Pityriasis versicolor is a superficial infection of the stratum corneum which caused by a group of yeasts formerly named pityrosporium. The taxonomy of these lipophilic yeasts has recently been modified and includes seven species referred as Malassezia. The aim of this study is to compare the distribution of Malassezia species isolated from pityriasis versicolor lesions and those isolated from healthy skins. Differentiation of all malassezia species performed using morphological features and physiological test including catalase reaction, Tween assimilation test and splitting of esculin. In pityriasis versicolor lesions, the most frequently isolated species was M. globosa (53.3%), followed by M. furfur (25.3%), M. sympodialis(9.3%), M. obtusa (8.1%) and M. slooffiae (4.0%). The most frequently isolated species in the skin of healthy individuals were M. globosa, M. sympodialis, M. furfur, M. sloofiae and M. restricta which respectively made up 41.7%, 25.0%, 23.3%, 6.7% and 3.3% of the isolated species. According to our data, M. globosa was the most prevalent species in the skin of healthy individuals which recovered only in the yeast form. However, the Mycelial form of M. globosa was isolated as the dominant species from pityriasis versicolor lesions. Therefore, the role of predisposing factors in the conversion of this yeast to mycelium and its subsequent involvement in pityriasis versicolor pathogenicity should be considered.

Background: Substance use among young people is a major public health problem in Iran. Objectives: The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of substance misuse and its determinants in medical sciences students in Tehran, Iran. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on a randomly selected sample of 1992 medical sciences students during 2012-2013. Anonymous, structured questionnaires were distributed among the students in each selected class. Substance misuse was defined according to cultural and epidemiological features. Data analysis was performed using chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and binary logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of prescription drug misuse, last year alcohol use, and ever illicit substance use was 4.9%, 6.9%, and 2.9%, respectively. The result of multiple logistic regression model showed that being a male (OR = 4.0), hookah use in the last year (OR = 3.2), prescription drug misuse (OR = 3.2), and alcohol use in the last year (OR = 3.3) were associated with the students’ illicit substance use. Last year alcohol use (OR = 5.3), ever illicit substance use (OR = 3.2), and illicit substance use in friends (OR = 2.6) were associated with prescription drug misuse. Conclusions: Our results suggested that the prevalence of prescription drugs, alcohol and illicit substance use was relatively low, though still significant, among Iranian students, which was strongly associated with family and friends’ use. The findings of this research can be used for planning and evaluating interventions by considering the risk factors and protective factors in Universities. Keywords: Prescription Drug Misuse; Street Drugs; Students

Background: High incidence rates of gastrointestinal tract cancers have been reported in the Caspian region of Iran. This study aimed to: 1) describe the geographical spatial patterns of gastrointestinal tract cancer incidence based on cancer registry data and, 2) determine whether geographical clusters of statistical significance exist.Methods: The Babol Cancer Registry, which covers the two major northern Iranian provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan (total population = 4,484,622) was used to identify new gastrointestinal tract cancer cases during 2001 to 2005. Age-specific cancer incidence rates were calculated for 7 gastrointestinal tract cancer sites in 26 wards of the Mazandaran and Golestan provinces. Spatial autocorrelation indices, hierarchical Bayesian Poisson models, and spatial scan statistics were used in measuring the geographic pattern and clusters.Results: There were non-random spatial patterns in esophageal and stomach cancers that were similar for both sexes. Clusters of high incidence were identified in esophageal, stomach, colorectal and liver cancer for both sexes, as well as a possible cluster of pancreas cancer in males.Conclusion: Gastrointestinal tract cancers exhibit significant spatial clustering of risk in northern Iran. Further work is needed to relate these geographical patterns to information on potential life-style and environmental factors.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the healthy lifestyle behaviors in hypertensive patients (aware, n = 1364 and not aware, n = 1213) based on 2011 national survey of risk factors of non-communicable disease (SuRFNCD) of Iran. Lifestyle score was calculated based on lifestyle behaviors, including smoking status, nutrition, physical activity status and body mass index separately for each patient. Of all aware patients, 27.79% (22.35–33.64) were adherence to the good lifestyle category. Almost the same percentage 29.24% (23.62–34.86) were observed in patients who were not aware of his/her illness. Moreover, adherence to good lifestyle is significantly higher in those who were aware without using antihypertensive medication (30.52% vs. 27.14%; p-value = 0.033). We also found that the prevalence of good lifestyle among patients with controlled hypertension is significantly higher than those who did not control his/her hypertension (32.54% vs. 27.59; p-value = 0.042). In people who were taking antihypertensive medication, adherence to healthy lifestyle did not have any significant relationship with the control of hypertension. The results of this study showed that awareness of hypertension did not improve people’s lifestyle. However, those who aware, but not using any antihypertensive medications are able to control his/her level of blood pressure better than those using medications.