Background and Objectives: Iodine deficiency disorders have been one of the main health-nutritional problems in Iran for many years. Prior to the iodine-supplementation program, Ardabil province was one of the regions with endemic goiter in Iran. The program of control and prevention of iodine deficiency has been performed here since 1989 through production, distribution and consumption of iodized salt. This study was performed in 2001 on 7-10 years-old pupils of Ardabil as a part of national monitoring survey of iodine deficiency control.

 Methods: In a cross sectional- descriptive study, 1200 students (equal number of boys and girls) were selected randomly. The prevalence of goiter was determined by clinical examination and according to WHO classification. Urinary iodine content was determined in one tenth of the cases using digestion method.

 Results: Total goiter rate was 9.3 in all the subjects (10.7% in girls and 7.9% in boys). Median urinary iodine was 18.8µg/dl. In 80.7% of the cases urinary iodine was above 10µg/dl and was less than 5µg/dl in 4.2%. Urinary iodine below 2µg/dl was not observed.

 Conclusion: The results showed that the rate of goiter among pupils has significantly decreased since 1996 and urinary iodine levels in schoolchildren of Ardabil complied with WHO index. So, Ardabil province can be considered as an “iodine deficiency free” zone.

  Adjuvants are chemicals, microbial components, or mammalian proteins that enhance the immune response to vaccine antigens. Reducing vaccine-related adverse effects and inducing specific types of immunity has led to the development of numerous new adjuvants. Adjuvants in experimental and commercial vaccines include aluminum salts (alum), oil emulsions, saponins, immune-stimulating complexes (ISCOMs), liposomes, microparticles, nonionic block copolymers, derivatized polysaccharides, cytokines, and a wide variety of bacterial derivatives. The mechanisms of action of these diverse compounds are different. Factors influencing the selection of an adjuvant include animal species, specific pathogen, vaccine antigen, route of immunization, and type of immunity needed. In this paper we review the current adjuvant types, structure and mechanism of action and their application in the design and production of animal and human vaccines to provide a source for students and researchers in related fields .

Background & objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine the extent of possible genetic influence on cardio-metabolic risk factors and to evaluate the familial aggregation of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a Tehranian population.

Methods: In a cross-sectional observational study, the anthropometry, blood pressure andbiochemical measurements were examined in each member of 566 nuclear families. The role of risk factors in MetS and the Pearson partial correlation between MetS and lipid related factors were calculated.

Results: The prevalence of MetS among the mothers and girls was 78.4 and 12.9%, respectively. Grandmothers had the highest incidence of atherosclerotic risk factors. Four factors were found which explained 77.7% of the overall variance. Recurrence risk ratio among siblings was 5.61 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.15-9.97). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of proband’s MetS status was 1.33 (95% CI: 1.06–1.67) and adjusted OR for the four factors to predict MetS were all significant with the obesity factor having the highest risk (OR: 7.50, CI: 5.91–9.52) followed by dyslipidemia/hyperglycemia factor (OR: 4.86, CI: 4.03–5.87), and blood pressure factor (OR: 4.20, CI: 3.51-5.02).

Conclusion: The present findings confirm the idea of familial aggregation and the recurrence risk ratio in MetS traits. Sibling correlations were higher than other relatives indicating the high genetic factors of these quantitative components in which a high risk of MetS (two-fold) was found

Background & objectives: Depression and perceived stress are considered among the most common symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Dialectical behavior therapy was presented as one of the most effective treatment of many disorders in the past decade. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of dialectical group behavior therapy on perceived stress and depression in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome.

Methods: The research method was an experimental pretest-posttest control group design with random assignment). Of all the patients referred to medical centers in Tabriz during 1393 SH, 30 patients selected with irritable bowel syndrome and Rome-III diagnostic criteria after using the interview, completed perceived stress questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. The subjects were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (n=15 per group). After completing dialectical behavior therapy in the experimental group, the questionnaire was administered in both groups. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis with SPSS-20 software.

Results: Dialectical group behavior therapy was significantly effective in reducing perceived stress (p= 0.004, F= 9.91) and depression (p= 0.005, F= 9.60) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome in experimental group, so that after the intervention the perceived stress and depression scores decreased in experimental group.

Conclusion: It seems that dialectical behavior therapy is effective in reducing perceived stress and depression in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and can be helpful in improving the symptoms of perceived stress and depression in these patients.