Introduction: Torque teno virus (TTV) and SEN virus are circular single-stranded DNA viruses that cause blood-borne infections. The SEN virus (SEN-V) was originally detected in the serum of an injection drug user infected with human immunodefi ciency virus (HIV). Recently TTV was discovered as a potential causative agent of non-A-E hepatitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the SEN-V-D/H and TTV in HIV patients and healthy blood donors in Iran. Methods: One hundred and fi fty HIV patients with a mean age of 50.46 ± 18.46 years and 150 healthy blood donors with a mean age of 48.16 ± 13.73 years were included in this study. TTV and SEN-V were detected by the PCR and were quantitatively assayed by competitive PCR (nested and semi-nested PCR). Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were used to determine the heterogeneity of TTV. Results: TTV and SEN-V were detected 96 (64%) and 84 (56%) of 150 HIV patients respectively. These rates were 34% (n=51) and 37.33% (n=56) in healthy blood donors (signifi cant, p<0.05). PCR detected SEN-V/TTV DNA from 32 of the healthy blood donors (21.33%), while 65 (43.33%) of HIV patients were positive for SEN-V/TTV DNA. Of 150 HIV patients, 32.66% and 23.33% were positive for SEN-V-H and SEN-V-D, respectively and 18.66% (n=28) were co-infected with SEN-V-D/H. Conclusions: The prevalence of SEN-VD/H and TTV is higher in HIV patients than in healthy blood donors in Southern Iran. Our results suggest that TTV and SEN-V might play a role in the development of liver disease in patients with immunodefi ciency diseases.Keywords: Torque teno virus. SEN virus. HIV. Genotype. Blood donors.Recently, a new virus, designated SEN virus (SEN-V), was isolated from serum of an human immunodefi ciency virus (HIV)-positive patient who was an injection drug user 1 . Nine different SEN-V genotypes have been identifi ed (A to I) which have at least 25% divergence in their nucleotide sequences 2 . The SEN-V-D and SEN-V-H genotypes are most frequently in patients with unknown hepatitis (non-A E hepatitis) but exhibit lower frequencies in the sera of healthy blood donors 3 . In addition Torque teno virus (TTV), also known as transfusiontransmitted virus was fi rst identifi ed in a Japanese patient in 1997 4,5 . Torque teno virus is a circular, single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus that chronically infects healthy individuals of all ages worldwide. Substantial data exists describing the prevalence and genetic heterogeneity of TTV in healthy populations and patients infected with HIV. The genome of SEN-V is similar to TTV and both are classifi ed within the circovirus family 5 . Both SEN-V and TTV are single-stranded non-enveloped DNA viruses of 3,800 nucleotides 6,7 . Several studies have shown that in HIV-infected patients the prevalence of TTV is slightly higher compare to healthy blood donors 8 . Puig-Basagoiti et al. described a high TTV prevalence among a large HIV-infected group in Spain 9 . The TTV prevalence of 76% among HIV positive individual ...

These findings show that the prevalence of SEN-V-D/H and TTV is higher than healthy blood donors. Also, these results indicate that the prevalence of SEN-V and TTV infections in our region is similar with that in other countries.

Objective: Urinary stones with oxalate composition can cause kidney failure. Recent fi ndings evidenced that probiotics are effective in reducing oxalate absorption in these subjects based on their high colonic absorption levels at baseline. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the simultaneous use of oxalate-degrading bacteria, Urtica dioica and T. terrestris extract in reducing urinary oxalate. Materials and Methods: Anti-urolithiatic activity of Urtica dioica and T. terrestris extract and probiotic by using ethylene glycol induced rat model. In this study, 4 strains of Lactobacillus and 2 strains of Bifi dobacterium and also 2 strains of L. paracasei (that showed high power in oxalate degrading in culture media) were used. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n=6). The rats of group-I received normal diet (positive control group) and groups-II (negative control group), III, IV rats received diet containing ethylene glycol (3%) for 30 days. Groups III rats received Urtica dioica and T. terrestris extract. Groups IV rats received extracts + probiotic for 30 days. Findings: The results show that the use of herbal extracts (Urtica dioica and T. terrestris) reduced the level of urinary oxalate and other parameters of urine and serum. Also, the accumulation of calcium oxalate crystals in the kidney tissue was significantly reduced. Conclusion: Considering that the formation of calcium oxalate crystals can cause infl ammation and tissue damage in the kidney, the use of herbal extracts with oxalate degrading bacteria can be a new therapeutic approach to preventing the formation of kidney stones.

Prevalence rates of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are high in people who have received regular blood transfusion. Patients with chronic renal failure carries are susceptible to acquiring blood borne virus infections, especially viral hepatitis. The aim of this study was to define the actual prevalence of HCV and HGV in Iranian HD patients. This cross sectional-descriptive study the samples were collected from 62 Patients with chronic renal failures and 100 healthy controls. The presence of HGV-RNA and HCV-RNA in serum or plasma and the prevalence of antibodies against an HGV envelope protein (E2) and anti-HCV antibodies are investigated in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis and controls by multiplex-nested-RT-PCR protocol and an enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay, respectively. HGV-RNA were detected in 17.74% of the patients and in 3 of 100 blood donors, also anti-E2 antibodies and anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 24.19 and 19.35% of the patients, and six and five of controls, respectively. HGV viremia was diagnosed in 11 and in 3 of patients and controls, respectively. HCV-RNA was diagnosed in 9 of 62 patients and 1 of 100 healthy controls. The data revealed a high frequency of infection with HGV and HCV in patients with chronic renal failures that have received multiple blood transfusions.

Background and Objectives: Oxalate degrading bacteria and herbal extracts are new strategy for reducing hyperoxaluria. In Iranian traditional medicine, Sankol oral drop is widely used as an antispasmodic drug to reduce stones from urinary tract. This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic effect of oxalate-degrading bacteria and Sankol oral drop in reducing urinary oxalate in rat model. Materials and Methods: Several bacterial strains, including Lactobacillus (4), Bifidobacterium (2) and L. paracasei (2) (very strong in degrading oxalate in vitro) were used in this study. Male Wistar rats were divided into 6 groups (n = 6). The rats of Group I received normal diet and drinking water + 60% ethanol (positive group). Groups II (negative group), III, IV, V, and VI rats received diet containing ethylene glycol (3%) for 30 days. Groups III rats received Sankol with minimum concentration (7.5 ml/kg/b.w), Group IV rats received Sankol with maximum concentration (9 ml/kg/b.w), Group V rats received Sankol with minimum concentration + probiotic, and Group VI rats received Sankol with maximum concentration + probiotic for 30 days. Results: Treatment with Sankol (maximum concentration) and oxalate-degrading probiotic bacteria significantly reduced urinary oxalate (P = .0001). At the end of treatment period, rats in groups II (negative control) showed a high score of CaOx crystal, while rats in VI groups did not show any CaOx crystal. Conclusion: This is the first study on the simultaneous use of Sankol herbal drop and oxalate-degrading probiotic bacteria that showed a significant reduction in urinary oxalate.