ABSTRACT

        Background and Objective: The current challenge of diabetes mellitus is to prevent its complications. These complications are directly associated with hyperglycemia in diabetics. The HbA1c measurement is essential for long-term glycemic control. Synchronization of HbA1c measurement is important in order to avoid discrepancies between results reported by laboratories. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy, precision and agreement of five HbA1c measurement methods with HPLC reference method.

       Methods: HbA1c levels of 55 samples were measured using six methods of microcapillary electrophoresis (Sepia), enzymatic method (Pishtaz Teb), immunoturbidometry (Pars Azmoon), boronate affinity (Nycocard), immunofluorescence (ichroma) and Tosoh G8 HPLC.

       Results: The five tested methods showed a good agreement with the HPLC method with correlation coefficient of less than 95%. Regression testing of HPLC method and other methods showed slope of 0.99 (P<0.05) for Sebia, 1.02 (P<0.05) for Pishtaz Teb, 0.79 (P<0.05) for Pars Azmoon, 0.82 (P<0.05) for Nycocard and 0.89 (P<0.05) for ichroma. Average inaccuracy for the Sebia, Pishtaz Teb, Pars Azmoon, Nycocard and ichroma in comparison with the HPLC reference method were -0.09, -0.004, -0.75, -0.79 and -0.78, respectively.

         Conclusion: The Sebia microcapillary method and Pishtaz teb enzymatic method have appropriate accuracy and precision. Therefore, these methods can be used as alternatives to the HPLC method for HbA1c measurement. Other methods such as Pars Azmoon, Nycocard and ichroma have significant shortcomings in terms of accuracy.

     

ABSTRACT

        Background and Objectives: Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic medication frequently used in many food-producing animals. This study aimed to investigate the level of ivermectin residue in liver samples collected from slaughterhouses in Qazvin Province, Iran.

        Methods: Overall, 88 bovine liver samples were randomly collected and analyzed for detection of ivermectin residues. The samples were analyzed for ivermectin contamination by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The samples were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction procedure for the ELISA. Solid phase extraction using a C18 column followed by fluorescence-derivatized with 1-methylimidazole and trifluoroacetic anhydride in acetonitrile were used for the HPLC assay. Recovery values obtained from the HPLC method ranged from 81.3 to 92.5%, with a relative standard deviation of 6.7-12.2%.

        Results: First, all samples were screened by the ELISA method. Based on the results, 16 samples (18.2%) contained no detectable levels of Ivermectin residue, while Ivermectin was found in 72 samples (81.8%). In addition, 22 of the positive samples (30.55%) contained high Ivermectin level (>50 ppb). Analysis of the samples by the HPLC method showed that eight samples (9.09%) contained ivermectin levels above the maximum residue limit.

        Conclusion: This study demonstrates the presence of different levels of Ivermectin residue in bovine liver samples collected from the Qazvin Province in Iran. Therefore, regulatory authorities should ensure proper withdrawal period before slaughter of the animals.

       Keywords: Ivermectin, Cattle, Liver, ELISA, HPLC.

ABSTRACT
          Background and Objectives: The incidence rate of esophageal cancer (EC) is high in north and northeast of Iran. Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid with a wide range of vital biological functions. The aim of this study was to compare plasma levels of taurine between patients with EC and healthy controls.
        Methods: Plasma samples from 36 recently diagnosed cases of EC and 36 healthy adults were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Data analysis was done using SPSS (version 16). The t-test was used to evaluate significant differences in the level of taurine between the two groups. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
         Results: Patients with EC had significantly higher levels of plasma taurine compared with the controls (P<0.05).
         Conclusion: Patients with EC have significantly higher levels of plasma taurine compared with healthy individuals. This finding suggests that the measurement of plasma taurine in patients with EC could be useful for the early diagnosis of the disease.
        Keywords: Esophageal Cancer, Taurine, HPLC.