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Introduction: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype has a heterogeneous distribution throughout the world. The present study aimed to characterize the APOE genotype (rs429358, rs7412) in healthy individuals compared with Alzheimer cases in Kerman, southeastern Iran, by two standard mutation scanning methods. Methods: In this case-control study, 90 Alzheimer patients as a case group and 90 healthy individuals as a control group were examined. APOE genotyping was carried out using high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis assay and multiplex tetra-primer amplification-refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS PCR) techniques. Results: In contrast to Multiplex T-ARMS PCR, HRM analysis was not efficient in rs7412 genotyping. The results of multiplex T-ARMS showed that É2É3 genotype (P=0.006, odd ratio [OR]=0.119) and É2 allele (P=0.004, OR=0.129) were more prevalent in the control group compared with the case ones, whereas É4 allele was associated with borderline risk of Alzheimer disease (P=0.099, OR=1.76). Conclusion: We concluded that Multiplex T-ARMS PCR could be considered as a better option than HRM analysis for APOE genotyping in terms of speed, accuracy, simplicity, and cheapness in large-scale use. Also, the present study revealed that É2 É3 genotype and É2 allele are protective against Alzheimer whereas the É4 allele cannot be strongly considered as Alzheimer genetic risk factor in Kerman, Iran. The results may help to choose a better technique for APOE genotyping.
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BACKGROUND: The occurrence of variations in routine hematological parameters is closely associated with disease progression, the development of severe illness, and the mortality rate among COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to investigate hematological parameters in COVID-19 hospitalized patients from the 1st to the 5th waves of the current pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included a total of 1501 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 based on WHO criteria, who were admitted to Shahid Sadoughi Hospital (SSH) in Yazd, Iran, from February 2020 to September 2021. Throughout, we encountered five COVID-19 surge waves. In each wave, we randomly selected approximately 300 patients and categorized them based on infection severity during their hospitalization, including partial recovery, full recovery, and death. Finally, hematological parameters were compared based on age, gender, pandemic waves, and outcomes using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: The mean age of patients (n = 1501) was 61.1±21.88, with 816 (54.3%) of them being men. The highest mortality in this study was related to the third wave of COVID-19 with 21.3%. There was a significant difference in all of the hematological parameters, except PDW, PLT, and RDW-CV, among pandemic waves of COVID-19 in our population. The highest rise in the levels of MCV and RDW-CV occurred in the 1st wave, in the 2nd wave for lymphocyte count, MCHC, PLT count, and RDW-SD, in the 3rd wave for WBC, RBC, neutrophil count, MCH, and PDW, and in the 4th wave for Hb, Hct, and ESR (p < 0.01). The median level of Hct, Hb, RBC, and ESR parameters were significantly higher, while the mean level of lymphocyte and were lower in men than in women (p < 0.001). Also, the mean neutrophil in deceased patients significantly was higher than in those with full recovered or partial recovery (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings of our study unveiled notable variations in hematological parameters across different pandemic waves, gender, and clinical outcomes. These findings indicate that the behavior of different strains of the COVID-19 may differ across various stages of the pandemic.