OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to detect the genetic cause of deafness in a large Iranian family. Due to the importance of SLC26A4 in causing hearing loss, information about the gene mutations can be beneficial in molecular detection and management of deaf patients. METHODS: We investigated the genetic etiology in a large consanguineous family with 9 deaf patients from Fars province of Iran with no GJB2 mutations. Initially, linkage analysis was performed by four DFNB4 short tandem repeat markers. The result showed linkage to DFNB4 locus. Following that, DNA sequencing of all 21 exons, their adjacent intronic sequences and the promoter of SLC26A4 was carried out for mutation detection. RESULTS: Two novel mutations (c.863-864insT and c.881-882delAC) were identified in exon 7 of the gene, in both homozygous and compound heterozygous state in patients. CONCLUSION: Our results supported the importance of the SLC26A4 mutations in the etiology of hearing loss among the Iranian patients and therefore its mutation screening should be considered after GJB2 in the molecular diagnostics of hearing loss, especially when enlarged vestibular aqueduct or goiter is detected.
Deafness ; Exons ; Goiter ; Goiter, Nodular ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Humans ; Introns ; Iran ; Mass Screening ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Pathology, Molecular ; Pedigree* ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Vestibular Aqueduct

OBJECTIVERoad traffic accident (RTA) and its related injuries contribute to a significant portion of the burden of diseases in Iran. This paper explores the association between driver-related factors and RTA in the country.

METHODSThis cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran and all data regarding RTAs from March 20, 2010 to June 10, 2010 were obtained from the Traffic Police Department. We included 538 588 RTA records, which were classified to control for the main confounders: accident type, final cause of accident, time of accident and driver-related factors. Driver-related factors included sex, educational level, license type, type of injury, duration between accident and getting the driving license and driver's error type.

RESULTSA total of 538 588 drivers (91.83% male, sex ratio of almost 13:1) were involved in the RTAs. Among them 423 932 (78.71%) were uninjured; 224 818 (41.74%) had a diploma degree. Grade 2 driving license represented the highest proportion of all driving licenses (290 811, 54.00%). The greatest number of accidents took place at 12:00-13:59 (75 024, 13.93%). The proportion of drivers involved in RTAs decreased from 15.90% in the first year of getting a driving license to 3.13% after 10 years'of driving experience. Neglect of regulations was the commonest cause of traffic crashes (345 589, 64.17%). Non-observance of priority and inattention to the front were the most frequent final causes of death (138 175, 25.66% and 129 352, 24.02%, respectively). We found significant association between type of accident and sex, education, license type, time of accident, final cause of accident, driver's error as well as duration between accident and getting the driving license (all P less than 0.001).

CONCLUSIONOur results will improve the traffic law enforcement measures, which will change inappropriate behavior of drivers and protect the least experienced road users.

Accidents, Traffic ; statistics & numerical data ; Adult ; Automobile Driving ; statistics & numerical data ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; epidemiology ; Licensure ; Male ; Young Adult

No abstract available.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer type in men and is the second cause of death, due to cancer, in patients over 50, after lung cancer. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a widely used tumor marker for prostate cancer. Recently, PSA is discovered in non-prostatic cancer tissues in men and women raising doubts about its specificity for prostatic tissues. PSA exists in low serum level in healthy men and in higher levels in many prostate disorders, including prostatitis and prostate cancer. Thus, a supplementary tumor marker is needed to accurately diagnose the cancer and to observe the patient after treatment. Recently, soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) has been introduced as a new tumor marker for different cancer types, including colorectal, breast, lung, and ovary. The present descriptive-experimental study was carried out including patients with malignant prostate tumor, patients with benign prostate tumor, and a group of health men as the control group, as judged by an oncologist as well as a pathologist. After sterile blood sampling, sHLA-G was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in each group. The data was then analyzed using one-way ANOVA. P≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The results showed that the mean of sHLA-G level was high in patients. Also, it was found that there was a significant difference in sHLA serum level between the three groups. The data revealed that sHLA-G can be a novel supplementary tumor marker in addition to PSA to diagnose prostate cancer.
Breast ; Cause of Death ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Ovary ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Prostatitis ; Sensitivity and Specificity