Effect of zinc supplementation on serum mlondealdehyde and lipid profiles on beta thalassemia major patients

Objectives: Thalassemic patients are seriously at risk of serum dislipidemia, zinc deficiency and tissue damage due to oxidative stress induced by iron storage. In biologic systems, zinc may interact with iron and inhibit oxidative and reductive reactions resulted by iron and other chimiooxidative agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation on serum Malondealdehyde (MDA) and lipid profiles in beta thalassemia major patients. Methods: In this clinical trial, 60 beta thalassemia major patients (male & female) older than 18 years old were assigned randomly in two groups as intervention and control groups(30 per group). The intervention group ingested zinc supplement as 220 mg zinc sulfate capsule contented 50 mg elemental zinc daily for 3 months. The control group did not receive any supplement in that time. Information about general characteristics, weight, height and dietary intake were gathered before and after the end of study. Blood samples were obtained from each subject prior and after the study and serum zinc, MDA, triglyceride, LDL-C and HDL-C levels were measured. Data analyzed with paired t-test, independent t-test and ANOVA. Results: Zinc supplementation caused significant increasing in daily caloric intake, body mass index, serum zinc and HDL-C levels and significant reduction in LDL-C levels in intervention group. No significant variations were observed for other variables in both of groups. Conclusion: Zinc supplementation had beneficial effects on serum lipid profiles in studied beta thalassemic patients and might have suitable role in delaying cardiovascular disease risks in these patients

Effects of vitamin e and zinc supplementation on antioxidants in beta thalassemia major patients

Objective: In beta thalassemic patients, tissue damage occurs due to oxidative stress and it happens because of the accumulation of iron in the body. This study was conducted to determine the effect of zinc and vitamin E supplementation on antioxidant status in beta-thalassemic major patients. Methods: This double blind randomized clinical trial was carried out on 120 beta thalassemic patients older than 18 years. Patients were randomly categorized in four groups. Zinc (50mg/day) and vitamin E (400mg/day) supplements were administered for former and latter group, respectively. In the third group both supplements were administered in similar doses. The fourth (control) group received no supplement. The effect of supplementations on serum zinc and vitamin E, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and body mass index (BMI) were measured at the beginning and the end of the study. Findings: Serum zinc levels in group 1 and 3 were significantly increased (P<0.007 and P<0.005, respectively). Serum vitamin E levels in group 2 and 3 were also increased significantly (P<0.001). Mean GPX activity in group1, 2 and 3 decreased significantly (P<0.015, P<0.032 and P<0.029, respectively). Mean SOD activity and TAC did not show significant change after supplementation. BMI had significant increase in all treated groups (P<0.001). Conclusion: Our results suggest that beta thalassemic patients have enhanced oxidative stress and administration of selective antioxidants may preclude oxidative damage. © 2011 by Pediatrics Center of Excellence, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, All rights reserved

Convection of heat and thermodynamic irreversibilities in two-phase, turbulent nanofluid flows in solar heaters by corrugated absorber plates

The effects of simultaneous implementation of corrugated walls and nanoparticles upon the performance of solar heaters are investigated. Triangular and sinusoidal wall profiles along with varying concentration of nanoparticles are analyzed. The multi-phase mixture and the SST κ-ω models are used to simulate turbulent nanofluid flows inside the corrugated channels. The staggered computational grid is employed for storing the velocity and pressure terms at cell faces and cell center, respectively. The governing equations are first discretized by employing a second-order upwind differencing technique and are then solved by means of pressure-based finite volume approach. The convergence criterion is also presented for the validation of obtained results. The effects of wall profiles and nanoparticle concentration on the pertinent parameters including Nusselt number, pressure drop, performance evaluation criterion (PEC), and thermal and frictional irreversibilities are studied. This reveals that, in general, the triangular duct features superior heat transfer and inferior hydraulic characteristics in comparison with the sinusoidal duct. It is demonstrated that as long as the base fluid (water) is used the highest value of PEC corresponds to the straight duct. Yet, by introducing nanofluids the PEC values of the corrugated ducts exceed those of the straight duct. The analysis further shows that on the basis of the performance evaluation criterion, the sinusoidal duct appears to be a better choice in comparison with the triangular duct. However, the situation is reversed when thermodynamic irreversibilities are considered. It is argued that vortex formation in the two investigated wavy walls and shear layer developed in the triangular case are the essential physical reasons for the observed thermal, hydraulic and entropic behaviors

Erectile dysfunction and methadone maintenance therapy

Erectile dysfunction is one of the most common side effects of methadone affecting more than half of methadone patient population. The problem is associated with prominent reduced quality of life. Erectile dysfunction may perpetuate greater problem if left untreated as patients may opt to use harmful self-treatment such as abusing methamphetamine. This illicit drug use to overcome the side-effects of methadone may lead to polysubstance use disorder that further compromise addiction therapy. To overcome this issue, both practitioners and patients play a major role in the management of erectile dysfunction. Patient awareness regarding erectile dysfunction and its impact as well as doctor’s active intervention to detect erectile dysfunction, are essential to improve the detection rate and management of erectile dysfunction. Frequent screening of erectile dysfunction and its risk factors will help with the identification of patients suffering from erectile dysfunction. Multiple treatments options such as bupropion, trazodone and many more are available to treat erectile dysfunction which will be further explored in this review