The influences of vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation on clinical, metabolic and genetic parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the co-administration of vitamin D and omega-3fatty acid on clinical, metabolic and genetic parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 60 subjects, aged 18–40 years old with PCOS. Subjects were randomly allocated to take either 50,000 IU vitamin D every 2 weeks plus 2000 mg/day omega-3 fatty acid from fish oil (n=30) or placebo (n=30) for 12 weeks. Gene expression analysis of inflammatory cytokines was conducted on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of PCOS women using RT-PCR method. Results: Vitamin D and omega -3 fatty acid co-supplementation significantly decreased serum total testosterone levels (−0.2 ± 0.5 vs.+0.1 ± 0.4 ng/mL, P=0.02) compared with the placebo. In addition, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid co-supplementation resulted in a significant improvement in beck depression inventory (−1.4 ± 1.6 vs. −0.5 ± 0.6, P=0.01), general health questionnaire scores (−4.5 ± 4.3 vs. −1.9 ± 2.3, P=0.005) and depression anxiety and stress scale scores (−5.0 ± 5.1 vs. −2.3 ± 3.5, P=0.01) compared with the placebo. Additionally, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid co-administration significantly decreased serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (−1.2 ± 1.9 vs.+0.1 ± 0.7 mg/L, P=0.001) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (−0.4 ± 0.4 vs.+0.2 ± 0.6 μmol/L, P<0.001), and significantly increased plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels (+ 114.6 ± 122.2 vs. -2.4 ± 168.2 mmol/L, P=0.003) compared with the placebo. Results of RT-PCR demonstrated that vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid co-supplementation significantly downregulated gene expression of interleukin-1 (IL-1) (P=0.03), and upregulated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (P=0.004) in PBMCs of subjects with PCOS, when compared with placebo. Conclusions: Overall, the co-administration of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid for 12 weeks had beneficial effects on mental health parameters, serum total testosterone, hs-CRP, plasma TAC and MDA levels, and gene expression of IL-1 and VEGF among women with PCOS

Lived experiences of patients suffering from acute Old World Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: A qualitative content analysis study from Iran

Background: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of patients who suffer from acute cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran, focusing on quality of life. Methods: The study was conducted at two different sites in Iran in 2010-2011. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with six men and six women parasitologically confirmed acute cutaneous leishmaniasis. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis. Results: The participants, aged 23 to 63yr, had mild to severe disease. Based on the analysis four main themes were developed. "Fearing an agonizing disease" reflects patients' experiences of disease development resulting in sadness and depression, "struggling to cope" and "taking on the blame" both illustrate how patients experience living with the disease, which included both felt and enacted stigma as major social concerns. "Longing for being seen and heard" refers to patients' experiences with healthcare as well as their expectations and demands from communities and healthcare to be involved in closing the knowledge and awareness gap. Conclusion: Mental and social dimensions of cutaneous leishmaniasis were complex and adversely affected patients' lives by causing psychological burden and limiting their social interactions. Health authorities have to plan programs to increase the disease awareness to prevent the existing stigma to improve patients' social condition and medical care. © 2018, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Biological Removal of Propylene Glycol from Wastewater and its Degradation in Soil by the Activated Sludge Consortia

"n "nBackground and Objectives : Propylene glycol is the main compound of anti-freezing chemicals. A significant amount of propylene glycol is released to the environment after application and contaminates the soil. The main objective of this study was to determine the biological removal of propylene glycol from wastewater and its degradation in soil by the isolated bacteria from activated sludge process."nMaterials and Methods: In the present study, the sludge taken from the return flow in a local activated sludge treatment system was used as the initial seed. The performance of the bioreactor in treating the wastewater was evaluated at four different retention times of 18, 12, 6 and 4 h all with the inlet COD concentration of 1000 mg/L. This phase lasted around 4 months. Then, a part of the adapted microorganisms were transported from the bioreactor to the soil which was synthetically contaminated to the propylene glycol."nResults: The average of propylene glycol removal efficiency from the wastewater in detention times of 18, 12, 8 and 4 h in steady state conditions was 98.6%, 97.1%, 86.4% and 62.2% respectively. Also, the maximum degradation in soil was found to be 97.8%."nConclusion: According to the results obtained from this study, it appears that propylene glycol is inherently well biodegradable and can be biodegraded in liquid phase and soil after a short period of adaptation

Effect of Bilayer Flexibility and Medium Viscosity on Separation of Liposomes upon Stagnation: Bilayer flexibility, medium viscosity and liposomal separation

Liposomes are widely used as drug delivery systems in different forms including osmotic pumps, infusion and IV injection. In spite of these, there is no data available about their behavior under convective flow (e.g. infusion or osmotic pumps) and upon stagnation in such drug delivery systems. As a part of a series of investigations in this area, the present study investigates the effects of viscosity and flexibility on liposomes separation upon stagnation.Here, liposomes with different bilayer flexibility and medium viscosity were encountered gravity (separating force) in a designed sedimentation model and changes in their properties were monitored over time. Rigid liposomes in the low viscosity formulation showed significant phase separation (three times reduction in size) and decreased lipid content over time. Increasing the bilayer flexibility of large liposomes, prevented them from phase separation. Neither size reduction nor decreased lipid content was observed. Increasing viscosity of the liposomal formulation of 3.4 cP to 45.2 cP also prevented sedimentation of liposomes and phase separation in the system. These results indicate that bilayer flexibility and viscosity affect the separation of large liposomes in pre-administrational steps and even stagnation during administration in systems such as infusion pumps

Antifungal activity of herbal extracts against Malassezia species

Background: Malassezia spp. is an opportunistic dimorphic Basidiomycetous fungi associated with a variety of diseases including dandruff, atopic eczema, pityriasis versicolor, seborrheic dermatitis and folliculitis. It also causes systemic infections in immune compromised patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of nettle leaves (Urtica dioica), colocynths fruits (Citrullus colocynthis), green tea (Camellia sinensis), burdock root (Arctium lappa) extracts and ketoconazole against 26 isolates of Malassezia spp., isolated from patients with Malassezia infections. Method: Twenty-six (26) Malassezia spp. identified by RFLPPCR, were isolated from patients with Malassezia infections. The antifungal activity was evaluated by micro broth dilution assay. Result: M. globosa (50), M. furfur (46) and M. slooffiae (4) were the isolated strains. There was no significant difference between the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for colocynth extracts and ketoconazole. Also, the antimicrobial activity of green tea and burdock extracts against Malassezia spp. was not significantly different (P>0.05). The minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) values for green tea, colocynth extracts and ketoconazole against Malassezia spp. were the same (P>0.05). Conclusion: Further clinical studies are required to determine the efficacy of C. colocynthis ethanol extract, in the treatment of Malassezia skin disorders. © 2015 Iranian Society of Dermatology

Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation influences biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in overweight and vitamin D-deficient women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial

Objective This study was conducted to determine the effects of calcium plus vitamin D supplementation on inflammatory factors and biomarkers of oxidative stress among overweight vitamin D-deficient women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design, Patients and Measurements This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed among 104 overweight vitamin D-deficient women diagnosed with PCOS aged 18-40 years. Participants were randomly divided into four groups. Group A received 1000 mg calcium daily and vitamin D placebo weekly (N = 26), group B 50000 IU vitamin D weekly and calcium placebo daily (N = 26), group C 1000 mg calcium daily plus 50000 IU vitamin D weekly (N = 26) and group D calcium placebo daily plus vitamin D placebo weekly (N = 26) for 8 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and 8 weeks after intervention to measure inflammatory factors and biomarkers of oxidative stress. Results After 8 weeks, individuals taking calcium plus vitamin D supplements had greater decreases in homoeostatic model assessment beta-cell function (HOMA-B) score (-11·1 vs -8·6, -3·4 and 13·7, respectively, P = 0·03), serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (-948·3 vs 802·3, -383·8 and 618·2 ng/ml, respectively, P = 0·04) and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations (-0·6 vs -0·5, -0·1 and 0·6 μmol/l, respectively, P = 0·009), and significant increases in plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (35·2 vs 21·1, 22·5 and -153·8 mmol/l, respectively, P = 0·006) and glutathione (GSH) levels (216·0 vs 3·9, -47·5 and -160·8 μmol/l, respectively, P = 0·001) compared with calcium alone, vitamin D alone and placebo groups. Calcium plus vitamin D cosupplementation did not influence plasma NO and catalase levels. Conclusions We found that calcium plus vitamin D cosupplementation for 8 weeks among overweight and vitamin D-deficient women with PCOS had beneficial effects on inflammatory factor and biomarkers of oxidative stress. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Molecular identification and prevalence of Malassezia species in pityriasis versicolor patients from Kashan, Iran

Background: Malassezia species are lipophilic yeasts found on the skin surface of humans and other warm-blooded vertebrates. It is associated with various human diseases, especially pityriasis versicolor, which is a chronic superficial skin disorder. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to identify Malassezia species isolated from patients' samples affected by pityriasis versicolor, using molecular methods in Kashan, Iran. Patients and Methods: A total of 140 subjects, suspected of having pityriasis versicolor from Kashan, were clinically diagnosed and then confirmed by direct microscopic examination. The scraped skin specimens were inoculated in modified Dixon's medium. DNA was extracted from the colonies and PCR amplification was carried out for the 26s rDNA region. PCR products were used to further restriction fragment length polymorphism by CfoI enzyme. Results: Direct examination was positive in 93.3 of suspected pityriasis versicolor lesions. No statistically significant difference was observed in the frequency of Malassezia species between women and men. The highest prevalence of tinea versicolor was seen in patients 21-30 years-of-age. No difference could be seen in the frequency of Malassezia species depending on the age of the patients. In total, 65 of patients with pityriasis versicolor had hyperhidrosis. The most commonly isolated Malassezia species in the pityriasis versicolor lesions were; Malassezia globosa (66), M. furfur (26), M. restricta (3), M. sympodialis (3), and M. slooffiae (2). Malassezia species were mainly isolated from the neck and chest. Conclusions: This study showed M. globosa to be the most common Malassezia species isolated from Malassezia skin disorders in Kashan, Iran. The PCR-RFLP method was useful in the rapid identification of the Malassezia species. By using these methods, the detection and identification of individual Malassezia species from clinical samples was substantially easier. © 2014, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences; Published by Kowsar Corp