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Background and Objective: Zinc and Copper are the important trace elements for human growth and body’s biological functions. These trace elements are the important cofactors of many enzymes. Serum variation of these trace elements are clinically important and should be taken into consideration, because fluctuation of these elements are behind many clinical manifestation in human. Diarrhea and vomiting can be the clinical symptoms associated with the toxic level of Zinc and Copper in the body. The concept behind this study is to determine the serum levels of Zinc and Copper in hemodialysis patients before and after dialysis, to explain the differences of such trace element concentration in these patients. Materials and Methods: This project is a comparative study. The sample population was 50 of hemodialysis patients chosen randomly from the patients referred to the 5th Azar Hospital in Gorgan (33 male and 17 female). The concentration of Zinc and Copper of these patients was determined before and after the dialysis. Results: The results from this research projects indicated that the average concentration of Zinc and Copper in hemodialysis patients after dialysis were 135.32±59.32 and 136.40±51.52 microgram/deciliter which markedly increase in compare to the serum concentration of these trace elements before the dialysis which were 78.38±37.46 and 89.92±32.54 microgram/deciliter respectively. On the basis of the results, we found in this study the average increased concentration of Zinc and Copper after the process of dialysis among the hemodialysis patients had a meaningful statistical variation (P<0.001). Conclusion: Uremia, dialysis blood tube, heavy metal contamination, the quality of dialysis membrane and the quality of water used for the process of dialysis can be a reason for the increased concentration of Zinc and Copper. Such increase in the serum concentration of these trace elements can be the basis for some clinical abnormalities. Therefore it is suggested to determine the rate of released Zinc and Copper from hemodialysis machine, before the procedure is done To enable the medical team to evaluate the serum Zinc and Copper and correct it by nutritional therapy.

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Background & Objective: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the most important health problems all over the world. This study was conducted to determine the co-infection of hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis D virus (HDV) in HBV infected patients in Golestan province of Iran. Materials & Methods: This population based cross sectional study was done in 2004. 139 HBsAg positive cases were assessed for co-infection with HCV and HDV. Serologic tests were done by ELISA method using available kits. Data were analyzed by SPSS-12 and STATA8 software. P-values of less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: Sixty eight (48.9%) of 139 cases were males and 71 (51.1%) were females. The mean (±SD) of participant's age was 41.89 (±11.3) years (range: 25-64 years). Anti-HCV and Anti-HDV antibodies were positive in 17 (12.3%) and 8 (5.8%) cases, respectively. Females were more infected with HCV and HDV than males. But the differences were not significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of co-infection with HCV and HDV in HBV infected cases is relatively high and notable in Golestan province of Iran. Because of negative effects of these co-infections in clinical outcome of the disease, it is recommended to assess possible HCV and HDV infection in individuals with HBV infection. This may result in more efficient management of the disease.

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Background and Objective: Colorectal cancer is the third common malignancy in the world. Personal habits including life style and nutrition have been proposed as risk factors of colorectal cancer. We conducted this study to assess the nutritional characteristics in colorectal cancer patients in Golestan province of Iran.

Materials and Methods: This case-control study was done on 47 colorectal cancer cases, diagnosed during 2004-05 and 47 healthy controls. A questionnaire containing socio-demographic and nutritional characteristics (FFQ) was filled for each of the participants. Chi square test was used to assess the relationship between variables.

Results: In each of the two groups, 40.4% were females and 59.6% were males. The mean±SD age of age in cases and controls were 52.4±13.4 and 52.1±13.1 years, respectively. Total energy expenditure of higher than 1837.5 Kcal/ day was significantly related to colorectal cancer (OR=3.8 95% CI: 1.2-11.3). Colorectal cancer risk was higher in individual with frying cooking method (OR=3 95% CI: 0. 8-11.1). The risk of colorectal cancer was 6.5 times higher in individuals with fat consumption of higher than 118.5 grams/day (95% CI: 1.5-28.8). No significant relationship was seen between vegetables consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer.

Conclusion: This study showed that high total energy expenditure, high fat consumption and using frying method for cooking are risk factors of colorectal cancer in Golestan prevince in Nothern of Iran.

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Background and Objective: Gilbert's syndrome is a relatively common genetic disorder, which is caused by defection in uridine diphosphate glucuronosyl transferase enzyme. The indirect bilirubin increases in this syndrome, although the function of the liver is normal. Gilbert's syndrome can be seen in 3 to 10% of different populations. According to the differences in ethnic groups in Golestan Province, no studies have been conducted on the prevalence of the syndrome in the province, so far.This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of suspected Gilbertʼs syndrome in Golestan province in north of Iran.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 1664 subjects with 18-45 years old referring to rural and urban health centers in Golestan province, North of Iran during 2014. Liver function tests were normal in subjects. Fasting blood samples were taken from each subject and total bilirubin was tested. People with a total bilirubin of more than 1.5 mg/dl were treated with a single oral dose of rifampin 600 mg. After taking rifampicin, the individuals with an indirect bilirubin level of more than 1.3 mg/dl were found suspected of Gilbert’s syndrome.
Results: The prevalence of suspected Gilbert's syndrome was 5.8%. Moreover, suspected Gilbert’s syndrome was more common in males than females (10% in males and 4.3% in females) (P<0.05). According to ethnicity, the prevalence of suspected Gilbert's syndrome was 5.4%, 5.4%, and 6.8% in Sistani, Fars and Turkmen subjects, respectively. This difference was not significant. The prevalence of suspected Gilbert's syndrome in three ethnicities was higher in males than females and it was statistically significant in Sistani and Fars ethnicities (P<0.05) but not significant in Turkmen ethnicity.
Conclusion: Suspected cases of Gilbert's syndrome were more common in men than women, and more prevalent in the Turkmen ethnic group.