The morphometric parameters of femur proximal part and its relationship with body mass index

Background: The femur is the longest bone in the body. Injury or fracture in this bone strongly affects the quality of life of people.Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the morphometric parameters of femur proximal part and its relationship with body mass index (BMI).Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 200 patients over 50 years of age referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan and Ayatollah Kashani Hospital in Isfahan during 2018-2019. The participants had radiographs in the supine position of femur proximal part. BMI and bone mineral density of patients were determined by the DXA method. Using radiographic images of the femur, the morphological features were evaluated. Also, the relationship of these characteristics with age, gender, BMI and bone mineral density was investigated.Results: The values of six morphological parameters of the femur in the patients under study were Q-angle=121.93±3.78, TW=86.06±7.65, HW=52.4±4.69, FW=37.74±4.29, HAL=118.43±10.47 and FAL=105.34±7.59 mm, which were higher in men. There was a direct and significant correlation of 23% between age and TW, which was significant according to the Pearson Correlation Test (P=0.039). Inverse correlation of 14% was observed between HAL width and BMI, which was statistically significant (P=0.042). FAL variable had a decreasing trend with decreasing BMD (P=0.031).Conclusion: Proximal femur characteristics were significantly related to factors such as gender and BMI. The morphological specifications of femur proximal were higher in men than in women. Compared to evaluations in other regions, the included characteristics are distinct from other countries, which these differences can be caused by genetic characteristics, environment, nutritional status, and lifestyle

Serum interleukin-6 level and its association with pulmonary involvement in progressive systemic sclerosis; a case-control study

Abstract Background Primary Systemic Sclerosis (PSS) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by excessive collagen deposition in the skin and internal organs. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a late demonstration of PSS and cytokines can contribute to the disease pathology. The purpose of the current study was to determine the association between serum interleukin-6 level and pulmonary involvement in progressive systemic sclerosis. Methods and materials Demographic data and serum interleukin-6 levels were measured for 30 PSS patients with pulmonary involvement (case group) and 30 PSS patients without pulmonary involvement (control group) following informed consent. The disease duration and activity, C-reactive protein (CRP), chest x-ray and highresolution CT scan (HRCT) findings, ejection fraction (EF) and echocardiography findings, and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) were also determined in both groups. Results The age of patients in case and control groups was 52.5 ± 9.3 and 43.9 ± 9.7 years, respectively (p = 0.001). No significant difference was found between serum levels of IL-6 in case and control groups (73.1 ± 95.4 vs 46.7 ± 83.6 pg/ml, p = 0.267). However, IL-6 level was significantly higher in male case patients compared to male controls (p = 0.007). The duration of PSS was 11.6 ± 6.4 and 7.4 ± 4.2 years in case and control groups, respectively (p = 0.002). The quantitative CRP and PAP was also significantly higher in case patients (p = 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). There was found reticulonodular pattern in 20 (66.7%) of the cases, whereas 28 (93.3%) of the controls had normal Chest X-rays (CXR) (p < 0.001). EF was significantly lower in case patients compared to control patients (p = 0.001). Conclusion The serum level of IL-6 did not appear to have a relationship with pulmonary involvement, hence it could not be regarded as a potential therapeutic target

L-carnitine reduces the adverse effects of ROS and up-regulates the expression of implantation related genes in in vitro developed mouse embryos

In vitro developed embryos are inevitably exposed to various reactive oxygen species (ROS) which may decrease the embryo's competence in assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures. Optimization of embryo culture media using antioxidant agents could help to improve embryo quality and could overcome failures in current ART. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of L-carnitine (LC), an enhancer of mitochondrial activity and free radical scavenger, in culture media on early embryo competence and expression of ErbB1 and ErbB4 implantation related genes. Two-cell mouse embryos were cultured in the following four conditions: 1. LC group in media containing LC; 2.H 2O2 group exposed to H2O2 for 30 min and then transferred into a simple media; 3.H2O2+LC group exposed to H2O2 for 30 min and then transferred into a simple media containing LC; 4.the control group kept throughout in simple media. All groups were allowed to develop until the blastocyst stage. ErbB1 and ErbB4 expression were evaluated by Real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry. The expression of Sirt3 gene was also evaluated. Intracellular ROS levels were examined by DCFH-DA fluorescence intensity. In order to assess the morphological quality of the embryos, ICM and OCM number blastocyst cells were evaluated by using Hoechst and propidium iodide (PI) staining. ErbB1, ErbB4, ROS levels and cell number were compared across all in vitro groups. Our data reveal that LC significantly increases ErbB1 and ErbB4 gene and protein expression with intracellular ROS levels and Sirt3 gene expression significantly decreased after LC treatment. It is worth noting that an elevated cell number was observed in the LC-treated group compared with the other groups suggesting increased viability and/or proliferation. Our findings suggest that the use of LC could be helpful to improve preimplantation embryo culture media through its effects in decreasing ROS levels and the increase of implantation-related genes. © 2020 Elsevier Inc

Applications of blood plasma derivatives for cutaneous wound healing: A mini-review of clinical studies

Skin injuries are a global healthcare problem. Chronic ulcers do not heal in a timely fashion, so it is essential to help the body with skin repair. There are some treatments that have been applied to chronic ulcers. One of these treatments is growth factor (GF) therapy. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and Platelet-poor plasma (PPP) are two types of plasma derivatives containing many GFs important for wound healing. Several works have reported their application in wound healing and tissue regeneration. The use of autologous PRP is now an adequate alternative in regenerative medicine. It was also demonstrated that PPP is a hemostatic agent for wounds. This review has studied the latest clinical studies, which have applied PRP and PPP to patients with chronic wounds