Correlation of serum magnesium with dyslipidemia in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

One of the factors involved in accelerated atherosclerosis in hemodialysis patients is dyslipidemia. In this study we considered factors involved in intensification of dyslipidemia in hemodialysis patients. This study was done on 36 maintenance hemodialysis patients. Serum lipoprotein (a), Triglyceride, Cholesterol, HDL-C,LDL-C and also serum Intact parathormone(iPTH), Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium were measured. In statistical analysis there was not any correlation between serum lipids and iPTH. There was not correlation between serum calcium with serum lipids (p > 0.05). There was not correlation between CaxP product with serum lipids (p > 0.05). There was a positive correlation between serum Magnesium and Lipoprotein(a) (P < 0.05) and also positive correlation between serum magnesium with triglyceride level (P < 0.05) was seen too. Magnesium doesn't increase the lipoprotein synthesis. It may involve in the regulation of some enzymes responsible for lipoprotein synthesis. Correlation of serum magnesium with serum triglycerides can be due to changes in hepatic triglyceride metabolism. Lipoprotein(a) is a non traditional factor of premature atherosclerosis, its association with serum magnesium needs more attention in hemodialysis patients

Positive correlation of serum leptin with blood lymphocytes in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Objective: The objective of this study was to find the association of serum leptin with blood lymphocyte and polymorphonuclear (PMN) percentages as the markers of immune system function as well as nutritional status in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Design: In a group of maintenance hemodialysis patients, serum leptin, albumin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and white blood cell counts consisting of lymphocytes and PMN cells were measured. Results: A significant positive correlation of serum leptin with body mass index, a significant positive correlation of serum leptin with lymphocyte percentage, and a significant inverse correlation of serum leptin with PMN percentage were seen. Near significant inverse correlations of white blood cell counts with duration and dosage of dialysis, a near significant inverse correlation of white blood cell counts with hemodialysis adequacy, and a significant inverse correlation of white blood cell counts with serum albumin were seen. Conclusion: Generally, increased neutrophil counts and reduced lymphocyte counts are independent predictors of increased mortality risk in hemodialysis patients. Although this study and others showed positive association of serum leptin with lymphocytes and an inverse correlation of serum leptin with PMNs, the authors conclude a protective role for leptin in decreasing mortality in hemodialysis patients; therefore, serum leptin in hemodialysis has a reverse epidemiology role for maintaining immune system function in hemodialysis

Lipids in association with serum magnesium in diabetes mellitus patients

Aim: To investigate whether and how serum Magnesium (Mg) concentrations influence the serum lipids in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. The cross-sectional study was conducted on diabetic mellitus (DM) patients with various kidney functions not yet on dialysis. Patients and methods: Serum lipoprotein(a), glycosilated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum magnesium (Mg), serum creatinine (creat), serum lipids consisting of triglycerids (Tg), cholesterol (Chol), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured. Results: Study patients included 122 patients (82F, 40M). The mean patients' age was 63 ( 10) years. The mean length of time they were diabetic was 7.4 ( +/- 5.8) years (median: 6 years). The mean serum Mg was 2 (+/- 0.4) mg/dl (median: 1.99 mg/dl). The mean creatinine clearance was 64 (+/- 24) cc/min (median: 64 cc/min). In this study significant inverse correlations of serum Mg with serum cholesterol and LDL as well as nonsignificant correlations of serum Mg with serum Lp(a), HDL, Tg and with serum HgbA1c were seen. More over a significant inverse correlation of serum Mg with ages of the patients and a significant positive correlation of serum Mg with serum creatinine were seen too. Conclusions: It seems that in diabetic patients, kidney function is a key role in the regulation of serum Lp(a) levels instead of other factors like serum Mg level. Our finding further supports the importance of Mg supplementation in diabetes mellitus patients. In our study no significant correlation between serum Mg with serum HDL and Tg were found, which needs further investigation (Tab. 1, Fig. 4, Ref. 53)

Association of serum lipoprotein(a) with ultrasonographically determined early atherosclerotic changes in the carotid and femoral arteries in kidney transplanted patients

Objectives. To evaluate the association of serum lipoprotein(a) Lp(a)] with carotid intimal media thickness (IMT) and carotid femoral plaque occurrence in kidney transplant patients. Patients and Methods. Fifty-four subjects included 29 group 1 normal healthy persons and 25 group 2 kidney transplant patients underwent carotid IMT measurements and carotid femoral plaque assessment by B-mode ultrasonography. Also we measured cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C, LDL-C and Lp(a) as well as BUN and creatinine. Results. There was a significant difference between Lp(a) in the two groups (P = .016). There was a significant difference between carotid IMT of the two groups (P .05). There was a significant correlation between carotid IMT with age in Group 1 (P = .035). No correlation between carotid IMT and serum Lp(a) was seen in the two groups. No significant correlations between plaque score and serum Lp(a) were observed. There was no correlation between duration of transplant and thickening of intimal media complex in this group. In this group a positive correlation was demonstrated between carotid IMT with serum LDL-C (P < .001). Conclusions. Age was the most important factor associated with thickening of intimal media complex in normal subjects and in plaque formation in the renal transplant group. Serum LDL-C may be associated with thickening of intimal media complex in kidney transplant patients. Serum Lp(a) may not be a significant factor in thickening of the intimal media complex or plaque occurrence in kidney transplant patients

Association of body mass index and serum vitamin D level in healthy Iranian adolescents

Introduction: In studies of obese adolescents in various countries, vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with greater weight and elevated BMI. However, there is insufficient data on the relation between vitamin D status and body fat indexes in adolescence. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum (25OHD) concentrations with body mass index of healthy Iranian subjects to understand whether specific data on the relation between vitamin D status and body mass index is common in all populations. Material and methods: Data was collected from 259 ambulant medical staff adults, students and other subjects who met the inclusion criteria of the study. Body mass index and fasting 25-Hydroxy vitamin D level were measured. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as having a 25(OH)D concentration &lt; 25 nmol/L. Results: Participants were aged 20-64 years, mean age 34 ± 9 years, and about 57.5% of the participants were women. The mean (± SD) body mass index (kg/m 2) was 24.2 ± 3.8 kg/m2 (median = 23.7 kg/m 2), the mean (± SD) vitamin D level of the participants was 29 ± 16 nmol/L (median = 26 nmol/L), and 48% of the participants had vitamin D deficiency. In this study, there was no significant association between vitamin D level and BMI (r = 0.064; p = 0.307) (age adjusted). Moreover, there was no association between vitamin D level and sex of the participants. In addition, no association between BMI and sex of the adolescents was seen (p; NS), but a significant association between age and vitamin D level was found (r = 0.002). Conclusion: Our data suggests that various mechanisms could potentially contribute to the robust association of vitamin D with adiposity; in normal or near normal BMI, vitamin D status may not be correlated with age

Lipids in association with leptin in maintenance hemodialysis patients

To consider the association of serum leptin with dyslipidemia in hemodialysis patients. For maintenance hemodialysis patients levels of serum pre and post dialysis blood urea nitrogen, lipid profiles and serum Leptin were measured. For the adequacy of hemodialysis the urea reduction rate was calculated. A significant difference of serum leptin between males and females of diabetics with more values in female dialysis patients was seen. In total patients a near significant and inverse correlation of serum leptin with serum LDL was seen. In male hemodialysis group a significant positive correlation of serum leptin with duration of hemodialysis and with the ages of the patients were seen, in this group also a near significant positive correlation of serum leptin with serum triglyceride levels was seen too. In total patients there was a near significant positive correlation of serum leptin with serum cholesterol of patients who had a cholesterol levels of more than 100 mg dL-1. Present data supports the hypothesis that in patients on hemodialysis, the association of leptin with cholesterol and triglyceride levels could show the positive effects of leptin on nutrition in hemodialysis patients which is in contrast to normal population

Oxidative stress and hypertension: Possibility of hypertension therapy with antioxidants

Hypertension is a major risk factor for myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and aortic aneurysm, and is a cause of chronic kidney disease. Hypertension is often associated with metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes and dyslipidemia, and the rate of these diseases is increasing nowadays. Recently it has been hypothesized that oxidative stress is a key player in the pathogenesis of hypertension. A reduction in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activity has been observed in newly diagnosed and untreated hypertensive subjects, which are inversely correlated with blood pressure. Hydrogen peroxide production is also higher in hypertensive subjects. Furthermore, hypertensive patients have higher lipid hydroperoxide production. Oxidative stress is also markedly increased in hypertensive patients with renovascular disease. If oxidative stress is indeed a cause of hypertension, then, antioxidants should have beneficial effects on hypertension control and reduction of oxidative damage should result in a reduction in blood pressure. Although dietary antioxidants may have beneficial effects on hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors, however, antioxidant supplementation has not been shown consistently to be effective and improvement is not usually seen in blood pressure after treatment with single or combination antioxidant therapy in subjects thought to be at high risk of cardiovascular disease. This matter is the main focus of this paper. A list of medicinal plants that have been reported to be effective in hypertension is also presented

Comment on: Anti-Oxidative Stress Activity of Stachys lavandulifolia Aqueous Extract in Humans

A recent article by Rahzani et al. (1) published in the esteemed Cell Journal reported the antioxidative stress activity of Stachys lavandulifolia aqueous extract in humans and suggested its consumption as a supplement in the management of diseases related to oxidative stress. We would like to emphasize some of the limitations regarding antioxidant supplementation, in general, and Stachys lavandulifolia, in particular. It has been established that oxidative stress is involved in the development of a wide variety of chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, Parkinson and Alzheimer’s (2-5). Antioxidants are also effective in the prevention or reduction of adverse effects related to medication usage (5-10). However, they may potentially have deleterious effects. A major concern of antioxidant supplementation is their harmful effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (prooxidant action), particularly when precise modulation of ROS levels are necessary for normal cell function (4-10). In fact, it has been reported that antioxidants may exhibit pro-oxidant activity under specific conditions. Of particular importance are redox conditions the dosage and the presence of free transition metals at cellular sites. For example, the antioxidant vitamin C in the presence of ferric iron may act as a potent mediator of lipid peroxidation. It has been suggested that β-carotene sometimes acts as a pro-oxidant in the lungs of smokers and similarly vitamin C may increase DNA damage in humans (11, 12). Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the bioavailability and differential activities of antioxidant compounds before their administration. Other than general considerations for antioxidant consumption, the aspects of each particular antioxidant should also be considered (3, 13, 14). Recently, in a preclinical study we reported the renal toxicity of hydroalcoholic extract of Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl in Wistar rats (15). In this experimental study we randomly assigned 100 male Wistar rats to five equal groups, one control and four experimental. Animals received intraperitoneal injections of saline or Stachys lavandulifolia extract (50, 100, 150, 200 mg/kg) for one month after which blood samples were collected from half of the animals from each group. Other animals received no injections for one additional month, then blood samples were obtained. In the groups that Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl extracts were used for one month we observed mild degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells (6, 9). In the second month of the study these histologic lesions significantly increased (p< 0.05). We concluded that hydroalcoholic extract of Stachys lavandulifolia has renal tubular toxicity which might continue following drug discontinuation (6, 9, 15). Therefore, although antioxidant supplements generally have beneficial effects, as a caution it is advised to only consume such supplements under medical supervision in order to avoid any potential negative effects

Protection of Renal Tubular Cells by Antioxidants: Current Knowledge and New Trends

Acute renal damage mainly develops following toxic or ischemic insults and is defined as acute. These damages have largely been attributed to oxidative stress. Recently much attention has been directed toward decreased renal tubular cell regeneration during tubular cell injury. Antioxidants have recently been the focus of researchers and scientists for prevention and treatment of various oxidative stress-related conditions, including renal toxicities. Although free radicals are known to contribute in kidney injury and abundant researches, particularly laboratory trials, have shown the beneficial effects of antioxidants against these complications, long term clinical trials do not uniformly confirm this matter, especially for single antioxidant consumption such as vitamin C. The aim of this paper is to discuss the possible explanation of this matter