Ramin Rezaei

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common types of inflammatory joint diseases. Women, smokers, and people with positive family history are more susceptible to this disease. Diagnostic criteria include at least one swollen joint that has not been caused by other diseases. MicroRNAs are non-coding RNAs that are evolutionarily conserved and have a length of 18-25 nucleotides. MicroRNAs control gene expression at the post-transcriptional level via promoting mRNA degradation or translational repression. Recognition of alterations in microRNA status and their respective targets, may offer an opportunity to better identify the pathways that are involved in the etiopathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. It has been suggested that microRNAs may serve as potential biomarkers for both diagnosis and prognosis of autoimmune diseases. Here, we review the available evidence on the deregulations of microRNA expression in rheumatoid arthritis. More precisely, this review focuses on the microRNA involved in T cell regulation and gives perspectives on the use of this microRNA as biomarkers of diagnosis, prognosis, or intervention efficacy. J. Cell. Biochem. 119: 478-487, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a serious condition, and the current diagnostic systems for AP are often time-consuming, and challenging to use outside intensive care, as they involve multiple variables. The diagnostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) for determining the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP) was investigated. METHODS: This is a Single-center, retrospective study. Various serologic and clinical parameters on admission of all patients with AP from April 1, 2018, to April 1, 2023, at Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Hamadan, Iran, were investigated. The NLR, PLR, and SII were measured upon admission and compared with the modified Computed Tomography Severity Index. The area under the Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the discriminative ability of NLR, PLR, and SII in AP. RESULTS: Overall, 112 patients were included, of whom 73 (65.2%) had mild acute pancreatitis (MAP), and 39 (34.8%) had moderate and severe AP. The area under the ROC curve for all three ratios in the multivariate model was estimated to be approximately 74%. The diagnostic ability of the three variables examined for assessing the severity of AP varied, with PLR demonstrating superior diagnostic capability (Youden index = 0.425). For the PLR cutoff point of 21.14, the sensitivity for diagnosing moderate and severe cases was 63.89%, while specificity for mild cases was 78.57%. For the NLR cutoff of 6.23, sensitivity was 77.78% and specificity was 62.86%. For the SII cutoff at 2046, sensitivity dropped to 55.56%, but specificity improved to 84.29%. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that the PLR has better diagnostic capability, while the NLR has the highest sensitivity, and the SII shows the highest specificity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

Abstract Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common cause of systemic inflammatory arthritis which causes joint destruction. The pathogenesis of RA is not fully understood, but it seems imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant process, plays a significant role on it. As a result, suppression of these mechanisms would be helpful to subside inflammation and eventually control of the disease activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of oxidant and antioxidant and their effects on disease activity in RA patients. Methods In the following case-control study, we evaluated the levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and oxidized Low-Density Lipoproteins (ox.LDL) as oxidative factors and Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Peroxide (GSH-Px) and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) as antioxidants. Also tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α, Interleukin (IL) 1β and IL6 were measured as inflammatory factors. Results 43 RA patients and 43 healthy people were enrolled. Significant differences were found in the average levels of MDA, ox.LDL, CAT, GPX, SOD, TNFα, IL1beta and IL6 between two groups (p-value < 0.001), but we did not find any significant differences between two groups of patients based on DAS28 (p- value> 0.05). Conclusion The results of our study showed that there were increased oxidative activities in RA patients in comparison to the control group which indicated the presence of inflammatory process causing cellular damage in the patients group. As a consequence, adding some antioxidant agents to RA treatment might have some advantages for the disease control. Based on our findings, it seems that the oxidative process did not have any effect on the disease severity. We also suggest further observational study to confirm the results.

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus(DM) is a disorder characterized by abnormally high level of Glucose in blood due to impaired insulin secretion,act or both. Due to its chronic and severe complications , DM will likely contininue to be a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of diabetes in over-thirty year-old individuals in Kermanshah province so that we may be able to control its continuation fall. Materials & Methods: This descriptive study was done over 1210 subjects who were selected by systematic random sampling. American Diabetes Association Criteria were used for diagnosis .The study was done in three steps.Step1: Fasting Plasma Glucose (FPG) measurment in all subjects. Step2: FPG measurment in those with FPG 126 in previous step. Step3: Oral GTT was done in those with 110 FPG<126 in the two fromer steps Results: The sample included 787 women and 483 men. Urban and rural area distribution of subjects were 790 and 420 respectively. The frequency rate of diabetes was 6.8% (82 from 1210). Conclusion: It seems that DM is a common disease in Kermanshah and major efforts are needed to prevent socioeconomic effects of this disease.

Objectives: While ketone bodies are not the main heart fuel, exercise may increase their uptake. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of 6-week endurance training and Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 )PDK4( inhibition on ketone bodies metabolism in the heart of diabetic rats with emphasis on the role of Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator PGC-1alpha (PGC-1α). Materials and Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into eight groups: healthy control group (CONT), endurance training group (TRA), diabetic group (DM), DM + EX group, Dichloroacetate (DCA) group, DM + DCA group, TRA + DCA group, and DM + TRA + DCA group. Diabetes was induced using streptozotocin (STZ). The animals in training groups ran on the treadmill for six weeks (30-50 min running at 20-30 m/min). After the training period, molecular markers for mitochondrial biogenesis and ketone metabolism were assessed in the heart. Circulating ß-hydroxybutyrate (ßOHB) and Acetylacetonate (AcAc) levels were also measured. Results: ≤0.05). Furthermore, the combination of 6-week endurance training and DCA supplementation led to more reduction in PDFK4 gene expression, ßOHB, and AcAc blood levels. Conclusion: Six-week endurance training and DCA supplementation could safely improve ketone body metabolism in the heart, ultimately reducing hyperketonemia/ketoacidosis in diabetic rats.