Ozone therapy in chronic diseases; a narrative review of the literature

Nitric oxide (NO) has various physiological and biochemical effects. In many biological systems of the body, NO acts as a messenger molecule via cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which affects the body cells. NO is synthesized in the body from the L-arginine amino acid by the NO synthases enzyme. This enzyme consists of three major isoforms including neurotransmitter, endothelial and inductive types. According to the results of numerous studies, the administration of ozone as a complementary therapy of the diseases is a less complicated and cost-effective way. Over the past forty years, the results of ozone therapy have been satisfactory and without any problems. Ozone therapy affects various diseases. For example, in treatment for vascular diseases and some degenerative diseases, it has an ameliorative impact. Regarding kidney disease, still many experimental or clinical studies are necessary to find its improvement/anti-oxidative effect. Keywords: Ozone therapy, Chronic diseases, Diabetic, Vascular disease

Soy milk consumption, inflammation, coagulation and oxidative stress among type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy

Background : Nephropathy is a common complication of diabetes and it is the major cause of disability and death among these patients. We aimed to determine the effects of soy milk on inflammation, coagulation and oxidative stress among type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy. Methods: This randomized crossover controlled clinical trial was conducted on type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy. This study had two trial phases, each for 4 weeks and one washout period for two weeks. Patients were randomly assigned to consume a diet containing soy milk, or a diet containing cow’s milk. Results: Soy milk consumption, in comparison to cow’s milk, resulted in a significant reduction in D-dimer level. This significant effect remained even after adjustment of cofounding factor (carbohydrate intake). However, soy milk consumption had no significant effects on inflammation and oxidative stress levels. Conclusion: Soy milk consumption for 4 weeks could decrease serum D-dimer level in type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy

­­The Effects of Naringenin on Some Human Breast Cancer Cells: A Systematic Review

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Recently, natural remedies such as Naringenin (Nar) - a kind of flavonoids which can be found in grapefruits, oranges, and tomatoes - seem to be interesting. They play a useful role in treatment and chemoprevention because of having pleiotropic molecular mechanisms of action on breast cancer cells. Methods: We performed a PRISMA-directed systematic review to investigate the effects of Naringenin on some human breast cancer cells (MCF-7, T47D, and MDA-MB-231). Tumor size, apoptosis, estrogenic properties, and cytotoxicity were assessed as primary outcomes. The systematic search without restriction was conducted in electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar, and Cochrane Library. Results: Initially, 6445 articles were identified. After screening their titles and abstracts, 32 studies were selected for text appraisal. Finally, 6 articles which met the inclusion criteria were evaluated. Based on the evaluation, Nar could inhibit both cell proliferation and tumor growth at different concentration. Moreover, it could induce apoptosis. Conclusions: Due to anticancer properties of Nar, some probable mechanisms of these effects are induction of alteration in aromatase and caspase enzymes, and suppression of oestrogen signal transduction pathways. However, more investigations are necessary in the future to decide whether Nar consumption is recommendable as part of breast cancer treatment and control. Also, some clinical trials should be designed to determine the optimal dose for the therapeutic use

The effects of conjugated linoleic acids on breast cancer: A systematic review

Recently prevention strategies for breast cancer are focused on lifestyle modification such as diet. Some dietary factors such as Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) can lower the risk of breast cancer, metastasis and some factors concerning this malignancy. Many studies have been established in this field, but their results are inconsistent. Therefore, we evaluated this association based on systematic review among published scientific literature. We performed an electronic search using PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Google Scholar and Persian database (Iran Medex, magiran) to identify relevant studies. We summarized the findings of 8 papers in this review. Although, three cohort studies were not overall identified a protective effect of CLA dietary intake or CLA content in breast tissue on breast cancer incidence, metastasis and death, one of them showed an inverse association after adjusting for age. Also, among case-control studies a weak inverse association between breast cancer risk and CLA dietary intake and serum levels among post-menopausal women was reported. Besides, a clinical trial showed that some indicator of breast tumor decreased after CLA administration among women with breast adenocarcinoma. Lacking published evidence suggested inconsistent results. So, further well-designed studies are required, particularly in considering the main breast cancer risk factors

Healthy eating index/alternative healthy eating index and breast cancer mortality and survival: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. The effects of overall diet quality instead of single nutrients after breast cancer diagnosis on mortality have been a growing area of research interest. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the relationship between the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)/the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and risk of breast cancer mortality or survival rates as a primary outcome, and some related inflammatory factors, as secondary outcomes among postdiagnosed women. Methods: This study methodology was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis statement recommendation and had been registered at PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42015015605). The systematic search was conducted in the electronic databases including PubMed, ISI, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google before July 2016. Researches that had not reported risk of breast cancer mortality or survival rates separately were excluded from the study. Similarly, this review excluded studies which only had examined the HEI or AHEI without reporting their association with the risk of mortality or survival rates. Results: After primary search, of 643 studies identified, 4 studies including eligible criteria were selected for the final assessment. All selected studies had been conducted in the USA and used self-report food-frequency questionnaire for diet quality assessment. In two studies HEI-2005, in one study AHEI, and in another study AHEI-2010 were applied. Meta-analysis result showed no significant association between these indexes and risk of breast cancer mortality/survival among women with this malignancy [relative risk: (RR) 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69–1.56; P = 0.87]. Conclusions: Regarding the adherence HEI/AHEI, we found no association between mentioned indexes and risk of mortality or survival from breast cancer in women with breast cancer. However, evidence in this field is limited and inconsistence and further studies are needed

Potential mechanisms linking probiotics to diabetes: a narrative review of the literature

ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Some studies have suggested a wide range of possible mechanisms through which probiotics may play a role in diabetes prevention and treatment. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. We conducted this study to review the potential mechanisms suggested for the effect of probiotics in diabetes. DESIGN AND SETTING: Narrative review conducted at the Food Security Research Center of Isfahan. METHODS: A search in the electronic databases MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Google scholar was performed up to October 2016. RESULTS: The initial search yielded 1214 reports. After removing duplicates, 704 titles and abstracts were screened. Finally, out of 83 full-text articles that were reviewed for eligibility, 30 articles were included in the final analysis. The anti-diabetic mechanisms for probiotics reported encompass intraluminal and direct effects on the intestinal mucosa and microbiota (n = 13), anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects (n = 10), antioxidative effects (n = 5), effects on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and expression of genes involved in glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance (n = 6), with some studies pointing to more than one mechanism. CONCLUSION: The results may throw some light on the capacity of probiotics as a novel approach towards controlling diabetes. However, further human studies are warranted to elucidate and confirm the potential role of probiotics in diabetes prevention and treatment. Also, it needs to be ascertained whether the effectiveness of probiotics in diabetes prevention and treatment is dependent on the strain of the microorganisms

Vitamin D Supplementation in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review

The current systematic review was conducted to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D levels, bone health, and physical performance indices in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched for studies published up to June 2020, with no language limits. To determine the risk of bias, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality criteria checklist was used. Results: Eight studies that met all of the inclusion criteria were identified. All of the eligible studies had a high level of heterogeneity regarding outcome measures, study design, and the dose of vitamin D. The majority of the trials showed beneficial effects of vitamin D supplementation on serum vitamin D levels and other outcome measures in patients with SCI. Three randomized controlled trials revealed a low risk of bias, whilst other studies were rated as the  either neutral or negative risk of bias. Conclusion: This review suggests that vitamin D supplementation could improve vitamin D levels, bone health, and physical performance indices in individuals with SCI. However, due to the high level of heterogeneity, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further studies on this population should be performed to have sufficient power and a robust design to give definitive conclusions

Effect of flaxseed supplementation on markers of inflammation and endothelial function: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: The rationale for the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of flaxseed supplementation on important adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines in adults. Methods: We conducted searches of published literature in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases from inception until May 2019. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which investigated the effects of flaxseed supplementation on the circulating concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), vascular cell adhesion protein 1 (VCAM-1), E-selectin, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) were included in our analysis. Results were summarized using weighted mean differences (WMDs) by random-effects model. Results: Forty eligible RCTs, including 2520 participants were identified. The results of the meta‐analysis revealed flaxseed supplementation reduced the concentrations of CRP (WMD = −0.387 mg/L; 95% CI: −0.653, −0.121, p = 0.004), IL-6 (WMD = −0.154 pg/Ml; 95% CI: −0.299, −0.010, p = 0.036), and VCAM-1 (WMD = –22.809 ng/ml; 95% CI: −41.498, −4.120, p = 0.017) but had no significant effect on TNF-α (WMD = -0.077 pg/mL; 95% CI: −0.317, 0.163, p = 0.530), ICAM-1 (WMD = −8.610 ng/ml; 95% CI: −21.936, 4.716, p = 0.205), and E-selectin (WMD = −1.427 ng/ml; 95% CI: −4.074, 1.22, p = 0.291). Conclusions: These findings showed that flaxseed supplementation may improve some circulating concentrations of specific adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines. However, well-designed trials are needed to confirm the range of non-significant and/or equivocal findings

Tumor cells growth and survival time with the ketogenic diet in animal models: A systematic review

Recently, interest in targeted cancer therapies via metabolic pathways has been renewed with the discovery that many tumors become dependent on glucose uptake during anaerobic glycolysis. Also the inability of ketone bodies metabolization due to various deficiencies in mitochondrial enzymes is the major metabolic changes discovered in malignant cells. Therefore, administration of a ketogenic diet (KD) which is based on high in fat and low in carbohydrates might inhibit tumor growth and provide a rationale for therapeutic strategies. So, we conducted this systematic review to assess the effects of KD on the tumor cells growth and survival time in animal studies. All databases were searched from inception to November 2015. We systematically searched the PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholars, Science Direct and Cochrane Library according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. To assess the quality of included studies we used SYRCLE's RoB tool. 268 articles were obtained from databases by primary search. Only 13 studies were eligible according to inclusion criteria. From included studies, 9 articles indicate that KD had a beneficial effect on tumor growth and survival time. Tumor types were included pancreatic, prostate, gastric, colon, brain, neuroblastoma and lung cancers. In conclusions, although studies in this field are rare and inconsistence, recent findings have demonstrated that KD can potentially inhibit the malignant cell growth and increase the survival time. Because of differences physiology between animals and humans, future studies in cancer patients treated with a KD are needed