Approach to Acute Abdominal Pain: Practical Algorithms

Context: Acute abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints of patients admitted to emergency units. This study aimed to propose a new approach to abdominal pain by designing a more structured diagnostic workup for physicians. Evidence acquisition: A comprehensive review of relevant articles and algorithms presented in books and websites was conducted. Approaches which were relevant to the study concept, were selected. Results: Seven algorithms were introduced with respect to the site of abdominal tenderness. The mainstay of these algorithms was differential diagnosis of the tenderness site. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the designed approach can prevent confusion among physicians and reduce requests for many unnecessary paraclinical tests, which delay the final diagnosis and impose unacceptable costs on patients and healthcare systems

Iodine status, and knowledge about iodine deficiency disorders in adolescent school girls aged 14-19 years, 2016

Background: Adequate iodine intake by women in child-bearing age affects fetus neurodevelopment during pregnancy. A majority of previous studies has investigated iodine status among children, and there is limited data on female adolescents who are more exposed to consequences of iodine deficiency (ID) in their near-future pregnancies; thus, we aimed to assess iodine status, and knowledge on iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) among adolescent school girls (14-19 years old) in Shahriar, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 223 female students selected through multi-stage cluster sampling from 12 schools. Iodine and creatinine concentrations were measured in casual urine samples. Iodine content of household salts was also assessed.Data on intake of salt and iodine-rich food sources were collected applying a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and knowledge about iodine and IDDs were assessed by a questionnaire. Results: Median and Mean (95% CI) concentrations of urinary iodine and creatinine were 129 µg/L, 137.62 µg/L (95% CI: 126.28, 148.95) and 1.72 g/L, 1.86 g/L (95% CI: 0.55-3.17),respectively. The frequency of mild, moderate and severe ID were 22.4%, 14.3% and 0%,respectively; 43.5% had adequate, and 3.1% had excessive urinary iodine levels. Mean saltiodine concentration was 21.69 (SD=10.56) ppm. Mean knowledge score was 12.7 (SD=3.44).About half of the students had a poor (25.1%) or fair (24.2%) knowledge about iodine deficiency.Adjusting for the confounders, no significant positive association was found between knowledge about iodine-rich food sources and goitrogens with urinary iodine excretion. Conclusion: Adolescent girls in Shahriar had relatively poor knowledge of iodine, and about one third of them suffered from ID

Genotoxic Effect of Chronic Exposure to DDT on Lymphocytes, Oral Mucosa and Breast Cells of Female Rats

The genotoxicity of some environmental contaminants may affect human health directly by damaging genetic material and thus plays an important role in cancer development. Xenoestrogens are one kind of environmental pollutants that may alter hormonal routes or directly affect DNA. The number of available biomarkers used to assess genetic risk and cancer is very extensive. The present study evaluated genotoxicity produced by the pesticide DDT on systemic and mammary gland cells obtained from adult female Wistar rats. Oral mucosa cells micronuclei were assessed; the comet assay in peripheral blood-isolated lymphocytes and mammary epithelial cells was also carried out. Additionally, oxidative stress was studied in mammary tissue through a lipid peroxidation assay. Our data showed an increase in lipid peroxidation, product of an increase in free oxygen radical levels, which leads to an oxidative stress status. Our results suggest that DDT is genotoxic, not only for lymphocytes but also to mammary epithelial cells

Intestinal Lactobacillus in health and disease, a driver or just along for the ride?

Metagenomics and related methods have led to significant advances in our understanding of the human microbiome. Members of the genus Lactobacillus, although best understood for essential roles in food fermentations and applications as probiotics, have also come to the fore in a number of untargeted gut microbiome studies in humans and animals. Even though Lactobacillus is only a minor member of the human colonic microbiota, the proportions of those bacteria are frequently either positively or negatively correlated with human disease and chronic conditions. Recent findings on Lactobacillus species in human and animal microbiome research, together with the increased knowledge on probiotic and other ingested lactobacilli, have resulted in new perspectives on the importance of this genus to human health

Glycaemic Index and Load of Dietetic Sour Cherry Jam Prepared with Date Syrup in Healthy Persons

Abstract: Background & Aims: Date syrup is a natural sweetener rich in antioxidants. In addition, fructose is the predominant sugar in date syrup, which elevates blood glucose at a slower pace than the other types of sugar. The objective of this study was to evaluate the glycemic response of healthy persons to dietetic sour cherry jam prepared with date syrup. Methods: In this clinical trial, the glycemic response of 9 healthy persons was evaluated after the consumption of two kinds of jams, one prepared with date syrup and one as a control. Both jams had been produced using a specific formulation. White bread was chosen as the reference food. Having determined the glycemic index (GI) of the two jams, glycemic load (GL) was calculated and compared for the two jams by independent t-test. Results: GL was 15.4 and 18 for the dietetic and control jams respectively, both of which were within the permitted range for diabetic's consumption. No significant difference was observed between the GIs of the two jams. The results showed that, the GL of the dietetic jam was significantly lower than that of the control (p<0.05). Conclusion: The GL of the dietetic jam prepared with date syrup was less than that of the control sample. In light of the other health benefits of date syrup, once confirmed by further studies, this jam may be suitable to be introduced to the public as a dietetic product. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Date s, Glycemic index, Glycemic loa