Hepatitis Monthly 

About: Hepatitis Monthly is an academic journal published by Kowsar Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Hepatitis B virus & Hepatitis B. It has an ISSN identifier of 1735-143X. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 1456 publications have been published receiving 18359 citations.

Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Iran: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Results: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. They were from 7 (out of 30) provinces in which about 40 percent of the country population live. These provinces (HBsAg positive prevalence) were Golestan (6.3%), Tehran (2.2%), East Azarbaijan (1.3%), Hamedan (2.3%), Isfahan (1.3%), Kermanshah (1.3%) and Hormozgan (2.4%). The HBV infection prevalence in Iran is estimated to be 2.14 percent (95%CI: 1.92-2.35), in men and women 2.55 percent (95%CI: 2.252.85) and 2.03 percent (95%CI: 1.6-2.46 percent) respectively. Conclusions: About 1.5 million people in Iran are living with HBV infection (mild to moderate prevalence according to WHO classification) and it is assumed that 15% to 40% of them are at risk of developing cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without intervention. The prevalence of HBV infection has been reported higher in more recent studies compared to the study in 2000-2001.

The relationship between lipid profile and severity of liver damage in cirrhotic patients.

Abstract: Background and Aims: An impaired lipid metabolism is often observed in patients with chronic liver diseases To determine lipid profile in patients with cirrhosis and to asses if it relates to the severity of the cirrhosis Materials and Methods: In an analytical cross-sectional study, 50 patients with cirrhosis (case) and 50 age- and sexmatched healthy normolipidemic patients (comparison) were studied A questionnaire including personal characteristics, etiology of cirrhosis, pathologic criteria of CHILD and MELD and lipid profile (total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol and triglyceride) was completed for each patient Results: In patients with cirrhosis, there was a significant decrease in serum triglyceride, total, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels compared to the comparison group (mean of 82 vs 187, 138 vs 184, 80 vs 137, and 40 vs 44 mg/dL, respectively; all p<005) Comparison of lipid profile with pathologic progression of cirrhosis revealed that except for serum triglyceride level, serum lipid levels diminishe linearly with progression of liver damage Conclusions: Serum total, LDL and HDL cholesterol level in patients with cirrhosis is inversely correlate with severity of cirrhosis

Non alcoholic fatty liver disease in southern Iran: a population based study.

Abstract: Background Population based studies on prevalence and risk factors of NAFLD in Iranian population are few. The prevalence of NAFLD and non alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in Iranians varies from 2.9% to 7.1% in general population and 55.8% in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Hepatitis C infection in the general population of Iran: a systematic review.

Abstract: books by two independent reviewers. We also searched the research projects of 29 out of 40 Iranian universities of medical sciences from their websites. We contacted the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the Iranian Ministry of Health and the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) for searching national reports from the study time period. Medical students’ theses were also evaluated by two independent reviewers from the Iranian center for scientific documents and records (IranDoc). Finally, we consulted eight expert HCV researchers in Iran and searched their personal archives for additional citations. Forward and backward citations of searched items were also performed. Critical appraisal and selection of studies Two independent reviewers reviewed all citations thoroughly and checked for eligibility criteria to include the studies in the analysis. The inclusion criteria were all cross-sectional studies that specified temporal and geographic characteristics of the study; sufficiently declared objectives; and that used a valid 213 Seyed Moayed Alavian et al. Hepatitis Monthly, Summer 2009; 9(3): 211-223 sampling method that allowed for a generalization of the findings to the target population, valid measurement instruments for all study subjects, and appropriate analytic methods for the given sampling design and demographic characteristics. We revised the criteria developed by Sharifi et al. for this purpose (12). Data extraction After evaluating studies on these criteria, we extracted the findings of the included studies to Excel spreadsheets. The extracted data were year of the study, first author, province and district of the study, sample population, sampling method, sample size, HCV Antibody detection method, HCV Antibody kit name, mean age and standard error (SE) of subjects, percentage of male subjects, and HCV point prevalence in study subjects and/or in males/females and its SE. If there were other parameters reported other than SE, such as standard deviation, confidence interval, and/or P.value, the proper modifications were performed to calculate SE. Statistical analysis We analyzed the extracted data to estimate the point prevalence of HCV infection and its 95% confidence interval (CI) and used a Cochrane Q-test with a significance level of < 0.1 for checking the statistical heterogeneity of the results. We used a meta-analysis method with the “meta” command using fix/random model based on the results of the heterogeneity test. It seems that the meta-analysis method would not have been a suitable method to achieve the objectives of this systematic review because the weighting system of this method only considers sample size and not the size of the provincial population. We used a survey data analysis method to calculate the estimate of the nationwide prevalence rate considering the weight of each province as the ratio of the provincial population to the sample size(s), where the population of each province was retrieved from the Iranian national census at 2006 (7). In provinces with more than one prevalnce study (Tehran and Sistan-va-Baluchestan), the provincial prevalence was calculated by a meta-analysis of the studies, and the total sample size was determined by adding all study sample sizes. The analysis was performed with STATA 9.1 software (STATA Corp. LP). The results were shown in geographic maps using Arc View 3.2a software (ESRI Inc. NY).

Role of MicroRNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Abstract: Context: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that play an important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation and function as negative gene regulators. They are an abundant class of RNA, each of which can control hundreds of gene targets and regulate diverse biological processes such as hematopoiesis, organogenesis, apoptosis and cell proliferation. Aberrant miRNA expression contributes to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Evidence Acquisition: In this study we provided a summarized review of the most important new data available on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-associated miRNAs. The data were collected through searching the related keywords and were categorized and summarized in different sections. Results: Researchers have reported that miRNAs can repress the expression of important cancer-related genes and might be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. During the past two decades, numerous studies have shown that miRNAs play an essential role in inhibiting HCC via several different pathways. Deregulated miRNAs may contribute to carcinogenesis, indicating that miRNAs can act as tumor suppressors and oncogenes. Conclusions: In this mini review, we highlight current findings and discuss recent work to determine the contribution of miRNA expression to the maintenance and growth of HCC, thereby providing a significant source of hope that miRNAs could serve as therapeutic targets.