abortion are major problems of T. gondii. Prevalence of toxoplasmosis is high in Iran, especially in Azerbaijan. The current literature reviewed in this paper reveal results pertaining to various regions of Iran. The present cross-sectional e-study was designed to evaluate ...

OBJECTIVES Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of fever accompanied by peritonitis, pleurisy, and arthritis. FMF affects mainly Mediterranean populations and is caused by mutations in the familial Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene. The aim of this study was to identify the frequency and distribution of MEFV mutations in Iranian...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the genotype of hepatitis B virus (HBV) among hepatitis patients in Eastern Azerbaijan Province, Northwest Iran. METHODS A total of 100 HBV-infected patients were enrolled in this study. Among these, 40 samples were positive for both HBsAg and HBeAg, whereas 60 samples were HBsAg positive and HBe Agnegative. Patients' se...

INTRODUCTION Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in Iranian women and Iranian patients are relatively young. Given that Iran has a female population of about 38 million, this corresponds to a total number of 6000 new cases of breast cancer annually. This study aims to demonstrate the characteristics of breast cancers according to pathologic records in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. METHO...